Melanie [Eminence Shifters] (Siren Publishing Ménage Amour)

by Ashley Malkin

  “Are you hurt, angel?” Cooper asked the question they were all most afraid to ask. The thought of his Melanie being hurt and alone in the dark was just pushing Finn further into an abyss of insanity.

  “He’s coming back, what should I do?” Melanie whispered to their minds. She wasn’t used to this type of communication and didn’t realize she could yell in her mind at them, and Curtis wouldn’t hear her.

  “Just lay still, Melanie, and feign unconsciousness. I think I know where you are, sweetness. We are about five minutes away,” Finn advised her. “She’s at the mine up on Peats Ridge,” Finn sent to his brother and pride.

  Cooper roared down the link. “I’m at the mine, Finn. You were right, their trail led me right here. I’ll stop the bastard from harming her any further.”

  “Stop him, Cooper, we are all nearly with you. Don’t kill him. That is my right and I will have it,” Finn commanded, with all the power that made him an Alpha. There was no question that Curtis would be left alive to face Finn, no matter who got to him first.

  Chapter 19

  Melanie had woken in darkness and pain. She remembered a huge mountain lion knocking her from Dane’s embrace and that was all she could remember. She assumed the lion was Curtis, the one they had been hunting. She was cold, wet from melting snow, and deprived of any visual input due to the total darkness.

  Shivering, she had reached out with her heart for the comfort of her mates. She told them of her love for them, her fear of never seeing them again, and her wish to be in their arms again. She could hear growling and snarling off in the darkness, but was alone where she was, in this dark cold place.

  Suddenly, she heard Finn’s voice. It was soft but insistent. She was confused, she called out softly into the darkness, but only a soft echo of her own voice returned. She must be going crazy. She could feel that she was alone down here.

  Then she heard all of their voices. She heard Hunter and Dane saying they were close. She heard Cooper telling her to be still, that he was nearly with her. Then she heard Finn call for quiet, and the other voices went silent. She was not alone, though. Finn was there, a palpable presence in her mind.

  This was how they talked to each other when they were shifted. She told Finn what she knew of where she was, and then she stilled. She could hear the growling coming closer. Curtis was coming for her.

  Melanie lay still as Finn suggested. Curtis took hold of her foot in his mouth and began to drag her through the darkness. She didn’t want to get any farther away from her mates. It felt wrong not to fight to get to them. So she decided she wouldn’t go easily.

  Melanie kicked out into the darkness with her other foot, aiming for and hitting the beast in the face. She felt his grip release. She scrambled away and stood up on her shaking legs. She felt a rush of air, and then hands were around her throat.

  “Feisty little bitch, I’ll tame you soon enough. You are gonna pay for that kick to my face, though.” Curtis snarled low at her and squeezed her throat tighter in his massive hands.

  Melanie clawed at his hands, trying desperately to breathe.

  “Not going to kill you, little Alpha bitch, I’m just going to show you how to behave is all. Once we are mated, I will be Alpha, then this pride will show me my due respect.” Curtis let go of her throat and punched her in the face.

  Blood spurted from her nose and mouth. She was thrown onto the ground from the power of the strike. Pain made her scream out for Finn. She heard his answering growl in her head. He was telling her to hang on, telling her that help was there.

  But Curtis was the only one there. She heard his snarl just before he stomped on her leg. She screamed, the sounds of the bones breaking a hard snap in the cold darkness.

  “Can’t have you running away, now can we? Not before I make you mine.” Curtis picked her up, causing the bones in her leg to punch through her skin. She screamed in pain. No longer able to bear it, she let the rising darkness sweep the pain away.

  * * * *

  Cooper raced straight down the cave entrance. The blood trail had thinned as Curtis and Melanie had begun to heal from their wounds and the blood flow was lessening. But even one drop of Melanie’s sweet, buttery-scented blood would have called loudly enough for Cooper to follow.

  He heard her screams, both through his ears and through their link. As did his brothers. They were roaring in his head.

