by Bryce Evans
Ash didn’t even have to think about it. “Yes,” she said as she nodded. The tears flowed down her cheeks as Larken and Larsen pulled her up into their arms, kissing her on the mouth and cheeks. She felt loved for the first time in her life.
Larsen pulled the ring out and placed it on her finger. “I knew it would look good on you.”
Ash kissed both of her mates separately. “You have made me the happiest woman. Thank you. I love you both so much.”
Ash noticed Reece, her uncle, standing near the bar talking to Pelton. He glanced over and saw Ash staring at him. He excused himself from Pelton and walked over to Ash. “Hey.”
“Hey yourself,” Ash responded as she smiled at her uncle.
“If your mates don’t mind, I would like to dance with my niece.” Ash smiled and looked at Larken and Larsen, who looked at each other and nodded. Ash could tell they didn’t want her to dance with Reece, but they knew he was her uncle so he wasn’t a threat to her.
Reece took Ash’s hand then escorted her out to the dance floor. Jonas was already out there dancing with Kerra, his niece. When Kerra saw Ash, she ran over to her. “OMG, Ash, you look beautiful.”
Ash reached out and hugged Kerra. “Thank you, Kerra. You look beautiful, too. I love your dress.”
“Thank you. Uncle Jonas bought it for me in the lodge’s store. He said that I would be the bell of the ball in this dress. Whatever that means.”
Ash and Reece laughed. “Come on, Kerra. Let’s let these two talk.” Jonas twirled Kerra around, making her laugh.
Reece held out his hand and when Ash took it, Reece twirled her around. Ash was smiling and giggling. “I was hoping we would have some time to talk. Everything is happening so fast for you. I would like you to get to know the Clan. Your mother and I were very close, and I think she would have wanted you close to me, too. Would you like that?”
Ash grinned, as she finally realized that she did have family. “Yes, I would love that, Reece.” Ash felt the tears run down her cheeks.
Larken and Larsen ran onto the dance floor. They were watching Ash and saw her start crying. “What’s wrong, baby? Why are you crying?”
“I’m just happy,” Ash answered.
Larsen reached over and hugged her to him then kissed her hair. “We are happy, too, baby.”
Nash walked over to Ash. “Lord, when I die, I can say that I saw Ash Peters in a dress.”
Ash hit Nash on the arm. “You jerk. I wore this dress because I thought you would get a kick out of it.”
“Just joking, Ash. You look great. Really, honey. You need to wear them more often.” He hugged Ash.
“What is with all you people hugging my mate?” Everybody started laughing. Nash asked his Alpha and his Second if he could dance with his best friend.
“I guess so. Everybody else is,” grumbled Larken.
Nash could tell that they were joking. He grabbed Ash’s hand and twirled her around then pulled her close to him. Both laughing as they danced. “Are you okay, Ash? I mean, I hope you are staying because I don’t think I can stand if my best friend leaves me again.”
“I’m better than okay, Nash. I’m in love and I know now that I was loved and have family here. I called Captain Jackson this morning and told him that I wouldn’t be back. I think he knew when I left that I would stay to be near you.” Nash smiled but it didn’t reach his eyes. “Nash, I have always considered you my family. You have taken care of me for a long time. I finally feel like I’m at home here.” Ash held her hand up showing him her ring. Nash grabbed her hand smiling.
“You are home, Ash.” Nash twirled Ash around again so she turned right into Larken’s arms.
Nash looked over at Larken. “My best friend is finally home.”
Larken grinned as he realized just what that comment meant. Larken hugged Ash to him as they slow danced. He held her close as he inhaled deeply. The scent of his mate calmed his wolf. Ash closed her eyes, loving the way Larken made her feel. When she opened her eyes, she watched as Reece stood talking with Larsen and Nash. They were laughing and patting Larsen on the back. She smiled, looking around at her new family. She was finally home.
***
Later that night, Larsen closed the door to Ash’s suite. “My sisters want to take you to spa day with them. It’s a peace offering. They are ashamed at how they acted and want to beg you for forgiveness. I, for one, want to see them beg,” Larsen said as Ash grinned and undressed slowly.
She watched her mate’s reaction.
“You little minx. What are you doing?” Larken asked.
“Taking what is mine,” purred Ash.
Larken arched his eyebrow up then took off his tie, sliding it through his fingers. “Take off your clothes, mate.” Larken and Larsen were surrounding Ash, watching her as she slowly eased the zipper down her dress. She stepped out of it as Larsen took off his jacket then his shirt, throwing it on the chair. Ash was still in her bra and underwear. Ash then watched as Larsen got undressed as she felt Larken’s eyes on her.
“Take it all off, mate,” Larken growled.
Ash shivered at how rough his voice was.
Larken continued to run the green tie through his fingers.
Larsen walked toward Ash but didn’t touch her. He came up behind her and whispered in her ear, “Put your hands behind your back.”
Ash looked up at Larken, who was staring at her. She eased her hands behind her back. Larken walked over to her and tied them together then he caressed the side of her breasts. She shivered at the sensation of his light touch. Larsen backed her up to the bed. He then laid down on the bed and pulled Ash around so she straddled his waist. Larsen dipped his fingers down to her mound, sliding one in to her hot core. “She is already wet. You are always ready, aren’t you?”
