by Cara Adams
Alex heard the pain in Piotr’s voice and spoke as gently as he could. “I’m pretty sure she understands that. It’s just that she wants you to understand she’s an adult perfectly capable of making her own decisions.”
“That’s the whole point isn’t it? As adults we have the right to decide for ourselves, to make mistakes, even to fail. My head knows that but my heart is really struggling with the idea.”
Piotr flicked his gaze from the road to Piotr quickly. “Tell her that. Don’t try to lock her away from danger, but explain your fears to her. Likely she knows already, but she needs to hear you say how you feel.”
Piotr was silent for several miles then Alex felt him straighten up beside him. “Yeah. It’s the whole man-versus-woman divide isn’t it. Men hide their fears inside, locked away and never spoken of. Whereas women bring them out, inspect them in the light of day, then do what they want to do anyway. You’re right. I need to apologize and be open with her about my fear. It’s all bound up with love for her. I’ve never loved anyone the way I love Tatiana. The depths of my feelings took me unaware there for a while, but I’m coming to grips with it now. But will it all be too late? Will she hate me now?”
Alex grinned. “She doesn’t seem to me to be the kind of person who hates anyone.”
Piotr smiled. “You should have seen her with the man who punched me. She gave him a flower, held his hand, and did a couple of dance steps. It was like something from another era. Well, except for her clothes, or lack of them more accurately. But seriously, the man was actually dancing with her before he knew it. If I hadn’t been so scared for her I’d have laughed at the look on his face. It was an insane scene. So no. There’s no hate in her, but we can only hope she’s still willing to love us after everything.”
Alex wasn’t sure enough about it to say anything aloud, but it seemed to him she wouldn’t have been so cross with Piotr if she hadn’t cared for them both. If leaving them meant nothing much to her she wouldn’t have been so passionate in her response to Piotr. Alex was quietly confident—well, maybe just hopeful—she’d forgive them and let them start again. But Piotr would have to agree to keep his Dominance for the bedroom and dungeon, not out in their daily lives.
Suddenly it was Alex’s gut churning and doing the cha-cha under his seatbelt. Could Piotr do that? Could he restrict his Dom persona to their private lives? Or was it so much a part of his nature that it’d keep on appearing and upsetting Tatiana even though Piotr tried to give her some space? Oh, fuck! Maybe they weren’t about to get together again after all.
* * * *
The hotel Odette had booked Tatiana into was balm to a wounded heart. There was a “ladies only” accommodation floor, a “ladies only” session in the swimming pool each day, even a “ladies only” concierge desk which arranged the hire of a motorcycle for her and gave her the business card for a taxi company with all women drivers for when she’d need a ride. Tatiana took advantage of the offer and had a female tour guide take her to the market where she wished she had reason to buy twice as many items as she needed. Everything was beautifully embroidered and the colors were glorious.
Still, even though the amount of money placed on her credit card had been generous, Tatiana had no idea how long she’d need to stay and had no intention of wasting the pack’s resources however long that might be. But three long sleeved, floor-length dresses in jewel tones and three matching headscarves made their way into her shopping bag immediately.
She hired a taxi to drive her along the foreshore and a guide who took her on a walking tour of the old city. She saw many people in Western clothes, but many others who weren’t, and of the ones in Western dress, the vast majority of the women were discreet. But her new dresses were so pretty she’d have worn them anyway.
At the end of the fifth day she texted Odette. I have a good idea of the city here.
She didn’t want to be explicit because she had no idea if the Internet was being monitored, and besides, if the Alpha’s mate asked her for a written report she could go into the hotel’s business center, hire a computer for a few hours, and write one. So far all she had was a mass of notes of the kind any innocent tourist might make. Apart from that, tabouleh with grilled lamb on a skewer was now her new favorite food. Or at least, the way it was cooked here it was. She’d be trying it for herself at home though for sure.
