Forbidden Mate

by Stacey Espino

  “It’s a life.”

  The bear growled before surrendering. “Will it hurt you in any way?”

  She shook her head. “It’s just a little bite, nothing more.”

  Caleb chimed in. “But Ulric’s right. The repercussions could be massive. You’re establishing a precedent, Delia. Every male shifter wanting to claim a human will come calling to the palace. It could spell disaster.”

  “Helen’s an outsider. No one will have to know,” said Marco.

  Helen coughed, a trickle of blood spilling from her lips. His breath hitched as he watched her final minutes.

  Without being prodded or needing further convincing, Delia leaned over and sank her elongated fangs into the base of Helen’s neck. Time seemed to stand still as all six of them watched in suspended animation. A pin falling would have sounded obscenely loud.

  Freya had changed her human into a shifter during mating. Yet, this was something totally different. Would it even work? Were they too late?

  When the princess pulled back, she used one extended claw to slice a small gash along her own wrist. “Open her mouth,” she instructed.

  Wesley was closest. He held open Helen’s mouth as Delia let her royal blood drip down in a steady stream. Within seconds the wound on her wrist healed over, but Helen had already received the life-giving blood. Now they had to wait to see if it would work.

  Nothing happened at first, making Marco more nervous than ever. If this didn’t work, there were no other alternatives. He’d lose Helen and his second chance at love.

  “Fuck.”

  “Give her time,” said Delia. “The change doesn’t happen instantly. There’s a lot of damage to be corrected.”

  Helen’s body broke out in a sheen of sweat, shaking as if freezing. Targus knelt down next to her, brushing her hair from her face. His best friend looked as nervous as he felt. Marco held his breath as he waited for any sign that Helen would survive. If she didn’t, he’d never forgive himself for not saving her from the crazed she-wolf when he had the chance.

  She began to pant in short rapid breaths, her heart racing. He could hear the blood rushing through her veins, and he hoped it was a good sign. Maybe the royal blood was too strong for her frail body.

  “Whatever happens,” said Marco. “Thank you for trying.”

  Delia was standing with her three mates next to the sofa, waiting like the rest of them. “Let’s just hope it works,” she said. “And let’s all agree not to mention this to my mother.”

  Helen became flushed, her head rocking back and forth. She mumbled incoherently in her sleep. Wesley leaned over the back of the sofa and secured her now flailing arms.

  “Helen! Open your eyes, sweetheart.”

  When she did, the whole room gasped. The big brown eyes he loved were now greenish-yellow wolf eyes.

  “It actually worked,” said Caleb. “I can’t believe it.”

  Ulric teased Wesley. “When I told you to have a little fun the other day, I didn’t mean get hitched to a human.”

  “Not so human anymore,” said Delia.

  Chapter Twelve

  Helen had been slipping in and out of consciousness for what felt like days. Her body was feverish and weak, her memories scattered.

  “Where am I?” she asked, feeling some of her faculties finally returning.

  “You’re home, baby girl.” It was Targus’s familiar voice. She instantly felt a sense of peace and safety, her muscles relaxing.

  When she thought better, she opened her eyes. “Home?”

  “Sorry, but this is it for now,” he said.

  Panic welled up inside her. “The bus tour!”

  “Long gone. Wesley explained everything to the bus driver, so don’t worry about a thing.”

  “Explained what?” She tried to sit up but every muscle felt like it had been though several triathlons. Helen groaned and eased back down. “What’s going on? Why am I so sore?”

  “You were attacked by a wolf. Do you remember any of it?” asked Wesley.

  She scanned the room. It was a bedroom she’d never seen, but beyond the doorway, she recognized the cottage Marco and Targus lived in. In fact, all three of her men were in the bedroom with her. Only the comforting light from the distant fireplace lit the small bedroom. The sound of wood crackling, in addition to the comforting scent, calmed her.

  Wesley’s dark hair and features blended in with the shadows in the room. Then she remembered so much more at once—he was a black panther. And Targus and Marco were wolves. She’d touched one of them with her own hands.

