by Skye Jones
“Demons.” Sean looked at Will as he spoke, clearly missing Luke’s shake of the head. “And shaman, and other things most people would never dream could be real. Shifters generally leave humans alone, or like us, actually help and work for the few humans who know about us. Vampires can be bad if they’re old and gnarly, but most of them hide out. Only demons are truly terrible, and they’re rare and stick to their own so—”
“Sean.” Luke used his name as a warning, and Sean shot him a worried look.
“No. No. No.” Will repeated the word over and over as he shook his head. He started to laugh. “No way. I don’t believe it. Demons? No.”
Will began to shake; his eyes flashed fire and ice as he bared his teeth. Luke took hold of Will, pulled him in, and tried to connect with him.
“Will?” He spoke calmly, voice low. “Listen to me, you’re upset. Very upset. It’s causing you to start to change, but you can’t. Not here, not now. You need to calm down, okay? We can talk this out. None of this shit is as bad as you think. The world is different to how you envisioned it, sure, but nothing’s actually changed, it’s just…now you know, when you couldn’t possibly before.”
Will let out a whimper and pulled back. He moved away from Luke and backed into the wall. They’d practiced changing forms over and over with the younger man, but Will still needed more time until he perfected it. It was one thing to initiate the change when you wanted, quite another to halt it when it came about due to severely heightened emotions. It could take Will months before he controlled the shift to wolf form in the face of strong feelings.
“Will.” Sean rushed to Will’s side, stroked his hair, carding his fingers through it, gently rubbing his scalp, petting him as one might a dog on edge. With a sinking feeling, Luke realized he’d truly fucked up. Sean had been right. Will wasn’t ready for the trip, still needed the time and space to come to terms with the huge changes happening within. Luke moved toward Will, about to get hold of him again, to use touch to try and anchor him, and that’s when all hell broke loose. Before he could reach Will, a familiar halo enveloped the younger man. Will gave a strangled cry as the light danced around him, and seconds later in his place stood a tall wolf, ripped and tattered clothing hanging from its frame.
Luke dove for the door and slammed it shut before Will could run out. He turned to see Sean backed up against the wall, the wolf cornering him. Luke didn’t pause to think, instinct took over as every muscle in his body screamed to help his mate. Will might be a pack member, but right now he wasn’t in control. Sean could be in real danger.
As he ripped his clothes off, Luke maintained eye contact with Sean, willing him to keep still and not make any sudden moves. As soon as his clothes were gone, Luke shifted. The bright colors of the games room receded as muted, darker shapes took their place. Noise from outside increased tenfold and scents assailed his nostrils. He could taste Sean’s fear, but far worse, he scented Will’s rage. With a snarl, Luke hurled himself at Will, sending the smaller wolf flying away from his mate.
Will hit the wall with a yelp but righted himself quickly and charged at Luke, teeth bared, fangs dripping saliva. Fuck! Luke could see from Will’s narrowed eyes that the wolf held little sign of the man within.
Giving a deep growl as he reached Luke, Will sank his teeth into Luke’s right, front leg. Luke didn’t register the pain, couldn’t let himself, couldn’t let the anger and the primal need to fight out, or he’d kill Will. Instead he twisted out of the bite and, head down, rushed Will and knocked him to the ground. He turned to see Sean’s silvery wolf standing by them. Luke placed his paw on Will’s chest to hold him down, but he’d glanced at Sean for a moment too long, and Will righted himself. He lunged at Sean, snarling and snapping and caught the right side of his silver flank, ripping a chunk of flesh as he pulled his teeth back.
Luke’s vision blurred and his ears buzzed as rage filled him. He howled and locked his jaws around Will’s throat, holding on. Will twisted and turned, but he couldn’t shake Luke off. Another set of teeth wrapped around the back of Will’s neck, holding him firmly by the scruff. Luke could see Sean had a solid grip but still didn’t let go himself. Luke tasted blood and wanted nothing more than to sink his teeth into the body of this wolf that dared harm his mate.
A whimper from Sean stopped him in his tracks. Let him go. The words echoed as clearly in his mind as if Sean said them out loud. Slowly, reluctantly, Luke let go of Will’s throat.