The problem was she missed Piotr and Alex. It was as though a piece of her was missing. They’d become so very close in such a short time, that being away from them was like a physical pain. But could she live with Piotr’s bossiness in her everyday life? In the bedroom was one thing. His orders to turn over, or lie across his lap to be spanked, just made her cunt pour cream and her body even hotter with desire. But outside the bedroom she was a person in her own right.
She knew in some BDSM families the Dom ruled everything. He told his sub which clothes she could wear, or even if she was to remain naked. He chose what food she would eat, or if she was not to eat. Tatiana didn’t mind what other people did. If it made them happy that was fine by her. Some subs rejoiced in giving complete control to their master. It gave them total freedom of spirit. She knew that. But for her, she needed to have some autonomy. If he really wanted her to go out of the apartment with no underwear, maybe she would, but to say if she disagreed with him he’d just tie her to the bed was a deal breaker as far as she was concerned. Tying her to the bed for sex was fine. Tying her to the bed to enforce his will on her was not.
Sitting on the airplane home, Tatiana found herself trying to decide how much of her own freedom she was prepared to relinquish to make the relationship work. One part of her wanted to agree to anything to keep them together, but a wiser part of her mind knew she’d gradually become bitter and grumpy if that’s what happened. But she was willing to compromise, especially if it was a matter of just talking through issues with her men.
She felt pained for Alex, who was caught up in the middle of the drama. He’d been visibly concerned about her safety, yet had agreed to let her carry through her plan. That had as much, or even more effect on her than Piotr’s complaints. She didn’t want to hurt either of them, and she was prepared to listen to Alex’s concerns and deal with them. She sighed and shrugged her shoulders. That was over. It was no use digging up old dirt. She needed to think of the future.
What would she do when she arrived home? Presumably she’d be back in the sewing room, and the first banquet would be happening soon. They’d need at least one full rehearsal to make sure the entertainment was going to be smooth and flow with none of them getting in each other’s way.
The chef said one room would be served the soup, then the second room. Then the plates cleared from the first room, then the second room. And so on. The entertainment would follow that plan with the jugglers and musicians doing their act in first one room, then the other. Since the dimensions of both rooms were identical, they only needed one practice, but it wouldn’t hurt to do it all twice, to ensure they moved from room to room smoothly as well.
But even thinking about the banquets meant Alex and Piotr were central in her mind. They were her dance partners, along with Damask, Jairus, and Grigori. Jairus was to be Master of Ceremonies for the banquets as well.
The pack had bought her a replica Middle Ages wooden flute and she’d learned to play a few of the very old songs on it as well. Really, the notes were much the same as with her own flute, although the wood gave it a different tone and she had to change her breathing slightly to make the tonal sounds. Damask would be playing a lute and a drum for the music.
Everything reminded her of the men. They been together such a short time, but they were not just in her blood and under her skin, they were a part of her life in every way. Which meant just one thing. She needed to decide how much she was prepared to give up to keep them, if it became necessary. Not my soul. I will always be my own person.
You’ll be met at the airport, the message from Odette had said. Tatiana wondered who wo
uld be sent. Piotr should be in his store selling candy to the tourists. Alex should be back at his desk as head of customer service. Damask, Anastasia, Kady, all her friends would be working. Today was just a regular day in the life of a tourist attraction.
Visiting the ocean had been wonderful and Izmir was a delightful city with so much there to see and do. Vienna had been beautiful, too, and watching the dancing horses had been an absolute joy. But in her heart, the mountains would always be home. Nothing could compare with their stately grandeur and ever-changing beauty, to Tatiana’s mind.
Tatiana collected her suitcase from the conveyer belt at luggage pickup, then wheeled it slowly through the crowds, looking for a familiar face. No one seemed to be looking for her, and there was no one she recognized so she continued walking outside the building. A nondescript white car honked its horn and a hand waved out the window at her. She still didn’t recognize the driver—the car was too far away—but she moved more briskly toward the car only to be almost shocked to a halt as she recognized the iron-gray bob-cut hair of the Alpha’s mate. Grabbing her suitcase by the handle, Tatiana picked it up and ran through the traffic to the white car. Holy shit Odette Vulf is here! To meet me?
