“My thinking exactly,” Caleb said.
All too soon, Caleb and Jake changed back to their wolf forms and the four of them set off. Chasing the scent of Caleb’s pack mates was easy and they made good time. Jake broke off to chase a rabbit and soon after, Caleb ran after a rabbit of his own. Grady and Fiona continued to follow the scent. It wouldn’t do them any good if they all got lost.
When Caleb and Jake returned, they all stopped a minute. While Jake dug into his rabbit, Caleb dropped his in front of Fiona, then tossed his head at Grady. The two males ran into the woods.
She could catch her own rabbit. But damn, did it look good. And she was so hungry. It wouldn’t be right to turn down a gift, would it? Unable to resist, she ate.
Fiona and Jake had finished by the time Caleb and Grady came back with their rabbits. Fiona rubbed against Caleb in thanks, then plopped onto her side to wait while they ate. She could feel her strength returning already.
When they finished eating, the four of them set off again. A blaze of orange across the sky told them the sun was setting. They didn’t have long before travel would become more difficult.
They traveled past sunset, going more slowly now. Fiona assumed Caleb wanted to get to his pack mates so they could all bed down together. She’d be happy with that, too. Bears might not be a threat, but Ted could always double back again and attack them. And what better time to do it than when they were sleeping?
The scents of the other wolves finally grew stronger and a few minutes later they came upon Caleb’s pack mates, eating their own dinners. When they approached, one of the other wolves offered Caleb his rabbit, but Caleb refused.
Her mate must have higher standing in the pack than she’d realized. He was sheriff, yes, but that was a human role. For this kind of deference, he must be fairly highly placed in the pack.
When Caleb lay down next to a tree, Fiona snuggled up next to him. Grady then curled into her other side. Soon she was toasty warm and could no longer keep her eyes open. As she drifted off to sleep, she heard the familiar sound of Grady snoring.
***
Caleb woke before dawn. He didn’t want to get up, and definitely didn’t want to leave the warm nook created by Fiona’s body wrapped around his. But he needed to get food and then they needed to set out.
When he brought back the first rabbit, Grady stirred. Caleb nipped his flank to wake him. Unlike Caleb, Grady leapt from sleep as though galvanized. Must be a morning person. Caleb left the rabbit next to Fiona then he and Grady went to catch their own breakfasts.
Fiona had looked so tired after their running the day before. She was tough and wouldn’t want to admit any weakness, but she was still smaller than all of the other wolves in their search party. With shorter legs, she had to run harder just to keep up. Caleb hoped the extra sleep and not having to catch her own meals would help her.
An hour later, all the wolves had risen and eaten and they had picked up Ted’s trail. They ran, just as they had the day before, except this time Caleb ran in the front with Mary—their tracker—just in front of him. Just as before, Grady took up the rear, following Fiona. Caleb trusted him to make sure she didn’t fall behind or get too tired.
Caleb’s mind wandered. Just as he was contemplating lunch, Mary slowed then stopped. They all stopped with her. When Mary tossed her head, Caleb guessed she’d found them.
Now that he concentrated, he smelled them, too, the scent much stronger than before. Caleb checked the wind to make sure it wouldn’t blow his scent toward Ted and his wolves. Then he crept forward, Matt close on his heels. The other wolves stayed back. When they got close enough, they could see Ted and the other two wolves tearing at a deer that lay in a small clearing.
Now would be the perfect time to attack. Ted’s wolves were distracted and outnumbered, and Caleb’s wolves had the advantage of surprise. Caleb looked back to the others and tossed his head, urging them forward.
The wolves spread out to surround Ted’s group, moving as steathily as they could. When Caleb felt enough time had passed for everyone to be in place, he charged into the clearing, jumping at Ted and landing on his back.
Ted twisted and rolled out from under him, but before he could get far, Jake pounced on him. Jake went for his throat, but caught Ted’s shoulder in his teeth instead.
To the side, Grady and Fiona had one of Ted’s wolves on the ground, already subdued. Matt and Mary battled the other. Caleb’s remaining wolves, Harrison and Zeke, joined Caleb.
