by Becca Van
Wen smirked and then groaned. Mit was about to ask what was wrong but when he heard the shower running he didn’t bother. He knew that his friend was imagining their mate all wet and naked. It wasn’t hard when they had seen her in her underwear the night before and slept beside her all night long. Or at least tried to. It had been hard in more ways than one—pun intended—having Krysta’s scantily clad body up against his own for hours on end.
“Do you think she’s going to be pissed off?” Weni asked.
“I don’t know. Probably, but hopefully when she realizes she would have died unless we mated her, she’ll be more accepting.” Mit sighed and scrubbed a hand over his face.
“Do you think we should wait for her or just head out to the kitchen?”
“We need to wait and explain to her first,” Mit said. “I could feel her through the bond sometimes and from the frowns on her face she could feel them, too. She’s not stupid. She’s going to figure things out soon. It would be better if she heard about what’s happened from us.”
“You’re right of course.” Wen groaned. “I just hope she doesn’t try and lob our heads from our shoulders once we’re done explaining.”
“You and me both, my friend.”
* * * *
Wen had a hard time keeping his expression stoic when Krysta came back into the room, a cloud of perfumed steamy air wafting behind her. She was so fucking sexy with her red hair hanging around her shoulders in wet disarray. Her legs were lithe and not surprisingly toned. She rubbed the towel through her hair and every time she moved her arm he could see her breasts moving under the T-shirt Mit had given her to wear. The shorts she had put on were too big for her frame and he could see that she’d rolled the waist to make them fit and still the legs were halfway down her thighs.
Her complexion was so peaches and cream his mouth watered for a taste of that delectably sweet-smelling skin, and her lips were formed into a perfect bow with the lower lip fuller than the top, though her top lip was also plump and enticing. It was her buxom breasts that his eyes kept going back to and he had to make a conscious effort to keep his gaze on her face.
When she dropped the towel and started running a comb through her shoulder-length hair, Wen had to turn away from her in case she got an eyeful. His cock was so hard there was no way in hell he would be able to hide the hard, rigid length that was pushing against the denim of his jeans.
He took a few moments to go over the last couple of fights against the shadow demons in his head and when his cock had deflated enough to be less obvious he turned back around. He nearly sighed with relief to see that Krysta had finished combing her hair and was sitting on the end of the bed staring at Mitry.
“You’re not telling me something. In fact you’ve left a shitload of questions unanswered.” Krysta frowned as she met Wen’s gaze before scowling at Mitry. “Start talking. Begin by explaining to me how I haven’t got any injuries.”
Mit drew another deep breath and began to talk. “Ra decided it was high time that we were rewarded for our loyalty. The others met their mates and are now all happy in loving relationships.”
“Wait! What! I’ve only seen three women with you all.” Krysta rubbed her hands on her thighs.
The action was mesmerizing and drew Wen’s attention to her sexy legs. He cleared his throat and lifted his eyes from those shapely pegs and met her gaze again. “Those women are mated to two of our friends each.”
Krysta’s mouth dropped open in shock before she snapped it closed with an audible click. “Okay, so what has that got to do with me?”
“The doctor couldn’t help you. You had already lost too much blood.” Mit turned to look at Wen, urging him to continue.
“So how the hell…”
Wen held his hand up to waylay whatever Krysta was about to ask. “We knew the moment we saw you fighting the demonic you were our mate. We couldn’t just stand by and watch you die before we had the chance to get to know you.”
Krysta’s mouth opened and closed several times before keeping it closed, her lips pulled into a tight line.
“Ra must have been watching because he turned up and told us the only way to save you was to claim you,” Mitry said the words so quickly they almost ran together.
“What?” Krysta gasped out the word, her face paling as she stared at them in astonishment.
“We claimed you by biting you at the crook of your neck and shoulder. As soon as we had done that the transformation began. Ra wasn’t sure you’d make it through that because of your injuries, so he healed you.” Wen finished explaining and waited for the explosion.
* * * *
Krysta was too shocked to react to their revelations. She had no idea what they meant by transformation and wasn’t sure she really wanted to know. Her heart was racing in her chest and she was panting. The walls of the room felt as if they were closing in on her and before she knew she was going to, she shoved to her feet and raced out the door, down the short hallway, and through the exit. Sweat beaded her forehead and upper lip when she realized she wasn’t outside but in another corridor that was so long she couldn’t see the other end.
She turned left at a fast clip, surprised by how quickly she was able to move but her emotions were all over the place and she couldn’t stop to appreciate how good and strong she was feeling or how fast she was walking. She broke into a jog and when she glanced to the side the wall seemed to blur as she ran. When she saw the turn to the right, she took that and came to an abrupt halt in the entrance of the large empty room.
It was becoming a habit for her mouth to drop open and she didn’t stop herself from doing so again when she saw the beautiful room she’d just entered. There were colorful ancient Egyptian hieroglyphs on the walls but it was the center of the room that drew her attention.
The ceiling was made of glass in the shape of a pyramid and she could see water covering the peak in a thin layer and the three sides. As she stared in wonder at the scene before her, the turmoil inside began to dissipate and was replaced with a tranquil calm she’d never felt before.
