A Cat For All

by Crymsyn Hart

  “Do it, Ryker. Jack my dick!” Pierce cried out. He slipped his hand through Ryker’s hair and pulled him close until he kissed him fiercely enough to bruise Ryker’s lips. He clutched Pierce’s cock and quickened his pace. After a couple of more tugs, Pierce groaned and spilled his hot seed. Ryker held him close. Both of them were out of breath.

  Ryker kissed his neck. “I love you,” he murmured.

  “I’m sorry.”

  Ryker turned Pierce’s face to his. He saw the desperation in his eyes that made the other man look so vulnerable. “No. I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have put you in that spot to make you choose. I was wrong. Forgive me.”

  “Always.”

  “Now that we have all the mushy stuff behind us, Pierce, go take a shower. Ryker, go clean yourself up. I’m not doing your laundry again. We still have hours to make that place livable out back for Orianna,” Dallas said to both of them.

  Ryker glanced at him and smiled. He thought about the woman upstairs and how she had come into their lives and already changed it. He never thought he could get so resentful of another. She didn’t want to pull his family apart. She only wanted to make Pierce happy. It didn’t matter how he looked at it, he had to accept that she was going to be part of their threesome. Of course, it would take some getting used to, and she did say that she was glad to be a part of something again. He understood that fact all too well. He never thought he would be a part of anything until Dallas came along and then Pierce. They had made a life with one another and it had changed him. When Pierce had come along, he thought that he was going to lose Dallas for good, too. He shuddered when he reflected on the way he reacted to the new addition a few years ago. His own actions had nearly cost him his mate. He vowed he wouldn’t do that again, but it appeared he was acting the same way. Now he had to pull back and stop being a prick. There were other things in the world that were messed up and he didn’t need his family to be.

  “Yes. There’s a lot of work to do. For all of us.” He nodded at Dallas who raised an eyebrow.

  Ryker didn’t respond, but he went to get cleaned up and figure out how they were going to redo the guesthouse for their new addition.

  Chapter Nine

  Orianna perched herself high in a tree, reclined along the sturdy branch, and took in the night around her. Pierce and the others were romping in the woods. Her hunger had been sated on a deer earlier that night, and she was glad to be out on her own. For the past week, she had stayed in the house while the others had cleaned out and made the guesthouse livable for her. Pierce had sun-proofed his room so she wouldn’t burn, but since that first night he had not tried to make love to her. She missed his touch. He was stiff around her but relaxed with the other men. Orianna missed him, but understood why Pierce was skittish. She didn’t push the issue, but when it came to the thought of her body being warm again, she wanted to be sure that it wasn’t a fluke. The next time she would prepare herself for the pain and would welcome it to feel her heartbeat and the warmth rushing through her veins. But the one thing she wished more was to touch the cat that shared her flesh.

  Ryker was being civil to her, and she was staying out of his way the best that she could. The night called to her, and she heeded it. She spent her nights trooping through the forest around the house. Orianna was learning the vast lands and the fields surrounding the property. Plenty of deer mingled in the wood that would feed her hunger. She had acquired a taste for the deer, but after tasting Pierce’s heady blood, she longed to experience it once more. Orianna licked her lips at the thought of him. He stirred the emotions of her heart, and she was falling in love with him. When she mulled over his taut muscles and his golden eyes, hers purred in contentment. After that first night, it was apparent that Pierce and Ryker loved one another. Part of her felt bad about interrupting their way of life. Dallas and she were getting to know one another. She found him warm and inviting, but he was tightlipped when it came to how he and Ryker came to be together. He didn’t offer any personal information on his mate, just that it was his story to tell. Dallas was even reticent about his past. It made her wonder what had happened to him or if he would ever open up enough to tell her about his history.

