by Anya Bast
Rafian leaned against the counter. “She is unraveling every ounce of my control.”
“Mine too.”
“The scent of her makes me crazy. The look of her skin tempts me. I want her too badly. So badly I may have to leave tonight.”
Lucas grunted. “You’re tougher than that.”
“I didn’t know the attraction would be so strong. The others told us, but experiencing it is different.”
“I know. Just be thankful she came through the veil at all.”
Rafian went silent for a moment. “But we may not be able to keep her.”
Lucas could find nothing to say to that. He walked over and placed a hand on his friend’s shoulder. This was not the first mate they’d taken and Rafian blamed himself for the loss of the last one. “Take it easy, my brother. We’ll try again.”
Chapter Three
After taking a long, hot shower, in which she washed away the sweat and grime from the day—not to mention the pepper spray on her cheek—she wrapped herself in a fluffy green towel and combed out her damp hair. This place was almost like home, minus a hair dryer.
She eyed her dirty clothes piled in one corner with distaste and opted to stay wrapped in the towel. Although appearing in front of the men with so little covering her gave her pause. She figured if they meant to hurt her in that way, they’d do it no matter what.
Opening the door, she walked softly down the hallway. The scent of hot food reached her nose and made her weak in the knees. She was starving. She was also completely exhausted now that the adrenaline that had been pumping through her veins had eased a little. Low male voices murmured from the kitchen.
She stepped from the mouth of the hallway and both men stopped what they were doing and stared at her. Lucas stood at the oven and Rafian sat at the table. She fidgeted uneasily. The towel was huge, but she suddenly felt naked in front of them. The thoughts they both were having were clear on their faces. Those thoughts were very male. Carnal, in fact.
Hers were just as bad. She’d never had a particularly hard time controlling her libido, but these guys made dirty thoughts leap straight into her head.
Rafian’s hands were clenched on top of the table, almost as if he was holding himself back from her. That should have been alarming, yet she sensed no threat from him. All she could imagine were those big, strong hands stroking over her bare skin. She wondered what it would take for him to lose the control he was so obviously employing. What if she dropped her towel….
Inappropriate thought alert.
“Uhm.” She swallowed hard. “Do you have anything I could wear?”
Rafian blinked, seeming to realize he was staring. He stood and abruptly left the room. He returned a few moments later with a dress draped over his arm. He handed it to her. “It’s in the fashion of our people. I hope you don’t mind.”
She took it and smiled. It was incredibly soft, like the finest cashmere. “I don’t mind. Thank you.” She retreated back to the bathroom and slipped it over her head. It snugged against her curves, fitting her perfectly. She had no underwear or bra, but her breasts were so small it didn’t really matter.
This time when she entered the kitchen, her damp hair tangled over her shoulders, she seemed to make both men lose their words. They stood and stared at her, making her cheeks heat. “It’s really comfortable,” she said lamely, her voice quavering.
They looked like they wanted to eat her. The fact they were wolves made that revelation a little alarming.
Lucas motioned to a chair and a steaming plate of food. “Sit. Eat.”
“And you’ll tell me about this strange place I’ve slipped into.”
He nodded.
She sat and took stock of her dinner. There was something that looked like chicken, a green leafy vegetable she couldn’t identify, and a plate of red berries. A cup of what appeared to be wine sat near her fork.
Whatever. She was ravenous. She dug in.
Closing her eyes, she groaned as the food hit her taste buds. All of it was delicious, especially the berries. All of it was familiar too. The chicken really was chicken, although far more tender and juicy than what she usually experienced. The berries were sweet and reminded her of raspberries.
“Okay,” she said after she’d eaten enough to calm the monster in her stomach. “Stop trying to protect me and spill the details. Where I am? Why am I here? Why do you think I’m your…mate?” It was hard to even say the word. “Mostly importantly, how do I get home?”
Both men had taken chairs at the table near her. As she’d expected, it was Lucas who spoke. Rafian seemed a man of few, but profound, words. “You are in a country called Selaryica. It is a place with several races, the primary and most populous of which are the Magica.”
“Is that your people?”
He shook his head. “The hunters in the woods were Magica. They have been at war with our people, the Lycaon, for centuries.”
“The Lycaon are werewolves?” She took a drink of the wine-like stuff. It was good, but tasted more like grape juice.
His gaze met Rafian’s briefly. “Not all of them. We are shapeshifters and take many different forms.”
She shrugged. “Sure, why not.” Her weirdness meter had long since jumped off the scale. She took another bite of chicken.
“You were not brought over,” continued Rafian. “You were forced over by the mate bond that holds the three of us together. Because you are mated to us, you are also part Lycaon.”
She gulped down her mouthful and set her fork down. “What did you say?”
“When the mating bond has been completed, if it is completed, you will be able to shift into your animal.”
She blinked at both men in turn. “What animal?”
“We don’t know. It could be anything,” Lucas answered. “Big cats, wolves, and birds of prey are the most common.”
She looked down at her plate. “I feel nauseous.”
“Too much, too soon.” Lucas looked smug.