  “I’m here. I will try not to kill him, Finn. Our mate is screaming in pain and fear, my cat is not going to allow me to be merciful,” Cooper told his Alpha, knowing that if Finn didn’t arrive soon, there would not be much of Curtis left for Finn to chew on.

  Cooper ran faster than he ever had before, Melanie’s screams spurring him on. He raced into the dim mine shaft, not dark to his cat eyes.

  The smell of Melanie’s blood exploded in his nostrils. Fuck it, he was hurting her badly. He skidded around a bend in the tunnel and saw them ahead.

  Melanie was still on the dirt floor. Curtis in his human form was lying naked on top of her naked body, pushing her lifeless legs apart with his knees.

  “He’s going to rape her,” Cooper shouted to his brothers in his horror.

  He took a running leap and dug his claws into Curtis’s back, dragging him off Melanie with his momentum. The man was momentarily stunned and Cooper took advantage of that shock to move over Curtis and wrap his jaws around his throat.

  He pushed his fangs deep, but did not rip, the command from his Alpha still strong enough to halt the killing move. Curtis stilled under his jaws, well aware that the slightest move from Cooper and his throat would be torn open.

  Cooper was too enraged to talk to his brothers or pride mates. They were all shouting at him, but it was all just white noise to him. He was caught in a rage he had never known before, a killing rage. He could smell the blood of his mate all around him, he could picture her imminent violation burned into his retinas. He wanted nothing more than to end the life that he held in his jaws. Only the love and deep respect he held for his brother, Finn, stilled the killing move, but one twitch from the vermin beneath him, and that control would snap.

  * * * *

  Finn arrived at the mine first. His fathers, not able to keep pace with him, had fallen behind. Max Wilder was just running into the mine when Finn arrived, Hunter and Dane were coming in behind him as he barreled through the entrance and jumped over Max in his haste to reach his mate.

  They all ran through the mine, following both Melanie’s and Cooper’s scents now. They heard Cooper’s roar, and then just the rasping of his breath as they drew closer.

  Rounding a bend in the main shaft Finn saw Melanie’s still form first. He ran to her and leaned his head to her chest, listening for a heartbeat. He could hear the faint beat of her heart, and he could feel the flutter of her breath across the fur of his face.

  “She is alive. Thank God, she is alive,” Finn told his brothers, as they had filled the shaft behind him.

  He looked over at Cooper and saw that he had Curtis by the throat. Max had gone over and had his front paws on Curtis’s chest, restraining him further.

  “Hunter and Dane, I need you to shift and tend to Melanie’s injuries as best you can. I will get transport here as soon as possible,” Finn commanded his brothers, turning to stalk to Curtis.

  Curtis began to struggle as Finn approached. “Let him go before you kill him, Cooper,” Finn commanded. “Max, get Axel and Calder to bring transport to the mine for Melanie, they are nearly at the ranch now. Have them call Doc to the ranch.”

  Cooper was reluctantly drawing his fangs from Curtis’s throat. At the first sign of freedom, Curtis leapt to his feet. He looked around for a way to flee.

  Finn felt a deep calm, despite the circumstances. He had never killed a pride mate, and had dreaded the time that that responsibility would fall to him. But not now. This man had hurt his mate, twice now, as well as trying to rape her. Finn’s fangs elongated even further, saliva dripping from the ends. His cat was takin
g over, and Finn had no desire to rein him in. As a cat shifter, he was twice the size of a normal mountain lion, easily reaching over five feet tall at his shoulder, with a bulk of over four hundred pounds. As Alpha, he was also the biggest of his pride.

  He stalked toward Curtis, his hackles rising and a growl erupting from his throat that brought dirt falling from the roof of the mine. He willed Curtis to run. His cat wanted to hunt this prey to ground.

  Stupidly Curtis ran at Finn. Finn slashed at his abdomen, eviscerating him in one swipe. Curtis fell to his knees, his intestines in his arms, trying in vain to try to hold them in his body.

  “No…I will be Alpha. This bitch will make it so,” Curtis bellowed.

  Finn grasped his head in his jaws and shaking his head, ripped Curtis’s head clean off and spit it out in the dirt.

