by Amira Rain
"You heard in the hall that my name is Rowan Evans, but I don't know your name. Will you tell me?"
He stared straight ahead at an orange-and-pink sunset for a moment or two before responding. "My name is Grayson North. The man who just left is Chase Gunner. Together, we lead a pack of several dozen wolves in a village we call Shadowfen, about thirty miles north of here. That's where we'll be taking you."
There was something about his deep voice that wasn't really cold, per se, but it was something that didn't really encourage any further questions, either. But still, even with this being the case, I couldn't help but ask just one more.
I swallowed beforehand, wondering if I really wanted to know the answer. "And will it be you or Chase...that will be mating with me in the hopes of producing a child?"
Still staring straight ahead at the sunset, Grayson made the faintest of scoffing noises. "Resources and women in our village are limited. We could only afford to buy one woman today. We both decided we wanted it to be you." Still not even looking at me, Grayson paused before continuing. "We'll share your bed until you become pregnant.
“When you do, we'll have a doctor from Ashcrest come in and give you a test that will reveal which of us is the father. And whoever that man is...that man will be your mate for life. After we saw you today and decided we both wanted you, this was the only arrangement agreeable to Chase and me."
I sat speechless. I'd known it might be a possibility that the two of them might "share" me, but I supposed I hadn't been quite ready to hear that "sharing" me was, for sure, the way things were going to be.
I also, maybe, hadn't been ready to hear the subject of pregnancy brought up so soon. And I hadn't quite been ready for a reminder that my deception about my fertility may be called out soon. I knew the doctors from the great, wealthy manufacturing city of Ashcrest had the technological advancements to determine if a woman was pregnant very early on, and I also knew they could even determine who the father was from a very early stage, but none of that even mattered. I'd never be needing any test from a doctor. I'd never be getting pregnant. I'd eventually be revealed as a deceiver and possibly be killed. Just then, Chase tossed my duffel bag and suitcase into the bed of the truck and got in.
Grayson glanced over at him. "I've just told Rowan our names, and I've told her about the arrangement we decided on as well. And now, unless you have anything further to add, or anything else to tell her, we'll start heading home."
Chase gave his head a brief shake. "Let's go."
Grayson started the truck, drove out of the dirt parking lot, and began down the main paved road leading out of Greenleaf. I sat silently between the two alphas. They didn't say anything, either.
In the fading light of early evening, I focused on the foliage bordering the sides of the road ahead. It was April, and a late spring had come to Northern Michigan in the form of glossy bright green leaves and pale flowering buds. I tried to think about these things and nothing else, not wanting to contemplate how sad I was, sure that Skye was back in Greenleaf at that moment. Also, I didn't want to contemplate being shared by my two taciturn wolf shifter companions once we got to Shadowfen.
I wasn't put off by the prospect of physical intimacy itself; at least, I wasn't too put off. A year or so back, I'd had a boyfriend back in Greenleaf, and we'd engaged in physical intimacy on a number of occasions, though it hadn't been very fulfilling. This particular boyfriend hadn't been very attentive, to say the least, and I'd found his stamina, as well as his level of caring for me, to be a bit lacking. The relationship hadn't lasted long. However, the physical relationship had taught me that I didn't need to be scared of physical intimacy, or hesitant about it; in fact, I'd discovered that I very much liked it. Or, at least, maybe I would like it, with someone a bit more attentive than my boyfriend had been.
So, it wasn't like I was at all necessarily scared of the intimacy that was going to take place likely not long after Grayson, Chase, and I reached Shadowfen. Rather, I was maybe just a bit hesitant, because of what Grayson had said about the two alphas "sharing" me.
I couldn't deny that I had some concerns about the two of them being too rough with me or abusing me. They were wolves, after all, and I completely expected them to be rough and callous, maybe even downright cruel. I wasn't sure that their treatment would allow me to get in the right frame of mind to be subjected to physical intimacy, and that kind of troubled me. I wondered if my experience with the two alpha wolves would ultimately turn out to be very painful.
Looking out at the darkening trees beyond the truck, I tried not to think about all this. I just couldn't. I had to clear my mind. I was sure there would be plenty of time for trepidation and thinking the worst, once we arrived in Shadowfen.
Grayson stopped the truck long before we even got there. He pulled over on the side of the road and put the truck in park only a few miles outside of Greenleaf. To the right of the truck, there was nothing but forestland. Or, at least, almost nothing but forestland. Cutting through the tightly-clustered trees was a very narrow path lit with two very tall, gray, metal streetlamp-type of lights. The path led to a small cinder-block public restroom with an adjacent stone bench maybe ten or fifteen feet beyond the road, a little respite area for travelers.
I looked from the little rest area to Grayson with my stomach in knots. "What are we doing? Why are we stopping?"