She didn’t hear the sound of the trunk releasing over all the noises of the people and traffic, but she did noticed the trunk open an inch or two so she lifted the lid and slung her suitcase and carry-on inside, shut the trunk, and slid into the passenger seat of the car.
Smoothly Odette pulled out from the curb, crossed several lanes of traffic, and made her way out of the airport precinct.
“Thank you for collecting me. I’m sorry to inconvenience you,” she said, still coming to grips with the idea of being met by such an important person.
“No trouble. I’m multitasking. The journey should be the ideal length for you to tell me everything you saw and learned in Turkey. Besides, this vehicle is completely private and no one can overhear us. Begin with Izmir. What did you learn?”
Quickly Tatiana assembled her thoughts and spoke about the town and its attractions, especially the kinds of things a group of men might wish to do. When she finished she pulled her notepad from her purse and skimmed through her notes, checking that she hadn’t forgotten anything. “In some ways it’s very Western in outlook, but underneath that there is still a strong patriarchal influence. I think that would appeal to some male wolves,” she said.
Odette nodded. “I agree. Now tell me, after the three of you worked so well together to get the message to your Alpha, what went wrong.”
Tatiana looked at her hands, twisting the pages of her notebook. She replaced it in her purse and said, “I’d like to say Piotr went wrong but that’s not fair. It was me, too. He was concerned that I might have been in danger, even though I wasn’t. There was no hint of trouble near me.” Realizing her voice was getting louder she took a deep breath and began again. “Anyway, he wanted me to promise to stay in the hotel room in the future if there were any other meetings and I refused. I was the one who thought of the plan and it worked. But, perhaps I should have been more…ah…”
Odette gave a soft laugh. “Placatory? You need to remember these men are wolves. Wolves are very protective of their woman. But I understand. And I believe he’s learned his lesson. Have you learned yours?”
“I’m prepared to compromise, just not to sit inside whenever anyone is doing anything. I’m not made of porcelain. I won’t break so easily.” Then she remembered who she was talking to and said, “I’m sorry, ma’am. I don’t mean to be rude. I’m very grateful for all you and the pack have done for me.”
“But you’re right, sweetie. The men need to learn a woman is not a second-class citizen, even though humans are not as strong as wolves. They also need to remember that it appears to be human women who are breathing life into dying wolf packs.”
Tatiana stared at her. Of course. She’d forgotten that for the moment. Wolves mating wolves had led to a steady decline in the number of births of females. It was down to between one quarter and one third of all births. Yet where they mated with humans the ratio was back to fifty-fifty. So it really did seem as if every few generations wolves needed to move away from the pack and find new mates. Human ones.
Tatiana was surprised when Odette pulled into the forecourt of a large hotel in the town nearby the castle. Odette leaned forward, opened the glove compartment, and pulled out a room key card. “Relax. Have a swim, use the gym, sit in the hot tub. At around six thirty Piotr and Alex will contact you asking if they might join you. The decision is completely up to you.”
She pressed a button and the trunk popped open an inch or two. Tatiana dropped the room key in her purse, undid her seatbelt, and rested her hand on the door lock. “Thank you for everything. I appreciate it.”
She got out of the car, collected her suitcase and carry-on, closed the trunk, and walked into the hotel. She pressed the button for the elevator and looked at the number on the key card. Inside the elevator, the buttons for each floor were labeled with what was on that level, shops, conference facilities, swimming pool and gym, and so on. She pressed seven for her floor and decided to relax in the hot tub and do her thinking there. But inside she knew she was going to agree to see the men. She loved them and wanted them too much to say no. The only question was how happy they’d be together or would they forever be fighting about her safety, real or imagined. But surely now that they were back in the castle there would be no danger.
