Rebecca stepped out of the woods.
“Ready, love?”
Her face was serious. “I guess.” She reached for her backpack, but Miles held on to it.
“I’ve got it.”
She glared at him. “Miles, I’m an experienced hiker. I’ve been carrying my pack by myself since I was about six years old. Hand it over, bossy.”
Griffen chuckled in his head. “Bossy. I like that.”
Miles leaned into her space and planted a quick kiss on her nose before she could protest. “That may be, but we need to move fast, and no woman of mine is carrying her own pack out of here under these circumstances. We aren’t even going to be on the regular path, love. I need you to have good balance, watch your step at all times, and try to keep from ending up like gimpy here.”
She gasped. Her hands went to her hips. Her mouth opened. She blinked. But she said nothing.
Griffen couldn’t imagine what she could have said if she’d wanted to. It was tough to argue with the logic of Miles.
As Griffen watched his two mates in their standoff, something happened behind them. He lifted his gaze and sat on his back haunches, blinking toward the shadow that fell over all of them. It didn’t last long, but it was all-encompassing, like a giant cloud that passed between them and the sun—larger than the apparition he’d seen yesterday, but just as ominous.
And then it was gone.
Griffen jerked his gaze to find Miles holding Rebecca’s arm. He’d pulled her in close. They both stood with their backs to Griffen, facing the direction of the shadow.
“What the hell was that?” Rebecca asked. She twisted around in every direction, tugging herself free of Miles’ grip, her face to the sky.
“I don’t know, love. But that’s what Griffen experienced yesterday before he fell.”
“We need to get out of here,” Griffen communicated to Miles.
“Let’s go. We’re burning daylight.” He nodded behind Griffen. “Rebecca, you follow Griffen. I’ll bring up the rear. The sooner we get to the reservation, the sooner we’ll have some answers.”
Chapter Nine
Rebecca made the trek down the mountain without much trouble. It certainly was easier without anything to carry.
Miles handed her a bottle of water occasionally, but he didn’t say too much. The only way she was certain he was still behind her most of the time was that his arm shot out to grab hers every time he suspected she might lose her footing.
It was both exasperating and endearing at once. And because she couldn’t choose an emotion and stick with it, she kept her mouth shut. She had about a hundred questions, but until Griffen shifted back to human form, she couldn’t imagine asking them.
Griffen hobbled in front of her, his rear leg getting stronger as they went.
“You need to rest, you just say so, okay, love?” Miles’ words were soft and kind. He meant every syllable. If he expressed the same sentiment to Griffen, he did it silently.
Rebecca wasn’t cold. In fact, she’d removed her jacket and tied it around her waist, but she still shivered as Miles’ voice wrapped around her. She was used to workouts far more strenuous than this one. “I’m fine.”
“Of course you are.” He chuckled. He didn’t do it often, but when he did, she loved the sound. It was starting to grow on her.
It took a few hours to reach the main road and a small lot where Miles nodded toward an old pickup truck, the only one in the vicinity. “That’s mine.”
It was red, or perhaps it had been red twenty years ago. Now it was more like dusty maroon. The tires were covered in dried mud as though he’d driven off road to get there, or for the last twenty years since the car was new.
Miles heaved Rebecca’s pack into the truck bed. He opened the other one, and for the first time she realized it was actually Griffen’s. Miles had brought a smaller pack that he’d stuffed inside. “Griffen’s gonna shift, love.” He lifted his gaze. “Just warning you in case you’d rather not watch.”
She wasn’t sure why he had a sudden concern for her sensibilities when it came to shifting after the number of shifts he and the rest of Griffen’s family had gone through in the last twenty-four hours.
Miles scanned the area and then ushered Griffen to the far side of the truck. “Coast is clear.”
Rebecca realized he was making sure no one was watching. The lot was empty. She couldn’t imagine anyone would appear out of thin air, but hell, you never knew. Mesmerized, she found herself following. She didn’t take her gaze off Griffen as he stretched, elongated, and transformed into the human she’d met on Friday.
