A Thousand Years Dead [Pine Falls 1] (Siren Publishing Ménage Amour)

by Ashley Malkin

  Sean leaped from the hayloft above, wrapping his jaws around the vampire’s head as Aiden swept Kaitlyn to safety. Sean completed his leap, knocking the vampire to the ground with his claws in its back. One shake of Sean’s massive head and the vampire’s headless body sagged lifeless and bleeding onto the dirt.

  Aiden’s only regret was that the vampire had died quickly. Aiden had slated that particular vampire for a slow and immensely painful death.

  “You’re free,” Aiden said. He kissed Kaitlyn’s cheek as he cradled her in his arms.

  Chapter 19

  Sean stayed shifted as he approached Aiden and Kaitlyn. According to Aiden there was still one vampire unaccounted for and he wouldn’t let the fucker near Kaitlyn again.

  “Thank you, thank you, thank you.” Kaitlyn muttered the words over and over into Aiden’s neck as she clung tightly to him.

  “I’m sorry I failed you,” Aiden said softly. He looked as guilty as Sean felt.

  “We failed her,” Sean said. He rubbed his head against Kaitlyn’s dangling legs. Aiden squatted down and Kaitlyn threw her arms around Sean’s neck. The pain from his healing fractures shot through him, but his cat purred at the feel of its mate. She was safe and appeared unharmed.

  “Is she hurt?”

  “Sean needs to know if you’re hurt, Kaitlyn.”

  “My head hurts. They didn’t feed from me. You both stopped them.” She kissed the top of Sean’s head and his cat calmed slightly.

  “Brayden and his brothers are here.” Aiden stood to meet them and left Kaitlyn wrapped around him.

  The three wolves ran into the barn. “Which one of the vampires is missing, Kaitlyn?” Aiden asked.

  “Mayor Graves,” she mumbled against his fur. “I haven’t seen him since I woke up.”

  “I think Kaitlyn should shift,” Sean said. “I’m worried about her head injury.”

  Aiden appeared at Kaitlyn’s side and gently caressed a large bump on her temple. “Sean thinks you should shift.” She nodded her head weakly and let her cat free.

  She was the most beautiful panther, Sean’s breath caught in his throat as her cat emerged.

  “We can get you looked at by a doctor as soon as it’s safe to leave,” Aiden said. As Aiden stroked his hand down her fur, the lustrous black strands shined in the light that spilled through the holes in the roof of the old barn.

  Sean held himself close to his mate as she lay on the ground and closed her eyes. Her coat radiated warmth despite the shivers that wracked her delicate form. Aiden told him the details of Kaitlyn’s captivity directly into his mind. He was glad she didn’t have to hear their threats repeated. Sean, however, wanted to kill them again. He contained his rage for her sake.

  “They’re no longer alive, and that’s what’s important. I need to go and search for this mayor. Keep her safe.” Aiden said.

  Sean nodded and curled himself around the ball of black fur that was his life. Inhaling her scent was a balm to his frayed and irritated nerves. He calmed slightly as her aroma penetrated his cells.

  Brayden left the barn to help Aiden search. Brayden’s brothers Josh and Shane stood guard at the barn’s front and rear entries. The huge arctic wolves were ferocious. They’d suffered unspeakable horrors as pups and Brayden was the only one they were even remotely civil to. Sean liked having the feral wolf twins with him to protect Kaitlyn.

  Sean watched Kaitlyn fall into a fitful sleep and curled himself even tighter around her in an attempt to warm her and ease her continued shivering.

  “Caleb, I think she’s going into shock.” Sean reached out to his Alpha for assistance.

  “I will have Lachlan call Doctor Reed,” Caleb said. “We can no longer scent the vampires in town. I will have the patrols continue and join you shortly.” As the cats seemed to be the only ones able detect the vampires by scent, Caleb was utilizing them to protect the town.

  Sean heard the sound of an approaching truck some time later and rose quickly to stand over Kaitlyn’s sleeping form.

  “It’s Caleb,” Josh said, breaking their silent vigil.