Sean held onto Will’s scruff as Luke towered over the prone wolf, baring his teeth so he looked as fierce as possible. The new pack member lowered his eyes, dropped his head, and whimpered. He laid his head on the floor and turned it slightly, exposing the vulnerable, bleeding underside of his throat. He submitted completely. Luke sensed the moment all the fight left him. Sean let go, stood back, and changed back to his human form. The side of his right thigh streamed with blood from a large gash.
Luke shifted, too, leaving Will lying on the floor, whimpering softly, the danger over.
“Oh God, Sean.” Luke grabbed his mate’s thigh and examined the deep wound.
“I’m fine. It’ll be healed by tomorrow.”
Already the blood flow lessened. Soon it would stop bleeding completely and slowly knit together. Within a few days, there’d be no sign of it having occurred. Shifters healed faster than humans and didn’t scar, unless silver was used as a weapon, in which case the marks left could be horrific. An alpha’s mating bite also left a permanent mark, but all other wounds faded quickly.
Will whimpered again. Sean reached out and petted his head, stroked him gently, and murmured to him. “I don’t think he can remember how to turn back.” Sean’s eyes grew wide with concern.
“It’ll come to him soon enough.” Luke didn’t hold much sympathy right now for the young wolf.
“Don’t you go blaming him.” Sean glared at Luke. “Don’t you dare. This is on me. You weren’t going to tell him any more; you could sense he’d heard more than he could handle, but I kept on going, didn’t I? This isn’t his fault. He’s new to all of this. It’s terrifying and overwhelming. The last thing he needs is his alpha pissed at him.”
“I can’t help it. He attacked you!” Luke still wanted to rip Will’s throat out and only the iron control his family trained into him from a young age stopped him. His father’s words echoed in him now: with supreme power comes supreme responsibility, you’re a very powerful shifter, you must be in charge of your wolf at all times. Normally Luke didn’t find it difficult, but with his mate bleeding and his intended unclaimed, it took all his strength not to give in to the feral wolf clawing to be set free.
Light shimmered around Will, halos of gold and green heralding the shift back to human. He immediately curled up into a fetal position, groaning and wrapping his hands around his throat. Sean glanced at Luke, his expression strained.
“Will?” Sean spoke softly. “Can I look at your throat? I’m not going to hurt you I promise.”
Will scooted away until his back hit the wall, but he looked up at Sean as Luke watched, holding back. Slowly, Will pulled his hands away from his throat. They were covered in blood from a huge gash splitting the base of his neck.
“Shit.” Luke felt sick. He’d done that…and to one of their own. His position should always be about protection but in protecting his mate, he’d harmed their youngest pack member.
“William.” Sean used the young man’s full name, for the first time as far as Luke could remember. “I want you to keep calm. You’re going to be fine, but you’ll feel like crap for a couple of days. You’re newly turned, so your body doesn’t heal as fast as ours and this is deep. It will heal, though. You’ll need a couple of days rest and plenty of steak.”
“Hurts.” The voice came out wet and gargled.
“You can drink some of my blood,” Luke offered. “It will help you heal more quickly. It could still take a while, but it’ll stop the pain and slow the bleeding.”
Will nodded
his head weakly. “Okay. Make the pain stop. Please.”
Luke bit down hard on his wrist with a wince. Once he had a good flow of blood going, he held his arm up to Will to let him take it and suck the blood into his mouth. After a few moments, Sean gently pulled Will back and wrapped a clean bar towel around Luke’s wrist to stem the flow.
“You still need to rest,” Sean told the younger man. “I suggest you go to bed for the rest of the day and only come down to eat. You’ll need lots of protein. You’ll be fine, but you’ll have what looks like a nasty scar. Within a couple of days it’ll be gone completely. Let’s get this dressed and then you can go lie down.”
Sean sighed. “One other thing. We’ve got to tell your cousin.”
“No.” Will’s face dropped and his eyes filled with tears. “She won’t be able to take it. She’ll be so freaked out she’ll run. I’ll never see her again.”