Ash loved it when her mates talked dirty to her. Larsen’s fingers slid in and out of her folds. He stroked her now dripping mound until she whimpered. Larsen hit the right spot, making her jump up and down, trying to push herself over the edge. Larsen stopped moving his hand, feeling her wet juices flow down his fingers. Ash tried to rock forward but Larsen pulled his fingers out and held her still.
“No. I want to move.” Ash wanted Larsen to keep stroking her and to touch her breasts. She wanted it rough and she wanted both of her mates. She looked behind her and watched as Larken stroked himself as he watched her. Larken stopped touching himself and came up behind her.
“You want us both, mate?”
“Yesss,” Ash hissed.
“You want it hard, don’t you?”
“Yes.”
“Our mate wants it hard, brother. We always give our mate what she wants.”
Larsen picked Ash up and eased her onto his hard erection. She groaned as she slid down his cock. Ash heard a drawer open and then felt a cool liquid slide down her ass cheeks so she leaned forward, anticipating Larken rubbing her ass. Larsen reached up and grabbed her hair, tightening it around his hand. He pulled her down farther and placed his mouth on hers, savoring the moans escaping her mouth.
Ash gasped as Larken began rubbing circles around her rosette. “Do you like that?” Larken asked.
“Yes.”
Larken pushed two fingers inside Ash as Larsen pushed up into her further. Rocking forward then backward, Ash tried to ground herself on to her two mates. Larsen groaned and then bucked up into her. “Hurry, Larken. She is so hot and she is grinding against me.”
Larken pushed a third finger into Ash. She gasped as she started pushing down on Larken’s fingers. Larken couldn’t take it anymore. He pushed Ash forward then pushed inside her slowly, hissing out as he pushed forward. Ash wanted to move. She had never felt so hot and wanting in all her life. Her body felt like it was having a fireworks expedition inside of her. Larken reached up and grabbed Ash’s breasts, pinching them and massaging them as he thrust inside her. Larsen grabbed her by her hair and pushed up into her. They were both driving her wild, making her body go into overload. She cried out a
s she climaxed so hard she lost her breath. Ash then began panting so hard, her face twisted in ecstasy. She begged them for more and for them to push harder.
Larsen grabbed her hips, pumping harder, growling as he felt Ash flood him with her wet juices as she climaxed again. Larken pushed two more times, then exploded inside her. Larsen thrust upward then emptied himself inside his mate. Ash collapsed onto Larsen as stars danced behind her eyes. Larken fell forward, gasping for air as Larsen held his arm up so Larken didn’t crush Ash. Larken leaned back and untied Ash’s hands, rubbing them so her circulation could flow. Larken pulled out of Ash and walked to the bathroom. Ash never moved. Larsen laid her gently back so she was lying on the bed. She was sound asleep when Larsen pushed her hair away from her face. Larken came back into the room with a warm washcloth and cleaned his mate up. She never moved when Larken crawled up beside her. Larsen came back from the bathroom and crawled on the other side of Ash. He pulled her body until her back was flushed against his stomach.
“She is trying to kill us,” Larsen whispered.
“But what a way to go.” Larken chuckled.
“I heard that,” Ash moaned. Larken reached over and stroked her face as she snuggled closer to Larsen and drifted off to sleep.
***
Ash woke up to the sun shining through the blinds. She patted the bed beside her but nobody was in bed with her. She looked over at the clock and saw that it was two in the afternoon so she got up and walked to the bathroom to get a shower. Her stomach started growling as she dried off, feeling better since she had taken the hot shower. She remembered how her mates made her feel. She knew she was in love. Her ring made sparkling lights against the wall as she turned her hand. Ash decided to pull her hair up and put on a pair of blue jeans and a sweater that matched her green eyes. Ash pulled on her boots, looked at herself one more time in the mirror, and walked out the door to go look for her mates.
When Ash walked out the door, a young man in a pair of khaki pants and a long sleeve shirt with the Meadowland logo on the front was leaning against the wall. When she walked out, he immediately straightened up and bowed his head to her. Ash smiled but continued to head to the elevator. The young man followed behind her and entered the elevator with her.
“Are you following me?”
They young man grinned at Ash. “Yes, ma’am, I am. The Alpha has assigned me to your protection detail. I go wherever you go.”
“Is that so?” The young man saw that Ash was mad. He started to say something, but Ash cut him off.
“Where are my mates?”
“They are waiting for you in the meeting rooms on the bottom floor.
“Then take me there now.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
“Stop calling me ma’am.” The young man didn’t know what to say so he stayed quiet and pushed the button then pulled out his key to bypass the reception area.
The doors opened and the young man escorted Ash to the big meeting room. When she opened the door, Ash wanted to crawl under the door and escape. There had to be two hundred people crammed into the room. Everybody stood when Ash stopped at the door, looking at everyone. Larken and Larsen walked over to Ash and grabbed her hands. They pulled Ash further into the room. Her face turned red. Everyone was staring at her.
