Tiger Tail: Shifter Romance

by Sky Winters

  There was that deep chuckle of his again. “No, no,” he said. “I’ve just been busy with work. You know how summer can be, with the heat knocking out power and stuff. At least there weren’t any storms.”

  Aww, she did not want to talk about the weather with Luke. “Oh, I guess I can’t blame you for that, then. I’ve been busy too, though my job’s nowhere near as exciting as yours…”

  Talking about work was not any better.

  “Heh,” he said. “So listen. I was thinking that, since it’s my day off again, you might want to come out with me to Vermonster again.”

  Jolene chuckled a bit. “Do you live there?”

  He laughed back. “Pretty much… So what do you say? Are you in?”

  She would honestly go anywhere with him. The bar had been pretty cool, though Jolene could not remember every detail of their first time there… Their first night together. “Sounds good,” she said. “I’m going to end up addicted to those—what were they called?—Vermillion something or others.”

  “I could tell you liked them,” Luke teased. “Every time I blinked, I had to get you a new one.”

  “That is not true!” she laughed. “You did not have to keep getting them for me.”

  “Yeah, sure.”

  She could almost imagine his face, the way he was smiling. She knew that he was smiling. It was so evident in his wonderful, growly voice. Luke sounded like he had smoked for years but then quit fairly recently. Jolene did not feel like she needed to worry about his health; the effects of past mistakes lingered but were benign.

  “I’ll pick you up in about an hour?” he offered then. “I hope you’re stocked up on Pop-Tarts.”

  Jolene was all set to answer with a clever retort, but he ended the call before she could say anything. She stared at her phone, attempting to memorize his number by keeping her eyes on it, and then she swiftly saved it in his contacts.

  Luke.

  She put him in her phone as Luke. No last name needed. No explanation.

  Her bedroom was a wreck. She had been in such a funk that she hadn’t done laundry yet, and therefore she had to wear a long-sleeved black and white striped sweater and some dark jeans. The jeans were very tight on her, a fact that did not help Jolene feel better about this new date. She was nervous and excited, and when she got nervous and excited she sometimes felt like just staying in bed was a better option…

  The sweater looked nice on her, at least. She rolled up the sleeves so she would not die of heat stroke. At least Vermont was not volcanically hot.

  It didn’t take Luke long to come to her cottage. Jolene heard the familiar purr of his motorcycle in her driveway and rushed to open the front door before he was even off of his bike. He even still had his black helmet on.

  She swiftly locked her front door, threw her bag over her shoulder and went out to him. She threw her arms around his shoulders in greeting. Luke grinned a devilishly handsome grin at her, obviously glad to see that she was so pleased to see him. He was always willing to have his ego stroked.

  “Hey, you,” he said. “Hop on and let’s go somewhere.”

  “Are you sure you don’t want to stay a minute?” she asked him, placing her hand into his pocket and feeling around for the edge of his cock, which she rubbed up against as soon as she could find it.

  “Whoa!” he said with a laugh. “Well, I can’t exactly turn that down.”

  Luke got off his bike and secured his helmet in the storage space before following Jolene back up to the house. She unlocked the door, which made him laugh. “Why did you even lock the door if you wanted to come back in?”

  She smiled at him. “I wasn’t sure you’d say yes.”

  Once the door was open, they rushed inside, holding hands. They threw off each other’s clothes on the way to her bedroom, leaving a trail of clothing in their wake. By the time they reached her bed, they were naked. He took charge however and moved her to the closet instead. He closed the door of it and held her up against it, taking her from behind.

  Jolene let out a yelp when he entered her, stretching her and not even pausing before thrusting fast and hard against her. She loved it so fucking much. “H’ahhh,” she shouted, clutching the doorframe as best as she could. She brought a hand to the doorknob and turned it to and fro. She rocked and gyrated against him, feeling like she would lose her footing.

  Luke grabbed her by the waist and carried her that way to the bed. He threw her down against the mattress, and then proceeded to take her that way, holding her down by her wrists as he plowed into her. “Yeah, take that,” he growled at her. “Take that, you little slut.”

