by Elle Boon
“Oh, that sounds very cavemanish. I think I likey.”
River pulled Sky’s face toward him. “You alright, Sky?”
Throughout the movie she seemed more touchy feely, something he and his brother would’ve enjoyed immensely, but something didn’t feel right. After the show, they both picked up their trash even though she was determined to distract them.
“Come on, leave it. The quicker we get home, the quicker we can fuck. Goodness, I feel like it’s been forever since I’ve had any D.”
Their female didn’t refer to sex so dismissively, not to their knowledge. Hell, they’d been in her mind, seen her memories and knew for a fact she didn’t think of sex as a wham bam thank you ma’am. Which begged the question of what the hell had come over Sky?
The ride back to their home was an exercise in restraint for him and River and only his brother’s quick reflexes prevented them from wrecking as the female, he wasn’t calling her Sky, because the vibe coming off of her wasn’t that of the woman they felt was theirs, kept trying to undo their jeans. He didn’t know which of them was struggling more, him or River? She wasn’t quite as aggressive toward River but watching her try to undress and use her body to get him in a state of need had to be just as bad. Goddess give him strength.
Opening their link, he dismissed his promise to Sky about not using their private twin link, finding the same worry he felt reflected back at him. Sky’s mind seemed to be conflicted when they tried to look into her emotions. A new wall was up, different than the one they were used to seeing. “Does this wall look odd to you?”
River’s growl echoed through their link. “It’s darker, almost like an oil spill would look, only if I touch it with my mind, I feel the instant need to recoil. I’ve never had that reaction with anyone before, not even Sky. You?”
He searched around the mystical wall, searching for any clue as to what it was or how it was formed. A slight fissure in the corner pulled him toward it. He could see the wall he’d seen before hidden behind the oil slick one. “River, come here. I think our girl’s been hijacked and is now being blocked. Look at this.”
His twin’s mind joined his, the anger rolling off him added to his own. “Let’s get this fucker out of our mate.”
“I’m all for that, but how do we do it?” River asked.
“Slide between the crack here and find our girl and make her do it. She’s tougher than whoever is pretending to be her.”
“You know, I like it better when you tell me to slide between cracks that are real and...I’ll just stop now while I’m ahead,” River agreed.
Raydon lead the way, easing his mind between the small crack, hoping like hell it went where he hoped it would and that was to their not yet claimed mate. Once they kicked the intruder out, he and River would convince her they were the men for her. Goddess, he prayed she was okay.
Once through the crack, he found the space that was almost as familiar to him as his own mind...a complete chaos. “Sky,” he called out.
“Look,” River whispered.
“Holy shit,” Raydon growled as he saw what his twin pointed out. Off to the side, near what would be considered the back of someone’s mind was a huddled form. Their Sky was rocking back and forth, her hair covering her naked form. What the hell had caused her to retreat inside her own mind, and who was the imposter pretending to be her? “Hellmouth, what’s wrong?”
Sky’s head turned from where it lay on her knees, her purple eyes dull. “I can’t get out. She’s locked me in. You’re not really here either.” Her head turned back toward her knees.
It had taken all his control not to demand the female touching him inside his truck to back the fuck up. He’d looked into Sky’s amethyst eyes, wanting to see her looking at him with the desire the body was showing, but it wasn’t her—exactly. Oh, it was her body, her eyes, but not her running the show or hands. Fuck, the demanding hands had nearly had his wolf snapping out of his skin. Shit, his beast was never one to hurt a female, but he wanted Sky and only Sky. The being taking up residence in their female was not Sky. Of that, he was 100 percent sure.
He snapped back to the present at Raydon’s growled words, where he crouched next to the cowering figure of Sky. Even in her own mind, she was little more than the female they’d found all those months ago after the bastard had almost killed her. They’d both sworn to love and protect her, with their lives. “We suck at protecting our female, bro.”
In slow measured movements so as not to scare Sky, he too got down on his knees next to Raydon, lifting his hand slowly. “Sky, this is your mind, your body. Nobody can lock you in or out. You’re stronger than her, or whatever that being is,” he tried to reassure her.
