by Marie Harte
“Jericho!” Not one to stand on ceremony, Rudra flung herself at the bear.
He laughed and swung her around, much to the annoyance of the woman with him.
“Uh, Rudra?” Fenris turned to apologise to the female. “Sorry, she’s been worried about him.”
The female nodded, and a faint breeze stirred her scent. Fenris caught hints of athmae, feline, and…Jericho?
He blinked at the group, stunned to see the stamp of possession on the athmae’s face as he regarded Jericho.
“Holy shit.” Fenris’s vision of Jericho and another male had come true. Mated to a male. And by the look of things, to a cat. He started laughing and couldn’t stop.
“Fenris?” Rudra joined him, and when she caught what he’d said, she laughed as well.
Jericho’s smile faded and he frowned. “Oh, come on, Goldie. Not this again.”
“Told you.” Just as Fenris had foreseen.
Jericho rumbled something, and the woman with him snuggled under his arm.
“Don’t mind the wolves, Jericho. You know how they can be.” With an arrogance that did her breed credit, she looked down at Fenris as he tried to catch his breath.
Anson and Liam had taken the athmae aside and were speaking with him while Jericho fielded Rudra’s many questions.
When Fenris pulled himself together, he joined his brother.
“I’m glad to see you all in one piece. Lord Seino, I take it?” From everything Anson and Liam had shared about the male, Fenris knew better than to offend him. He made Liam’s tough guards look like children playing with swords.
The athmae cocked his head and studied Fenris with what he’d like to think was respect. “You are Jericho’s alpha? You and Rudra?”
“We are.” Rudra came to stand next to him and squeezed his hand, and Fenris still thanked the Wolf for giving him such a wonderful mate.
“I regret to inform you Jericho is no longer part of your pack.”
“What?” Rudra stiffened next to him. “What the hell does that mean?”
Jericho had joined them and sighed. “Didn’t I tell you I’d handle this?”
He dragged the athmae back, and Fenris didn’t like the menace coming off the male at all. The athmae looked like he planned to smack the bear around. And at his size, he might be able to do it.
To Fenris’s surprise, Jericho turned his back on the pointy-eared bastard and apologised. “Sorry. Let me introduce my new friends. Fenris, Rudra, this is Anya.” The cute, curvy cat. “And that’s Lord Seino. My partners on this quest to kill Serena, the sorceress.”
Liam’s eyes widened. “Serena?”
Jericho nodded.
Fenris frowned. “Who the hell is Serena?”
“Was,” Seino corrected with a malevolent grin. “We took care of her yesterday.”
Liam explained. “Years ago my father suffered a curse. A sorceress killed him and almost stole my wolf. Anson saved me.”
Fenris knew the story, of how his brother had mated with Liam and given him the magic to free his bound inner wolf.
“What you don’t know is that the sorceress, Vanessa, had a sister. Serena.”
“She wanted to take from you what you took from her,” Anya said in a low, smoky voice. “Your sibling.”
Fenris noted the rapt attention Anson and his guards gave her.
Incubi never strayed very far from sex. It figured Anson would be the same.
“Don’t even think about it,” Jericho growled at them.
When the incubi then turned their attention to him, Seino stepped forward. “Yes, what he said.” He fingered his blade, a demon bone sword, and the thing shrieked.
Anson, Liam and his guards took a healthy step back.
“So this leaving the pack thing,” Rudra prodded. “Explain it to me.” She ignored Seino and Anya, her gaze glued to Jericho.
Seino scowled at her, then at Jericho. To the bear he said, “No wonder you’re so disobedient. You get it from the alpha of your former clan,” he added with a twist and raised a brow in Rudra’s direction.
“Now hold on, demon. You can’t just steal my beta.”
Fenris and Anson exchanged a glance. Liam sighed. His men chuckled.
“I can and did.” Lord Seino shrugged. “Make of it what you will, wolf. Your bear is mine.”