  “You’ve been asleep for nearly forty-eight hours. You’re body’s been through a lot. Do you remember anything?” he repeated.

  “It’s coming back in pieces,” she said. “I was attacked, but that’s all I remember.”

  The sun set on the horizon, the navy sky shifting to black. Soon the landscape would become void of color as night dominated the land.

  “You almost died,” said Marco. He was sitting beside her on the bed, holding her hand. She curled her fingers around his. “We had no choice.”

  “No choice for what?”

  Targus lounged on her opposite side, his broad shoulder blocking her view of the other side of the room. He was gorgeous, his narrowed eyes fixated on her. Why was every cell coming alive with need? She couldn’t even remember falling asleep two days ago, so sex should have been the last thing on her mind. But she suddenly felt ravenous. Just the sight of three ripped and powerful men crowding her in the small bedroom was reason enough.

  “One of the princesses had to help you, Helen. She used her royal blood to save your life. To change you.”

  “Her blood?”

  Targus ran a finger down the center of her chest. She looked down and saw they’d stripped her naked. “Her royal blood has unique properties. It can heal…or change a person.”

  “Change a person?”

  He took a deep cleansing breath. “She changed you,” he blurted before slipping off the bed.

  Wesley took his place. The tattoos decorating his tanned skin suddenly aroused her twice as much as they usually did. “You were near death, so she gave you life the only way she could. You’re like us now. You’re…special.”

  She narrowed her eyes, not catching the full meaning of his words. Slowly she pieced together everything that had been said. “You don’t mean I’m a shapeshifter?”

  Wesley nodded with a smile. “Don’t you remember shifting? You were quite rambunctious for a while. We had to hold you down until you finally drifted off to sleep.”

  Helen couldn’t remember anything but meaningless fragments. It had been hard enough to accept that her lovers were shapeshifters. The mere idea of something so far-fetched actually existing still boggled her mind. She’d only had a brief time to accept the new revelation before the she-wolf had attacked her.

  Now they expected her to believe that she was a wolf woman? Wouldn’t she know? Wouldn’t she feel different?

  “That’s impossible. I’m the same as I’ve always been.”

  “Are you so sure about that?” asked Marco. He brought her knuckles to his lips for a kiss. “Look out the window, Helen. What do you see?”

  She turned her head slightly and glanced out the large windows looking out into the night sky. That’s when it hit her—the power and intensity of the moon. The perfectly shaped sphere in the dark expanse called to her, beckoning her to become one with the night. A new pressure in her gum line was impossible to fight. Her core was like the molten center of a volcano, the pressure mounting by the second. She squirmed on the bed, an all-encompassing lust rolling through her body.

  “Something’s happening to me.”

  “It’s the full moon, sweetheart,” said Wesley. “No shifter is immune to its pull. Not even me.”

  She touched her teeth, now sharpened fangs. Everything became clear. Helen now had the same intense urge to sink her canines into all three of her men, to claim them as hers and mark them as t
aken. She salivated just thinking about the taste of their blood.

  “I’m hot,” she said. Why was it so hard to pry her eyes from the moon? There were rough hands all over her. She reached out, coming into contact with hard muscle. Marco and Targus both hovered over her, kissing, licking, touching. They fed into her desire, the room coming alive with pheromones.

  “Yes, you are.” Targus growled, nipping her earlobe. “Things will be different now,” he said.

  “What do you mean?” Helen’s eyes rolled back in her head as they lavished her with attention.

  “We don’t have to be careful with you now.”

  Everything became clear, like a great fog lifting off her mind. She finally understood the mating bond, and the instant connection the men spoke of. The revelation that Wesley, Targus, and Marco were her destiny gave her a sense of belonging. Her doubts and fears fizzled away, replaced by a heady desire.

  Wesley crept up from the foot of the bed, spreading her legs apart as he moved. “Everything feels more intense during the full moon,” he explained. “It will take time to learn control.”