Caleb knew Jake wanted to kill Ted. Should he stand by and let Jake battle him single-handedly? Or fight? If he fought, was he obligated to bring Ted in, or could he let Jake kill him in the end?
Jake and Ted tumbled over each other until they rolled into Harrison and Zeke. The two wolves jumped out of the way with a yelp.
Matt and Mary still hadn’t gotten a handle on their rogue. Caleb butted Harrison and nodded in their direction. Harrison went to join them.
Matt was fairly highly ranked, a good fighter. But Mary, though tall and strong, didn’t fight well. And apparently the rogue did.
Caleb turned his attention back to Jake and Ted just as Ted lunged for Jake’s throat and came far too close to getting his teeth into him. Caleb couldn’t let Ted get the upper hand. If Jake wanted to finish him, fine. But Ted wasn’t getting away again.
The two wolves circled each other, darting toward and away from each other at the same time. Caleb waited until Ted had moved directly in front of him with his back to Caleb. Then Caleb darted into the fight and bit Ted’s flank as hard as he could.
Ted jerked, whining. As Caleb stepped back to let Jake finish the fight, Ted limped away from both Jake and Caleb.
With a growl, Jake pounced on Ted and again they rolled, kicking and biting each other. Suddenly Jake knocked Ted’s chin upward with his snout and got his teeth into Ted’s neck. He bit down hard, hard enough that Ted stopped struggling. Then Jake twisted. Everyone in the clearing could hear the snap of Ted’s neck.
Ted’s two wolves howled. Considering both were now lying on the ground with a wolf on top of them, the howls didn’t sound too threatening.
Relief rushed over Caleb. Ted was dead. He’d never hurt another little girl again.
Fiona yipped happily as she jumped and ran in circles around Grady, who was sitting on the rogue. That sight made everything worth it. Making his mate happy made Caleb happy.
But they still had to deal with the rogues. Caleb changed back to his human form so he could talk. A few minutes later, he said, “Now what do we do with you two?”
Chapter 8
Grady knew what he wanted to do with these two rogues. The one he was sitting on had bitten Fiona. Bitten her. Yes, all’s fair in war, yadda yadda, but Grady still wanted him dead.
Caleb had been silent for several seconds, staring at the two wolves. “You’ll come back with us to Lunaville to stand trial for aiding and abetting a suspected child molester, kidnapper and murderer.” His eyes flicked to Ted’s limp body. “You know what will happen if you try to escape. Understood?”
Both wolves simply stared at him.
“I need a nod.” Caleb’s voice became hard. “Do you understand?”
Reluctantly, the two wolves nodded.
“Good. Then let’s get going.” Caleb changed back into his wolf form.
Grady climbed off the rogue and took a place behind him. Fiona followed the two of them. They left Ted behind for the scavengers.
The trip back to Lunaville took much longer because they set a slower pace. When they walked back into town the sun had set hours earlier and the moon hung over the trees.
All of them entered through the wolf-door in the back then pushed the rogues into a cell and slammed the door shut by leaning against it. Then Grady went back into Caleb’s office with his mates and the three of them changed.
Fiona stretched her arms over her head, which pushed her breasts out toward them. “Wow, it feels good to be human again.”
“Keep doing that and I’ll show you something else that feels good,” Caleb said.
“In your office?” Grady said. The idea tempted him but he couldn’t help thinking about all the deputies—and Jake—standing just outside the door.
“I’ve always had a fantasy about that,” Caleb said.
Fiona put her hands on her hips. “Maybe we can come back one night when no one’s here and try do it. But right now, there are a bunch of people outside wondering who the heck we are.”
“Yeah, yeah.” Caleb shrugged on a shirt. “We should have kept our luggage here instead of sending it on to the hotel.”
“Yeah, I could use a toothbrush,” Grady said.
“At least everyone out there is in the same boat,” Fiona said.
“I think I’ve got some breath mints in my drawer,” Caleb said.
They finished dressing, popped some breath mints, then left the room. Jake, still in wolf form, brushed past them into the office.