  The sounds of the night animals filled her ears. Stars twinkled in the night sky. The moon was a small sliver in the darkness. The clean air was something she missed. She was happy to cohabitate with the three men, to be a part of some kind of family again. The only one of her family who still talked to her was her sister, Patty. Orianna hadn’t called her yet to tell her about what had happened. Patty would be worried about her. She had warned her not to marry Mason. That he was up to no good, but Orianna had never seen that. She growled when she thought about her former mate. When Mason had rejected her before the pride, her soul had shattered. Nothing of that love remained.

  The rough bark scratched her back as she reclined against the tree. She closed her eyes and inhaled the odors of the forest. Animals moved underneath her. The musky aroma of a squirrel in its den stung her nose. The damp fragrance of rain gathered in the west. The faint scent of the three men who had gone hunting still lingered around her. But there was another smell that caught her attention. It was strong, and it wasn’t one she associated with the house.

  Orianna slipped from the tree and landed silently on the ground. She waited a minute and listened. Whoever was snooping around wasn’t being subtle about it. She stuck to the shadows and waited for the person to come nearer. In the dark, she saw the outline of the man as he came closer to the back of the guesthouse. She inhaled again and couldn’t believe her nose. A warning growl left her lips.

  “Why are you trespassing?” she snarled.

  “I’m looking for a woman who might have passed through here. She’s wanted by our pride.”

  Orianna laughed. “Why is that?”

  The man stepped into the moonlight, but she remained hidden. At that moment Ryker and the others emerged from the darkness, laughing and smiling until they saw the trespasser. Their conversation fell away, and they grew serious. Although she stayed in the shadows, she was happy to see all three men and noted how beautiful they looked under the silvery light. Ryker was stunning in only his loose pants and his smooth chest. Dallas’s skin glowed in the moonlight, and he had a fulfilled expression about him as if he had caught something. The faint perfume of blood was on him. When they saw the other man, Ryker dropped to the ground and growled. The intruder stopped.

  “Why are you trespassing on my land?”

  The man whipped around to face them. “I’m looking for a woman. I caught her scent and followed it here.”

  “What woman would that be? And what do you want with her?” Dallas asked.

  “She is an enemy of my pride. If you’re harboring her, then my pride will come here and make sure that nothing is left of this place and claim it for ourselves. You have to do business with us every day. We can make your life a living hell.”

  Ryker curled his hands into fists and approached the man. Orianna was impressed at the control he had. “I’d like to see you try. We’re not ruled by the local pride. Go back and tell your leader that if he comes here, we’ll make sure that he doesn’t leave.”

  The interloper stepped forward until he was only a few feet from Ryker. Dallas and Pierce moved closer to Ryker. “I don’t appreciate you threatening my mate. If the others decide to come here, be sure we will fight anyone or anything that steps foot on our land. There is no woman here. A woman did pass through here a few days ago. Maybe that’s what you were following. We saw her, but she raced through the fields and was gone in a blur.”

  Dallas and Pierce surrounded the man. Ryker turned toward her into the darkness. Orianna strolled out of the wood and stood before the visitor. His expression darkened. “So, it’s true. They are harboring you.”

  “Patrick, why can’t Mason leave me alone? He already denounced me.”

  “You’re an abomination. That was made clear when you came to the funeral and we had to acco
mmodate you and have it at night. She should have been buried under the sun.”

  “Mother declared I was to be left alone. It was understood that if I stayed off pride land, you would leave me be. We used to be so close. Why do you follow Mason?”

  “Mother may be in the grave, but Mason rules us better than Mother ever could. She was soft. Father never should’ve given the pride to her to rule.”

  “It wasn’t just Father who left her the pride. The elders agreed, and she earned the right to rule. I would’ve done the same thing. I would’ve shown them I was worthy. Tell Mason you found nothing here. He only wants to get rid of me because I’m a reminder that I was once married to him. Once he wipes that away, he’ll be happy.”

  “What do you want us to do with him?” Pierce asked.

  Ryker glanced at her. “We don’t do anything. Let him go.”

  “You will be made an example of,” her brother spat.

