by Maia Star
It’s quickly apparent that Maxen is faster than me while in our human forms, and soon enough, I lose him entirely. Angry beyond comprehension, I burst out onto the street. I nearly run into a couple walking side by side but I dance around them, frantically looking for Maxen’s bulky frame.
“Hey, watch it, man!” the guy tells me.
I whip around and grab his shoulders. “Did you see a big, grizzly guy run through here?”
The guy is stunned and shakes his head. “No! Let go of me.”
Wrenching himself out of my grip, he places a hand on his lady friend and hurries them both away.
When I turn around next, I’m standing face to face with scowling Reed. I hang my head in frustration.
Chapter Twenty-One
Erika
I’m still laying on the couch, my eyes glued to the TV screen, when Sven moves into the kitchen.
We haven’t spoken since he went outside to call Reed about helping Hayden. Ever since, it’s been radio silence and Sven’s been pacing back and forth. His nervous energy is spreading over the entire apartment, so I’m glad he’s finally deciding to spend his time actually doing something. Though, I will admit, listening to the constant, heavy thumps of his feet were lulling me to sleep.
As I continue to lay still, Sven makes a lot of noise far behind me, eagerly opening the squeaking fridge and grabbing all sorts of wrapped packages and glassware and clanging them on the counter.
“Erika, want to cook with me?” he calls.
I jerk at my name, and after a few seconds, I turn to look him in the eyes. He isn’t smiling, not like he was earlier. His eyes are bordered by his creased brows and the hard lines under his eyes speak volumes about his concerns for his clanmates. But I also see courage, enough to force me to climb to my feet and trudge over.
Neither of us can stop thinking about Maxen, Hayden, and Reed. It’s been hours now, and I’m not sure what to make of that. All I can do is look to Sven.
He unwraps a mound of beef and slams it down on a cutting board. The cutting board shakes from his sheer strength, and I can see tiny cracks appear down the middle. Sven doesn’t notice; he just flips a knife around in his hand and points the handle at me. “Mind cutting this up into manageable chunks?”
“Sure,” I say. My voice is odd, almost foreign. “I’ll do my best.”
“That’s all I can ask for.”
The front door bangs open and I imagine Maxen sauntering in...luckily, that isn’t the case.
The first to walk in is Hayden, looking grim, his shoulders a bit slumped. When he catches my eye, his face twists and he stops in his tracks.
“Move already,” Reed hisses as he shuffles past Hayden. Reed looks equally as frustrated and angry.
Both are covered in sweat, and their clothes are ripped and torn. Dirt and dust dot their skin, and both are bleeding from a few cuts and bruises here and there. Just watching them trudge into Street House is making me fidgety. I can’t stop glancing between the two.
Sven is at my side, gazing over his clanmates. “I don’t like those expressions on your faces. Did you catch him or not?”
“No,” Hayden says, climbing onto a stool in front of me. “We lost him.”
The full impact of those four words hits me instantly. So Maxen was good enough to slip away from two dragon shifters? It isn’t any surprise the thought scares the living hell out of me. I can’t stop trembling now.
“No, you lost him. There's a big difference there,” Reed says.
“Don’t give me that crap, Reed,” Hayden says. “Just because I found him first doesn’t mean you’re blameless here. We scoured the city for hours afterward. So yes, we lost him.”
Reed snaps his head up, glaring at Hayden. Sparks are beginning to fly. “We wouldn’t have lost him if you had just captured him the second you found him. But you didn’t. You got your ass kicked, and because you screwed up, he was able to flee.”
“So I misjudged his fighting skills. Sue me. But if you had gotten there fast enough, none of this would have happened in the first place. We could have overwhelmed him.”
“Fuck you!”
“Guys,” I whisper, not trusting my voice to speak.
Sven slaps the counter, and both Hayden and Reed turn their glares on him. “You two need to simmer down. You’re scaring Erika.”