Sky shook her head. “She’s stronger. She survived even after I killed her.” A tear rolled down her leg, making River’s heart clench.
“Sky, listen to me. If you killed anyone, they deserved it. If this bitch survived, well then, we’ll just kill her again. She can’t have you or your body. You’re ours, and we take care of ours. To get you, she’ll have to go through both of us, and we sure as fuck don’t want her. You’re our mate, unclaimed or not. Now, get your shit together, and let’s get that bitch out of here.” Raydon waved his arm in an arc, his tone authoritative, gentling it at the end when Sky jerked.
She lifted her head, finally meeting his and then Raydon’s stares. “You don’t understand. She was my twin, but I killed her before she could be born. All this time, she’s survived on another plane. Imagine the things she’s had to...endure. All because of me and my selfishness, even as a baby,” she hiccupped a cry.
River stared over at his twin, then back to Sky. “Love, let me tell you a secret. See that ugly bastard over there?” He pointed to Raydon, waiting until she looked back at him. “We were in the womb together, but I have no recollection of that time. How ‘bout you, Rye?”
Raydon shook his head. “Sky, babies don’t have a nefarious bone in their tiny little bodies, especially ones in their mother’s womb. Whatever that being has said, she or it is full of shit.”
“Start from the beginning and how you know who this female is and how you know she’s telling the truth.” River tried to keep his tone neutral yet forced authority out. Sky was usually dominate with the infusion of Lula in her DNA. However, she was truly a bit broken.
“She’s a chimera. I don’t know how or why, but somehow, she reconnected with me the other day. I felt a weird burning sensation. At first, I thought it was a dragon thing with half my body turning beet red. Then, I felt a stirring in my mind, followed by her voice. She told me...told me about her death and how she’d been waiting for a chance to come back. I built a wall in my mind to block her and her thoughts and tried to contact Lula, but she just keeps getting stronger somehow. When you opened your mind to show me your memories it was like a switch was turned on, or off. I heard her laughter. It was what you’d hear when a psycho was actually on the loose. Shit, that’s exactly what happened.” Sky shuddered.
River sat down, pulling Sky onto his lap. “What happened next?”
“She told me she was going to claim my mates that I was too scared to claim, then she’d claim my pack and take over the dragon. I don’t even know what the hell that means. I know Lula gave me a part of her to save me, but I don’t feel a dragon in me. I’m pretty sure if I could shift into a dragon I’d do it in a heartbeat.” Her eyes narrowed, voice turning into a deep growl. “She’s not claiming what’s mine.”
Raydon smiled. “Damn right she’s not. We’re yours, not some chimera’s. First, we need to force her either out of you or behind that wall you created. Then, we need to get in touch with Lula. Whoever this is, she might be from her world, or some fucked up place. Either option isn’t one we want to fuck with. We just got you, and neither River nor I will do anything to harm you.”
“I want you both so much. I was hoping after the movie we could’ve come home, and...well I was hoping you both would’ve realized I wasn’t this dam
aged female you had to wear kid gloves with anymore. Yet, here I am, cowering inside my head, needing to be saved again. Fuck me, I need to grow a set of balls,” she growled.
River laughed. “I think I speak for both Rye and I, when I say; we really don’t want you to have balls.”
She punched his chest lightly. “Figuratively speaking. A set of lady balls like Jenna or Taryn. I don’t like feeling like a weakling.”
Rubbing his chest where she’d punched him, he grabbed her hand. “Love, you don’t punch like a weakling. You just need to find your strength and keep it. We, your mates, will help you, but you can’t lock us out. Keeping secrets is dangerous. For this, our mating to work, we need you to trust us. Can you do that?”
Chapter Eight
Sky took a shaky breath, knowing her next words were going to make or break her relationship with River and Raydon. “I trust you with all of me.”
Air whooshed out of the male beneath her while the other twin reached over, plucking her from River. “Damn right you do. We’ll never give you a reason not to, either. We love you, hellmouth. Now, let’s get this bitch out or back behind a wall so thick she’ll wish she’d never tried to fuck with you. Then, you, me, and River have a mating to complete.”
