Enemies in Love [High-Country Shifters 4]

by Melody Snow Monroe

She disconnected and put the phone back in the toolbox. Where she was going she didn’t need any interruptions. “Let’s go.”

  They each had a pack on their backs, hopefully filled with some food and something soft to sleep on. Both of them would be happy sleeping outside on the ground if they shifted, but she liked her comforts.

  She’d never been to Dilback’s Ridge as it bordered on wolf territory. She was a little surprised they’d even scoped out the area. Hopefully, the spot would give them the seclusion they sought. Once they emerged from the forest, they had to pass through a large field.

  Kranor stopped and shielded his eyes from the sun. “Hey, isn’t that Mr. Meany’s place?”

  She laughed. “You mean Mr. Almic’s farmhouse?” When they were young they would sneak over there. Boy, the man did not like them. Taryn and Kellum were perhaps the worst offenders of pulling pranks.

  “Yeah, him. He must be a hundred by now.” He was really Almic, son of Sandrit and Alma, but since he was ancient back then, out of some sort of warped respect, Kranor had dubbed him Mr. Almic to his face. Behind his back was another story altogether.

  Jude shot a glance at them, probably hating that he’d been left out of the loop. “Who’s he?”

  Since Kranor seemed enthralled, she decided to let him tell. “You say.”

  “Usually it was just the three of us, but sometimes squirt here would want to tag along.” She couldn’t believe when he rubbed her head.

  “Hey!” She puffed out her chest. “I’m not so little anymore.”

  Both men pounced on one of her bare breasts. Their heads banged and she stepped back. “That was not an invitation.” She chuckled at their enthusiasm. Tonight sure was going to be fun.

  They both licked their lips, and her nipples tingled and her pussy took notice. “Go on with your story.”

  “The three of us loved going into his barn to play. We had nothing like that in wolf territory.”

  Kranor motioned they head to the barn. She tugged on his arm. “You can’t just go in there.”

  “Why not? I think Jude needs to see the hayloft so when I talk about it, he’ll have a point of reference.”

  A large fenced-off area held three horses, all of which looked beautifully groomed. “We’re adults. It’s called trespassing. Taryn once told me Mr. Almic came out with a shotgun.”

  “True, but we shifted and ran away.”

  “He could have shifted, too, but remember, I can’t.” Truth was, if Mr. Almic had been holding a rifle and had shifted, the gun would have been useless. Besides, the man was ancient, and she bet he’d never be able to chase them down now.

  Kranor wrapped an arm around her waist. “Come on. It’ll be fun. Jude needs to learn about our history.”

  He acted like he believed they could end up together. “We better not get caught.”

  Kranor slid his arm down to her hand and tugged. “Let’s sneak in from the back like we used to.”

  The farmhouse sat about five hundred feet away. Given the way the weeds had taken over the porch railing, Mr. Almic was still single. No woman would allow a house to be in such disarray.

  When they passed the corral, she was a little surprised the fence had been freshly painted. At least he cared about the animals, just not about himself or where he lived.

  “Do you sense him anywhere?”

  She couldn’t tell.

  Both men shook their heads. They ducked below the shoulder-height railing and crept along the fence. One black mare with a white forehead ambled over. Henla rarely got a chance to ride and would have loved to have a horse of her own.

  Her palms were sweating and her stomach churned. She would have suggested she stay back and let them explore, but the chance at having a shared adventure urged her on.

  They made it to the side of the barn without getting caught. So far, so good. Kranor pulled back the door, which squeaked so loudly she was sure her mom, who was underground and miles away, could have heard it.

  “Shh.”

  For a split second, Kranor was the eight-year-old boy she’d had the crush on. Inside, the scent of hay, horse, and some kind of cleaning oil filled her senses. She glanced around. Sunlight streamed in from on top of the loft, illuminating part of a wall where saddles, chains, hoes, and other small farming equipment hung.

  Jude crossed his arms. “Sure is neat.”