“His clothes were in there, too,” Fiona said.
“He didn’t move fast enough when we went in,” Caleb said.
Jake made a huffing noise in response. With a laugh, Caleb closed the office door to give him some privacy.
The other wolves had already changed back to human form and donned their clothes.
Matt, wearing clothing this time, stepped forward. “Peggy tells me you three are mates. Congratulations.”
As they shook hands all around, the other members of the group introduced themselves—Mary, Harrison, Zeke. They had just finished when the outside door opened and a really, really big dark-haired man walked inside. All the wolves seemed to fall-to just as Jake joined them from the office.
“This is Keene, Alpha of Lunaville,” Caleb said. “Keene, these are my mates, Fiona and Grady, and the Alpha of Stonewall pack, Jake.”
After even more hand-shaking, Keene clapped Grady on the shoulder. “So, when are you and Fiona moving to Lunaville?”
In other words, ’when are you pledging yourselves to me?’ Grady glanced at Fiona. His mind had changed over the last twenty-four hours. Running in the forest—and running, and running, with no end—had been exhilarating. The idea of living here and being able to do that all the time excited him. Add that to their mission, their ideals, and he was sold. But Fiona wanted to live in Marysburg, and he would go where she went.
“Grady and I are in the Army. We have to finish out our tour, another six months, before we can go anywhere.” Fiona shoved her hands in her pockets and looked at Caleb. “Then, if Grady agrees, we’ll move here.”
Caleb whooped, grabbed Fiona around her waist and swung her around. When he put her down again, he put his hands on either side of her face and kissed her.
Beyond them, Keene laughed.
Grady cleared his throat. “I’m pretty sure she said I had to agree.”
His forehead brushing Fiona’s, Caleb said, “You already told us you’d go wherever she went.”
“You could still ask.” Grady shifted his shoulders. “Because I’ve changed my mind.”
The smile dropped off of Caleb’s face. “And?”
“I want to live where the weak are protected and I can run for miles without crossing a single trail.”
Caleb laughed. When he crossed to Grady, he didn’t swing him around, but he did kiss him, just as joyfully as he’d kissed Fiona. “Thank you.”
“My pleasure,” Grady said. “But I am curious about why Fiona changed her mind.”
“Me, too,” Jake said. He’d been largely quiet up until then.
She shuffled her feet. “There’s everything Grady said. And then there’s you, Caleb. I think you want to live here far more than I want to live in Marysburg. And I want you to be happy.”
“I want you to be happy, too,” Caleb said.
“I will be, as long as I’m with you.” She crossed the floor to put her arms around her two mates. “As long as all three of us are together.”
They stood there for a moment, holding each other, touching, caring. They ignored the other wolves in the room, who all stepped to one side to give them some privacy.
“I need to give Keene a run-down on what happened out there. Then we could all go to the hotel,” Caleb said.
“I’d like to get some food first,” Fiona said. “That rabbit we had for lunch was a long time ago.”
“I know a place that has great burgers and fries.” Caleb stroked the side of her face.
“That sounds great.”
A couple of hours later, after a dinner that was even better than Caleb had claimed, the three of them straggled into their hotel room.
“What do you think about a shower?” Fiona said.
Caleb grabbed her around the waist. “I’d rather have sex.”
“That’s what I was thinking we’d do in the shower,” Fiona said.
Caleb and Grady’s eyes met. “You think we can all fit?” Grady said.
“She’s pretty small.” Caleb looked Fiona up and down. “It’s more like two and a half people than three.”
“Hey!” Fiona smacked him on the arm. “Watch it.”
“Yeah, you’d better be careful. Did I ever tell you about her practical jokes?” Grady said.
“You did, but I’ve yet to see any.” Caleb pulled the neck of Fiona’s shirt out and looked down it. “Any practical jokes down there?”
“Funny,” Fiona said, but she didn’t stop him.
“Well?” Grady stepped closer.
“Nope, no practical jokes. But there are a couple of gorgeous bazongas.”
“Bazongas?” Fiona laughed.
“Let me see,” Grady said.