But no, that didn’t make sense. There would always be danger. First, there was the lack of a Supreme Alpha for Europe and a number of different contenders for that position. Undoubtedly some of them would be ruthless and not necessarily ready to play by the rules. Second, there was the whole issue of the werewolves themselves. It was one thing to pretend the castle was just a marketing gambit, but the facts were that they were genuine werewolf shape-shifters and many humans did not appreciate differences in people, far less another species. If the truth ever became known, even to a small group of vigilantes, everyone’s life would be at risk. No. Safety was not going to happen. Not even in Werewolf Castle.
* * * *
Piotr Tomic was standing at the counter in the candy store, his hand clenched around a pile of brightly colored lollipops.
Damask tapped him on the shoulder and pointed to his hand. “Piotr, go now and visit with Tatiana before you destroy any more of the stock.”
“Huh?” He looked down at his hands and saw the sweet candies were broken into pieces. Opening his palm there were fragments of candy stuck to his fingers and a pile of crumbs dropped onto the counter.
“Sorry. I’ll go and get a cloth to clean it up.”
“Let me clean up here. You go see Tatiana.”
“But I have to lock up the store soon.”
Damask shook her head at him. “Who do you think locked up perfectly capably all the time you were away? Just go.”
Piotr had spent days trying to decide what to say to Tatiana. He knew he couldn’t promise not to worry about her, or even not to beg her to be careful and let him protect her. But he was certain—well, reasonably certain—he wouldn’t attempt to bully her or browbeat her again.
“I can’t go without Alex.”
“If he’s as on edge as you are, his staff will be very keen for him to leave early, too.”
Piotr laughed. Damask was right. Besides, the crowds had eased off. No one entered the castle this late. The entry fee was too expensive and there was far too much to see and do for people to stay less than an hour or two. Most stayed half a day. The last of the tour guides would be collecting their groups very soon.
Piotr left the candy store and went back to his room, changed out of his costume and collected his bag of toys. They were still in the sports bag he’d taken to Vienna. He hadn’t had the heart to unpack them. Without Tatiana to pleasure it didn’t seem worth it.
He’d been devastated to find she wasn’t at the castle when he returned. He’d gone to the Alpha beggin
g to know where she was, only to be told it wasn’t any of his business. At least the Alpha had promised to tell him when she was coming back.
Today he’d been told she was staying in a very nice hotel in the local town. He’d wished he’d known that days ago and he’d have gone to visit her immediately. Except, maybe she hadn’t been ready to see him until now. That was a sobering thought, that he’d upset her so much it’d taken her more than a week to agree to speak to him. And he still couldn’t promise not to worry about her. He knew he’d always worry about her. But he would give his word not to try to force her to do anything she didn’t want, even if it would terrify him to stand back and watch her in action.
No matter how many times she said her plan had gone exactly as she’d said it would, that didn’t mean the next plan would work. But he had to trust her. She was right. She was an adult and he was a mate, not a jailor. Apart from in their dungeon games.
I’ll be at the car in five minutes. When will you be ready? he texted Alex.
I’m sitting in my car now. I was too nervous to work.
Piotr grinned. They really were very similar to each other and he did enjoy the company of the other man. It was a very good partnership they’d developed and they worked together well. The last few days in Vienna without Tatiana they’d come to rely on each other totally, and Alex had been a real strength and support to him.
He looked in the candy store window as he walked through the inner courtyard, and Damask was serving a customer. He was glad she’d found two wolves to love. She was a true asset to the entire pack, not just to his store. An apartment was being renovated for them in the south tower. It wouldn’t be long before they were mated and she was officially a pack member. If tonight went well he’d ask Tatiana to mate with him and Alex officially.
Leonie, the woman Brody and Roman had brought home from university with them, had been involved all her life in construction, and she had some great ideas for the modernization of the west tower. Maybe they should talk to her before they chose rooms in the south tower for an apartment. That is, he supposed if there were still some vacant rooms there. He hadn’t paid much attention to it really. Likely it was time he should start thinking about such things. But only if Tatiana wanted to. It would be her home as well as theirs. He wasn’t going to make that kind of mistake again.