  Kranor nodded toward the loft. “Come on.”

  The few times she’d been with the boys, all they’d ever done was pick berries from near the farmhouse. She’d never actually come in here. Kranor led her to a ladder that went up to the loft. Her mind raced.

  “We are not going to have sex in a hayloft.”

  Both men burst out laughing. “Who said anything about sex?”

  She rolled her eyes, trying to cover the heat racing up her face. “You know very well that as soon as you get me alone you’ll be sucking on my tits and torturing my pussy.”

  Their grins told her she was spot on.

  He placed her left hand on a rung. “Go.”

  “What if Mr. Almic comes in?”

  Kranor winked. “We hide.”

  She could only imagine what those two would do when she climbed the ladder in a long skirt. “No touching or I might fall.”

  “We’d never let you reach the ground. We’ll catch you.”

  And then they’d make love to her in the middle of the barn floor for Mr. Almic to find. No, thank you. “I’m going.”

  She hurried up the ladder. In the loft sat a huge pile of hay with several bales neatly stacked in the back. She was six all over again. As much as she didn’t want to get caught, as long as they’d come this far, she had to jump in the pile. She stepped near the highest point and launched herself into the air, twisting so that she’d land on her back. The hay cushioned her fall. Joy spread through her veins. She’d always cherish this feeling of freedom and spontaneity.

  First Kranor’s head appeared above the floor. He climbed on up and stood over her then peered out the window. She bet the view was fantastic. She got up on her elbows, and Jude joined them in the loft.

  “This is really great.” He agilely stepped up on the bales then stepped down on the other side. “I can see why you guys came here.”

  Kranor froze. “Skelak.”

  Only then did she feel the lion shifter nearby. “We have to hide,” Kranor whispered.

  “Why? He’ll sense us.”

  “Yeah, but it’ll be fun.”

  Kranor was crazy, but she agreed the old man might not think it worthwhile to come and find them.

  Jude stretched out next to her and began to pile hay on top of them. Kranor helped. She didn’t dare open her mouth or her eyes for fear of being poked by the now not-so-soft hay.

  Her neck prickled. The man was near. Since Kranor hadn’t climbed in the stack with them, Mr. Almic was sure to find him.

  The cocking of a gun ripped through the air. “Who’s up there?”

  Chapter Twelve

  That old Mr. Almic was quite the jokester. Kranor wasn’t worried as he was sure he could sweet-talk his way out of this dilemma. While he didn’t like the odds of one wolf against one lion, he figured the guy would be too feeble to fight.

  “Don’t shoot!” He held up his hands and stepped to the edge of the loft.

  Mr. Almic shifted his gun upward. Skelak. It wasn’t Mr. Almic, but probably his son or someone who’d bought the place.

  “Whatch you doing up there?”

  “Mr. Almic used to let me play up here when I was a kid.”

  “I did no such thing.”

  Something wasn’t right. “I’m coming down.” He didn’t need the guy to come up to the loft and find Henla and Jude.

  “I got my gun on you.”

  If Kranor needed to shift, he’d rather do it on the ground. Wolves never did learn how to climb down ladders. Jumping fifteen feet to the ground wouldn’t have been fun either. “I mean no harm.” When he stepped on the dirt floor he turne
d around. “What happened to the old man who owned this place? He dead?”

  He huffed. “That old man is me.”

  Kranor ignored the rifle as he could shift and get out of the way faster than this guy could shoot, but the idea that this was Mr. Almic intrigued him.

  “I’ve always been curious. Where did you get that gun?” The lions never used them. It wasn’t the Anterran way.

  “Made it myself.”

  He studied the guy. The man was wire thin and his skin was saggy and lined. He wasn’t good at judging age since the man was a lion, but he might only be in his late sixties.

  The old man lowered his rifle. “That you, Kranor?”

  The tension in his body let go. “You remember me?”

  The old man chuckled but didn’t smile. “Hell, yeah. Spent half my days chasing you and those two other kids off my property more times than I could count. You had a little girl with you, too, sometimes.”