Caleb kept her shirt pulled away from her skin but stepped aside so Grady could get close enough to look.
“Very nice,” Grady said. “But they look more like melons to me.”
“Really? Jugs, maybe, but not melons.”
“Just don’t call them tits,” Fiona said.
“No tits?” Caleb let go of her shirt.
“I just don’t like the term.” Fiona pulled her shirt over her head. “Now, a shower?” She toed off her shoes and pushed her pants down her legs. She stepped out of them and walked into the bathroom in her underwear, bra, and socks.
“She has too many clothes on,” Grady said.
“We’re going to have to do something about that.”
The two men headed for the bathroom. Both tried to go through the door at the same time and got stuck. Their jostling turned into friendly wrestling. Grady had almost gotten the better of Caleb—he was sure he had—when Fiona whistled to get their attention.
She stood in the doorway, buck naked. “Five more seconds and I’m closing the door and locking it.”
Still frozen in mid-clinch, the two men gazed at her. “You don’t think a flimsy little door like that will stop us,” Caleb said.
“I think the thought of having to pay for the door to be fixed should stop you.” She stepped inside. “Five…four…”
Grady raced for the door, Caleb right behind him. This time they made it through without getting stuck. Fiona closed the door behind them.
“Now strip,” she said.
Grady had thought she only ordered him around because she outranked him. Now he knew better. She really was that tough. Alpha, Caleb had said. Caleb was right. They were mated to a tiny little alpha.
He could live with that.
By the time they’d finished stripping, she had the water on and the temperature adjusted. She stepped inside, her tight, curved ass disappearing behind the curtain.
This time, Caleb beat him to the pass. By the time Grady climbed into the tub, Caleb had Fiona pressed against the wall, her feet dangling a foot off the floor. Grady pressed against their sides, touching both of them as much as he could.
“We fit,” Fiona said when Caleb let her up for air.
“Just barely,” Caleb said. “And I’m not sure we’re going to get very clean this way.”
Fiona w
rapped one leg around Caleb’s waist. “We’ll get clean sooner or later. In the meantime, maybe we need to fit together even closer.”
Caleb reached down. Grady could tell the second Caleb pushed into Fiona. Both their faces got this look, like a combination of surprise and satisfaction. Just when Grady was trying to figure out where he fit, he felt a hand on his cock.
In perfect time with Caleb’s thrusts, Fiona’s hand slid up and down Grady’s cock. He pulled her toward him enough to kiss her.
All three of them were panting when Caleb said, “Stop. Stop.” He pulled out of Fiona and moved to the side. “Your turn.”
For the first time, Grady realized he might actually be falling for this man. How could he help it when Caleb actually stopped in the middle of sex to make sure Grady didn’t get left out? Grady slid into Fiona, gave her a quick kiss, then grabbed Caleb around the waist, pulling him against them.
“This is…this is perfect. The way things are meant to be,” Grady said.
“The way they’ll be forevermore,” Caleb said. He kissed Grady.
“Not sure how much longer I can hold on,” Grady said.
“Then stop,” Fiona said.
“What?”
“Let’s clean up for real and go into the bedroom,” she said.
“Am I hearing right?” Caleb said. “Aren’t you the one who wanted to do this in the first place?”
“Yeah, but I underestimated how small it was.” Fiona grabbed the soap. “Washing can be fun.”
Grady pulled out. He couldn’t believe she didn’t want to finish. His cock was so hard he could split wood with it.
Caleb glanced at him sidelong, as though he could read Grady’s mind. “Then let’s wash as fast as we can.” Caleb grabbed the soap and lathered up his hands. “You all wet?”
“Pretty much,” Fiona said. “And you?”
Caleb didn’t answer, just tossed the soap to Grady and rubbed her down. “It’ll go faster if we both wash her.” He moved her around so she faced Grady.
Big mistake. Grady was fine until he got to her tits…melons. He couldn’t help but give them extra attention, making sure he washed every single ridge of her hard nipples.
Fiona moaned.
The Alpha's Legacy, An MMF Erotic Romance (The Stonewall Pack Alpha Series) Page 6