  Aiden and Caleb walked into the barn a few minutes later. Sean relaxed a little, but his cat stubbornly refused to move from its position over its mate. “Doctor Reed said your instinct was right, Kaitlyn’s shift will heal any internal bleeding and prevent any further damage.”

  “What about her shock? That can kill people.” Sean directed his gaze at Aiden, who relayed his question to the Caleb.

  “Jason said she’ll be fine. Shifting will prevent any further damage.” Caleb walked over and inspected the two headless bodies. “Dead right?”

  “Yes, very,” Aiden said, his smile sanguine. “But the mayor seems to have slipped through our hands.”

  “Let’s hope he thinks better of returning for another attempt at taking Kaitlyn from her mates,” Caleb said. “We’ve killed three of his men.”

  “The men he sent were all old and powerful vampires. Sean’s newfound ability to block a vampire from discerning his intentions was the only reason we succeeded in killing both of them.”

  “I think it’s a skill he’ll need to teach the rest of the pride,” Caleb said.

  “I think that’s wise. The loss of his coven members may not be enough to slake the mayor’s desire for Kaitlyn’s hybrid blood.”

  “We will remain on alert then,” Caleb said. “Take your mate home. We’ll burn the barn.”

  Aiden lifted Kaitlyn in his arms and she remained asleep as he carried her from the barn. Sean followed close behind them and they waited by the truck to watch his Alpha and Brayden set fire to the barn.

  It seemed to Sean that it was a fitting way dispose of such toxic creatures. They’d viewed Kaitlyn as nothing more than a blood supply, a blood whose effects gave them a diverting high and a means to power and riches. His mate was none of those things. She was a miracle of creation, a blend of shifter and vampire that fate had made for him and Aiden alone.

  “Let’s take our miracle home.”

  Aiden started to run, running at a speed that Sean could keep pace with in his injured state. Home. He wanted to relax as they drew closer to the home they would now all share, but he had the nagging fear that the fight was not over.

  “She’s still in great danger, isn’t she?”

  Aiden looked down at Kaitlyn and nodded. “Others may come for her.”

  “Then we’ll kill them, too."

  Chapter 20

  Selwyn stayed in the cool water until well after the barn had been razed and the assorted shifters had all left. He’d learned a great deal while hiding, and considering all the ramifications had made the time pass very quickly.

  A hybrid. He had never even dreamed of such a creature existing. If it had happened with Kaitlyn, then it had likely happened with others. There may be more hybrids out there that carried the same priceless blood in their veins.

  Thanks to his dead coven, he knew to look for humans whose thoughts were blocked to him. It made the search ridiculously easy. Then Kaitlyn’s mates had unknowingly told him everything he’d needed to know about her creation with their careless thoughts and words.

  He was going to collect as many of these beings as he could. Once he had them, he would rebuild his coven with strong, like-minded vampires and rule the supernatural world.

  If his search should somehow prove fruitless, he had an ace up his sleeve. He could always come back for Kaitlyn. He’d come back with suitable supernatural reinforcements and this town would bleed.

  Chapter 21

  When Kaitlyn woke from a deep, untroubled sleep, she found herself still shifted. She went to stretch her cramped limbs, but was surrounded by fur and hard flesh. She took a deep breath in and shivered as the wonderful mate-filled air thrilled her senses. She liked waking up surrounded by her mates.

  Aiden was on one side and Sean on the other. She lifted her head and saw Aiden’s pale, pale eyes staring intently at her. The skin around his eyes crinkled a little as he smil
ed at her. She needed to touch that smile. It told her everything she needed to know. She was safe and loved.

  Shifting back in a silent shower of light, she reached out and stroked her fingers over his soft lips. “I love your smile. It’s not only beautiful. It tells me you love me.”

  “I do,” he said, his voice gravelly with the force of his emotions. He wrapped his arms around her and lowered his lips to hers. The kiss was deep and passionate. Her body’s response was swift. She rubbed her nipples against his chest as he moved to cover her with his naked body.

  She wrapped her legs around his hips and ground her aching clit against him. It connected with the base of his hard cock and he moaned, drawing his pelvis away and aligning his cock with her pussy.