Her gaze locked with his. “Lucas, fuck you. I want to know more.”
Lucas’s lips twitched with the beginning of a smile. He shrugged. “Fine. I’ll sum it up for you. Are you ready?”
She narrowed her eyes at him.
He grinned. “In ancient times magick existed in your world. The race that possessed the magick created a breed of humans to use in battle, called Lycaon, which could take the shape of a dire wolf.”
“How ancient?” she interrupted.
“Around nine thousand B.C.”
Leaning back in her chair, she folded her arms over her chest. “Convenient that there was no record keeping back then.”
“Please listen to the rest of the story.”
She pressed her lips together and nodded.
Lucas continued. “When the Lycaon decided they didn’t want to be used as slaves by the Magica, a terrible war broke out that laid to waste the civilizations of humans. A powerful force that remains unidentified shifted both races to another reality. Same earth, different place. Some of the Lycaon were left behind and those are your ancestors. Some of the Magica were left behind as well.”
She’d completely forgotten the food in front of her and was listening raptly. The story sounded so fantastical, so unbelievable and…yet, it was as if she was being told things she’d always known somewhere deep inside. She didn’t want to admit that to Lucas. She wanted to be snotty and disbelieving...but she just couldn’t.
Sitting forward, she studied his face. “Explain the mate bond.”
“The Magica never expected for the Lycaon to be able to procreate and produce offspring. Not only do we do that ability, but we spawn shifters that take forms other than wolf. Unfortunately our fertility rates are low and we produce many more males than females. There is a magical component to the fertility of the Lycaon, as well, that we call the mating bond. It links most compatible males and females, no matter where they may be, and draws them together. If a mate is beyond the veil separating our real
ities, it pulls that mate through.”
“But I was married once. What if I had still been married when the bond summoned me?”
Rafian answered. “It happened. The bond summoned you when you were married and it did not bring you over. We had glimpses of you, but were denied.” He held her gaze, his eyes growing darker. “It was a difficult period of time.”
Kaitlyn studied Rafian for a long moment before asking, “Why two males to one female?” She suspected she already knew the answer.
“Too many males, not enough females. This is the way our people keep our men happy. Unmated, unhappy males, especially Lycaon males, means an excess of testosterone that vents itself violently.”
She snorted. “In our world men don’t share well.”
Rafian gave Lucas a hard look. “They don’t always share well here, either, but this is our way and it works.”
A horrible thought occurred to her. “Please tell me you’re not brothers.”
“We are brothers in friendship and mate-hood,” answered Lucas, “but not by blood. We were raised in different homes.”
She let out a breath of relief. “Thank god. Are you lovers, then?”
“Some of the male Lycaon are. It’s not uncommon with such an excess of males. However, neither Rafian nor I are attracted to each other in that way.”
“Ah.” She was a little disappointed. There was something arousing about the idea of watching these two big, beautiful men together. A millisecond after the thought occurred, she mentally smacked her forehead. What was she thinking? She wasn’t going to watch anything happen between these two men. As powerfully as she was attracted to them, she was leaving.
She stood abruptly, making the chair fall behind her. “How do I get home? I have a family there. Sisters—”
Lucas held her gaze. “You’re not going anywhere for two weeks.”
“What do you mean?”
“The mating bond,” answered Rafian. “It will hold you here for a little over a period of your two weeks. If you reject us at its end, you can leave, but not before. The veil won’t allow you to pass.”
“But I have a job. I have sisters and friends who will worry about me!” Thank god she didn’t have any pets at home, or medications she needed to take. The mating bond didn’t seem to care about any of that.
“I’m sorry,” answered Rafian, with a slow shake of his head. “There’s no way to send word past the veil or open the veil unless you’re an upper level mage.”
Her insides rearranged themselves. Paige and Caroline would be worried sick.
Two weeks. She’d barely avoided jumping their bones during the last couple of hours, how was she going to last two whole weeks? “How will I resist the bond for that long?”
“You’re not supposed to resist the bond.” Lucas’s voice sounded positively wolfish. “You will never be able to resist us.”
She looked up to find a hungry glint in his dark eyes.
“Give yourself over to the bond, to us,” Rafian added. “We can make you a very contented woman if you allow it. There is no such thing as disease here and we cannot get you pregnant unless it’s under special circumstances. Give in to us for two weeks, Kaitlyn. Enjoy it.”
Kaitlyn stood stricken for a moment, and then raced from the house.
* * * * *
Rafian watched Kaitlyn bolt from the house. Across from him, Lucas growled. “Burning hot spray in my face, door slamming, chair smashing, running away. I don’t understand this woman. We are hers, can’t she see that?”
“You’ll die if she leaves us. I see it on your face already. You’ve claimed her, just as I have.”
Lucas’s teeth flashed white. “I will sleep with her before morning, Rafian. I can feel how much she wants both of us. I will tempt her into a mating heat so great she’ll beg for my hands on her.” It all started with the mating heat. Sex came first and emotion…love…bloomed from there.