  Orianna couldn’t help but see the hatred in her brother’s eyes. Knowing how close they used to be cut her heart. She never thought they would be bitter enemies. They used to romp when they were younger, climbing trees and getting into trouble. When they were children they threw seaweed at their mother. Now he saw her as something to be stomped out. It was the same look she had seen in Mason’s eyes.

  “You’ll have to take her over my dead body!” Pierce roared.

  Patrick scowled. “Has she bewitched you, too? She’s nothing but the devil’s whore. You’ll come to see that after a while. No being such as her should be permitted to live.”

  Pierce snarled and then slashed Patrick’s face. Her brother growled and turned from the force of the impact. When he faced them again, she could see the gashes on her brother’s cheek running red rivulets down his pale skin. He launched himself at Pierce, and they fell to the ground. Patrick’s skin rippled, and then he was a cat hacking at Pierce. Ryker and Dallas tried to rip Patrick off Pierce, but he had his claws sunk deeply into him. Pierce was struggling to shift, but her brother had his teeth around Pierce’s neck. He was ready to tear his throat out. She wasn’t going to let that happen. Patrick slashed at Ryker and caught him across the belly as he tried to pull him by the mane. Dallas jumped on top of Patrick and tried to tear him off that way, but Patrick threw Dallas off with a great shake and crunched down on Pierce’s neck. If he shook him again, Patrick would rip out Pierce’s throat.

  “Stop. Leave him alone. Get off of him. If you hurt him again, I’ll slash you to shreds. I was always stronger than you. Remember that.”

  Her brother looked at her with red-stained teeth. He grunted, which sounded like a laugh, and raised his paw, claws extended. Pierce gasped for breath. There were large holes in his shoulder where he had been bitten. All the blood stirred her hunger. She used that anger and rushed at her brother. Her fangs pushed through her gums, and her inner cat screamed. She landed on Patrick’s back and sunk her teeth into his throat, gagging on the mouthful of fur. Orianna tore away bunches of his mane and sank into him with her claws. Patrick tried to shake her off. She kept biting and clawing until she felt the blood gushing across her face. Finally, her brother stopped struggling and lay quiet underneath her. His heart still beat, but his wounds were healing slowly.

  Orianna backed away from Patrick and wiped the blood from her lips and spit out what was in her mouth. She didn’t want to taste her brother’s blood. He slowly metamorphosed back into human form, shivering from his nakedness and the wounds she had inflicted. Pierce moaned and rolled over onto his back. Please be okay. Please don’t die. She rushed over to Pierce and pulled off her shirt and pressed it to his wounds. Dallas was tending to Ryker. After a few moments, Ryker rose and then came over to them.

  “How is he?” Ryker asked.

  She lifted her shirt and saw the wounds; the bleeding had stopped. Thank God. “He should be fine. His heart is beating strong.” She flicked her tongue over her fangs. With all the blood around, it enticed her hunger. She couldn’t run away from it. Patrick had to be dealt with first. Orianna curled her fingers along Pierce’s face. He drew in a few breaths and then opened his eyes, but she saw how weak he was. Orianna brushed her lips across his and then went over to her brother, who was trying to crawl away and curling up in a ball each time he moved.

  “What’s the matter, Patrick?”

  He glanced up at her from his beleaguered position. “What have you done to me?”

  Dallas leaned over her brother. “Wounds inflicted by vampire teeth are poisonous to shifters. Don’t you know that? You might live or you might not, depending on how much toxin gets into your system.”

  Orianna glanced at them. She hadn’t known about that. “Go and tell Mason to leave me alone. I owe him nothing. Once upon a time you and I were kin.”

  Patrick struggled to his feet. “You’re not my sister. She died five years ago. You’re nothing more than a thing that came back in her shell.” He limped into the woods, turned into a lion with only a light ripple of the air. It brought her back to the lion she had played with as a child batting at his tail until she tired herself out and fell asleep curled at his side. When he was out of sight, Orianna returned to Pierce’s side.