It’s like both men have only just seen me. Regret fills their angry gazes as they glance at me and look away.
“You should have come too, Sven,” Reed says. “We had a chance to catch him, but we didn’t have the manpower.”
Sven shakes his head. “Nuh-uh, you’re not shifting the blame to me now. If I had left, who would have protected Erika? Who would have been there to fight if Maxen had shown up out of the blue?”
Reed claws at the counter, clearly torn up over the whole thing. “But it wouldn’t have mattered since we all knew where Maxen was to begin with. If we had captured him then and there, Erika’s protection wouldn’t have mattered!”
“No, maybe Maxen hired others to slip in when all three of us left,” Sven continues. “I know you’re exhausted, Reed, but you need to learn to use your head more.”
“Oh, just shut up!” Reed exclaims. “I’m doing the best I can.”
“It isn’t enough,” Hayden mutters.
Reed is on Hayden before I can blink, and the two are falling to the ground, wrestling and throwing punches. They’re snarling at each other.
I scream at them to stop, but they don’t seem to hear me. Only Sven rushes forward to grab them each by the collar and drag them off. They try to leap at each other again, but I force myself in between them, placing a hand on both of their chests. They both shudder at my touch, and their anger seems to subside for now. But mine hasn’t.
“Why are you acting like children?” I say, tears bubbling in my eyes. I can barely see through those tears, yet I snap my head back and forth. “I didn’t hire you to fight each other. You’re supposed to save that for Maxen! Or did you forget about that?”
All three shifters are staring at me now, and I feel like I can’t breathe.
“All I want is a normal life...why can’t you help me create that?” I ask quietly.
I’m about to burst into tears, so I turn and run towards the door. If I stay, I might suffocate.
Ignoring the shouts of the others, I run up the steps and into the fresh air. It’s night now, and I’m finally able to breathe. Without looking back, I run off to find a place to calm myself down.
Chapter Twenty-Two
Reed
The second Erika runs out, I’m at a loss.
I didn’t mean to antagonize Hayden and Sven to the point she burst into tears. What the hell is wrong with me?
I silently reach towards her back as she opens the front door, but then Hayden slips by me and runs after her. “You two stay here in case Maxen shows up! I’ll go after her.”
And before I know it, Hayden is out the door as well, leaving Sven and me behind. Again.
I want to go after them myself, not wanting to leave Erika alone with Hayden. She’s supposed to be mine, not his or Sven’s, yet Hayden is always the fastest and the boldest when it comes to these situations. Who will Erika remember helped her after today? Will it be me, the guy she slept with to work off steam? Or will it be Hayden, the shifter who went and talked to her after we all got into a fight?
Shaking myself, I take a step towards the door, but Sven grabs my shoulder. “Give it a rest, Reed. Hayden’s right: Maxen could have followed you both here, and he could show up any second thinking Erika is still inside.”
I slap his hand off and snarl at him. “And you're just gonna let him earn her good graces like that? I thought you wanted her too, Sven.”
“I do...but I also genuinely want her to be happy.” He walks back around the kitchen counter, picking up the knife Erika had left and beginning to cut into the meat. “Right now, Hayden might be the best choice to lift her spirits.”
I
snort, but...deep down, I know he’s right. “It’s still bullshit, though.”
“Oh, you’re gonna let bullshit stop you?”
“Make up your damn mind, Sven,” I say.
Sven actually chuckles. “Listen, if you want to get her to fall for you harder, you’re going to have to make it up for starting this little fight. Show her how you can overcome this.”
My gaze softens, and I stare at my clanmate. “You know, giving me advice right now will only hurt your chances.”
Sven grins. “Like hell it will. We may not be blood-related, but we’re brothers, Reed.” His grin widens. “Besides, I can easily claim her before you can.”
Anger and joy swirl inside of my stomach wildly as he talks, and I can’t help but laugh with a frown on my face.
“Careful, you look like the devil right now, laughing like that.”