Rafian gritted his teeth, trying not to snarl. They’d agreed she wasn’t ready for both of them this early. They’d also agreed Lucas was the man to initiate the sexual relationship with her. Rafian was too uncontrolled, his appetites too wild.
That didn’t mean he liked it, but Kaitlyn wasn’t ready for him yet.
He stood, his hands fisting with frustration. He kept a home close to the village, the heart of the Lycaon community. In order to rein in his need, he would sleep there tonight. “Just don’t make her angry and keep your arrogance in check. You know you’re not the best with women, no matter what side of the veil they’re from.”
“I will.”
“I’m leaving.” Rafian couldn’t keep the entire snarl from his voice. Before Lucas could say another word, he strode out the front door. This was the way it had to be and he hated it.
The moon shone bright and silvery in the star strewn sky. From what Rafian had glimpsed of life in earth’s other reality, the sky was nothing like this. Too much light drowned out the stars. He could never live in such a place. It would kill the soul of his dire wolf.
Kaitlyn sat on a boulder between the house and forge. Her shoulders appeared slumped, as if weighted with worries he could not comprehend. She missed her sisters. He was sure of that much. He walked over her to her and she lifted her face to his. He couldn’t stand to see that turmoil and sadness in her eyes.
Wordlessly, he drew her to her feet and pulled her against him, brushing her hair back away from her shoulder. Her eyes became languid, her body melting a little, molding to his. Ah, that was better. Passion instead of sorrow. She was so warm and her skin smelled of the soap she’d used in her bath. He wanted to lick and kiss every inch of her, but he would have to settle for the barest of tastes…for now.
Dipping his head, he caught her mouth against his. Her silken lips made his cock go hard as steel. She slid her small tongue into his mouth, and his body erupted with fiery lust. He wanted nothing more than to strip her clothes off, bend her over this boulder and fuck her senseless right now. He could make her come again and again. He couldn’t wait to hear what kind of sounds she’d make, how her pretty little sex would feel as he moved inside her.
He shuddered against her and pushed away. Staring at her for a long moment, he imagined her bathed in only the pale night of the moon. His hands clenched. “I can’t touch you yet. I touch you and I lose control.”
She leaned against the boulder behind her, her chest rising and falling with her accelerated heartbeat, her breath puffing white in the chilly air. He’d affected her as much as she’d affected him. “What happens if you lose control?”
He took a step forward, sought her wrists and pinned them behind her. She yelped and tried to pull away, but he held her firm. Leaning in, he moved his mouth close to hers. “I like my women best when they’re bound. I like to take them long, hard, and rough. Are you ready for that, Kaitlyn?”
Her breathing caught in the back of her throat, but she said nothing in reply. Her body, however, spoke volumes. She trembled with need, aroused by his words. That was a good sign. Very, very good sign. The fact she’d been mated to him meant she would probably enjoy his unique way of making love to a woman.
He hesitated, wanting to accept the invitation he read in her body’s excitement. As much as he wanted to push her, he knew it was a mistake. Releasing her wrists, he turned and stalked toward the woods. He took one running leap and four paws landed solidly on the ground.
At the edge of the woods, he turned and viewed Kaitlyn through his wolf eyes. She stood, hugging herself against the chill, staring after him.
He let the forest envelope him.
Chapter Four
Kaitlyn watched as Rafian took a running leap and transformed into wolf form. The huge animal seemed to glow in the moonlight at the edge of the forest the moment before he padded silently within.
Her muscles still seemed made of butter. He’d literally almost brought her to her knees. And it sounded as if Rafian was the kind of man who wanted her on her knees. She would never
have guessed that about the taciturn, emotional man.
She never would have guessed how much she’d been aroused by the idea of it, either.
Her sex life had been average, she guessed, when compared to most women. Her sex drive had always been strong and she’d been willing to experiment in the bedroom, but her husband had never really been interested. Once he’d bought a pair of fur-lined handcuffs and they’d played around. It had been okay.
Of course, Doug was nothing like Rafian.
She headed back into the house on shaky legs, not sure how much more of this she could take. Now they were tag teaming her. How was she supposed to handle them?
You will never be able to resist us. Lucas’s voice eased through her memory. Yes, he was probably right. Her body wanted to raise the white flag right now.
When she entered the house, she found Lucas cleaning up the kitchen. Lovely fingers of warmth radiated from the roaring fireplace and she shivered off the last of the chill from outside. Lucas stood at the sink, washing up the dishes, the black tribal tattoos on his forearms flexing. There was another really arousing sight—a man doing housework.
“Where did Rafian go?” she asked.
“Home.”
She frowned at him. “Home? I thought he lived here?”
He shook his head. “We built this house for you. I’ve been living here for a while, but Rafian has said he won’t move in unless you accept us as mates and stay here permanently.”
And that would never happen. It couldn’t. She wasn’t ready for another relationship yet—let alone two of them—and she couldn’t leave her sisters, her job. God, her sisters….
“Rafian has family close to the Lycaon village,” Lucas continued. “He wants to stay near them.”
“What about you? Don’t you have family there?”
He turned toward her, his face tightening into a mask. “They were killed by Magica hunters.”