  Jolene groaned and squirmed against him. “Mmm, yeah. Yeah, I like that. Ohh, Luuuke.”

  It was not long before, in their frantic, lustful fucking, they came together, unleashing their fluids into and onto each other.

  There was nothing for it; Jolene was going to need to do laundry that night.

  Mutually pleased and grinning, they went into the bathroom and cleaned each other up with some toilet paper. She could see that his big cock was still throbbing and it made her pleased as punch.

  A quickie was a good way to start the evening. They put their clothes back on and went out again to actually climb aboard the motorcycle and go somewhere. Luke seemed supremely amused as he watched her lock the door again.

  He climbed onto the bike and snapped on his helmet while he waited for her. She noticed that the smile had not left his face since he had arrived. Jolene took a great deal of pride in making him so happy. She didn’t know how the hell she did it, but she would take it as the best compliment.

  She put on her helmet and got onto the motorcycle behind Luke, carefully wrapping her arms around his middle so she wouldn’t fall off. She was a lot more confident about riding that thing ever since they had ridden it while drunk during a storm. She could not believe herself sometimes. That was totally not a thing to proud of, and yet she was.

  Neither of them had gotten hurt, so…

  Luke drove the bike back to Vermonster. She was starting to think that he owned shares in it or something. Maybe his electrician business was just so he could help fund the club.

  “Okay,” Jolene said with a sly smirk as she got off the bike. “Cut me off after five Vermillion Vipers, okay?”

  He laughed. “Five? That’s ambitious.”

  “I don’t come here to not get at least a little tipsy,” she said. “Do you think I’m a lightweight?”

  “No never,” Luke replied, chuckling and shaking his head a little as he followed her into the club. They went up to the bar together to order their drinks this time. She hadn’t realized before that everyone in the place was dressed like they were part of a motorcycle club as well. Were they members of the Lone Wolves?

  “Is it just me or does your motorcycle club have like a million members?” she asked him as she examined everyone else in the bar.

  Maybe it was just her, but leather attire and metal-spiked collars and wristbands indicated ‘motorcycle rider’ to her.

  Luke laughed again. “There’s not a million of us, but yeah. There are a lot of members. Why? Do you wanna join?”

  The idea of Jolene being in a motorcycle club was laughable. “Uh, well, I don’t have a bike. But I’m in marketing? I could be your club’s marketing advisor?”

  They laughed together and took their drinks from the gruff bartender. Luke led them over to a high table with stools. They sat down. Jolene’s stool was slightly wobbly which was like an omen. She was in for another fun night.

  After their several glasses of highly-alcoholic drinks, Luke took Jolene by the hand and brought her out to the dancefloor. She felt like she was experiencing déjà-vu but that was not necessarily a bad thing. It was a memory of a good time. When they hit the floor, she brought her arms up around Luke’s neck and swayed with him.

  Suddenly, she saw someone across the room who looked just like Luke.

  “Now I know I’ve had too much to drink,�
� she said jokingly. She nodded her head towards the tall, dark, and handsome man across the way.

  Luke looked over and smiled at little. She could not help but notice that it was not exactly a happy smile… “Oh, yeah. I suppose I should introduce you.” He took Jolene by the hand and led her over to the stranger. “Jolene McNulty, this is my twin brother Zebe. Zebe, this is Jolene.”

  A flash of recognition came over Zebe’s eyes. Jolene had a funny feeling that she had seen him before. Well, obviously. She was dating his twin brother. Although…

  She giggled a little, imagining a Prince and the Pauper type situation was going on. She had read too many books and drunk too many Vipers. That was all.

  “It’s a pleasure to meet you,” she said to Zebe, giving him a smile.

  He tilted his head a bit after and she got a sense that he wanted to say something but was holding back. “It’s good to see you.”

  “You should come sit at our table,” Jolene invited.