I wondered if he and Chase weren't going to wait until we reached Shadowfen to "share" me. I wondered if they both intended to take me right there at the rest stop or right there in the truck. I could hardly think of any scenarios less romantic or less arousing. Not that it even mattered. Despite the fact that I found both of the alphas almost unbearably attractive, and despite the fact that I'd been picking up little whiffs of rather pleasant, masculine scents emanating from them both, I had no intention of allowing myself to become aroused to the point of actually taking pleasure in our mating.
I'd allow my body to relax just enough so that intimacy wouldn't be painful, but that was it.
In response to me asking why we were stopping, Grayson and Chase exchanged glances, and then Chase pulled something small and wrapped in plastic from his pocket.
He handed it to me with his expression completely unreadable. "Go into the restroom and put this on. You'll keep it on until later this evening. And you do not have a choice about this." With his deep green eyes glinting in the dim light of what was now full evening, he paused before continuing. "It's meant to make things easier. For you."
He opened his door, making the dome light in the truck come on. Now I could see exactly what the small package he'd handed me was, and my face immediately burst into absolute flames. I knew what the little object inside the plastic wrapper was. I just couldn't believe that I was meant to put it on. I also couldn't believe that I didn't even have a choice about the matter.
*
I looked at the small plastic-wrapped object I held in my hand, the object Chase had given me. I looked at it, stared at it, but I just could not believe what it was. However, at the same time, I could believe it, because I knew damn well, what it was, and there was no denying it. Even in the dim light of evening, I could see through the clear plastic to the object inside the small package clearly, because of the dome light that had come on when Chase had opened his door.
I could see just exactly what the object I held in my hand was. And this seeing, this knowing exactly what it was intended for, what it was intended to do, was making my face flame hotter than I'd ever felt it burn before in my life.
The thing I held was a sex toy type of thing called a Tickler. Not even a month earlier, one of my good friends back in Greenleaf had been given several at her bachelorette party, and everyone present, myself included, had had a good laugh about it. A good laugh, though maybe a slightly uncomfortable one, because it was no secret that we were all more than a bit intrigued by Ticklers.
Maybe we were all a bit envious that the bride-to-be had received a few as a gift, t
hough everyone present at the party had heard of them and was pretty familiar with how they were supposed to work and what they were supposed to do. But no one, including myself, had ever been able to afford one. Ticklers were manufactured in the great city of Ashcrest, several hundred miles to the south, and they were very expensive and hard to come by.
Basically, a Tickler was a state-of-the art "pleasure aid," as the package described it, consisting of a single part: a small, thin, flexible piece of soft, clear pink rubber about the size of a coin. This piece of rubber was meant to be pressed to a woman's most sensitive spot, whereupon coming into contact with even a slight bit of moisture, it would instantly form a light adhesive that would keep the small piece of rubber in place for a couple of hours. Once affixed, this little piece of rubber would become somehow almost magically powered by body heat to do what it did. And what it did, if the rumors were true, was also pretty magical.
Being that none of my friends were science geniuses, and I wasn't either, no one at my friend's bachelorette party had been exactly clear how Ticklers worked, what the science behind them was, or how the scientists at Ashcrest had managed to design them to function with no cords, wires, or batteries.
All we'd heard was that upon being warmed with a little body heat, a Tickler became "activated," and would begin to gently undulate, almost as if barely-perceptible waves were slowly rippling through it. Being that the piece of rubber was, at this point, directly affixed to a woman's most sensitive spot, this very gentle rippling action of course had the effect of causing a little stimulation.
What they supposedly did, was bring a woman to an absolutely desperate state of desire and arousal within an hour or so, which was the state I'd soon likely be in, if Chase and Grayson were serious about making me put on the Tickler. Despite the fact that I didn't want to be. Despite the fact that I was determined to merely endure our mating and not display any passion or take any kind of enjoyment in it. I certainly didn't want to be brought to a point where I was desperate for it, maybe even begging for it.
After a very long moment or two of me just staring at the small package containing the Tickler while my flaming face seemed to burn hot as the sun, Grayson spoke, his deep voice low and commanding.
"What Chase said is true. You do not have a choice about this. You go into the restroom; you put on the product you're holding; and then you keep it on until it's time for mating later tonight. It's meant to make for a much better experience for you, and everyone."
I suddenly wondered if feigning ignorance about what the "product" I was holding was, and how to "put it on" might get me off the hook. I decided it was worth a shot, anyway.
I looked Grayson right in his deep gray eyes. "I don't even know what this thing I'm holding is. Let alone how to use it."
He immediately scoffed, the dim glow from the truck's dome light revealing his full mouth curving just a degree. "I can see in your eyes that you know what the product you're holding is and what to do with it. Though, I can also see in your eyes something else. I don't think you've actually had personal experience with this product before. You're fighting not to show that you're a little intrigued. Maybe even a little excited already. You look like you're fighting to deny it, even to yourself."