“Listen to me.” Luke kept his voice neutral and calm. “You owe her the truth. If she wants to run, it’s out of your hands, but I think you underestimate her. I think she can take it. And you can’t explain your wound away, or how quickly it will heal. Sean here’s got a bad gash on his leg, too. Within two days it won’t be there anymore, and I’ve got cuts and bites on my arms. We either send her home now or we tell her.”
“She won’t believe you. She’ll think we’re all mad, and she’ll be scared we’ll hurt her.” Will’s tears flowed freely now, mapping out the furrows of his face as they fell.
“Trust me.” Luke touched him gently on his arm. “We know how delicate this is, and we’ll make sure Kayley understands you had no choice when you joined us. At least that way, if she does distrust us, she won’t feel the same way about you.”
Luke stood and walked to the door. He couldn’t bear to contemplate Kayley rejecting them once she understood what they really were, but they couldn’t keep lying to her if she stayed with them any longer. With a heavy heart, he pulled back the handle and swung the games room door wide open.
“I’ll speak to the others. We’ll tell her tonight. At dinner.”
Chapter 6
“How could you?” Sean slammed his hand down. They’d retreated to their room to get cleaned up after the fight in the games room.
Luke stood in front of him, bare chest still dripping with water from his wash, as he told Sean what happened in the library. Luke’s admission he’d talked with Kayley knocked Sean off guard. How could Luke go behind his back in such a way?
“We didn’t discuss it! What part of partnership don’t you get? You told me you’d never make me feel like nothing, but you just have.”
Luke’s face fell, his gray eyes darkening until they were the color of gathering storm clouds. “I didn’t have a choice…she sort of kissed me. We kissed one another, but she kissed my cheek first.”
“What?” Ice-cold tendrils worked their way up Sean’s spine. He thought they’d have to woo Kayley, take it slow, yet she’d kissed Luke? Fear at his partner’s words fought for dominance with the jealousy simmering low and deadly in his gut. Luke quite obviously intimidated Kayley; Sean could pick up her increased anxiety when around his mate. So she must want him badly, or she’d never have made such a move.
Sean had imagined he’d somehow be the one to bring her into the fold. He would turn a close friendship into something more, allow her to grow used to the idea of a relationship with the two of them. Kayley reacted to Luke with a mixture of trepidation and attraction. It wasn’t an unusual reaction; Luke could be so full on, and so powerful in his charisma he intimidated most people.
Sean simply hadn’t envisioned a scenario where Kayley would be comfortable enough to initiate anything with Luke. The fact she’d done so played into all his insecurities and worries. Worries she’d only want Luke, worries Luke might decide he wanted her, and not Sean, if forced to choose. He needed them both, and he hated the idea of getting left out in the cold.
“Stop it.” Luke’s mouth turned down. “I know what you’re thinking, and I don’t want this. This stops right now if it hurts you. Don’t you get it? You’re the most important thing to me.”
Relief at the reassurance raced through Sean. His face warmed and he turned from Luke and busied himself with pulling the duvet straight, not wanting to show quite how unnerved he’d been at Kayley’s actions.
“Do you know how annoying it is to have your every emotion picked up on?” he muttered, voice shaky. “Sometimes people have mixed feelings. It’s like…I can’t ever have moments of insecurity or doubt because you pick up on them and make it more than it is. I don’t want to put a stop to this. I want her. I’m only worried she might not want me. She’s clearly attracted to you.”
Luke came close, wrapped his arms around Sean, and pulled him in. Sean allowed himself to be manhandled into those solid, warm arms, relishing the closeness and the scent of his lover. He rubbed his cheek across the smattering of hair at the top of Luke’s chest, needing his mate’s pheromones on his skin.
Sean wanted Kayley, there could be no doubt about his desire for her now he’d spent time with the young woman. He’d been clamping down on his reactions every time she came close, brushed by him, or spoke to him in her sexy, husky voice. Sean also found, to his surprise, he had no issues with the idea of sharing Luke sexually with the vibrant young woman. Kayley was the only female ever to spark his desire, and the idea of the two together turned him on deeply. His voyeuristic tendencies leaped at the thought of watching the two of them, and he’d played various scenarios over and over in his mind.