  Luke appeared less than enthused, but he didn’t say anything. The three of them sat back down at the tall table. Zebe pulled a stool over so he could join them. He sat beside his brother, looking across the table at Jolene with a strange, contemplative sort of expression on his face. She could not figure him out. Maybe if she weren’t so buzzed, she would have been able to understand why he was looking at her so strangely.

  Suddenly, Zebe scratched at his neck and she noticed a crescent moon shaped birthmark on it. It was near the back of his ear and it looked a bit like a brand. She realized that she had seen that exact mark on Luke the other day!

  Weird. Did twins usually have the same birthmark? Jolene didn’t know much about twins except that they could be identical or fraternal. These two were clearly identical.

  She narrowed her eyes a bit, trying to find the birthmark on Luke’s neck. Leaning forward, she kissed him on the mouth, moving towards his neck to kiss him there too. She was subtle, making sure Luke wouldn’t know she was searching for the birthmark on him.

  It wasn’t there. He didn’t have it. She sat back in her chair.

  That could only mean one thing…

  She fixed a stare on Zebe, and his eyes flashed. The corners of his mouth lifted up into a shy smile.

  The man who had brought the casserole… The man she had pounced on and had passionate sex with…

  That man had not been Luke. That man had been his twin brother, Zebe!

  Jolene felt sick to her stomach. She excused herself from the table, not knowing what to do, and went to the bathroom to throw up. The alcohol was finally getting to her. Well, that along with the realization that she had had sex with a complete stranger while dating his brother… without knowing! God, she felt horrible. So that was why he’d run away when she called him Luke! Zebe probably thought she was insane. She had been so brazen, so openly affectionate, and the guy had not known what was going on.

  To be fair, Zebe hadn’t exactly resisted. He had sex with her of his own free will. Jolene felt like she should be angry at him. He could have spoken up! How could she trust him now?

  But she remembered the way he had held her. He had been so gentle with her, so warm and loving… Luke was a rough, hot lover but Zebe was so tender with her… That should have been her first clue that something was up.

  Jolene sighed, walking back to the table. She couldn’t be mad at Zebe. It had been an honest mistake. A stupid, shitfaced mistake, but a mistake nonetheless.

  She got the feeling that Luke would not see it that way. They weren’t officially monogamous or anything, but she knew that he was gruff and possessive just based on the way he acted about her. There was no way he would take this news lightly. Jolene wondered if she should even tell him.

  She sat back down at the table and Zebe continued to make eyes at her, giving her little lingering smiles and being awkwardly quiet.

  “Jolene hasn’t been in town too long, but we’ve already been here together, what, twice? Three times?” Luke looked over at her for confirmation and caught her looking at Zebe.

  “Uh, yeah,” she said, focusing back on Luke. “You’ve really helped to keep me from staying in my cottage all day.” She smiled appreciatively at Luke. She truly was appreciative. Except… now she didn’t know which of them had done what.

  “We’ve met,” Zebe revealed then. “I brought over a casserole for her, to welcome her to town.”

  Jolene blushed, wondering how Luke was going to take this news. She was worried that Zebe was going to anger him just by mentioning that.

  Sure enough, Luke suddenly caught wind of what was going on, what had happened between his brother and Jolene. He growled—literally growled—at Zebe.

  “You and me,” he said darkly. “Outside. Now.”

  Jolene attempted to place her hand on his arm and calm him down, but Luke was not having it. He rushed outside with Zebe who, for some reason, was going along with it. Compelled to go watch them, as if she would be able to stop them from fighting, Jolene followed them and wondered whose side she was on. Logic said that she should side with Luke, since he was the one she thought she was with the whole time.

  However, her heart told her something different…

  She got to the doorway and then let out a scream when she saw the twin brothers turn into wolves! That couldn’t have happened. That did not make any sense. How much had she had to drink? She couldn’t remember if she’d had one drink or two, and now she was starting to feel scared. What she thought she was seeing could not be real… Could it? The more she thought about it, trying to rationalize it even though it seemed remarkably irrational, she realized that this could explain a few of the random things that had happened. This whole time, Luke had been gruff and snarly because he was a werewolf! He was far more than just a run of the mill bad boy. He was a fucking werewolf. That was why they were called the Lone Wolves. And because they were twins, Zebe was one, too.

