by Marla Monroe
If she doesn’t feel the attraction, the mating bond trying to form, is she really our true mate? I don’t understand.
It really didn’t matter. She eased Eason’s bears and gave him control over them with her presence. If it meant accepting that she might not be who they’d thought—who their bears claimed she was then he would do it.
* * * *
Was it possible that Alex was working in conjunction with the hunters or even with some group of scientists who wanted subjects for their experiments? The idea sickened her but made just as much sense as anything else she could think of. Actually, they didn’t have any other ideas as to why he’d done what he had so far. If they were to believe Stephen at all that was. Wren believed him. He oozed power along the same lines as her brother and the bears’ leader.
What is it they call Creed? Their Ursus. If I’m going to be their mate, I’ve got to learn about them. To think I made an effort to learn about wolves and lions but never considered a bear is almost funny.
Yes, she believed the wolf as far as that part went, but she reserved judgement on the rest of his story until she found more clues to what was actually going on.
“I think we need to call it a night,” her brother said as he yawned. “There’s not enough room for all of us here. Stephen, where will you go?”
“I have a place. Don’t worry about me. When and where do we meet again?” he asked.
Mo exchanged glances with her and the bears as if asking if they were going to trust him and include the wolf in their search for answers. Wren gave him a quick nod.
“We’ll meet at the garage sometime after ten in the morning. We’ve got to keep it open or like my sister has said, we’ll lose business and money. We can’t afford that.” Mo smiled at her but it was a weak one.
“I’ll see you then.” Stephen nodded at all of them before turning and walking toward the door.
Once it closed and Mojave had checked to be sure he was gone, her brother turned back to them. She could tell he was going to bring up the subject of her mating and wished he wouldn’t. No amount of mental pleading was going to stop him if he was determined to do it. Wren jumped to her feet and nearly knocked Eason down.
“Easy there, wild pup. I’m behind you,” he said with amusement in his voice.
“Sorry. What are you doing back there?” she asked, unable to soften her tone.
“Wren? Is something wrong?” Eason asked, resting his hands on her shoulders.
She didn’t turn around, afraid he’d see the fear in her eyes that suddenly poured over her with the reminder that she had two mates who could easily use her inability to deny them to control her. Deep down, she didn’t think they would do that, but with everything going on, Wren couldn’t stop the thoughts from circling in her head now.
Did they even feel half of what she did? They cooed at her and called her pet names, but she had yet to see that deep unrelenting need that was consuming her. The more time she spent around them the harder it was to keep from jumping on them. Their scent, the way they moved, and their deep gravely voices all worked on her every sexual nerve to keep her aroused to the point of embarrassment.
“Sorry. I guess I’m uptight with all the information we still don’t have. My pack is in danger and we don’t even know why or exactly who is behind it all,” she said to cover her harsh tone.
“It’s going to be okay, Wren,” Warren said. “You’re not in this alone. We’re here to help in any way we can. There is no you and us. All shifters are in danger and anything that matters to you, matters to Eason and I.”
His words wrapped around her heart and squeezed, making it hard to catch her breath for a heartbeat. How could they promise to help her pack when they’d only just met them? Shifters weren’t usually so eager to join with other types. Was it just because they were her mates or were the bears different?
Or is the world changing, and I’m just now seeing it? I want to believe both, that the bears would help just because it’s me, and that shifters of different natures were willing to work together for the sake of our species.
“Thank you for bringing my sister back and for watching out for her. And thank you for sharing what you learned with us,” Mo told her mates. “Will you be meeting us at the garage tomorrow?”
Wren wrinkled her brow at her brother. What was he up to? She knew that devilish expression from having been the receiver of it before. Was he baiting her mates?
“You’re welcome,” Warren said with a smile. “Yes. We plan to return tomorrow morning. We’ll bring Wren back with us if she wants to come.”