What tortured Sean was the fear they’d decide they didn’t need him, and he’d be left with no one, and the thought of losing Luke cut him to the bone.
“I worry about it too, you know?” Luke’s voice rumbled through him. “I get scared you’ll both fall so in love you’ll want to be together, without me. You get on as friends, and you’re alike in some important ways. I know I’m not always fun to be around. I’m—what is it you say? Oh, yeah, intense.”
“I love your intensity. Don’t ever doubt it. I love everything about you.”
“As I love everything about you. And when I get insecure, I tell myself, it’s fated. It’s meant to be. I’ve dreamed about you both and felt you both with me for so long.” Luke kissed the top of his head.
Sean heard his deep breath in and knew the alpha inhaled his scent.
“All of this could be academic. I doubt my confession will be at the forefront of Kayley’s mind once we’ve shown her what we really are,” Luke continued.
Sean pulled back and looked into Luke’s eyes, glad to see they’d warmed up, the storm clouds receded for now. “Do you think she’ll leave once she finds out?”
“I don’t know. I think what happened in the library panicked her. This revelation on top might be too much, but she’s stronger than we thought. I can sense it in her. Then again, she’s still afraid to trust in herself, so I suppose it really boils down to me not having a clue how it will go.”
“Psychic powers huh? Never there when you need ‘em.” Sean nuzzled Luke’s chin affectionately.
“Yep. They’re like cabs, never one when you need it then they all come at once.”
“Let’s go. It’s time to face the music.” Sean tipped his head back, his lips seeking Luke’s.
Luke groaned as they connected, his tongue sweeping through Sean’s mouth lazily. They rested their foreheads together for a long time, simply breathing in one another’s scent and letting their heart rates synchronize.
Sean would never love anyone as much as he did this man. Luke wasn’t only his lover; he’d become his best friend, his mate, his protector and his savior. He wouldn’t let his deep-seated insecurity, caused by a vile male so very long ago, ruin their chance to find complete happiness with Kayley.
* * * *
Kayley’s nerves were back. She didn’t have butterflies this time. Instead a chorus line of dancing girls were high kicking in her stomach. The group sat around the tab
le, yet unlike other times she’d seen them together, no one uttered a word. Sean moved efficiently about the kitchen, serving up the salad course. Will hadn’t appeared to take his place yet. A strained atmosphere lay between them all, a heavy fog of tension.
Luke cleared his throat and looked her way. “We need to talk to you, Kayley, it might be…difficult for you to hear what we have to say. We only ask you listen.”
Will walked into the room as Luke finished speaking. Kayley glanced up and let out a horrified cry. Her cousin’s neck showed a deep, livid scar across the bottom. It didn’t appear to be bleeding, but it wasn’t stitched either. It looked somehow knitted together, as if weeks old, not hours, which it must be since it hadn’t been there earlier. She’d also noticed the faint scratches and marks on Luke’s arms and the bandage on Sean’s leg, bared in his shorts.
Luke followed her gaze and gave a low growl. “For fuck’s sake, Will. Where’s your bandage?”
“It itched,” Will replied. All the sheen of confidence she’d first noted in her cousin seemed to have been drained out of him, his face now drawn and pale.
“What happened?” The words stuck in her throat. Will’s wound turned her stomach. Something terrible had occurred here. Legs shaking, she stood. Her chair fell back to hit the floor, reverberating in the silence.
“Kayley?” Luke started to move.
She let out a cry and stepped back, heart pounding.
“No. Please, no. Will? Come here.” She stared at her cousin, hoping he’d come to her side. Will didn’t move. His brow creased as he looked from her to Luke and back again. The way he acted made it seem as if he somehow needed Luke’s permission.
Old memories rushed back with a vengeance: Dane beating her, the pain, the blood, all of it made her dizzy with fear. Nausea roiled in her stomach, and she bent double, gasping as she tried to hold off being sick. Luke, Sean, and Will must have fought, and one of them hurt Will badly. They were bounty hunters, hard men. Yet she’d ignored all the evidence and let herself believe they’d protect her, be all nice and kind and fluffy. Stupid, stupid, stupid. The voice in her head beat out the words to the drumming of her heart.