  “Hi, Mr. Almic.”

  Kranor groaned that Henla exposed herself, but he guessed the danger had passed.

  The old man raised his gun but glanced back at him. “Who’s the other fellow?”

  He wished he wouldn’t wave that old thing. “He’s my friend. I wanted to show him where I used to play. We meant no disrespect.” It had been hard to act subservient, but since Henla was around, he had little choice. A stray bullet might kill her.

  Both Henla and Jude came down the ladder, their hair and clothes covered in hay. She turned around and the old man’s eyes widened. The skin on Almic’s arms bristled and his body tensed.

  “She belongs to me and Jude.” He stood as straight as he could, daring the old man to do something.

  “Looks like she’s well taken care of. I think you three should go now, but stay away from my barn and my horses.” The old gruffness had disappeared and had been replaced by something akin to fondness.

  He remembered how he, Taryn, and Kellum used to ride his horses around the corral until Almic would race out with his handmade gun and shoo them away.

  Kranor stepped closer and nodded to the rifle. “That gun even loaded, old man?”

  He lowered it to the ground. “Don’t you old man me.” He shrugged. “I only made a few. Ran out of them years ago, but it gave you pause, didn’t it?”

  “Acting like that could get you killed.” There might be some wolf who would attack because of the threat.

  He waved a hand. “I knew you weren’t trouble.”

  The man wasn’t a good liar. Kranor wrapped a possessive arm around Henla and led her to the back door. “Thanks for giving us back some good memories.”

  All three stepped into the fresh air. While Mr. Almic remained in the barn, Kranor was sure the old man had his eye on him. As they passed a berry bush, he grabbed a handful.

  “Run!” he shouted with more glee in his voice than he’d had in a long time.

  He popped the fruit into his mouth and jogged alongside Henla. She was laughing so hard, he thought they might go faster if he carried her.

  “Don’t come back, you hear?”

  Kranor was convinced the old man loved the company. He thought about stopping and petting the horses, but he might have to leave that for another day. Only when they got to the forest did they stop.

  Henla bent over to catch her breath. “I don’t remember when I’ve had such fun. Those were the days.”

  He wished he could give her joy like that every day, but he knew his life wasn’t right for her.

  Once they finished chatting about their reactions, they headed toward Dilback’s Ridge. The first part of the trail was relatively flat, and the sunlight streaming through the pine forest was beautiful.

  After thirty minutes, the path steepened, but they kept their pace fast. The air cooled as they climbed higher, which added to their ability to keep going. He kept glancing back at Henla, but she was holding up well. She was a strong woman.

  Jude stopped. “I think we should drink some water. We can eat when we reach the top.”

  He liked that Jude, too, always looked out for her. Sometimes it was easy to get lost in the woods and not be aware of anything but the rich air and the freedom that it brought. He allowed himself to relax since they were so far from the underground. He doubted any lions patrolled this area, which added to the enjoyment.

  She drank what Jude offered her and caught her breath. “It’s so pretty here. I’ve only been in the mountains a few times, and that’s when my family would go on vacation.”

  He glanced around, trying to see the tall peaks from her point of view. “As you can imagine, the wolves don’t wander here often either.” His voice trailed off as he immersed himself in the expanse of the world.

  She inhaled and slapped her thighs. “Okay. I’m ready.”

  She probably could sense his excitement, though if she was thinking about the amazing sex he had planned, she probably was as eager as he to reach their destination. After they enjoyed the view from the top, he wanted to take her to a campsite he’d scoped out that was only big enough for them. It was nestled under tall pines but had a small opening where they could see the stars.

  As soon as he caught sight of the break in the trees, he knew they were nearly to the top. His pace quickened, probably because his cock was itching to explore her delicious body. She wasn’t ready yet to take both of them, but after today, she would be. The only problem with coming back to see her was he was falling deeper and deeper in love with her.