“I would like to introduce you to the pack, Ash.”
At that moment, Ash wanted to kill her mates. She looked around and saw Jonas and his nieces. Pelton was standing beside Jonas along with Nash. Larken and Larsen’s sisters were also present. Reece was standing at the side of the room along with his second, Levi Turner. Everybody was smiling except Ash. She wanted to crawl under a rock.
“Meadowland Pack, I would like to introduce you to our mate, Ashland Peters.” Everyone in the room got down to their knees and howled into the air. Reece and Levi stood along the side of the wall and yelled instead of howled. Ash didn’t understand it, but she could hear small voices inside her mind. It was the pack acknowledging her as their Alpha mate. She felt their happiness as they welcomed her home to the pack. Ash gasped because for the first time she felt like she was finally home.
Larken looked over at his mate and saw a few tears falling down her face. “What is wrong, baby?”
“Nothing. I’m just happy. I started out on this trip believing that I didn’t have any family, that I had just been dropped off in Atlanta and forgotten. Now I feel twice loved by my mates.”
“Remember, we all love you and plan to make you happy for the rest of our lives,” Larsen added.
Reece and Levi walked over to Ash. “Don’t forget, Ash. We are family, too, and the Clan will also welcome you. My sister and your father would have wanted it that way.”
Ash smiled and reached up and touched Reece’s face. “Thank you, Reece. I started out on this trip without any family and now I have so much to be thankful for. My life is here now. I have finally come home.”
The End. Stay Tuned for more in The Love of a Shifter Series.
Books Available from Bryce Evans
The Ashland Pack
The Trinity
Once Forgotten Twice Loved
Coming Soon:
The Perfect Reflection
Co-written with Jana Leigh
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Excerpt from The Trinity
The Ashland Pack Book One
By Bryce Evans
Prologue
She ran as fast as she could until her lungs felt as if they were going to explode. She could feel him gaining on her, the others surrounding her, cutting her off from being able to escape. She knew what happened next and she refused to give in if she didn’t have to. The ground was uneven as she tripped. She reached out a hand, pushed herself upright, and kept moving. She felt a tingle of fear running through her as she thought about her options. They had planned this, she thought, planned this torture.
Why couldn’t she get away? She tried so hard to make it to safety but they were so much faster than she was. It was as if she were running in place. Her legs felt heavy and sluggish. She should have at least felt the adrenaline rushing through her veins, pushing her to get to safety, but she felt trapped in her useless body.
Eli yelled, “I'm coming for you, Adrianna.”
She felt him close behind her. If she could just get one more step—then she felt Eli reach out and grab her. She could feel the ground coming up to meet her as they tumbled into a heap on the hard, cold ground. She had no voice to scream, could only suck in precious air, and pray it would be over soon.
Eli laughed as the others held her down and ripped her clothes off. He yelled at the others that he would be first. She started yelling for help as the first punch landed on her face. She continued to struggle and the punches continued to land on her face and body.
She was going to lose her youth. Eli kept saying over and over he was going to remember being her first as he came down on top of her, as if to rape her. Help was coming, she could hear them in the distance, but she didn't know if they would get there in time. Eli would never let her live to tell. She began to fight again and he hit her over and over, even punching her in the stomach and side. The pain was too much to bear. She slipped into darkness.
Adrianna woke up screaming, crying, and yelling for help. Selena was standing over her, calming her, telling her to wake up that she was safe. She could feel the calming spell as she stopped moving and only felt the peace of Selena’s soft touches on her face. She could only see Eli and his brothers.
“It’s just a bad dream, Luv.”
When she opened her eyes, the past drifted away.
“It was only a dream,” Selena whispered.
Adrianna realized she was safe and in her bedroom with Selena. She wiped her tears away. Then the hardness settled in as the nightmare went away. Selena watched Adrianna
as she pushed the covers away and sat on the edge of the bed.
Selena moved to the window and said absently, “Your wolf came out this time and you were levitating above the bed when I came in. You will need new sheets again.”
“I am sorry, Selena,” Adrianna whispered.
Adrianna wondered what she was going to do if she couldn’t get this under control. Having these nightmares was beginning to run her life and she refused to allow them to take that from her too.
“You didn’t do anything wrong, Luv. It was a bad dream,” Selena consoled her.
“More like a nightmare,” Adrianna whispered.
“The conference begins tomorrow. Your brother, all the Alphas, and the Vampire Council will be there. You need to prepare and speak with all the Protectors. Security will be a top priority.”
Adrianna knew Selena cared deeply for her like a mother cared for a child. Selena McPherson was her best friend.
Selena was a very powerful witch and vampire. She saved Adrianna’s life ten years ago when she gave Adrianna some of her blood, changing Adrianna forever. Selena was a member of the Twister’s Council and Afton Mackenzie’s mate. She had been teaching Adrianna how to use her magic for ten years. Selena was considered, in the paranormal world, as an authority of sorts when it came to different paranormal groups. No one knew her family or the extent of her powers.
Adrianna sighed. “I will be prepared, Selena, and the Protectors will be ready,” Adrianna said firmly, with more confidence than she felt right then.