Eason growled but didn’t say anything. She looked up over her shoulder at him and had to hide a smile at the sight of his teeth bared in the direction of her brother. He was also sprouting some hair around his shirt collar.
“Um, why would you think she’d go back with you when her home is here?” her brother asked all innocent-like.
Wren was going to kill him. Already her wild dog emotions were shivering over her skin. Energy fairly vibrated from her pores as she struggled not to growl and expose her lack of control with her brother’s goading.
“Her home is with us, Alpha. Don’t pretend you don’t know that she’s our mate. I think with all the issues we’re faced with right now, it’s better not to beat around the bush and ignore the elephant in the room. She’s ours,” Warren told Mo, his voice hinting at anger as well.
“Excuse me!” Wren couldn’t stand it any longer. She shoved Eason back from her and stomped around the table and climbed up on a chair at one end. “I’m in the freaking room here! Don’t talk about me like I’m not and none of you make my decisions for me. I’m a grown wild dog and no one tells me what to do. Do we all understand each other?”
Complete silence blanketed the room for two entire seconds before the three men burst out laughing, adding fuel to the fire already stoked in her belly. Warren attempted to calm down and say something to her, but Wren was beyond listening to any of them by this point. They hadn’t experienced her temper or her tantrums yet. Well now, before they sealed the deal, was as good a time as any.
“Screw all of you! I’m not staying here with you, Mo, so kiss my ass. You know better than to back me in a corner or presume to make decisions for me.” When Warren’s smile turned smug, Wren shook her finger at him. “And you two! You better figure it out fast that I’m not going to be some simpering bimbo who waits on her men hand and foot. I don’t wait at home while you tend to business too serious for me to understand. I’m not going home with either of you either.”
Without waiting around for them to figure out what to say to her, Wren jumped down from the chair and stomped out of the kitchen. She figured Mo would enlighten them on African Wild Dog ways and hers in particular while they assured her brother they’d take care of her. It should give her just enough time to back the bike off the truck and leave them there. They’d probably forgotten all about the bike.
Wren slammed the door to her bedroom to give them the idea she was pouting in her room then opened her window and climbed out. It only took a couple of minutes to reach the truck and get the bike on the ground. Then she walked it down the street from the apartment before getting on and starting it up. Without looking back, Wren tore out of the apartment complex and headed for the main road.
Catch me if you can, honey bears.
Chapter Twelve
Warren fumed, growling as he gunned the engine, laying down rubber even as Eason tested the restraining ability of the seatbelts. He roared around curves and cursed when he hit a red light behind grandmother-blind-as-a-bat, but still driving anyway. As soon as he could see around her, he whipped around her so fast he doubted she even realized someone had passed her.
“Where did she go? Do you think she went back to Serenity’s house? Can’t you go any faster, Warren?” Where Warren was madder than a wet cat, his bondmate’s panicked anxiety filled the truck with the scent of fear. It was something neither of them had ever given off
before.
“Calm the fuck down, Eason. We can’t afford for you to lose control of your bears right now. I’m going as fast as I can.”
“My bears are crazy with worry, but they aren’t fighting each other. They’re fighting me to find her.” Eason sounded like Eason but with a slightly higher pitch to his voice.
“I think she went back to Serenity’s place. She’d feel safe there and think that she’ll keep us out. Not fucking happening,” he snarled.
“Hell, no. She’s never leaving our sight again. My heart can’t stand to worry like this.” Eason leaned forward in his seat as if that would push them faster.
“I’ve a good mind to turn her over my knee and spank that perfect ass of hers once I get my hands on her.” Warren narrowly avoided hitting a young buck that stepped out in front of him.
“As much as I’d like to see her ass all nice and red,” Eason said. “I’m not letting you spank her while you’re mad at her. Don’t even test me on that.”
“Good, God, Eason! You know I’d never hurt her. I’m cursing her and trying to get it all out of my system before we get there. I’m going to make her think I’m going to redden her ass, though. She needs to respect us as her mates.”
