by Maia Dylan
Bastian pulled her close to his chest and groaned her name against the sensitive side of her neck. She wrapped her arms around him and held him tighter. Blackwater Falls had seemed like the place for a new beginning, a town where she would see her dreams realized. What she was starting to see was this town seemed to hold her happiness as well. And it came in the form of two bear shifters who had been stealing her heart little by little the more time she spent with them.
Chapter Nine
“Someone has a fucking death wish,” Bastian growled, keeping his voice low in an attempt not to awaken Hannah if the banging on the front door downstairs wasn’t loud enough to do it. She was still fast asleep, burrowed in between him and Ryker, seeking the heat of them both like a kitten.
“Come on,” Ryker said as he slid out from beneath their mate, sliding his pillow beneath her so she had something to snuggle. “We’d better go see who it is and what they want. And it had better be life and fucking death.”
Bastian couldn’t agree more as he slid out from the bed, too. He pulled up the comforter and tucked it tightly around Hannah. Whoever it was downstairs started up on the banging again, and Bastian turned from his slice of heaven on earth and stormed out the door.
“You gonna throw on some pants, brother?” Ryker called out as Bastian kept walking. “You’re sporting a hard-on I don’t think is meant for whoever is at the door.”
“Whoever that fucker is has pulled me from my mate’s arms. They can just deal with it.”
Bastian didn’t slow, stomping down the stairs heading for the door, determined to get there before that incessant banging started again.
“What the fuck is your problem?” he growled as he yanked the door open.
The five men standing on his doorstep all looked him up and down and grinned.
“Well, shit, Bastian, I knew you’d be pleased to see us, but this is fucking embarrassing,” his cousin Isaac said with a grin as he stepped over the threshold and walked into the house.
“I always thought he felt a little something for you, Zac,” Isaac’s brother added as he followed him into the kitchen, slapping a hand on Bastian’s shoulder as he walked past him.
Landon, Colton, and Brayden Bryant all laughed as they, too, walked into the house. Shaking his head, Bastian closed the door and followed them into his kitchen. He caught the jeans Ryker threw in his direction and pulled them on.
“Well, well, well,” Ryker said as he grinned at their childhood friends all standing around the kitchen. “It’s about time you brought your ugly asses home.”
There were a few moments of welcomes, man hugs, and the general ribbing that usually came when they were anywhere near each other. Bastian couldn’t keep the smile from his face. He’d missed all of them. His cousins had left four years ago, just after Ryker had taken over the leadership of the clan, answering the roaming call of their bears, looking for the woman they longed for. The triplets had left a little under a year after that.
“When the Dads called and told us about the treaty, we headed back in this direction.” Chris said as he grabbed an apple from the fruit bowl and bit into it. “You got any real food to eat? Like meat?”
Bastian went over to the fridge and pulled out stuff they could use to make sandwiches. “Typical. Your stomach always came first.”
“They picked us up on the way through Louisiana,” Brayden added, joining the rest of them as they gathered around the kitchen island.
“Louisiana?” Ryker asked as he placed some beers on the counter. “What the hell were you doing down there?”
“Oil rigs,” Landon answered. “When we grew frustrated at not finding any sign of our mate, we took jobs on the rigs just to keep out of trouble.”
“Chris and I were working down in Florida, but we’d been feeling the pull toward home lately.” Isaac shrugged. “We hoped it meant that our mate was heading this way, too.”
“There’s only been one woman that’s come into Blackwater Falls recently, and she’s ours.”
Bastian couldn’t keep the pride and joy out of his tone. He knew his friends were looking for what he and Ryker had so recently found, and perhaps it was a little cruel to throw his happiness in their faces, but he couldn’t hold his emotions back. It was a testament to the character of the men he called friends, clan mates, brothers, that there was nothing but happiness in their expressions.
“We heard that, too, you lucky bastards.” Isaac clapped a hand on his shoulder. “And from what Dad was saying, she’s feisty!”
