by Sarah Blake
Shit shit shit. Sarah cursed herself. What the hell was she going to do? Before she had a chance to reply, he spoke again.
“By the way, ‘Lucy,’ you should know that liars in this household get punished.”
Was that a threat? And why the hell did the thought of being punished by this man turn her on so much? “Yes, it is my sister’s license. She left it behind when she moved. I was taking it to her and got lost.” She was beginning to remember how she ended up miles from her car. She ran out of gas, and decided to walk along the road in the hope of finding a town or something to get some gas. She had hoped to be able to stay in the town and find a job for a little while, save up some cash to get back on the road. She only had a hundred and thirty dollars left to her name. She had been on the road about three weeks now, driving until she couldn’t keep her eyes open, jumping from state to state, and leaving cold trails for anyone following her. She had slept in the back seat of her car since leaving home. She had even eaten at gas stations. As her money went down, she started eating less and less, saving money for gas. The last few days she had survived on chips. She knew it was no good for her, but it was cheap. She hadn’t been keeping a check on the gas as she made her way through the side of the Rockies. When she ran out and the car stopped, instead of panicking she put on a few layers of clothes in case it got cold and started walking, hoping she could reach a town soon. As the hours passed by, her feet started hurting and her mouth dried up, but she kept going. By nightfall, she all but gave up. She had been walking for hours. She was starving, dehydrated, and so tired her eyes stung. The last thing she could remember was tripping over on the side of the road. Sarah thought of a few questions of her own.
“Where’s my purse and my clothes and what day is it?” she asked on one breath.
“Your purse is in the chest of drawers over there. Your clothes have been washed, dried and are hanging in the wardrobe. It’s Monday afternoon. You were found on Friday evening. Why were you wearing so much when we found you?” He again raised an eye brow. “And tell the truth this time.” She explained how she had run out of gas, and why she wore so many clothes. Just as she finished talking, there was another knock on the door. It opened again without invitation and in walked another god of a man. This one was a few inches shorter than Brax, and built slightly smaller. He had dirty-blond hair, reminding her of a surfer’s somehow, and she wanted to run her fingers through it. He had bright blue eyes, only his were more like that of the sky on a clear summer’s day. His smile was lethal and Sarah was glad she was already sitting down, or her legs might have turned to jelly just from his smile. “Hi, I’m Conner, how are you doing, sweetie? I brought you some soup. You must be starving. Doc said you should start eating again slowly, build up your stomach again.” That’s when she noticed he was carrying a tray with a bowl, a glass of water, a mug, and some bread. Her stomach rumbled at the sight and Sarah was suddenly starving.
“This here is Lucy Jones. The license we found is her sister’s,” Brax informed Conner. Sarah put her head down, not understanding why she felt so bad lying to these men.
“Thank you,” she said, accepting the tray. Mouth watering at the smell and sight of the soup, she all but inhaled it. She wasn’t even bothered about the flavor.
As she ate, she noticed Brax and Conner watching her. She knew Brax wouldn’t let her get away with lying, and wouldn’t let her rest till he got the truth.
Once she finished the soup, bread, and tea, Sarah was suddenly exhausted. Barely keeping her eyes open, she stopped trying after she felt the tray being lifted off her lap. She thought she heard Conner telling Brax to let her rest, but she wasn’t really sure.
Chapter Five
The next day, midmorning, Brax was sitting at his desk in the home office and had had enough. He threw his pen onto the file sitting in front of him, rubbed his eyes with fingers, and sighed. Having his mate in the house but unable to touch or claim her was driving his wolf and himself crazy. Conner was in the same boat, unable to concentrate on anything. They had been having small arguments among themselves since Saturday afternoon. Each one they had was bigger than the last. Conner had even lashed out at him, trying to punch him in the face. The sweet, submissive wolf had never raised a finger to anyone as long as Brax had known him. This was getting out of hand and he would be damned if it went on any longer. He hadn’t even been to see his new car yet. He just had some of the soldiers on patrol around the Alpha house store it away. The ranch manager had been to see him, telling him a deal of a mare Brax was after had fallen through. Brax couldn’t even remember what he had said to the man so now didn’t know if he was getting the mare or not. Just as he was about to stand, Conner walked in the door, two mugs of coffee in hand. “Hi.”