  Finn shifted and ran to Melanie’s side, not sparing a thought for the life he just ended. He would never regret stopping Curtis from forever damaging his precious mate. He only regretted that Curtis got to her at all. He had left her vulnerable, leaving her and Dane open to that ambush. He knew that Dane was blaming himself, but he was ultimately the one to blame. He would beg the forgiveness of his mate and his brothers, as soon as Melanie was well again.

  Hunter was cradling Melanie’s head in his lap. Cooper was examining her injuries.

  “How is she?” Finn asked, his voice hoarse with emotion.

  “Her left leg has compound fractures to the tibia and fibula, and the right leg is torn up badly from where he dragged her here. She has a black eye, broken nose, and split lip. Most worrying though is the spreading bruise and tension to her abdomen. I suspect she is bleeding internally,” Cooper replied succinctly. Their time in the military had given them a good background in a triage of injuries.

  “Will she make it to, Doc?” Dane asked the question they were all thinking.

  “She is fully mated now, she is strong. She will survive this.” Finn spoke it as a command, not an opinion.

  “Thank God she is not conscious. She would be in so much pain.” Hunter gently stroked the hair of her face.

  “Let’s get her out of here.” Dane held her legs firmly together, using her unbroken one as a makeshift splint.

  Together Hunter and Dane carried their tiny mate out of the mine.

  Finn and Cooper ushered Max ahead of them, not wanting the other man to see their mate naked. He would understand and take no offence.

  As they got to the mouth of the mine, Axel and Calder, Max’s brothers, were just arriving with Cooper’s RV. They got out and stood away to the side with Max when they saw Melanie’s prostrate form being carried out. He would tell them what was happening. Finn watched his brothers arrange Melanie safely on the big backseat. Hunter stayed in the back with her. His brother’s climbed in the front and with Cooper driving they made their way quickly back to the ranch.

  Finn hoped his command for her to live would be obeyed by their little mate. He would not accept any other fate. They had just found her. She was not leaving them so soon.

  Chapter 20

  Melanie started to feel like she was burning up. She came awake, feeling like flames were erupting inside of her. She tried to open her eyes, but only managed to open them a sliver.

  “It’s all fine, princess, you’re safe now. We got you away from him. We have you at home. We are all here with you. Try to rest some more.” Hunter’s voice was a soothing balm to her flaming body. She felt herself relax. She was safe, her mates had found her.

  When she next awoke, she still felt warm, but not the same intense burning that she had felt before. She also felt the strong arms around her, the warm body at her back. She knew without opening her eyes that it was Cooper holding her. She just felt it.

  “Cooper? Are you all right?” she asked in a dry raspy voice that sounded nothing like her usual voice.

  “Me, angel? I’m not the one who went and had a little adventure, now am I?” Cooper teased. Melanie knew, with that statement, that everything must be fine. All her men must be safe, or Cooper would not be so cheeky to her.

  “How horrible do I look, Cooper? I remember getting a fist to my face that hurt very badly. What else did he do?” Melanie wanted to know what to expect when she looked in a mirror. She knew it would be bad. Curtis had choked and punched her before she passed out.

  Cooper’s growl at her back was echoed around her. All of her men were there with her.

  “You could never look horrible to us, sweetness. You are a vision of loveliness,” Finn said with total sincerity. Well, she was not going to get a straight answer from her men was she? She loved them for it, though.

  “Thank you, Finn. Thank you all, for finding me and bringing me home. I was so scared. Are you hurt?” Melanie struggled to sit up and she managed to open her eyes. The room was dim. The curtains were open, letting moonlight light the room. Cooper helped her to sit up against his chest. She looked at her mates. All seemed perfect, no blood, no bruises. She breathed a big sigh, reaching out her hands for Hunter and Dane, who sat on either side of her.

  “We are fine, little one. You are the one we are worried about. How are you feeling?” Dane asked as he kissed her palm and held her hand in both of his.

  “I feel a little warm, and my stomach and leg are burning a little.” Melanie looked at Finn, sitting near her feet. It was then she noticed her leg was in a strap-on brace. “Did I break my leg?” she asked, confusion swamping her mind. She couldn’t really remember much of what happened. She remembered waking cold and in the dark. Then she heard her men in her head. She looked at Finn again.