Ryker laughed. “That she is, man. Uncle Tomas said he wished our mate was as feisty and passionate as his, and our Hannah is all that and more.”
“Dude!” Christopher groaned, dropping his sandwich on his plate. “That’s my mother you’re talking about, and I do not need to hear that about her.”
“So, Ash has finally made a move, huh?” Colton asked when they’d all finished eating and sat nursing their beers.
“Yeah,” Ryker answered. “And it’s a big one. We don’t know how he did it, but he orchestrated Hannah’s arrival in Blackwater Falls. He managed to time it to the day of Chubbuck’s death, and that is all a little too much for it to be coincidence as far as we’re concerned.”
“Agreed, but what’s his end game?” Brayden asked. “I mean, we all know that his end game is to get his hands on Blackwater Falls, but he had to know that you’d rally the families, and that we’d circle the wagons.”
Bastian nodded. He’d given that some thought as well. “Whatever he has planned, it makes no difference to him if the clan were at full strength or not. With you all back we are stronger than we were, but I don’t see a full on drag out war between the two factions as being his plan. He has something bigger in mind.”
All seven men looked up at the sound of someone moving overhead. “Our mate is only just starting to come to terms with all of this,” Ryker said quietly as Hannah started to make her way down the stairs. “Whatever Ash has planned, it involves Hannah. We will not allow her to be hurt or to be used by that prick.”
“None of us will, Ry,” Isaac replied sub-vocally, in a voice so quiet even if Hannah had been standing in the room, she wouldn’t have been able to hear him.
Hannah stepped through the door, looking warm, sleepy, and sexy as hell. Bastian felt a wave of awe sweep through him at the thought that this gorgeous woman was his mate.
“Come and meet some friends of ours, baby.” Bastian held out his hand in her direction. “They’ve only just arrived back in town.”
Hannah smiled shyly at them as she moved toward Bastian, and he pressed a kiss to the side of her neck when she settled herself against his side, and he wrapped his arm around her shoulder.
“Hi, I’m Hannah.”
The guys all introduced themselves and charmed his mate into warm smiles and a few giggles.
“Stop trying to charm my mate,” Ryker growled, but Bastian noticed the happiness that shone in his brother’s eyes. “It pisses my bear off.”
Hannah rolled her eyes. “That’s doesn’t exactly surprise me, Ryker. Practically everything I do pisses you off. We are going to have to work on your anger issues.”
There was a light pause, and then the room erupted in laughter. “Damn, Ry,” Isaac said, amusement clear in his tone, “I wish Chris and I got here a little earlier and met Hannah before you did.”
“Wouldn’t have mattered if you did,” Bastian answered. “The fates destined Hannah for Ryker and me, and there’s no messing with fate.” Hannah tensed slightly against him, and Bastian tightened his hold on her, even as Ryker leaned in to place a hand against her hip, both of them sensing her discomfort. “What is it, baby?”
Hannah frowned as she looked between him and Ryker. “So, what you are saying is that whatever this is between the three of us, that it’s a given? That the connection or attraction is inevitable and not a—a choice?”
He and Ryker shared a quick look. “What do you mean, baby?”
“
What if this reaction I have to you both is simply a chemical reaction caused by this natural compulsion you have about me?” Hannah asked in a quiet voice that had Bastian’s bear pacing within him. “I might not be the woman you want. Not your choice. It could be this shifter compulsion that makes you desire me. Have you thought about that? This might not be real, and then—”
Bastian quickly pulled Hannah closer, and slammed his mouth against hers. He swept his tongue into her mouth, licking deep, claiming every inch for his own. The speed with which she acquiesced and melted against him told him she was just as affected by the kiss as he was. Vaguely, he heard his friends moving out of the kitchen.
“Tell me that didn’t feel real to you, baby,” he asked her, loving the way her eyes remained a little unfocused after their kiss. “Because it sure as fuck felt like I was kissing the woman who already owns me, body and soul.”