“I think that’s what she’s demanding of us, brother. She wants us to treat her as an equal and include her in all of our decisions. I’m good with that as long as it doesn’t involve her safety. I won’t be able to control myself if she’s in danger, Warren. My bears will join together to tear apart anything that dares to try and harm her.” Eason gripped the dashboard as Warren turned onto the road leading to their den and Serenity’s old house.
“I know. I don’t know that I’ll be far behind you there. Let’s just hope it doesn’t come down to that.”
Warren roared onto the driveway and barely managed to stop the truck before sliding into Wren’s little trap of a car. The bike sat to one side, giving Warren a small measure of relief that he’d been right and she was at the house.
Both bears jumped from the cab of the truck long before the dust caught up with them and were striding for the door. He had no doubt it would be locked, but a locked door had never slowed him down before. All it did was create some noise and the threat of splinters. They might owe Serenity a new door, but he didn’t sweat that one bit.
Eason beat him there and pounded on the door, yelling.
“Open this fucking door, Wren. Right the hell now!” Eason’s bellow was bound to wake the bears who weren’t already living in the soundproofed basement.
“Leave me alone! I’ll talk to you tomorrow morning. Go crawl into your den and hibernate.” Wren’s voice warbled with anger. She kicked the door before a soft curse followed.
“We aren’t leaving, Wren. You might as well open the door or we’re going to break it down, but one way or another, we are coming inside,” Warren told her.
“You wouldn’t dare!” Wren’s uneasy voice held more worry now than outrage. That was good.
“Don’t test me, wild dog. I’m mad enough to spit nails. Open the damn door!” This time he kicked the door for good measure.
“I told you that I’m not completing the mating until I’m sure my pack and Mo are safe,” she said.
“And we said we understood. Are you doubting our word?” Warren asked, surprised.
“I don’t know you or Eason from Jack Sprat. How can I trust you? I don’t even trust most of my pack.”
Warren could hear the resignation in her voice along with a dose of sadness. The chain rasped across the slide. A soft sigh and the first deadbolt clicked open. Something bumped three times on the door, a muffled sound that wouldn’t be her fist. Then the second deadbolt turned with a snap.
He let her open the door. She had to be the one to give in on this. He didn’t want her to ever be able to say that they forced her compliance in any way. Sure they’d threatened to break down the door, but it would have been a last resort.
A crack between appeared as she opened the door the tiniest bit. It didn’t widen at first, so he couldn’t see Wren through it. It opened a heartbeat at a time until they could make out her silhouette from the back lighting of the mudroom. Warren couldn’t discern her expression clearly enough to guess at her thoughts even with his night vision. But the sad scent of pain filled his nostrils so that shame almost blocked out the worry and anger that she’d run from them when she might be in danger.
Almost.
* * * *
Wren tried desperately to block the pain and disappointment deep inside. She knew Eason and Warren would be able to tell by her scent that she was upset, hurt even. Why had it mattered that they’d proven that they were just like every other shifter male? She’d known they would be. But she’d hoped her mates would be different and see that she was well able to take care of herself and didn’t need to be shielded from the bad side of life.
“Wren? Can we come inside, baby girl?” Warren asked.
The fact that he and Eason had stepped back from the door once she’d opened it helped her to gather herself so that she was able to think rationally again. Sometimes Wren hated her wild dog genes.
“Okay.” She opened the door a little wider then retreated into the kitchen to put the table between them.
“Honey, you have no idea how much you scared us leaving like that. We had no idea if you’d come back here or go somewhere we wouldn’t be able to find you,” Warren told her.
“There is someone out there with darts taking wild dogs, Wren. You can’t run off like that without us.” Eason gripped the back of a chair so tightly the wood groaned beneath his fingers.
