Zion sliced into his own palm and raised it next, and Jackson took Sarah’s wrist, guiding her palm to Zion’s. Grey followed suit and Wes lifted Sarah’s palm to his.
She didn’t know why she was so shocked by this blood mixing ritual. In a world that had real-live wolf shifters, why should something like this shock her? “Is that safe? Mixing blood like that?”
Levi nodded. “We don’t get the bloodborne diseases that humans do. We don’t even catch colds. So yes, it’s safe.”
Hope sighed. If she could wrap her mind around being their mate, this would be in her future. Pain was not something she relished, but Sarah hadn’t even cried out. She didn’t seem traumatized, at least not that Hope could tell at a distance.
Jackson cut his palm and held it out to Sarah, and Wes went next. Then, the knife began to make its way through the crowd. Now she could see why there were no children about. Seeing this would no doubt scare them.
“Once everyone has participated, Sarah will be part of the clan, part of the family. But there’s still a final step,” Adam explained.
Hope watched Sarah walking through the crowd, stopping as each shifter sliced into his or her own hand. Jackson and Wes were always right behind her. “This is only part of the clan, though, right? Does she have to repeat this later? With everyone else?”
“No,” Levi said. “Since it’s only symbolic, anyone who wanted to participate could show up, but no one is forced to.”
“All of these people wanted to come out here and cut themselves?”
Adam chuckled. “It’s not that bad. We heal so fast that a little sting isn't that big of a deal. Besides, it’s a pride thing.”
“Pride?”
“We are proud of our clan, and for some of us, that means coming out to participate in things like this.”
The knife finally made its way to Adam, and Sarah stood in front of him beaming. Hope looked away when Adam cut himself, and then when Levi did so. Instead, she focused on Sarah’s face as she kneeled and offered her bloodied palm first to Adam, then to Levi. It held such a look of joy that as weird as the whole thing was, Hope found herself smiling.
They were the last stop for the blood-mixing thing, and Sarah and her mates made their way back up to the front again.
“This is when everyone shifts,” Adam told her.
She was grateful for the warning, but as Zion stripped, followed by Grey, she found she couldn’t look away. She had to see how the rest of the event unfolded. Giving only their disrobing as warning, Zion and Grey shifted simultaneously. Then, one by one, the rest of the crowd followed suit, leaving Sarah and her mates still in human form. They went in the same order as they’d accepted the knife, ending with Levi, who took his time, leaning over to kiss her before stripping and shifting.
Hope leaned back against Adam, glad he’d decided not to shift for the event. He tightened his arms around her, and she was thankful for his warmth and the strength of his embrace. Despite knowing the wolves around her meant her no harm, the hair on the back of her neck rose as she looked around. She suddenly felt more vulnerable than she could ever remember feeling.
Finally, Jackson and Wes had stripped and shifted. Hope held her breath waiting for Sarah to do the same. It wasn’t every day you watched a family member turn into a wolf. Sarah didn’t remove her own clothing. Jackson and Wes removed the dress for her, and she hadn’t worn any underwear. A split second of silence passed, and then, in Sarah’s place, stood a white-and-gray wolf.
Hope wished she was closer, close enough to see Sarah’s wolf form better, but at the same time she was glad she wasn’t right there in the thick of things.
“Okay,” Adam said. “This is when it gets noisy.”
The first howl made her jump, and goose bumps raced to cover her flesh as one wolf after another took up the sound, circulating the crowd until it became a chorus of howls. She covered her ears but couldn’t block out the sound. It seemed to emanate from inside her as much as it circulated around her.
“Final step,” Adam said, once the howls died down.
Eyes wide, Hope watched as the wolf Sarah lay down on her back, craning her neck backward. Zion trotted forward and seemed to survey the crowd before leaning down, opening his mouth, and fastening it on Sarah’s neck.
Hope cried out, jumping in Adam’s arms, unable to help herself.
“It’s okay,” he said, his voice soothing. “I promise you, he’s not hurting her. The alphas are demonstrating their dominance and Sarah is showing that she will submit to them.”