  * * * *

  She couldn’t believe she was going to be able to spend the night outside and actually feel safe. Of late, Taryn and Kellum were too busy to take her, and her younger brother, Rickter, was involved with his friends and going to school. It was a shame that he acted as though he had no interest in spending much time with her. Someday he’d realize that family always came first.

  The path finally leveled out, and from the blue sky above they were at the top of the ridge.

  Kranor took hold of her hand. “The best view is through here.”

  Excitement sizzled through her. She could view the mountains from the plains, but to actually be on top looking out would be wonderful.

  They parted a tree branch and stepped out onto a rock face. The glorious vista took her breath away. Anterra was vast and yet she’d never explored it much.

  “Have you ever been down there?” She nodded to the plains below.

  Kranor nodded. “There’s nothing there.”

  “How do you know?” She always wondered if maybe the birds could shift or other small animals but she wasn’t able to detect them.

  His eyes twinkled. “My senses are finely tuned, my little one.”

  She laughed, clearly having gotten his alpha gene on guard. “I’m just saying there could be animals we aren’t even aware who can shift.”

  He glanced at Jude. They exchanged thoughts but she wasn’t privy to the conversation. She could just tell they’d spoken.

  “You do know that it’s rude to talk in front of someone.” She wasn’t mad, but it did kind of bother her, especially if they happened to be in the throes of lovemaking and one was licking her pussy and the other teasing her nipples. They had to be communicating because they always knew when to stop and when to start again.

  “Would you like to hear what we said?” Kranor’s lips curled up at the ends and dimpled his cheeks.

  “Yes.”

  “Jude wondered when we were going to the campground so we could eat.”

  “Eat what?” She knew she was basically begging them to feast on her, but teasing them came so naturally.

  “I think you know.”

  Damn. He was reading her mind.

  Jude leaned over. “If you’ve had your fill of the view, perhaps we can take this to a more comfortable spot and you can have your fill of us.”

  Now they were really communicating. “I’d like that.”

  Kranor grinned. “This way, my love.”

  My love? That was just an expression, bu
t he’d put the emphasis on the L word, causing her hopes to rise. She knew they’d never live in lion territory and she wasn’t eager to live the lonely life with them.

  Stop thinking about the future and enjoy the present.

  The campsite was less than a five-minute walk. They followed a narrow path between wild berry bushes to get to the site. They took off their backpacks and unzipped them.

  Jude pulled out three bags. “Lunch.”

  “I’m glad you brought something. I was worried you’d have to go hunting.” That would have taken time and delayed their lovemaking.

  “I read your mind.”

  He probably could tell by her face what she wanted. “Can I help?”

  Kranor pulled out a rather large but thin sheet and spread it on the ground that was already padded with pine needles. “Get comfortable.” He winked.

  The air temperature and slight breeze was perfect. To add to the atmosphere, she slipped off her top and took off her shoes. She lifted her hips to slip off her skirt when Jude rushed over.

  “Wait. If I see your pussy, I won’t be able to concentrate.”

  She laughed at his exaggeration, though she had to admit thinking about sucking on their cocks made her forget about food, too.

  As she leaned back to watch her men prepare the picnic, she detected a small stream gurgling in the background though she didn’t see it. She watched Jude set out the meal and Kranor prepare their lean-to, which she suspected would be used only if it rained, and noted how well they worked in tandem. Where one was a bit hotheaded, the other seemed to accept his friend’s quirks and balanced them so well.

  She truly had to force away the knowledge that their time together might end.

  “Ready to eat?” Jude held out a plate of fruit, sliced meat, and a chunk of bread slathered in butter.

  “Looks divine.”

  “Not as divine as you, but I know you need to keep up your strength in order to survive the very long night of lovemaking.”

  She giggled. “Did I agree somewhere that I want to make love to you two handsome men?”

  Once Kranor finished with their shelter, he strode over and planted his hands on his hips and widened his legs. It looked like he was fighting to keep the smile off his face. “You will do what we say, woman.”