Ryker tugged her around to face him, and Bastian allowed her to turn within his arms, but pressed against her. His brother kissed their mate just as passionately as he had, and from the whimper Hannah gave, she loved every second of it. The scent of her arousal lifting into the air was another good sign.
“This is real, love,” Ryker whispered against her lips. “The mating bond, the connection that exists means you were born for us, but from the moment we laid eyes on you we knew that we were born for you, too. You. Are. Our. Mate.”
Hannah remained tense between them for a long moment, and Bastian got the feeling she was weighing up their words and their actions in some way. A short while later, she exhaled shakily, and he felt her tremble slightly between them
“Okay.”
Her words were a mere whisper of sound.
“Okay?” Bastian asked, leaning his chin down on her shoulder. “Is that all you’re going to say? Ryker and I practically declare our feelings and lay our hearts at your feet and all we get in return is okay?”
Hannah laughed softly and nodded. “For now, yeah. Are you okay with that?”
“Yes.” He and Ryker both answered immediately because they knew. Hannah might not be ready to say the words, but her actions spoke volumes. They could wait for the words that came with it.
Chapter Ten
“Those fucking wolves are too damn quiet,” Ryker growled from behind his desk in the office they shared three days later. “They are up to something.”
Bastian was in full agreement. “It’s been over a week since that confrontation out at the boundary road. I would have thought with the hard-on Ash had to take us out of the equation, he would have come at us by now.”
“He didn’t use his best fighters that day, either,” Ryker said as he stood up to start pacing in front of the floor to ceiling windows that showcased the mountains they had behind their property. “We cut through them too damn fast. At least his actions have brought some of the clan home. With the triplets, Isaac and Christopher, and now Harmi and Nolan back in Blackwater Falls, we can protect our lands better than we could a week ago. And the council is sending a few members to look into the actions of the pack. They were worried when I told them Hannah's attacker had no scent. If he’s somehow concocted something that can mask a scent, then they can go anywhere undetected. That will scare the shit out of the other factions. One wrong move from Ash, and he's rogue, and we can kill him. Righteously.”
Bastian sat back in his office chair and growled in frustration. “This waiting is starting to piss me off. I almost want to walk into his territory and say let’s get to it, jackoff.”
“And that’s another thing. Whatever he is planning, it needs time. I am also pretty sure it has to do with Hannah, or at least she has a role to play.”
“But you don’t think she is an active participant in whatever he has planned, right?”
Ryker paused in his pacing and stared out the window. The sun was setting fast, and the shadows of the forest were growing, reaching out toward the house as night began to fall. “I'm certain she’s a part of it, but I am just as sure she has no clue that she is.”
Bastian turned to look toward the door. He could hear their mate in the kitchen. He and Ryker had spent the day with her at the garage, continuing to put the place in order after the attack, and had been home for about an hour. Hannah had jumped into the shower as soon as she could and had insisted on cooking dinner. He could hear her humming as she prepared a dish she called one pot chili. From the spicy aromas coming down the hallway, he knew it packed a punch.
“I think we need to talk to her about all of this.” He turned back to Ryker, prepared to fight to get his brother to see things his way. One glance at the look on Ryker’s face and he knew he wouldn’t have to.
“Agreed. If nothing else, we can warn her about Ash and hopefully get her to understand why we feel the way we do about the mongrel bastard.”
Bastian stood up from his chair and moved to follow Ryker out of the office door and down the hall to the kitchen. They heard their mate singing softly as they approached. Ryker slammed to a halt when he reached the kitchen door. Thanks to Bastian’s quick reflexes, he didn’t run right into the back of him.
“Ryker, what the hell—”
Bastian stopped when Ryker shook his head, then indicated with the flick of his chin into the kitchen. Bastian turned to look at what held his brother frozen to the spot, and his jaw dropped at what he saw.