“Uh-huh, and you look like an amateur chef who’s seen better days, grandpa.”
Sven scowls at me, but I reach forward and pat him on the shoulder. “Oh, calm down. But seriously, though, thanks, Sven. Sometimes I wonder what I’d do without you and Hayden.”
“Oh, I’m sure you’d survive. As impatient as you can be sometimes, you’ve got a brain on you.”
Shaking my head, I watch as he sweeps the cut chunks of beef into a pan. “Back to the whole issue of who gets to claim Erika...you know what that means, right?” Sven raises an eyebrow. “It means that none of us will be able to live with each other again. Our whole relationship will change, Sven. None of us can probably admit how strongly we want her, and if she ends up choosing me, the right choice, you guys might not be able to handle it.”
Sighing, Sven turns on the burner. “Such a downer, aren’t you? Besides, she isn’t going to choose you, because of course, she’s going to choose me.”
“And again, like hell.”
As we talk, the front door swings open gently behind us. Turning, I look to see if Hayden or Erika will come in first.
But I don’t see either one. Rather, a bulky, hairy man has come in.
Chapter Twenty-Three
Erika
I know Hayden is following me as I jog down the street and turn into a nearby park. I can hear his feet slap the ground, his running measured to keep a short distance away from me.
But as I come to a stop in the park, bending over and clutching my knees to draw some air into my lungs, I realize he’s been simply guarding me. He let me run to work off all the steam, not forcing me to stop. I’m grateful because it really does feel like most of my emotions have simmered down.
Standing up straight, I look over my shoulder, still panting, gazing as he stands in the entrance of the park, watching me with a smile. “Mind if I come closer?”
I hesitate, but ultimately nod and wave him on. So Hayden walks up to me, pointing at a nearby bench. “Let’s sit down for a bit and talk. We can take our time. How about it, partner?”
I nod again, too exhausted to trust myself to speak.
On the bench, Hayden lets me sit down first and then scoots in next to me. He smiles at me as we both lean against the metal back and just breathe. We sit in silence for a few minutes, though it’s not long until Hayden can’t help himself from talking.
“So…” he begins, “what’s your ideal normal life?”
Blinking, I nearly laugh. “That’s not the question I was expecting.”
“And what were you expecting me to ask?”
“Oh, you know, the usual questions. Like how are you feeling? What did you think about that fight you just saw? Stuff like that.”
Hayden chuckles. “I already know how you feel about that little bickering session. I don’t think anyone is confused about why you ran out. Honestly, if I were in your shoes, I’d want some fresh air too. It’s hard to watch people you care about tear each other apart, right?”
I smile. “Oh, so now you think I care about you guys?”
“You’d be lying if you said you didn’t.”
“I suppose.”
“But back to my original question. What’s your ideal normal life?” When I gaze at him, his smile is like a blinding light. “I let you escape this one.”
Folding my hands together, I look up at the night sky. The stars are shining bright, unaware of everything that’s happening far below. I wish I could fly up to them, away from all this madness, and then I realize that with Hayden’s help, I probably could. I turn to him fully.
“My ideal normal life is simple, really. I just want a cozy place to live, a great group of friends, a boyfriend who’ll stick by my side through thick and thin…” Hayden stiffens, but his smile never disappears. “I want a life where I don’t have to look over my shoulder every other minute.”
“Yeah, that makes sense.”
“Most of all...I just want to be loved by someone who genuinely cares about me,” I say, feeling him scoot even closer. His breath brushes my neck even from here, and I shiver.
When I look over to him, he leans in and kisses me. I’m surprised, but I don’t pull away.
His lips are searingly hot, and even if I don’t want to pull away, I just can’t handle the sheer heat. Leaving my lips, he moves onto my neck, planting burning kisses all over.
“I’ll love you forever, Erika, if you’ll give me the chance,” he says into my neck.
I begin to pant again, my worries melting at his touch. “You want to do it out here? In public?”