  She believed him. Helen let her legs part loosely at the knees, needing the men to take her in every way imaginable.

  “It’s her first moon as a she-wolf,” said Marco. “Let her have her fun tonight.” He ran a thumb across her nipple as Wesley swiped his tongue up her folds. His tongue was barbed like a wild cat’s, giving her pussy more delicious friction. She cried out, thrusting up her hips for more attention.

  “Hold her down,” said Wesley.

  Targus kissed her hard on the mouth, his taste like an aphrodisiac, not that she needed one with her pussy pulsing stronger than her heart. As they explored each other’s mouths, Marco suckled her breast, his free hand pressed against her stomach to keep her grounded. There was so much erotic attention, so much stimulation that she didn’t even know where she was and didn’t care. It didn’t even matter which man did what, because she knew in her heart that she loved them all equally. Each man was fated to her and being in this transformed body finally gave her the insight to realize the truth.

  She was so close to orgasm, but Wesley continually kept it out of reach. He drove her crazy, sucking her bundle of nerves and fucking her with his tongue only long enough to bring her to a desperate precipice. Then he’d stop until her pending orgasm eased. She felt feral, ready to use her new claws to get what she wanted.

  “More,” she cried. “Please…”

  One of them flipped her over on her stomach, her cheek against the mattress. She only felt the brief shock of cold lube before a massive cock was shoved into her ass. Helen screamed—the rush of fullness and satisfaction overwhelming. The wolf within her rejoiced in the rough domination, eager for more of the same.

  “Good girl. You’re so fucking tight,” Marco grated.

  Targus didn’t stop him this time. She was no longer a delicate human. The hard cock plunged in and out of her asshole with stamina. Each time she gasped, the pressure and pleasure making her delirious.

  “You like it hard, baby girl?” Wesley’s voice was like a dream when she was so lost in the moment.

  “Yes.”

  Her body was slammed into the mattress over and over as Marco fucked her ass in long, smooth strokes. His hands were braced at either side of her head, the corded muscles in his forearms testament to his strength and virility.

  “Tell me you want more cock,” said Wesley.

  She did. Helen wanted it all, hard and dirty, all night long. The moon had a wicked effect on her, any caution or insecurity left at the starting gate.

  “Yes.”

  “Tell me,” he demanded.

  “Give me more cock,” she managed to say when she was already overflowing. Marco suddenly slipped away, leaving her empty and achy. Targus pulled her hair, her head tilting back as they shifted her body to the side. Within seconds he filled her ass with his own thick cock. Wesley watched as Targus began to fuck her. Her head was trapped in place as Targus held her hair in a fight fist. Her breasts jostled, her hips jerking each time his dick entered her from behind.

  Wesley had a naughty smirk on his face, watching with relish. He finally settled on his own side in front of her, carefully out of her reach. His body was gorgeous, tanned to a flawless golden hue. His tattoos were menacing and sexy. He leaned forward just to suck her nipples. He sucked hard, not sweet and gentle. The delicate mix of pleasure and pain forced her into a spontaneous orgasm. Her ass clamped down on Targus’s erection, her pussy pulsing on and on. She couldn’t help but scream, especially when the stimulation from both men never let up. It was too much for her to handle, so many epicenters of pleasure.

  “That was number one,” said Wesley. “We’re just getting started.” He shuffled closer, holding the root of his huge dick. Targus assisted, lifting her thigh high enough for Wesley to penetrate her cunt with his member. It slid all the way in to the hilt thanks to her overflow of natural juices. She was ready to explode with so much male flesh filling her, front and back.

  Marco watched from the side of the bed as the two men worked her between them like a favorite toy. He pumped his cock, watching and waiting with those lethal wolf eyes.

  Hands were everywhere, squeezing and playing, smacking and teasing. A new pressure built and she didn’t even bother to hold back any longer. Her second orgasm came soon after the first, even more satisfying with two cocks filling her. The men groaned and growled as her body tightened around them in deep waves.