Miles tossed him a pair of jeans and then bent down to rustle through the pack again, probably for the rest of Griffen’s clothes.
Griffen chuckled, a deep sound she remembered well. “What? You spent your first hour with Rebecca naked as the day you were born. Not playing tit for tat today?”
Rebecca flushed, her face burning.
Finally, Griffen pulled himself off the ground onto his good leg.
Rebecca forgot to be embarrassed and winced when she saw the wound on the front of his thigh. Amazingly, it looked far more healed than it should. His family wasn’t kidding—it had progressed faster in wolf form.
Still, it was a nasty wound. “I should take a look at that.” She pointed at his leg, trying desperately not to stare at his cock. And trying even harder not to compare it with the other one she knew all too well now.
Without waiting for a response, she kneeled in front of him. She was a nurse, for God’s sake. She’d seen naked genitals. These were no different.
Keep telling yourself that. And the comparison continued, in spite of her best efforts. Griffen was a deep tan everywhere except his ass and down his thighs. Even the skin not usually exposed to sunlight was far darker than hers. He wasn’t as dark as Miles, however. The man’s Native American tones put them both to shame.
Griffen’s cock was long and thick and protruded out from his body fully engorged. His girth might not have quite matched what she remembered about Miles, but his length would perhaps give his friend a run for his money.
As she reached for his thigh to settle her fingers on both sides of the wound, it occurred to her why this was so much different from any other naked body—most of her patients weren’t so blatantly aroused when she saw them.
She flushed again, knowing she had something to do with this display of manhood. Keeping her head bowed, she muttered, “How’s the pain?”
“Not too bad. Significantly better than yesterday.”
She lifted her gaze. “Turn around.”
He did as she said, and she swallowed as her gaze roamed across his firm ass to see the entrance wound on the back of his thigh. It was pinker, but surprisingly scabbed over. “I can’t believe you healed that fast.” She stood, reluctantly releasing his thigh.
“It’s a wolf thing. Trust me, in a few hours you’ll barely know I was ever injured.” He grinned at her and held out his jeans. “You want me to put these on now, nurse? Or you have any more inspecting to do?”
She pursed her lips. Damn him.
Griffen chuckled as he wiggled gingerly into his jeans and then donned a T-shirt and shrugged into his socks and hiking boots.
Miles opened the door to the cab. “Climb in, love. We have a bit of a drive.”
“How far?” And why am I still with you two? “I need to get home.” She slid in through the driver’s side door because clearly that was what Miles intended.
“When is your next shift at the hospital?” Miles asked as he slid in beside her.
“Tuesday afternoon.” She’d intentionally taken Monday off.
“You’ll be there.”
“What?” She whipped her gaze to stare at his profile, her hand landing on his hard thigh without her thinking.
Miles started the truck as Griffen slid into the other side to sandwich her between them.
“I need to get home. I have stuff to do.” Like what? Work out?
All she knew was she needed to escape these two brutes before she did something stupid, like suggest a threesome. Ha. Never gonna happen. But a girl could dream.
Griffen’s arm went around her shoulders, and he dragged her into his side. “Relax, baby. One thing at a time. First we need to go talk to Miles’ grandmother on the reservation. They live on the southern corner of the lake in Sojourn. Then we’ll go from there.” His hand wrapped around her neck, his touch tickling her, and not in a funny way.
She turned her gaze to his. Had both these men lost their minds? “Can’t you drop me off first?” It was nearly forty-five minutes from Cambridge to Sojourn. They were about halfway between the two cities.
Griffen shook his head. His face grew serious. “It doesn’t work that way, baby.”
“What doesn’t work what way?” She knew on some deep level she should be terrified of this new development. Two men she’d known for less than a weekend had her in an old truck headed toward the Indian reservation—or so they said. They could do anything they wanted with her and toss the body. It would take years for someone to find her bones out here.