“Hey, I brought you a coffee.” Conner took them to the small coffee table that was surrounded by a soft brown leather sofa and two matching chairs that were in between both his and Brax’s desks. Brax went over and accepted his mug with a thanks as he sat on the sofa. Conner sat on one of the chairs, exhaling loudly. “Look, I’m sorry about last night. I don’t know what came over me. I didn’t mean to lash out.” Conner looked on the verge of tears as he spoke, and Brax’s heart nearly broke at the sight. Placing his mug back on the table, he lifted Conner onto his knee, cuddling the man he loved.
“It’s okay, baby, we’re both stressed out. It’s driving me and my wolf crazy not being able to be with her, and it’s getting sorted today, no matter what.”
He kissed Conner’s forehead, thinking of a way to break Sarah down and get her to tell them what was really going on. He had looked her name up on the Internet and found nothing that would make her run away from home. There had been a few photos of a younger version of her with her family. The articles that went with them were mostly about her father’s company. Looking back down at Conner, he used the thumb and forefinger to raise his chin so he could look him in the eye.
“First we’re gonna find out what her story is, and find out what, if any, danger she is in to make her run away from home. Then we will get to the real hard part, explaining about ourselves. Hopefully we will have an easier time than Tyler did when he told Kirstie he was a werewolf.”
Conner laughed at the memory along with Brax. He would always laugh at how Kirstie reacted, trying to get Tyler sectioned for thinking he turned into a crazed monster that ate dogs and children every full moon.
“I don’t know how much more I can take, Brax. I want her so much it hurts.” Brax knew exactly how the smaller man felt. A knock on the door had Conner jumping to his feet and running behind his desk, grabbing a tissue and drying his watery eyes. He may have been submissive, but that didn’t mean he wanted people to see him crying.
“Come in,” Brax called, taking a drink of coffee. Zoë popped her head around the door when she opened it.
“I got someone here to see you two,” she said.
“Now’s not a good time, Zoë. Just tell whoever it is they’ll have to deal with Joshua.”
“Oh but I think you will want to see this person,” she said with a smile. She moved back out the door, closing it slightly. Brax could hear her having a whispered conversation with someone. It almost sounded as if she was trying to convince the person. Brax couldn’t be bothered to listen to the two anymore. When the door opened again, he lifted his head back up to tell Zoë to tell their visitor to go to hell. But Zoë wasn’t at the door. It was Sarah.
“Hi,” she said in the sweetest voice he had ever heard. She stood there, looking around, clearly nervous as hell.
“Sarah, hi, how are you doing? You look much better than yesterday,” Conner said, making his way back around his desk. “Not that you didn’t look good yesterday I mean, just that you look great today, walking around and all. Please, come and sit down, I’ll go get you a coffee.” Brax wanted to laugh at how cute he was when rambling on like that.
Sarah walked over and took the chair that Conner was using. “Thanks, it’s okay about the coff
ee. I just finished a late breakfast. Doc came to see me this morning and removed my IVs and gave me another check over. Then I had a soak in the tub. I hope you don’t mind?” She looked between Brax and Conner, who had sat on the sofa.
“Of course we don’t mind, sweetie. You’re more than welcome to use anything you want.” Sarah smiled in reply and Brax noticed she hadn’t mentioned anything when Conner had called her Sarah.
“Thanks,” she said again, looking anywhere in the room but at them. “I came in here to talk to you. You’ve been really kind to me over the last few days and I can’t thank you enough. The least I can do is explain what I was doing when I was found.”