  Wesley pulled away, falling to his back. His muscled chest and ripped abs glistened with clean sweat. “Bite me,” he said. “Fuck, I need you to bite me.”

  He was the only one who hadn’t marked her as a mate. Their connection needed to be solidified like the other two. As soon as Targus pulled free from her ass, she climbed over Wesley’s prone body. She didn’t need to be told what to do. Everything felt natural, like she’d always had a wolf living inside of her. She lashed out and bit down on the deliciously thick muscle at the base of his neck. He inhaled suddenly, proving she had little control and had bitten too hard. But the sweet taste of his blood on her tongue kept her rooted in place. She lapped at his skin with her tongue, ready to devour everything all the way to his cock. Helen felt ravenous.

  “My turn.” Wesley easily flipped them over so he dominated. His massive shoulders blocked out the view of the ceiling. He stretched her arms up above her head and secured both her wrists with one hand. First he just licked her pulse points, not biting or nipping. She held her breath as she waited for that initial stab of pain. Helen wasn’t afraid because she was well aware of the rush of heat and pleasure that would follow.

  “Did you know shifters mate for life?” Wesley asked between kisses. He had a magical tongue, painting patterns above her erogenous zones with expert skill.

  “That sounds perfect.”

  She was so used to love ‘em and leave ‘em men in her life. It seemed a rarity to find a man ready to commit for the long haul. She knew the mating bond was for life as soon as she’d been changed from human to she-wolf. It gave her a sense of peace to know she’d found her place.

  He leaned back, looking at her eye to eye. “I’m a Royal Elite, Helen. You may not understand the complexity of my role in our society yet, but marking you is a huge step in my life. I’m putting you first—above the entire monarchy.”

  She was at a loss for words. There was still so much she was clueless about. She’d only just found out her part-time lovers were shapeshifters and now she was one herself. Helen was thankful she’d taken all the news and changes without losing her mind entirely.

  He kissed her lips. Once. Then she felt the heat of his breath as he moved in close. The first puncture of her skin made her gasp. She reached up and wrapped her arms around his neck as he suckled her wound, binding them forever.

  “I can’t believe I’m sharing my mate with an Elite,” said Marco. “I never would have guessed.”

  “I can’t believe
I’m sharing. Period,” Targus teased.

  The four of them shared the large bed, looking out the window into the clear night sky. They stroked her hair gently, making her feel loved and surrounded. “What about my life back home? I had an apartment.” And not much else worth going back for.

  “This is your home now,” said Marco.

  “For all of us?” She remembered seeing Wesley’s apartment. The thought of him leaving to go home at the end of the night made her feel empty. She needed to keep close with all three of her men.

  “I guess I can put up with the panther for your sake, Helen.” Marco ran a fingertip along the marks on her neck as if mesmerized by the sight of his own bite. “Beautiful.”

  “I’m sorry, but something’s not right. I mean, I’ve never been happier, but I think fate might have things wrong.”

  “Why would you say that?” asked Targus, since interest suddenly piqued.

  “Well, you’ve all marked me. Shouldn’t I feel content?”

  “Your wolf should know you’ve made the right choice,” said Wesley. “What do you feel exactly?”

  She swallowed hard, feeling embarrassed. Helen expected to feel satisfied and right with the world once the mating bonds were complete. Instead, she felt like a ship without an anchor, desperate and insatiable despite her deep sense of happiness.

  “I feel hungry.” Helen bit her lower lip. “And not for food.”

  They all started laughing, the nervous tension in the room vanquished. “It’s just the moon, baby girl.” Marco cupped her mound. “You won’t be sated until the sun comes up.”

  Wesley’s hot mouth closed over her nipple as Marco’s middle finger entered her pussy.

  “Luckily for you, shifter males can go all night long.”

  Her heart rate picked up on cue. She was primed to go again, her body coiled tight in expectation of more sex. They converged on her, stalking her nude body like predators moving in for the kill. She knew the men weren’t all they appeared to be. They were animals—raw and untamed—even in their human forms. She loved every minute of it.