“Rebecca, look at me,” Miles commanded.
She twisted her neck in his direction, fighting to breathe over her panic.
“How long have you known Sharon?”
“Several months.”
“Do you honestly believe she’d leave you with two deranged madmen? One of us is even her brother.”
“No.” But people misjudged others every day.
Miles winked at her and took one hand off the steering wheel to set it on her thigh. “You’re safe. Trust me. Nothing’s going to happen to you that you don’t beg for, love.” His smile widened.
Was she supposed to understand his once-again cryptic sexual innuendo?
They drove in silence while Rebecca pondered the situation. There were things these two men knew and hadn’t shared with her. More than the fact they were wolf shifters. What the hell was up with the black cloud thingy?
Miles kept his hand on her thigh, rubbing circles that reached so close to her pussy she had to fight against the growing wetness gathering between her legs to soak her pants.
Griffen continued to stroke her neck with the fingers dangling over her shoulder, fingers that reached precariously close to the edge of her shirt and skimmed her bra.
Insanity. Neither man seemed concerned about the other.
And weirder—she would bet money they were talking silently between themselves the entire drive. Possibly even tag teaming against her libido.
Who did that? Two men, both seemingly interested in her, neither of them worried about the other.
Finally, they pulled off the main road—if you could call it that—and onto a gravel drive. “Stopping by my place first. You must be starving. We’ll get something to eat, clean up, and then go to my grandmother’s.”
She nodded. It wasn’t up for discussion.
As a quaint ranch-style home came into view, Miles muttered a single, “Fuck.”
“That’s your grandmother, isn’t it?” Griffen asked.
“Yep.”
“I thought you were kidding about her.”
“Nope.” Miles turned off the engine and faced Rebecca and Griffen. “Showtime, I guess.”
“What’s he talking about?” Rebecca felt a sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach that she wasn’t going to enjoy the next hour very much.
“She’s got the sight,” Griffen teased.
Miles rolled his eyes. “She’s a medicine woman.”
“You’re saying she can tell the future?”
“Apparently,” Griffen muttered under his breath, “or she wouldn’t be sitting on Miles’ porch waiting for us.”
Rebecca couldn’t wrap her head around the concept any more than anything else she’d experienced in the last day.
“It doesn’t really work quite like that. More like visions.” Miles opened his door and jumped down from the cab before Griffen had a chance, so he reached for Rebecca’s hand and tugged her out his side, grasping her waist to set her on the ground. He let his hand slip to hers and threaded their fingers together as he made his way toward the porch. “Mimi,” he greeted her.
The woman was tiny. It was amazing she was related to the beast of a man beside Rebecca. She pulled herself to standing. She was fit and strong. Rebecca couldn’t be sure how old she was. Her skin was weathered from the sun, but probably she was younger than she appeared. Her long white hair was pulled back in a single ponytail that hung down her back. She wore a dark blue dress that seemed more appropriate for winter. Her face was darker than Miles’.
She didn’t smile. Her brow was furrowed as they approached.
Griffen appeared on Rebecca’s other side, his hand landing on her lower back.
“Grandma, this is Rebecca. Rebecca, my grandmother, Mimi Bartel. Grandma, you remember Griffen.”
His grandmother hadn’t glanced at him, nor had she acknowledged Griffen. Her gaze traveled with Rebecca all the way to the porch where Rebecca now stood at the foot of the stairs with the two men, feeling the sweat trail down her back at this woman’s perusal.
She appeared to be assessing Rebecca as though she could glean everything she needed to know about her with a quick body scan. With only a few feet between them, they stood eye to eye since Rebecca was at the bottom of the stairs and Miles’ grandmother at the top.
Finally the woman pointed at Rebecca. “Why aren’t you mated yet?”
“Grandma.” Miles moaned.
Rebecca had no idea what she was talking about, but considering the conversations she’d had lately, this wasn’t surprising.
“Don’t lay into her, Grandma. We just got here. We’ve had a rough night. We need showers and food. And then we’ll talk.”