Hannah was wearing a set of wireless headphones and was currently bumping and grinding her way around their kitchen, wearing a pair of boy short panties and a tank top. Her hair, still damp from her shower, was piled up on her head in a loose bun, and she was waving her cast around with flair. She was the hottest woman on the face of the planet.
She was singing about being happy in a high pitched falsetto and then executed a quick pirouette, which ended on a scream when she spotted him and Ryker in the doorway.
“Son of a bitch,” she squealed, pressing the heel of her left hand to her chest as she pulled her headphones off with her right. “Jesus! You guys scared the crap out of me!”
Bastian grinned as he stepped into the kitchen and pulled her into his arms. "Sorry, baby, but that was a show worth stopping for."
Ryker stepped up behind her. "Too damn right it was. The way these hips move should be outlawed."
Hannah laughed when he and Ryker both nuzzled against the sides of her neck. "I'm not too sure about that, but dinner’s ready either way."
The three of them sat down to eat, and Bastian refused to admit that the delicious chili was most definitely at the edge of his heat tolerance. Hannah and Ryker were both fine with it, but Bastian could feel beads of sweat forming on his forehead.
"You're looking a little hot there, brother." Ryker, the smarmy bastard, grinned at him. Bastian wanted to reach out and slap him upside the head.
"Is it too hot for you, Bas?" Hannah asked with true concern in her voice, and Bastian felt his heart swell.
"Not at all, baby," Bastian assured her, taking another huge mouthful of the liquid fire.
"Why do I get the feeling," Hannah said dryly, "that even if I served you molten lava, you would eat it without complaint?"
Bastian grinned. "Because I would."
"We're crazy about you, sweetness," Ryker said as he pushed his plate away. "That's not going to change. You cooked for us, and we'll eat it, and love every single mouthful."
Hannah's eyes narrowed. "Even if I decided from now on that the three of us should be vegetarians?"
Bastian's bear chuffed in displeasure within him, and from the look of pure horror on Ryker's face, he reckoned his bear shared the same distaste. "Now you're just talkin' crazy!"
The three of them tidied up the kitchen, with Bastian and Ryker stealing kisses and touching their mate as much as possible. Soon they were seated around the breakfast bar in the kitchen, a cup of coffee in front of them.
"Hannah," Ryker began, "we've never really talked about that day out on the boundary road when the three of us first met."
Ha
nnah nodded slowly. "No, we haven't, have we? It was a pretty full day for me."
"It was, and you've handled it all beautifully." Bastian reached out to place his hand on hers. "I'm not sure there are many women in this world who would learn that there are such things as shifters in the world, in such a violent way, and still retain a sense of humor."
"It's hard to disbelieve something you've seen with your own eyes," Hannah said quietly. "I could have blamed it on the concussion I guess, but I would have been lying to myself. I know what I saw."
Ryker reached for her free hand. "You walked into an argument that has been raging for thirty years. It was a battle that started between my fathers and Ash's. I'm guessing that you've figured out that there is no love lost between that man and us."
Hannah huffed a quick laugh. "That's putting it mildly! You threatened to kill him, and I took that to mean you two weren't likely to meet for beer and pool anytime soon. Every time since then that I have brought the two of you up in conversation with Ash, he manages to sidestep the issue or ignore it completely."
Ryker grumbled low, a sound that was very much more bear than man. "Damn it!"
Hannah flinched. "What?"
"You're still talking to that prick, and I want to demand that you stop. I want to somehow erase the fact you ever knew that fucker and then I want to lock you in a room upstairs, tied to our bed. Naked."
"Hey—"
"But," Ryker said louder, ignoring Hannah's burst of outrage, "I know that will not get me anything but a pissed off mate and an eternal case of blue balls that might actually prove fatal."
Hannah huffed in indignation. "Too damn right it would. If I left you with your balls in the first place, they would be blue for a really long time."
Bastian laughed as he lifted their mate’s arm to his mouth and pressed a kiss to the back of her hand. "I love that you don’t take any of his shit. But back to why we have this issue with Ash. His family believes they have a right to Blackwater Falls."