The sun was high in the sky, and although she didn't think it should be possible, she could feel the warmth of the sun’s rays permeating the room. She didn’t remember moving forward but realized she had when she tilted her head back to look straight up when she was beneath the glass pyramid. The warmth penetrated to her bones and her eyes closed as she soaked it in.
When she heard footsteps toward the entrance, she didn’t need to turn and look to know who had entered the room. She could feel them in her heart and soul and even though it was frustratingly unexpected and strange to have such a connection, Krysta knew it had to do with them claiming her.
Normally she would have ripped them a new one for doing something without her permission, but how could she when they had done what they had to save her life? That didn’t mean she was feeling all lovey-dovey toward them. She didn’t even know them. However, no matter how hard she tried to refute it, she was physically attracted to both Mitry and Weni, and had been when she’d watched them as they fought the demons when they had been unaware of her existence, let alone her presence. She just wasn’t sure what to do about it.
She pushed those thoughts aside and opened her eyes to stare up at the water-covered glass pyramid, wondering how they’d managed to build all of this and under a lake no less.
Krysta was so overwhelmed by everything she’d learnt so far and yet she wasn’t in the least scared. She’d been dealing with and fighting the evil shadows alone for a couple of years now and even they didn’t scare her anymore. Just thinking about those evil bastards and their crazy demonic leader filled her with determination to continue killing them until humanity was once more safe. The thought of innocents being hurt was just too horrible to contemplate.
“Are you all right?” Mitry asked from somewhere behind her but she didn’t turn to look at him, just nodded instead. Her body was humming at their proximity and she was worried if she gazed upon the
m once more she would do something she would regret. Although how she could regret jumping their bones she wasn’t really sure. She had a feeling that if she did that she wouldn’t want to leave their sides ever again.
Krysta had vowed long ago to never rely on anyone but herself. Growing up without loving parents had taught her that hard lesson.
Her mother had been barely out of her teens when she’d gotten pregnant, and from what she’d been told, the man who had donated sperm to give her life had run, never to be heard from again. However, she wasn't sure she believed that story. Her mom had never once looked into her eyes when Krysta had asked the questions.
Instead of digging deep and accepting that she would be a single parent, however that had come about, her mother had turned to alcohol and drugs. By the time Krysta was five years old her mom had been useless. It had been up to Krysta to become the parent and look after her mom the best she could. The day after she’d turned eight and come home from school had changed Krysta’s life forever. Her mom had been lying on the couch with her eyes closed as if she were sleeping. The moment Krysta had placed her small hand on her mother’s cheek to try to rouse her, she’d known that her mom was dead.
She didn’t cry like a normal kid would have at losing a parent. Krysta had felt pure and utter relief, hoping that her young mother had finally found peace. She hadn’t wanted to call the authorities to let them know of her mom’s demise but forced herself to pick up the phone and make that call.
She’d been so damn scared of being accused for her mom’s death, she took off and hid in a tree house in the neighbor’s yard. By the time all the officials left she was so hungry, cold, and tired she wasn’t able to force herself to leave the treehouse. The next morning after the neighbors went to work she wandered the streets looking for something to eat, because she wasn’t able to go back in the house. She’d been too scared of being caught since the police were making periodic checks on the place.
That was how she found the abandoned warehouses in the industrial part of town. She had been lucky because she met Cyn, who took her under her wing and showed her how to survive. Cyn had been in her early teens. Krysta had known that Cyn wasn’t the girl’s real name but she hadn’t cared. The other girl became like a big sister to her, showing her the best places to find food and how to hide from the cops and the less-than-savory characters that lived on the streets.
Krysta spent six years following Cyn around until one night the other girl just disappeared, never to be seen or heard from again. It had broken Krysta’s heart not knowing what happened to her friend. Of course she suspected foul play but until Cyn’s body was recovered she would wonder what had happened to her.
She often speculated if she had a guardian angel watching over her because she always seemed to find the people she needed in times of desperation. Two weeks after Cyn disappeared, Krysta was rummaging in a garbage bin outside an Italian restaurant. The owner came outside to dump another bag of trash and caught her red-handed, but instead of yelling at her and telling her to get lost, the elderly man grabbed hold of her and pulled her into the kitchen.
He introduced himself as Giovanni and, after plonking her onto a stool, cooked her the best tasting meal she’d ever had. From that moment on another friendship formed. Giovanni took her in, cleaned her up, and sent her to school. From past experiences, Krysta had learned to keep her heart locked up tight and although she’d loved the old Italian man, she never told him and kept a safe distance from him. He was so patient with her and treated her as if she was his daughter.
He taught her how to cook and all about life. The day he died was even more devastating than her own mother’s death. She’d bawled her eyes out and once again called the authorities. She’d hidden behind the dumpster in the alley, watching and listening as Giovanni’s body was taken away by the coroner.
Krysta hadn’t even known that the old man had any living relatives because in all the years she lived with him in the small two-bedroom apartment above Giovanni’s Restaurant they had never once visited or called. If Giovanni had photos of his family, she’d never seen them and suspected they had been put away from view.