  “Are you okay?” Pierce asked, his voice coming out raspy.

  “I’m fine, you silly man. You need to rest and heal from your wounds.”

  “I’ll take him upstairs and get him cleaned up.” Ryker lifted Pierce onto his feet, and they moved back toward the house.

  Before they left, Orianna met Ryker’s gaze and nodded. “Thank you.” They went into the house and left Dallas outside with her.

  “Are you okay?” Dallas asked.

  She glanced at him. At that moment, she viewed him as nothing more than a walking Slurpee. Her fangs ached, and the beat of his heart pounded in her ears. The blood that covered her and scented the ground was driving her mad. She had to get away and feed.

  “No. Not really.” Orianna turned her face from Dallas and tried to focus on the night. To draw in the energy and let it take the edge off. The smell of the coppery substance on her skin was starting to smell like rotten tomatoes. Another breath only made it worse. She pressed her nails into her palms. The pain helped her to focus before the beast in her nature rose up and took over. But the cat was also there as well. It was stronger than it ever had been. The warring nature of the two of them had come to a balancing act. How long it was going to last she wasn’t sure. It was already a losing battle as the hunger was starting to eat away at her.

  A hand squeezed her shoulder. She spun around and snarled. Her claws were raised, but before she could strike, Dallas caught her wrist. A hiss escaped her lips, and she tried to swipe at the man before her even though she knew he was a friend. Her hunger was going to make him into her dinner if she didn’t find blood soon.

  “I will not hurt you, Orianna. You know that. Concentrate on my voice.” Dallas didn’t release her wrist. She shook her head.

  “I’m sorry, Dallas. All the blood and dealing with my brother. It’s arisen the hunger, and I can’t control it.”

  “You need to feed.”

  “There are deer enough on the land. I just have to catch one. Release me, and I will find my dinner.”

  “You need more than the deer. You need human blood.” He drew her close to his body.

  Orianna tried to escape him, but he held her fast. Dallas’s arm touched the small of her back. He guided her to his neck, but she resisted him. He smelled so good it was tempting for her to sink her fangs into his throat. “I can’t. You don’t know what you’re asking.”

  “I do know. There’s much about me you don’t know. That even Ryker doesn’t know. I was raised by vampires. When I was old enough, they fed off me nightly, injecting me with the venom on their fangs. It made me horribly sick at first. Now I’m immune to it. But I crave it. I’ve watched you this past week, staying out of our way. You try to be invisible. You love Pierce, and he loves you. I see how you look at him. A side glance here. The brush of y
our hand across his face. His love is infectious, and it’s spreading along our mental bond. I’ve found myself thinking of you, and my cat yearns for you.” Dallas touched the side of her face. His gentle caress stirred the lioness inside of her. “Seeing you with Pierce has made me a tad jealous. I didn’t think that was possible.”

  She shook her head, not sure of what he was confessing. “No. You can’t be falling for me, too. I can’t have you fighting over me with Pierce.”

  “I won’t have to do that. Besides, I can feed you. Think about it. If you bite Pierce or Ryker one too many times, you would kill them, unless you slowly get them used to the venom of your fangs. It can be accomplished, but it has to be done carefully.”

  Orianna stared deep into his eyes and saw the longing. “What else do you want?”

  Dallas growled and looked away. “Nothing else.” His voice wavered.

  “Yes, there is.” She placed his hand on his chest. The fixed beat of his heart helped to steady her. She licked her fangs as she felt another lust rise in her. Orianna rolled her shoulders and tried to keep herself centered. The lioness rubbed along her insides, and it longed see what Dallas wanted. What other can of worms am I about to open if I say yes to this? What else is he hiding? Can Pierce handle this? Can I? “If you desire me to bite into you, then you have to be straight with me.”

  “If I tell you the truth, there could be consequences you’re not ready to deal with. Or that I’m not either.” He ran this thumb over her bottom lip.

  “Then you shouldn’t have offered yourself up for dinner.”