Zion moved away and Grey followed, taking Sarah’s neck between his jaws as well. Then, the alphas retook their human forms, standing before the crowd nude and apparently unselfconscious.
“Gathered,” Grey said. “Welcome our newest member of Clan Liekos.”
Wolves retook their human forms right and left, and Hope breathed a sigh of relief. Cheers and applause split the night air. “What now? “ Hope asked, feeling drained just from watching.
Levi, himself once more, pulled his shorts on. “Now we celebrate.”
The alphas’ staff appeared as if on cue with glasses, wine, and beer as well as a hot drink that reminded Hope of beef and vegetable soup. It warmed her insides, so she stuck to that instead of wine, wanting to keep a clear head since she didn’t know what else to expect of the evening.
As it turned out, there was entertainment. A group of men and women sang and danced, and people Adam and Levi called elders told stories of the clan’s past. Hope listened with rapt attention, amazed at every word. Most of the time, she sat with her back resting against Adam’s chest. When they switched places, Levi held her. They nuzzled her neck and kissed her every so often, fussing over her when they thought she’d grown cold.
By the time the celebration had ended and Sarah had come over to say goodnight, Hope had asked herself dozens of times how it was possible to feel so good, so at home in their arms.
Adam got to his feet, looking down at her and Levi. He held a hand out to her. “Come on. Let’s get you to bed.”
She looked up at him, amazed yet again that such an incredible specimen of a man was so intent on caring for her. Taking his hand, she allowed him to help her up. She knew how her night would end, or at least how she hoped it did. And she couldn’t see any good reason to keep them away from the comfort of their own home any longer, not when they’d all end up in bed together anyway. “I have a better idea. I think it’s about time you both headed home. You’re probably tired of shuffling back and forth whenever you need something, right?”
“It’s not a big deal,” Adam said.
Levi took her hand in his big, warm grip. “We’re happy being here with you, Hope.”
“Well…” She looked at Levi’s expression, then at Adam’s. They looked disappointed, as if she were rejecting them. Clearly, they had no idea where she was going with this. “I never said anything about going without me.”
She watched, amused, as her meaning finally dawned on them. There were those knee-weakening grins again. She didn’t know when exactly it had happened, but the sex-only relationship she’d half-heartedly hoped for was rapidly slipping away. There was no denying that she was developing feelings for them. “If you still want me there, I’m ready to go home with you.”
* * * *
Adam and Levi had eagerly moved her things out of the lodge and into their home. She’d told them she could just grab some things for overnight and they could go back for the rest in the morning, but they’d insisted on packing her up and getting her out right then and there. Hope smiled as she remembered the speed with which Levi’s car was loaded up and she was hustled into it. It was like they thought she’d change her mind if they moved too slowly.
She’d managed to stop their forward progress only long enough to tell Sarah where she was going, but knocking on her sister’s guestroom yielded no answer. Neither Adam nor Levi expressed surprise at that. Apparently, it was a given that the threesome would do some cel
ebrating in private.
Once back at Adam’s and Levi’s, she’d taken over the guestroom she hadn’t really used on her first night there. Both men were as meticulous in unpacking and setting up her things as they’d been at the lodge. She was surprised that they hadn’t put all of her things in one of their bedrooms. They explained that they wanted her to feel comfortable, with her own space to use as she needed, but that she was welcome to move into one of their bedrooms at any time. That said, she ended up sleeping in Adam’s room that night, snuggled between him and Levi. After they’d made love to her, she’d fallen asleep wondering if she’d ever sleep well by herself again.
Adam got up at what seemed like the earliest sliver of dawn to go help the alphas with something. She’d sat up, bleary eyed, to kiss him goodbye, then fallen back asleep in Levi’s arms. When she woke again, Levi was gone, too. She padded back down the hall to the guestroom and took a shower, dressing in a pair of shorts and a V-neck black T-shirt, then walked back toward the kitchen to look for breakfast food. She laughed at herself as she opened their refrigerator and stood there wondering what she should make. In the short time that she’d been at the lodge, she’d gotten used to having meals prepared for her, which probably wasn’t a good thing. The always overflowing buffet was a recipe for overeating.