The vultures swooped in fighting over who was going to get the restaurant and money, but when Giovanni’s lawyer turned up and told the money-hungry selfish bunch that all of their relative’s possessions had been left to charity, the fists started flying.
The cops ended up arresting Giovanni’s two sons and that had been that.
Krysta had wanted to be as giving as Giovanni had been to her. She immediately dropped out of school since she didn’t have the funds to continue to buy books or pay the fees, and she went to restaurant after restaurant, hoping someone would hire her to cook or as a kitchen hand.
After visiting countless places and being rejected time and again, she was finally accepted as an apprentice chef at another small family restaurant. She worked her ass off to finish her apprenticeship early and when she had that diploma in her hand she was full of pride, but she had no one to share it with.
Krysta saved as much as she could as she gained her certificate and in her spare time started feeding the homeless people. In the end she had to give up her job because she was so exhausted she collapsed at work.
Fighting the demonic night after night, plus working all day and taking a couple of hours in the evening to drop off huge amounts of food to those in need had taken its toll. That was just over a year ago.
With the way her life currently worked out, she wondered if she’d made the right decision in giving up her job. The money she'd saved was nearly gone, and if she wanted to keep a roof over her head, she needed to find employment.
“Krysta?” Wen’s voice drew her from her reverie. “Are you okay?”
“I honestly don’t know anymore.” Krysta didn’t know what she was supposed to think or do. All she did know was that once again her life had changed irrevocably and she wasn’t sure if that was good or bad.
“Are you hungry or thirsty?” Wen asked.
Krysta hadn’t realized until that moment that she was both. She’d been so caught up in everything else, she’d ignored her body’s needs. Well, except for the underlying hunger which had nothing to do with food. She turned to look at Weni over her shoulder and nodded before she looked beyond him and noticed that Mitry was leaning against the far wall staring at her intently. When she met his gaze, his eyes flashed with hunger before it was quickly gone again. She glanced away, and when she saw Wen move, she looked down at the hand he offered her.
She wasn’t sure touching him was a good thing to do but Krysta couldn’t seem to help herself and found herself reaching for him. The moment their palms connected, her body lit up as if she’d been hit by lightning. Electrical pulses raced through her frame, centering in her breasts and pussy, but there was no pain. Just a deep hungry throb she knew wouldn’t be relieved by anyone or anything but Weni and Mitry.
However, she was going to try and ignore the yearning impulses because she wasn’t ready for any of this. She’d never imagined being attracted to one man let alone two. Not after her worthless father had knocked up her mom and then ran away, leaving a young, scared woman to deal with their actions. The only man she’d had any respect for had been Giovanni but he was gone now.
She wasn’t sure she could trust Mitry and Weni. Maybe one day she would learn to trust another human being but so far everyone who’d come into her life had left or let her down.
Trust had to be earned through actions and not words. So far they’d done nothing to instill any faith in them. She mentally shook her head because that was a lie. If it hadn’t been for them and the others arriving to help her fight the demonic and then claiming her, she’d be dead. They'd taken her in without knowing who she was. That showed they were loving, caring people.
Plus, she was still here. Didn't that mean that she trusted them deep down, even if she wasn't ready to admit it to herself on a more conscious level?
Maybe she trust
ed them after all.
Chapter Five
Mit wanted to pull Krysta into his arms and hug her tight. He’d felt some of the emotions coming off of her while they’d been in Ra’s temple and it had nearly broken his heart. He’d felt sadness, resignation, but what hurt him most of all was the wariness. He wished she would open up and talk to them but she was closed up tighter than a clam.
He led the way into the kitchen dining room and hoped that the other women would be able to make Krysta feel more comfortable and get her to open up with them. All he wanted was for her to talk to them but he wasn’t sure that was going to happen anytime soon. His mate was so distrustful and he had a feeling she was that way for a reason. Had someone hurt her in the past? He wished he could ask her, but from the way she had her arms crossed over her chest, she was already self-protective and he wasn’t about to put her on the defensive even more.
“Everyone this is Krysta,” Wen called from near the doorway.
“Krysta!” Nina called out and smiled. “How are you feeling?”
“Fine,” Krysta answered brusquely before clearing her throat. “Thanks for asking.”
Mit wondered why she sounded so surprised by Nina’s question, his mind churning quickly before he realized that she probably hadn’t had anyone care about her welfare in a long, long time. If that was the case, where the hell were her parents? Had they neglected her? Were they even alive? If they were dead, how old had she been when they died? Who had looked after her?
He glanced at Wen and saw his friend frowning as he moved toward the spare seats on the opposite side of the table. Usually Paser sat on one side of Nina and Pen on the other, while Wen sat next to Pen, but this time the others changed seating arrangements and Mit sighed with relief. This time Pen and Paser sat next to each other and Nina sat beside Pen. Wen left the seat next to Nina free for Krysta, taking the chair next to it and leaving Mit to sit on his other side. Mitry was glad his friend was thinking along the same lines as him.