Again she looked around the room, seeming unsure at what to say first. Brax noticed her eyes becoming watery. He knew then and there that he would do anything and everything in his power so his mates would never cry again. Not sure what to do to help her, Brax looked at Conner. He was more in tune with emotions. Conner gave him a quick nod of his head when he saw him looking. Turning to look back at Sarah, he said calmly, “Sarah, sweetie, you can tell us whatever you want. We can see whatever is going on is upsetting you. Please, we want to help. No matter what you tell us, we won’t be shocked and we won’t ask you to leave this house. You can stay here as long as you want.”
Yeah right, buddy. She’s staying here no matter what!
Sarah seemed to struggle with whatever she was trying to say. Brax was starting to think she wouldn’t say anything when she broke down sobbing, tears pouring out of her forest-green eyes. He had always guessed his mate’s eyes would be brown. They were the most beautiful green he had ever seen. Brax jumped up when she started crying, walking over and picking her up off the chair with an arm under her knees and one around her back. Conner ran to get more tissues and rejoined them on the sofa, Sarah still crying. Brax was careful not to touch skin. Starting the mating bond was the last thing the poor woman needed at the moment, considering the state she was in. After a few minutes of rocking her on his knee and rubbing her back while Conner rubbed her sweatpant-covered knee, she started talking.
She talked for a good thirty minutes. Neither Brax nor Conner interrupted her although their anger was reaching a higher and higher level with everything she said. When she finished speaking, she apologized for crying.
“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to cry like that, or tell you those things, and I bet you must think I’m some kind of idiot, running off like that.”
“Not at all,” Conner said. “I think it was very brave of you. And sensible. You were probably right that he had police in his pocket. Most men like him do.”
Why the hell would we think she is an idiot? She is the bravest person I’ve ever met. He would love nothing more than to have five minutes alone with her father and this Anthony. He tried to control his anger so he could comfort her, but it wasn’t working. That was when he noticed his eyes had shifted and he was looking at his mates from the eyes of his wolf. He had to get out of there. He placed Sarah onto Conner’s knee as gently as he could and stood, keeping his eyes closed. He opened them as he walked to the door. “I have to leave. I’ll be back in a bit,” was all he managed to say. Closing the door harder than he meant, he ran down the hall toward the kitchen. He didn’t stop there. He ran out the patio doors into the garden. He ran toward the fence surrounding the property, stripping his clothes as he went. When he was naked, he shifted into his wolf who immediately let out a howl of rage. He jumped the fence, and headed off into the forest to try and calm himself down.
* * * *
Sarah watched Brax leave, slamming the door as he did. She didn’t know what to say to Conner whose knee she was still sitting on. “Don’t worry about him. He just needs a few minutes and he’ll be back.”
She nodded her reply, thinking how stupid she had been and weak, breaking down like that and telling them everything. She was just so lonely and at an emotional breaking point. She didn’t know why, but she felt so comfortable with these two men. Then something occurred to her. What if Brax is calling my father? She should have guessed this would happen with her luck. “Oh God, I have to get out of here.” She jumped off Conner’s knee, making a run for the door, not even knowing where she could go. As long as she left this house before her father got here. Conner caught up with her before she crossed half the room, catching her arm and spinning her around.
“Sarah, what’s wrong, where are you going?”
“He’s gone to call my dad hasn’t he? I knew this was too good to be true. I’m not going back, no way in hell.” She tried to get away from him, but his grip didn’t budge. “Please, Conner, let me go. Please, you don’t understand what they are like.” She begged, but he didn’t release her. Instead, he took her back to the sofa.
“Listen to me. He isn’t calling anyone, okay? Especially not your dad or that dick Anthony. Brax has some anger management problems when it comes to people like them two. He just needs some air to cool down, okay? Trust me, I know him.”
Sarah hiccupped on a sob, trusting the words he said. She saw the honesty in his eyes. He brought a hand up to her face and ran his thumbs over her cheeks, wiping away her tears. As their skin made contact, Sarah felt a shock slam through her body.
“What the hell was that? Did you feel it as well?” she asked. Conner’s face paled, his eyes wide.
“Oh shit,” he said.
“Conner, what was that? I can tell you felt it as well and you know what it was.”
“I’m sorry, Sarah, that shouldn’t have happened yet. We were going to wait till everything was explained and you understood and agreed.”