I practically choked with indignation, making a sound like something between a sputter and a gasp. "You couldn't possibly be more wrong."
I'd meant to say my words loudly, and with conviction, and I was kind of surprised that they'd come out in a fluttery near-whisper.
Grayson's full mouth curved just a fraction again, and he lifted his broad shoulders in a slight shrug.
"Maybe so. We'll see. But right now, it's time for you to go into the restroom and do what we've asked. I'll say it again, because it bears repeating. You do not have a choice about this, Rowan."
"And what if I refuse? What if I refuse to put this thing on?"
Grayson lifted his muscular shoulders in a slight shrug again. "Simple. We'll put it on for you."
My jaw dropped while I surveyed his face, realizing that he didn't look at all like he was joking. Almost instantly, I closed my mouth, swallowing, picturing the scene if he made good on his threat. I pictured him and Chase, one of them holding me down on the truck seat while the other peeled off my jeans and underwear, spread my legs, and affixed the Tickler to my most sensitive spot.
Even just imagining this scenario, I felt humiliated, my hot face getting even just a bit hotter. Though at the same time, to my horror, I felt a few butterflies very inexplicably flapping their wings low in my belly.
Not wanting this shameful sensation to intensify by me thinking about the scenario that had caused it in any greater detail, I turned to Chase on my right, clutching the Tickler. "Let me out."
He immediately obliged, opening the door, getting out, and then holding the door open for me.
But just as I'd cleared the door, he took my sleeve to stop me, pulled me close, and spoke in a low voice near my ear. "Just so you know...later, we'll be checking to see that you put it on properly and didn't try to sabotage the effects, as this is going to become a regular thing. Grayson and I want to mate with you to produce a child, yes, but we also intend to have a little fun while we're doing so. We want you to have a little fun and enjoy the experience, too. It's no secret that a woman's enjoyment can aid in conception. So, go, and do what we've asked you to do."
I was standing close enough to Chase that I could clearly smell the clean, woodsy, masculine scent emanating from his hard chest. To my increasing horror, my horror about the whole general situation I was in, I realized that I found his scent absolutely heavenly.
Intoxicating. To the point that right then, I had to struggle not to breathe it in deeply, filling my nostrils with it. I'd never dreamed that any of the wolves would actually smell like this. I'd imagined they'd all have an odor of unwashed skin and rotting garbage.
Chase leaned in a little closer still. "Remember, place the product where it's intended to be placed. No funny business. We'll check later. We'll see you back here shortly."
To stop myself from further breathing in his scent and possibly enjoying it, I pulled my sleeve from his grasp and began stalking away, up the dimly-lit narrow path that led to the cinder-block public restroom. "I get your point. I should not place the 'product' on my nose, as I was going to before your million warnings not to."
I didn't exactly want to make Chase and Grayson mad, because as wolves, I knew just exactly what they were capable of; but at the same time, I hadn't been able to help my sarcastic little comment. I half-expected to hear maybe an angry low growl behind me, or at least the slamming of the truck door.
Instead, all I heard was a quiet, low chuckle. It sounded like a chuckle of true amusement, not one of harsh bitterness, like I might have expected from a wolf. Nothing about these alphas was as I'd expected. This fact was beginning to make me feel way off-kilter, unsettled somehow, as if the world wasn't quite the same as it had been before the auction that evening.
Down wasn't down anymore, and up wasn't up. Everything was beginning to go sideways, and that was the only way I could think of it.
While striding up the path to the restroom, I resisted an urge to turn around, just out of a strange curiosity to see how Chase looked when he chuckled.
Once inside the restroom, which was lit with a single bare light bulb, I used the facilities and then just rested with my back against a metal stall partition, simply trying to breathe and get my bearings. I was actually going to have to do what the alphas had asked, because Chase had made it crystal clear that he and Grayson were going to be checking to see if I'd placed the "product" where it was "intended to be placed." I knew there really wasn't any way around it.
I definitely didn't want Grayson and Chase to apply the Tickler for me. I didn't want to even think about the possibility of that again. The butterflies I'd felt when thinking about it the first time had troubled me and made me feel funny and strange enough.
So,
after taking a deep breath, I grabbed the plastic package I'd set on the toilet paper dispenser, opened it up, and took out the small, clear pink, rubbery disk inside. "Just do this, Rowan."
I figured that while it might have been true that I had to do what I'd been instructed to do, that didn't necessarily mean that I had to succumb to the Tickler's supposed effects. I didn't absolutely have to become aroused. I could fight it. No matter what stimulation the Tickler provided, I could resist. I could at least try. I could show the wolves that I wouldn't bend to their will quite so easily.