  “Jesus…” she said, watching the wolves bite and snap at each other. “Oh god!” She knew that she should have been running. But something about the two men that she had growing passion for meant that she stayed there in that doorway, watching them a little longer than she should have. Not only was she terrified of what she was seeing, but she also had this strange feeling that she had to know who would win.

  CHAPTER FIVE

  The Werewolf Twins

  As she watched the werewolf twins fight each other, she brought her hands up to the sides of her face, yelling even though they were not listening to her. Luke appeared to be the more dominant one, the Alpha, which did not surprise her at all. He bit into the flesh of his brother and threw him down onto the ground. Despite being the more submissive one, Zebe held his own and fought back each time, unafraid to go for the throat in order to get free.

  Jolene could not take it anymore. This was all too much for her. She’d wanted a bad boy rebound, but this was way more than she had been anticipating. Reason took over and snapped her back to sobriety. She started running from the club, not really knowing where she was going apart from away. Even if this was some kind of dream or illusion, she could not be there anymore.

  Suddenly, someone stopped her, tackling her to the ground. Dazed, Jolene looked up at the person who was on top of her, keeping her down and preventing her from running. It was a woman, dressed in leather with metal studs. Clearly someone from the bar and the club that Luke loved so much.

  “Stay down,” this woman said. She had blond hair cut into a spiky pixie cut. Her ears were covered with earrings of various shapes and sizes. As she looked down at Jolene, her eyes appeared more gold than anything. Was she one of them?

  “What is going on?” Jolene asked her. She was not going to attempt to fight this stranger. The woman was clearly stronger than her, though shorter. “Who are you?”

  The strange woman looked from her to the fighting wolves nearby. Jolene tilted her head just enough to be able to watch them as well. Luke and Zebe were really attacking each other, unafraid to go for bl
ood. Jolene could not believe it. Weren’t twins supposed to be extremely close? She supposed that, since they were wolves, the normal rules did not apply.

  “You weren’t supposed to see this,” the woman said. “My name is Anjelica, but that isn’t important.” She moved her hands over Jolene’s belly, making Jolene blush out of embarrassment and surprise that yet another stranger from this club was feeling her up.

  “Are you like them?” Jolene asked nervously.

  “Also unimportant,” Anjelica said. “But yes.” Her eyes widened. “Just as I suspected… Wait here!”

  Suddenly, this Anjelica person—werewolf?—stood up and shouted to the men who were so viciously at each other’s throats.

  “The bitch is pregnant!” she bellowed to them. “She’s pregnant with twins!”

  Luke and Zebe looked over, ears perking up on top of their heads. They were locked in struggle but they quickly got off of each other, licking their wounds, and came over to investigate.

  As they approached, Anjelica’s words sunk in for Jolene.

  Pregnant. She was pregnant. And not just with one baby, but two! And not just two babies, but two werewolf babies?!

  As Zebe and Luke got closer and closer, her vision became clouded over. This was too much for her. This was all too much for her. Before they could fully reach her side, Jolene fainted.

  The first thing she noticed was voices. Jolene did not want to open her eyes. She had been having such a weird dream, and she was afraid that if she opened her eyes, it might confirm that none of it had actually been a dream and it was all true.

  “Jolene?” the familiar voice of Zebe—or was it Luke—asked her.

  She felt something warm and wet on her forehead. It must have been some kind of a cloth. Had she fallen down? She knew now that she had not imagined Luke—or Zebe?—at the very least.

  “It must all have been a shock to her,” another voice said. This one was female and familiar as well… that young woman from Jolene’s dream.

  Slowly, Jolene opened her eyes. Three people were staring down at her, two of them identical. Luke and Zebe Weir. What had happened? Was she still in the club?