Hope grabbed some eggs and looked around for a frying pan. She could go for scrambled eggs and toast. She just wished they had some peppers and onions, even a tomato. If she lived there, they’d have to get used to more vegetables. The all-meat, all-the-time thing wouldn’t work for her.
“I didn’t know you were up. I would have made you breakfast.”
Hope jumped and promptly dropped the pan she’d finally found. It was only Levi, but she’d thought she was alone in the house. “Oh my God! You scared me.”
“Sorry,” he said, walking over to retrieve the fallen pan. “I thought you heard me coming.” He studied her as if she’d fallen rather than just dropped the pan. “Are you okay?”
She laughed. “I’m fine now. I just didn’t know you were home is all.”
“I was out back, working on a project.”
“Want some breakfast?”
“Nah, I already ate.”
Hope went about the business of making her eggs and toast, then started the teapot that was already on the stove. “Know what I noticed?”
Levi shook his head, joining her at the kitchen table. “What?”
“You wolves don’t seem to do coffee. When I was staying with Sarah, I noticed she didn’t guzzle it all morning anymore. At first I thought it was because she slept so late, even later now than when we were teens, but I didn’t see a coffeemaker or even so much as smell a coffee bean in the lodge. Same thing here.”
“Sorry about that. I’ll pick up a coffeemaker today.” He got up and went to silence the teapot. “We’ve never really been into coffee, so we didn’t realize you might be missing your morning cup.”
She watched as he poured the hot water into her cup. She’d already added sugar and a tea bag. “It’s not that. I actually prefer tea. I just thought it was kind of…”
“Weird?”
“Interesting.”
He set the steaming cup down in front of her, then sat across from her at the table again. “We can’t really do the caffeine. As long as we get a minimal amount of sleep, we have energy to spare by morning. Caffeine just sends our energy levels through the roof.”
“Does it make you jittery?”
“Not really. It’s more like being way too amped up but losing your impulse control. Arguments start, fights break out. It’s ugly. So, as a general rule, we avoid it like the plague. We all try it once, though. Zion says it’s better to experience why we shouldn’t drink it than to constantly wonder what it’s like.”
She smiled, studying him.
“What?” he asked.
“I don’t know… Since you told me about the coffee thing, I can’t stop imagining you and Adam jumping around wrecking stuff like gremlins.”
“What’s a gremlin?”
“Just these little furry things, fictional animals, that go crazy if you feed them after midnight. Sort of like little teddy bears gone wild.”
He cocked an eyebrow at her. “Now, that’s weird.”
“It’s from an old movie.” She finished the last of her eggs. “So what were you working on outside? Am I keeping you?”
“Come on. I’ll show you.” He pushed his chair back and took her hand, leading her outside. “It’s nowhere near finished, but…”
Hope’s stomach tightened into a hard knot when she saw it. A cradle. He was hand-carving a cradle. She hated that she couldn’t completely control her reactions to such things, but she’d gotten better at it. By the time he turned around to look at her, she had managed to produce a smile. “I can already tell it’s going to be amazing.” She had yet to see any of his work that wasn’t. “Who’s it for?”
“For Jackson, Wes, and Sarah.”
“How did you know she’s pregnant?” Sarah was keeping everything hush-hush, at least until she knew for sure.
“Jackson told me. He can’t keep a secret, not when he’s excited like that.”
“Sarah is so going to kill him.”
“Not if you don’t mention it to her. I don’t think he’s told anyone besides us, and he said you already knew. Tell her if you want, but right after she has his head, he’s coming straight after me.”
He looked like he’d really stepped in it, and she laughed. “Don’t worry. I’m staying out of it.”
Levi settled down gathering his tools. “I better get back to work. I want to finish it to give them right after the hydan.”