She didn’t get a chance to reply before Raydon covered her lips with his. If someone would’ve asked if she thought you could kiss in your mind, she’d have said no. Heck, she wasn’t sure if she truly was kissing or if it was her imagination. Probably a mixture of both, but she was going to do all in her power to do as they said. With the strength of her soon to be mates, she knew they would win. Goddess help her, she wanted to be their mate more than she wanted her next breath and the bitch taking up residence in her mind was stopping her. A small whine from her wolf had her growling back, the sound of a dragon rumbling inside her followed, lending her strength. Oh yeah, she wasn’t a weakling. “Let’s do this. I think she took advantage of me while I was focused elsewhere. I fucked up, but I won’t again. Next time, I’ll be sure and kick the bitch in her astral lady nuts.”
Her two men gave an exaggerated shiver each, but Raydon stood with her in his arms. “Is this real? I mean, I know we’re in my head, but what’s going on outside of here? Who’s guarding your bodies against me or rather shebitch?”
River tipped her chin up to meet his lips in a sweet kiss before answering. “Well, we had a feeling something was off about you on the way home. Our first instinct is to protect you, which means we made a call to Niall. He and Zayn met with Peyton in the driveway of our home when we got there. Having a powerful Fey is quite handy. She’s handling the other, while our alpha and the second protect us and you. Trust us, we’d never leave anything up to chance when it came to you.”
“Alright, you three, I’ve got the other, who by the way is a nasty one, subdued. You ready to send her back to sleep until I can contact Jenna? She’s going to need to open a way to another realm or we need another body to put her in before we dispose of her. Yes, it’s a her. I’ll explain more once you’re out of there. Now, let’s hurry this along, shall we?” Peyton asked. She was a Fey who’d mated with the old alpha of the Mystic Pack and had power none of the shifters had. Her daughter had been the first mate to Niall before her death, leaving behind a son named Nolan who Peyton and her mate Emerson worshipped like two doting grandparents should. Her loyalty would always lay with the pack.
“You lead and we’ll follow, Peyton,” River said.
“Will this hurt River or Raydon? Should they leave my fucked up mind first?”
“Hellmouth, you best just hush before I put you over my knee in your mind, and then once we’re out, I’ll do the same in our physical bodies,” Raydon promised.
“Have you noticed that when she’s more confident, her potty mouth comes out?” River asked.
Raydon grunted, but Sky could hear he wasn’t angry. If they didn’t have what was probably an audience, she might’ve pushed him to see just what it felt like to have him put her over his knee.
“Ah, hellmouth, you’ll find out soon enough.” Raydon’s eyes flashed, a promise in their depths.
“Oh lord, I’m so going to stop projecting one day.” Her grin came quickly, then disappeared. “Okay, Peyton, we’re ready.” Goddess, she was more than ready to be back in control. Although, the thought of killing her twin, again, didn’t feel right. Damn, she’d think about the ramification and solution to her situation later.
Following the instructions Peyton gave them, Sky and the twins eased through the fissure in her mind. The slick oily feel had her almost recoiling backward. The other female’s memories flowed into her, but Sky pushed them into the corner, blocking them until she had time and energy to investigate. Blue eyes blinked back at her, eyes that she used to have. “You shouldn’t have done that.”
“Done what, escape from my own mind? No, you shouldn’t have tried to take over. Now, it’s you who needs to go back where you came from, or back behind the wall. This is my body, my soul, not yours.” Sky grasped at the energy Peyton lent her, using it like a whip, circling the other entity. Seeing the shock, then anger flash, she didn’t waste time on more words, only cracked the whip like instructed and launched the chimera back where she should’ve stayed. Raydon and River were there, building her wall back up, adding their strength alongside her own. Peyton’s magic sizzled through her, showing her how to ward her mind. The dragon she knew had been waiting inside slid beside her wolf, both beasts crouched and waiting. Once the wall was more secure than ever, she released Peyton’s magic, the beautiful gold dissipating into the air, leaving her exhausted.
“Come on, hellmouth, let’s get out of here.” River nodded toward the two beasts.