  “I heard you, I heard you all talking to me. I was wishing you were there, with all my heart, and then you were, in my heart and in my head.”

  “Yes, Melanie, it seems we are truly blessed in our mating. When we are shifted we are able to share a link with you. It didn’t extend to everyone in the pride. It was a special link that included just the five of us.” Finn started to stroke her thigh. “I must apologize to you, Melanie, and to my brothers. I should not have left you vulnerable to this attack.”

  “I didn’t know he would be back here so quickly, he was crazy fast,” Hunter reassured Finn.

  “I didn’t protect her,” Dane said in a hoarse whisper.

  “I can’t dance,” said Cooper, straight-faced.

  They all looked at him. Melanie turned a little in his big arms and kissed him hard on the lips.

  She couldn’t help it. She started to giggle, and tears started to leak down her face. “Don’t make me laugh. It hurts a little when I do.”

  “None of this shit was our fault. Curtis was a cruel maniac. We are all here together now, though. So we move on and get our little mate better so we can ravish her sweet body again.” Cooper nuzzled against the mating mark on Melanie’s neck, making her break out in goose bumps.

  “I like the sound of a good ravishing. How did I break my leg? Did one of you big guys drop me?” Melanie giggled again and snuggled against Cooper’s warm naked chest. She may not remember all of what had happened, but she was here with her men, and she couldn’t have been happier.

  * * * *

  “We certainly didn’t drop you, angel. I think you fell off the horse. You need a few lessons before we let you out of the yard again.” Cooper looked at his brothers as he said this. If Melanie didn’t remember all of the attack, then it should stay that way. Better for her to forget the senseless brutality of it and the attempted sexual assault that would only haunt her.

  “Okay, I admit I was pretty bad in the saddle after so many years of not riding. Did I get pink cowboy boots, Finn?” Melanie seemed to be getting better by the minute.

  When they had made it to the ranch house, Doc was waiting for them, so were their parents. They had brought Melanie into the kitchen and laid her on the kitchen table, and their mother had covered it with a blanket so they could examine her on it. After a thorough examination Doc had told them to each bite Melanie again over their respective
mating marks, adding more of their shifter DNA to her body. Then, once he had set the bones in her leg, they were told they had to take turns in holding her against them, letting her know she was safe in her mates’ arms, until she woke up. It hadn’t seemed enough, but Doc said he knew what he was doing and left as soon as the brace was on her leg.

  They took comfort in his confidence, but were not convinced until they had seen the bruising subside on her face and abdomen as the hours passed.

  “Yes, sweetness, you have a pair of pink boots to break in.” Finn picked her up out of Cooper’s arms and held her in his arms. He kissed her long and hard on the mouth. “I am so glad you are safe, I will never lose you, Melanie. Will you marry us?”

  Cooper felt relieved that Finn had asked her. As the oldest of them, and their Alpha, Finn had to do the asking, but he wanted to marry her so badly he might have slipped and asked her himself.

  Cooper stood and stoked her face. “Marry us, angel.”

  Hunter took Melanie’s hand. “Please marry us, princess.”

  “My darling, marry us,” Dane said from beside Hunter.

  “I would love to marry you all, but I can’t, it’s not legal,” Melanie spoke softly and sadly. “I would never choose one over the others, either.”

  “You marry me on paper, Melanie, and we have a ceremony that marries you to all of us in the eyes of our pride afterwards. But we know we are already bonded as mates in our hearts,” Finn told her and kissed her again.

  “Well then, in that case yes, I will marry you all, and be honored to be Mrs. Frederick.” She went willingly into Cooper’s arms for another deep kiss.

  Cooper felt that he had never been happier. Their mate was safe, and she was binding herself to them legally as well. She would stay forever, he knew that now.

  He handed Melanie off to Hunter for another kiss.

  “I will run you a bath, little one. You must want one badly after falling off that horse into the dirt.” He winked at her as she went into Dane’s arms for his kiss.