  She felt the head of his cock slide inside just a little. “It’s not enough,” she murmured, breaking their kiss to nibble at his neck. “I need you inside me.”

  “You are mine,” he said. His words were followed by a deep growl that spread out from his chest and through his body. His cock vibrated with the growl as he plunged it deep inside her. She moaned as the sensation drove her to the very brink of a climax. His feelings of possession throbbed through their bond. She was his.

  “Yes,” he murmured and rolled them over slowly until she was lying on top of him.

  “And mine,” Sean said, he nibbled at his mark on her neck. Her pussy clamped tight on Aiden’s cock. She was so close. If he moved, she’d come. In answer to her unspoken request, he gripped her hips firmly and held her still.

  Sean caressed his warm hands down the length of her back, his touch making her shiver helplessly in Aiden’s grasp. Her clit throbbed in time with her heartbeat, her orgasm tantalizingly close.

  “You’ll come when we’re both inside you, mate,” Sean whispered against her ear. He spread her legs wider and kissed the base of her spine.

  “More,” she begged. The kiss had teased her senses and nearly brought her to climax.

  Aiden took her lips and thrust his tongue deep into her mouth. His hands moved from her hips to caress and then grasp her ass. He pulled her cheeks apart and she realized their intention.

  “We will never hurt you,” Aiden said. His words answered her moment of unspoken fear.

  “This will feel a little cold,” Sean said. His fingers circled and rubbed against her anus until the cool liquid heated.

  The distraction had made her orgasm recede, but it came roaring back as Aiden grasped her spread cheeks firmly and began to thrust deeply inside her. His cock buried deep, he withdrew just a little to thrust again, the feeling of having him so deep inside her drew her focus from the burning in her ass as Sean continued to stretch her tight ring of muscles with his fingers.

  The slight pinch and burn in her ass soon turned to a warm tingle that had her pushing back against him. “Yes,” she said, her body going tight again with her building pleasure.

  “You’re ours, Kaitlyn,” Sean said. He withdrew his fingers slowly and her moan turned into a cry of pleasure as his cock slowly pushed into her.

  Aiden relaxed the grip on her ass, and allowed her to push back onto Sean’s cock at her own pace. Once he was through the tight muscles, she pushed back further and further, the feeling of fullness something she knew she’d grow to crave.

  Aiden began to stroke up into her in time with her thrusts. She was soon rocking between them and she lost herself to the pleasure as she reached her peak. As her pussy and ass clenched around the cocks deep inside her, her whole body was wracked with pleasure. They both bit into their marks and she came again, screaming their names in a mindless pleasure that went on and on as she felt their cocks pulse inside her.

  * * * *

  Aiden rolled onto his side, his cock remaining deep inside his mate. She was indeed the miracle Sean had described her as. As she lay between them, her breathing slowed and she shivered slightly as the sweat cooled on her skin in the chill morning air of their room.

  “What time is it? How long did I sleep?”

  “It’s five in the morning,” Sean said. He turned Kaitlyn’s head toward him and kissed her.

  “Tuesday?” Kaitlyn asked when Sean let her up for air.

  “Yes, baby, Tuesday.” Sean kissed her again and Aiden felt her pussy grow slick around his hard length. Her blood was still heating his veins. It made his orgasms last longer than he’d ever experienced before and he suspected it was not just because she was his fate-chosen mate.

  Sean slowly released her lips, her eyes now glowing brightly with her arousal. The room perfumed with her sweet, musky aroma.

  “Jesus, baby. I need you again,” Sean murmured.

  It was the last thing any of them said until the sun’s rays began to light the room. They’d all been content to just doze after their slow joining.

  “How does a bath sound?” Aiden said, kissing the end of Kaitlyn’s nose as he ran his fingers through the silky soft strands of her long, black hair.

  “Mmmm,” she purred the word against his chest. She was gently running her hand over the raised lines of the dragon’s flaming breath on his shoulder. It was surprisingly stimulating. But then she was his mate, everywhere she touched him felt stimulated.

  Sean chuckled. “I’ll run the bath.”

  “I’ll keep Kaitlyn company,” Aiden said, nuzzling Kaitlyn’s neck and making her sigh.