“Sounds solid to me,” she agreed, then slipped into a deep sleep but knew she was no longer locked inside her own head. The feel of soft linen and a warm body behind let her know she’d made it out and was being tucked into bed.
Raydon stared down at Sky and River. They’d agreed one of them would stay with her while she slept, and he’d lost the toss up, dammit. “Let me know when she wakes, if I’m not in here,” he growled.
River didn’t answer out loud, only lifted a hand before putting it back on their mates’ stomach. Fuck, what he wouldn’t give to say screw it and climb in beside them, but he had people in the living room, waiting for news.
He shut the door behind him, making his way into the living area, stopping off in the kitchen for a beer. The way he was feeling, a bottle of whiskey would be better. “Anyone else want a beer?” he hollered.
Grabbing three longnecks after Zayn and Niall requested one each, he popped the caps off, then carried them into the room. Niall stood by the fireplace, one booted foot resting near the hearth while he stared into the flames. His brother stood near the floor to ceiling windows that overlooked the front of the house, his back to the room. Both men were tense, while Peyton sat on the couch, almost serene with her mate, the old alpha Emerson beside her. Hell, he hadn’t even known the older wolf had arrived. “Thanks for coming, Emerson. Can I get you a drink?”
Sure, he’d already asked, but damned if he wouldn’t again. Manners didn’t go away just because shit was going sideways.
“No, thank you, son. Have a seat, all of you. Having you all standing around growling is making Peyton tense. I can’t have that, so sit, and calm yourselves,” Emerson ordered.
Peyton patted his hand. “I think it’s my mate you’re making tense, but let’s all just sit to be nice. How’s Sky feeling?” she asked.
Raydon sat down in his recliner, waiting until Niall took the other, the one his twin usually sat in. Zayn walked over and sat near the fireplace on the built-in stone bench that ran along the front. “She’s resting. Not hiding inside her mind, or whatever was happening.” He wasn’t sure how to explain what had occurred.
“From what I can tell, she’d been overtaken by a chimera. Do you know what that is?” Peyton looked at him as if she was expecting him to know the answers.
Zayn raised his hand. “A Ky whata?”
Peyton grinned. “Chimera pronounced Chi with a long I and Mira, kinda like mirror, only with an a at the end instead of the or. Make sense?”
“Hell no. None of this makes sense, but go ahead anyway.” Niall waved a hand.
“It’s believed that a chimera is a twin that dies in the womb. Said twin is then absorbed by the surviving twin. Most who have a chimera never know. Others have said they’ve felt another inside them, some have had manifestations of the twin, like a yin and yang body. One side looking different than the other. Has Sky said anything of the kind?”
Raydon sat forward. “She said everything was normal until the other day when she felt a burning sensation. That was when she noticed her body took on a red discoloration on one side. It didn’t spread to her face so neither River nor I noticed.”
Peyton nodded. “Something triggered the chimera, giving it life. This being may not even be a true manifestation of Sky, but a parasite from another, taking on the role of Sky’s twin. Do we know if she’d been a multiple?”
“Sky said her parents were never real loving toward her, nor did they have the type of relationship where they’d share such intimate things. Niall, you could alpha order them to answer?” he asked.
Niall sat with his elbows on his legs, his head hanging forward. He turned slightly. “I’m contacting them now. Give me a moment. Since they’re new to the pack, it’s not the same as one of my...own.”
Raydon wondered if that meant her parents weren’t cooperating. Time seemed to drag on while they waited, then Niall’s head came up, the alpha blue glowing. “Her parents should’ve been put down with their alpha,” he growled. “Yes, Sky was a twin. During the last month of pregnancy, the other twin stopped moving. The mother blames Sky because she was the weaker twin and said the other baby was trying to give her more in order for Sky to survive. Babies don’t have that kind of fucking power, the stupid...” Niall stopped, getting up from the chair with a low growl. “The female had to deliver both babies, but only wanted to care for the other child. I saw through her memories her disdain for Sky, and the feelings she had toward her living daughter were less than loving. I’m surprised young Sky survived that first night since both mother and father left her completely unattended, while they mourned or did whatever. I can’t see what happened as their minds went dark.”