His grandmother yanked her gaze from Rebecca to him as if she’d just realized he was there. “The spirits are mad at you.” She jerked her head toward Griffen next. “And you too, young man.”
Griffen stiffened at Rebecca’s side.
Mimi glanced down at his leg. “You hurt?”
“Yes. It’ll heal.”
“The spirits did this?”
What the fuck was all this chat about spirits? Rebecca stood very still, aware of two things. Griffen still had his hand on her back. And Miles still held her fingers with his.
“Grandma, we don’t know that for sure. Do you mind if we go inside? I could at least use coffee if the talking can’t wait.”
His grandmother ignored him, and her gaze went back to Rebecca.
Oh good. Rebecca felt as though the woman could see through her, and she had no idea what she’d done to disappoint the woman before ever meeting her. “You have to complete the mating to appease the spirits. Bad things will happen. It’s bad luck to ignore the spirits.”
Miles squeezed her hand. “Grandma, stop. She has no idea what you’re talking about. You’re scaring her.”
“Why?” Mrs. Bartel rose taller on her small frame as though she could meet Miles eye-to-eye.
Rebecca had no doubt the crazy woman thought she was an equal match, and judging from Miles’ flinch, she might be. He obviously took her every word seriously and treated her with the respect due to someone of her age, but the woman was certifiable.
She shook her finger at Miles. “Young man, I am much older and wiser than you, and I’m telling you not to delay this claiming. Your partner has already suffered injury. Every moment you hesitate will bring you more bad luck.”
“Grandma.” Miles finally released Rebecca to ascend the steps. He turned his grandmother toward the door gently and opened it, ushering her in. “Griffen was injured before I met Rebecca,” he said to her back as they entered the house.
Griffen took a deep breath, obviously as exasperated as Rebecca, and pressed her forward so they too ascended the steps and followed the others inside.
Miles’ grandmother stopped walking. Her mouth hung open, and her face went as pale as
possible considering her skin tone. “Oh my.” She held a hand to her chest. “It’s worse than I thought.”
“Sit.” Miles pointed at a chair. “I’ll get coffee. Stop talking before you do more damage than you have already.”
Rebecca didn’t know what damage he referred to, because if he was talking about her feelings, he was mistaken. Rebecca couldn’t possibly be offended by anything the woman said thus far since it was all Greek to her.
Luckily, Mrs. Bartel took a seat in a huge armchair that swallowed her whole.
Griffen tugged Rebecca by the belt loop onto the sofa next to him, stretching his leg out and wincing.
Rebecca turned to him. “You need to wash that, and we need to put more ointment on it.” She frowned at him.
“I will, baby. In a minute.” He rubbed her back. “Don’t worry. I’m hardy. I won’t die from infection. At least not from a puncture this small.”
“Small? Are you crazy?”
He grinned. “By human standards, you’re right. I could have died. But I’m not entirely human, baby.”
Like she needed that reminder.
His hand eased down to rest on her lower back again.
She loved the feel of his touch. It warmed her skin through her tank top. When she turned back around, she found Miles’ grandmother staring at her with the same furrowed brow and pursed lips, as if she were battling a war with herself to keep her mouth shut.
All her mumbling about mating and claiming had Rebecca on edge. Sounded like the woman was speaking to a group of animals, commanding them to fuck.
She shivered. That might be precisely what the older woman meant.
Miles returned carrying a pot of coffee in one hand and four mugs in the other, each finger wrapped around the loop on the side of a mug.
He set the precarious bunch on the coffee table and filled each cup. After handing the first one, black, to his grandmother, he turned to Rebecca. “How do you take your coffee, love?”
“Cream and sugar, if you have it.”
His grandmother sighed loudly.
“Grandma, hush,” he admonished as he padded back into the kitchen, only to return moments later carrying the two new containers. “We just met twelve hours ago. We haven’t had a chance to sit around a table and gab over coffee.”
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