“Agreed with what? Conner, you’re scaring me. Am I in some sort of danger? She was starting to panic now. He was just sitting there, looking at the table in front of them.
All of a sudden, he spun back to face her. “I’ll tell you what, I’m going to tell you a story, okay?”
“I don’t want to hear a story, Conner. I want to know what just happened.”
“It will help you understand, I promise. When I’m finished, I will answer all your questions, but for now, just relax and listen, okay?”
Not knowing what else to do, Sarah just nodded her head. He smiled and leaned forward to kiss her lips, just a little peck, but she felt it all the way down to her toes. She had never experienced anything like it in her life, let alone from the simplest of kisses. She looked at his lips, wanting more, much more. She opened her mouth, not sure what she was going to say, when he pounced on her, crushing his mouth to hers.
The kiss was a desperate one, each running hands over the other’s body. Sarah wanted to feel skin. She moved her hands to the hem of his T-shirt and pushed them under, coming into contact with red hot skin that was sprinkled with a soft coating of hair. She moved upwards, feeling rock-hard abs. She was in heaven. She never felt anything this strong and urgent before. His tongue snaked out and came into contact with her lips, almost demanding entrance. She opened to him, meeting her tongue with his. She heard him moan and felt his hands sliding under her own top. When he reached her bra, he pulled away from her mouth. She was about to complain when he pulled her tank top over her head. He looked at her then, from head to breasts.
“Beautiful,” he murmured before lowering his lips to hers once more, his hands covering her bra.
Her nipples were so hard it was almost painful. She almost whimpered when he pinched one through her bra. His lips again left hers and she pulled in a much-needed breath, moaning as he kissed his way down her neck and over her throat to the other side. He kissed up to her ear, lightly sucking on the lobe before whispering into her ear, “I need you so much, Sarah. I’ve needed you since the moment I saw you, my mate.”
She didn’t understand what he meant by the “my mate” part, and right at that moment, she didn’t care. He kissed back down her neck, stopping at the base, where her neck met her shoulder, still feeling her breast through her bra. He stayed there for a few moments, kissing, nibbling, and sucking. She didn�
�t care if he left a hickey. All too soon though, he pulled away, mouth and hands. Staring at her, he too was breathing hard. “There’s nothing more I would like than to continue this, but you need to understand a few things first.”
“What’s there to understand? We’re both adults and unattached, aren’t we?” Then a thought entered her mind. “Oh God, you’re married aren’t you?” Typical. I finally meet a man I really connect with and he’s married.
“Sarah, just listen. When I’m finished, you will understand, okay?” He didn’t wait for her to agree or not, just jumped straight into telling her the story that would supposedly help her understand. “A long time ago, there was a man, let’s call him Cody. Cody wasn’t just a man, he was also a werewolf.”
He paused.
“Don’t look like that, Sarah. Just listen to the story. Cody was also an Omega wolf. They are born with power inside of them. Once the Omega is mated to an Alpha wolf, they help give that Alpha the power that’s inside of them. This helps the Alpha become physically stronger and an all-around better Alpha for the pack. There is an Omega born about every twenty years or so. In the past, no matter what the Omega wanted, he or she was mated to the Alpha of whatever pack they were born in. Times have changed since then. They get a choice if they want to mate or not. It just so happened that Cody’s Alpha wasn’t interested in him as a mate, and agreed to let him leave the pack. So leave he did. He wandered around the country for a few years, visiting most of the states and catching up with friends who had also left the pack. He found a pack he would have liked to join and applied. One day, while waiting to meet with the sentinel and Alpha of this pack, he was walking in town and bumped into the most beautiful man he had ever seen. This man, let’s call him Brad, was the Alpha of the pack Cody wanted to join. It just so happened he was also Cody’s true mate. They were mated that very night and lived happily ever after for the next ten years. Until the fates dropped them another mate onto their doorsteps. Well, not doorsteps exactly, more like their kitchen worktop. There was only one problem, you see. She was human and had no idea werewolves existed.”