“It’s hotter,” he growls. Then he looks up. “No one’s around. We’ll be fine.”
At his insistence, I can’t help but work my fingers into his clothing. I’m lifting his shirt, forcing it over his head. He works with mine, and then we play a game as we go back and forth, kissing and pulling each other’s clothes off one at a time. We laugh and stand and dance and kiss until we’re naked.
Once we are, we hold each other. A car drives by in the distance, not seeing us, yet I can’t help but press my cheeks to his chest, trying to hide myself in his body. He’s so warm and comfortable. I could hold him all night.
When he lifts my head and I stare into his piercing blue eyes, my heart stammers, and all I want is to love him.
Hayden wraps his arms under my butt and lifts me, my legs dangling on either side of his waist. I hang onto his neck, staring deep into his eyes as he lowers me onto his hips. I groan and gasp. He grunts into my neck. I squirm at the sensation of feeling him inside me. We stay there like that, glancing around, watching for anyone walking nearby. When we don’t see anyone, Hayden begins to move his hips back and forth, lifting me up and down.
I bounce slowly at first, and then faster and harder. I begin to lose my mind, the park lamps beginning to look like stars in the night sky. His body is rock hard, but he feels amazing. I try to stifle my moans, and I have to resort to biting my lip and smashing my face against his shoulder.
Hayden is going wild now. His movement is sending skin-tingling shockwaves through my body. I try to stay sane and remember where I am, but that all goes out the window as my mind and body melt in his arms. Hayden’s all that matters. I love him, I want him, and I’m so happy.
Stiffening, Hayden growls. “Here it comes…”
My body fills up with the most intense heat I’ve ever felt. I nearly blackout from the sheer pleasure of it all. I don't even realize that I’m digging my nails into his back so hard I’m drawing blood. Hayden kisses my neck as he relaxes.
The world is moving around me...no, wait, the world isn’t moving: it’s me. My back touches the cold ground and Hayden is looming above me. He’s panting like a wild animal, adjusting himself over me. And then he enters again and we go another round.
Hayden grabs my wrists and pushes them above my head as I rock back and forth on the ground. I completely forget that we’re in public, so I cry out his name. “Hayden, Hayden, Hayden!”
He goes even faster, wilder. I can't tell at this point that I’m rocking since the ecstasy is overwhelming me. All I can see is his beautiful face
as it scrunches up seconds later, his body going still and stiff. He grunts. “Damn!” And then he’s erupting, his heat pouring into me.
I must have blacked out from the pleasure, because the next thing I know, Hayden is next to me on the ground, running his fingers across my cheek, twirling one of my auburn locks.
“How are you feeling?” he asks.
“Better than have in a while,” I say, smiling at him. Love for him is bursting out of me and I touch his face. I’m falling for him, no questions about it. Along with Reed and Sven, I can easily see Hayden as my lover down the road...but how can I choose between all three? Do I even want to? What would happen if I did? Would my choice tear apart their friendship? “How about you?”
“Great! In fact,” Hayden blinks, “I think now may be a good time to tell you...but maybe it won’t come as a shock. Sven, Reed, and I, we all want to claim you as our mate.”
I blink too, trying to process that information. “What exactly does that mean?”
“It means we all want you to be our lovers until the day we die.” He traces my lips with a finger, smiling from ear to ear. “It’s why we get so heated with each other. We all want you, yet only one of us can have you. It’s frustrating as all hell.”
As I lay there and Hayden’s words sink in, I’m not sure exactly how I feel about that just yet, but what I do know is that all three would be great lovers. I want them all.
So what should I do?
Chapter Twenty-Four
Sven
When I look up to see the bulky man walk inside our apartment, I know exactly who it is.
Broad and tall, with dark hair and plenty of tattoos peeking out from under his torn shirt and jeans, this can be none other than Erika’s ex-boyfriend. Tufts of bear fur are snagged on his shirt.
Reed shoots to his feet. “Maxen, so you really did follow us here.”