“Hmmm…You know, I hadn’t thought to ask, but is there a need to rush it? I mean, it will still be a while before she gives birth, right?”
“Yeah. Same as humans, but they’ve been talking about starting a family for so long that I want to give it to them right away. Besides, if I wait too long, someone else will beat me to it and buy them one.”
She watched him work for a few minutes, amazed by the way he lovingly handled the wood. It was obviously a labor of love for him rather than just something to do. “Do you mind if I sit out here with you for a while? I’m in the mood to sketch, but I don’t want to be a distraction or anything.”
“Go grab your stuff,” he said, not taking his eyes of the wood.
Hope practically bounced down the hall to the guestroom to gather what she needed. She wasn’t sure why she was so excited, really, but it thrilled her that he was so passionate about his art and caring enough to want to make something so nice for her sister.
She forced herself not to compare him to Brad. There was simply no comparison, and she hated the way her ex still managed to intrude on her thoughts, especially now.
Looking down at her hands, she examined her ring finger. She’d taken her wedding ring off that first night she’d spent with Adam and Levi. There was still a slight indentation where she’d worn it, but the sun was working its magic on the telltale pale line that had been there before. Intellectually, she’d known there was someone better for her. She’d realized that when she’d discovered Brad’s betrayal, and if she was honest with herself, she’d known it even before then. Now, though, her heart had managed to catch up.
* * * *
Hope had gone back outside with her supplies, only to find that Levi had put one of those folding-type lounge chairs out for her. “You didn’t have to do that. I could have sat in the grass or on the stairs.”
“It’s okay. I like doing things for you.”
He stopped at that, but she knew the rest. The unspoken mate thing hung in the air, but this time she almost wished he’d said it. As hard as she’d tried, she couldn’t quite get it off her mind. And now she was having an even harder time shaking the idea that they were right, that they were meant to be.
Levi bent back to his work, and with a sigh, she gripped the charcoal in her hands and went to wor
k. They created in companionable silence, enjoying the fresh air, the warmth of the sun, and each other’s company. She didn’t even have to think of what to draw. He created the perfect image, all hard muscle and intense gaze. He represented strength and determination mixed with a certain male beauty that she just had to capture on paper, or at least she tried. She also liked the look he got on his face at times, like he had lost himself in his work. It was a look she’d bet she wore when working on an art project.
When he finally sat back for a breather, she was still sketching, mostly just some shading she had left to finish. She took the opportunity to ask the question she’d been dying to ask. “How did you learn to do that? I’ve never seen anyone carve such incredibly intricate designs.” He’d told her he was carving some sort of crest into the cradle.
“My mother’s side of the family was very artistic. My grandfather taught me to carve, and my mother and grandmother did a lot of painting. They didn’t teach me, not exactly, but I picked it up. They’d spend hours down by the river painting, and I’d sometimes just sort of tag along. The first real painting I ever finished was a portrait of my mom, but I’ve been carving since I was eleven, little things at first.” He shrugged. “My father never really got it, but he didn’t try to stop me. What about you?”
She smoothed her hair away from her face, remembering too late that there was charcoal all over her hands. “Shit! Oh well, now you know that I always make a mess when I’m drawing. Anyway, I’m not really sure. It’s kind of a fluke with me. The rest of my family constantly jokes that they can’t even draw stick figures.”
He laughed. “Yeah, I get the same from Adam and Nikki sometimes. I just figure we all seem to have something we’re passionate about, something that’s our thing.”
“Yeah, I heard some of that the other day at breakfast. Nikki seems very passionate about the clan’s health care.”
“She’s always been interested in that, even went to school for it. Sometimes she gets so passionate about it that she won’t let the doctors do their jobs. She’ll get right in there and take over. And they let her. Tell you the truth, I think she knows more than some of them do. She started studying the way our bodies work long before she ever got any formal education.”
Claiming Hope [Wolves of River's Bend 2] (Siren Publishing Ménage Amour) Page 16