  When the water started running Kaitlyn looked over her shoulder then back at Aiden. “I remembered I wanted to talk to you about something.”

  “You can talk to me about anything. And everything, I want to know all about you, my heart.”

  “You mated me.” She paused and he heard her mind searching through words as she sought for the right one. “I won’t live as long as a vampire mate so now you’ll die. You’re not immortal anymore.”

  Her big brown eyes looked up at him, and they shone with her unshed tears. “My Kaitlyn. I have walked this earth for over a thousand years, but until I met you I had never truly lived.”

  She shook her head and her tears spilled over her thick lashes. “That’s just you being noble. I mean it. I feel like I’ve given you a death sentence.”

  “My love, you couldn’t be more wrong. The way I feel now, with both you and Sean in my life, is alive. I can look back on the last millennia and see that what I previously thought passed for happiness was just a temporary reprieve from my loneliness and despair. I had never known a single day of true happiness until I met you.”

  He watched her swallow, her eyes clearing of their sadness as she gazed intently at him. “You mean that don’t you?”

  “I do. I have been dead already for the last thousand years. Now that I have you, I can start my life.”

  He wiped away the last of her tears. “Your skin is so soft.” Her blush was beautiful.

  “I can’t go back to an existence devoid of my heart and soul. And you, Kaitlyn, are my heart and my soul.”

  Chapter 22

  Sean had allowed himself to slowly relax as the weeks passed and no other vampires had come near Pine Falls. He stood at the window of the small shack they used as a classroom and watched Kaitlyn run from some wolf pups and climb gracefully up a tree. Her coat was glistening in the sun, the black so shiny that prisms of color mottled her fur.. She leaped from branch to branch on the ponderosa pine, making snow rain down from the branches onto the barking pups below. The shifter children all loved her, as he’d known they would.

  He looked at the older boys laughing at her antics as they stood to the side. He knew that awkward age. Too old to join in the silly games and too young to join in without feeling embarrassed.

  He quickly stripped off his clothes and shifted. He ran around the older boys before going to join in the fun with the pups. He pretended to try and catch Kaitlyn as she teasingly leaped onto the lower branches before once again climbing out of reach and dumping snow on them.

  The older boys still didn’t join in, but they laughed the loudest when Kaitlyn unerringly managed to du
mp the most snow on him.

  Once the children had all gone home, Sean and Kaitlyn drove to the tavern to meet Aiden. They had asked Kaitlyn to marry them that first night she’d been returned to them, and tomorrow was the big day. Kaitlyn’s father was arriving this evening with Kaitlyn’s best friend, Meg.

  “Meg is so excited at being a bridesmaid,” Kaitlyn said. She was bouncing on the seat beside him. “You’ll love her. She’s sweet and kind and so funny.”

  “I’ll love her because she loves you, baby.”

  Kaitlyn poked him in the ribs. “Seriously, she’s the first and only friend I’ve ever had. I love her so much.”

  “Seriously.” Sean tickled her and she tried to move out of his reach in the cab of the truck. Unluckily for her he had long arms.

  * * * *

  Kaitlyn dragged Sean into the tavern, not because he was in any way reluctant, he was just walking when she was running. She’d seen her father’s old car and knew that Meg was inside. So much had happened in the weeks she’d been gone from San Diego and despite talking regularly she missed Meg terribly.

  “Katie,” Meg yelled. The smaller blonde woman threw herself into Kaitlyn’s arms. “Oh shit, I told myself I wouldn’t cry.”

  Kaitlyn hugged her friend and they both cried happy tears. Aiden and Sean hovered behind her and she could feel their eyes boring into her.

  “Sean, this is my best friend, Meg.” She pulled Meg into her side and turned her to face her mates. “Have you met Aiden?”

  “No, we only just got here,” Meg held out her hand to Sean and then Aiden. “It’s great to finally meet you. Katie has told me nothing about you.”

  She elbowed Meg and they both laughed. Sean and Aiden just looked confused. Her poor men. “A thousand years old and you still know nothing about women.” Aiden bowed his head to her.