Wren shivered at the intensity of raw need that hit her like a freight train. She should have been worried at the amount of frustration Eason’s expression revealed. His dual bears were enough of a threat for any sane person to walk carefully around him, but Wren wasn’t afraid of him. Instead, she was turned on in a way she’d never felt before.
I’ve finally gone off the deep end. I’ve read about wild dogs who did that. I just never thought I might end up being one of them someday.
When he leaned over the chair to stare down at her, Wren soaked her panties, her clit throbbing as if he’d already stroked it with his thick fingers, maybe even his tongue. She nearly moaned out loud at the mere thought of his mouth on her pussy. What had happened to her? She was supposed to be angry with how they had treated her at her brother’s apartment earlier. Not ready to jump into the bed with them.
Hell, screw the bed, the floor or the table would work for her.
“When you’re in danger, little wild pup, our word is law. We wouldn’t be able to go on without you.” Eason’s voice had dropped almost too deep for her to hear. The gravelly tone strummed along her body like a classical guitar.
“I…” Wren licked her lips then continued. “I’m not good at following orders. I’m used to being independent, doing things my way.”
Warren clasped the other bear’s shoulder, easing him back a step. “We would never clip your claws, Wren. You can be yourself, just as wild as you want to. We love that about you. But when it comes to your safety and well-being, we won’t compromise. Eason is right. You’re the most important thing in our life and always will be.”
“I’m a fighter. I’m good at it, too. I’ve been helping my brother protect our pack since I was old enough to learn to fight. Don’t hide me away when I can help. You’ll take away part of what makes me, me. I don’t think I could stand it.” Wren fought the urge to cry even as the unshed tears burned her eyes.
Warren looked up, his jaw tightening with the muscles in his neck straining as if he was trying to see through the roof to the heavens. Wren knew she asked too much, but this was important. It was in her nature to fight and defend. She was an alpha female and trained for it. If they refused to let her do what was an integral part of her, as basic and essential as breathing, they would destroy her.
I can’t back down on this. How can this work if they can’t compromise
?
“This is something we’re going to have to talk about later, Wren. You have to understand our natures as well. Our instinct is to protect our mate to the death. You will always come first and be cared for in every way,” Warren said.
“I don’t think I can stand back and let you fight in front of me, Wren. I fight my bears as it is to not wrap you up in silk and cotton and carry you away to somewhere safe. My chest hurts just knowing you’re at risk with whatever is going on right now.” Eason’s forehead creased as he seemed to be fighting that need right then.
“Please, baby girl. Give us some time to work this out between the three of us. We’ll try to curb as much of our instinct as we can until this threat is over. Then we can talk through it. Please don’t fight us on this right now,” Warren pleaded.
“I—I’ll try not to, but I can’t promise anything. Just like your bears have instincts and needs, wild dogs have them in triplicate.” Wren sighed and pulled at her hair. “I don’t know how this is going to work anyway. Nature made a huge mistake putting us together.”
“Why would you say that?” Eason asked, a worried edge in his voice.
“Bears are calm and laid back. You don’t hurry to do anything and you’re perfectly happy to just be unless something riles you up. African Wild Dogs are just that, wild. We’re never still and tend to go off on tangents in the blink of an eye. Our emotions are all over the place and can change in a heartbeat. Where is a middle ground with that?” Wren started pacing from one end of the room to the other.
After a few dozen rounds, Eason stepped in front of her, stopping her with his big, callused hands gently grasping her upper arms. Wren looked up at the expression on his face that couldn’t be anything other than love before he lowered his head in slow motion and kissed her.
Gentle at first, his mouth slowly grew more urgent as he brushed them back and forth over her lips as soft as gossamer, softly pressing against hers before running his tongue at the seam of her lips, urging her to open to him. Wren didn’t even hesitate. She was already so hot and ready for them after their show of aggression that she was surprised she hadn’t started humping a leg before now. Only her intense need to get them to understand how much she needed the freedom to move and breathe kept her from jumping their hard, perfect bodies.