Rudra’s magic made the hair on the back of his neck prickle. Fenris took a step away to give her space, curious to see how his mate handled Jericho’s departure. From the look of the bear, he seemed happier than he’d been in a long time. He hadn’t taken his arm from the pretty cat, and his warm gaze lit and stayed on Lord Seino with affection.
When Rudra moved forward, her hand glowing, Jericho chuckled and intervened. “Okay. How about this? Rudra, I wanted to tell you that I’m leaving. I’ve, uh, mated.”
She blinked at him and the energy in her hand winked out. “Mated?” She paused. “To him?” Her eyes were wide.
“No.”
“Good.”
Jericho let out a breath. “To them.”
A moment of silence passed.
“It is my great honour to have found Dark Walkers with such spirit and fortitude. My soul is now complete.” Seino bowed his head. His respect for his mates could not be questioned, and by the awe on the other athmaes’ faces, he’d uttered something not just complimentary, but astounding.
“Wait a minute. Dark Walkers? Jericho has a sister?” Rudra stared at Anya in confusion.
Jericho grimaced. “Hell no. Apparently Dark Walker is like a clan name. I’m part Kin.”
Anson nodded. “I knew it.”
“You did not,” one of the guards behind him said.
“Please. It’s more than obvious.”
A few of them started bickering, but Fenris was only concerned with Rudra. She loved the bear. Hell, he did too. Jericho was family.
“You sure this is what you want, Jer?” he asked.
Jericho nodded. “Well, not like Lord Uppity tells it.”
“Jericho,” the athmae warned.
The cat grinned.
“I mean, I’ve got a new job now. Protecting the realms. And I’ve been thinking. With two alphas, it makes sense to have two betas. The Nash brothers would be my recommendation to replace me. They seem like hotheads, but they’re actually pretty calm under pressure.”
“Maybe,” Rudra muttered, but he could feel her pain like his own. “But Jericho, are you sure you want to leave?”
His heart broke for her, but Fenris knew what Jericho needed.
“I don’t, actually.” Jericho leant forward to kiss her on the forehead. “I plan to spend some parts of the year here, to keep you out of trouble. But not without my mates, of course.”
Seino and Rudra eyed one another. The cat didn’t have any problem coming right up to Rudra and hugging her.
“I heard all about you from Jericho. I know how much he loves you. We could never take him away from his home.”
Rudra blinked to clear her tears. Fenris would tell her later that no one saw them.
She said to Anya, “But you’re his home now.”
“I think we all are,” Anya said kindly. “And even though you’re a wolf, I promise not to look down on you.”
Fenris coughed to cover more laughter. Trust Jericho to mate a tough-as-nails demon and an arrogant cat.
“Thanks, I think.” Rudra gave Seino a dark look. “But you. If you’re here, you’re under my authority.” When Fenris cleared his throat, she amended, “Oh, and his too.”
Jericho bit back a grin.
“Yes, yes, fine.” Seino rolled his eyes. “Now if the pleasantries are over, I’d like to see Jericho’s spirit-child.”
Rudra gaped. “You have a child?”
Jericho shook his head at Rudra. “No, dummy. I mean, oh great and wise alpha. He means Petra. I want to show him the kid.” Jericho lifted her out of the way and pulled his mates with him. “Come on. She’s a cute little thing. I’ll introduce you around.”
Fenris watched the bear greet those racing up to him with a huge smile. His mates walked with him, a trio of love and power that anyone with a hint of magic could see. When he looked back Rudra, she was smiling through the tears in her eyes.
“Don’t think I’m not going to razz his ass. A cat and a demon? Good Night, what the hell was he thinking?”
“Ahem. That’s athmae, not demon,” Anson corrected. “They’re only demons in the bedroom.”
Liam’s wicked grin told Fenris he didn’t want to hear more, especially when the prince added, “In the bedroom, in the woods, over that table…”
Hours later, Jericho felt such joy he couldn’t contain himself. He was home. Well, not home, but with his clan again. Home would forever be with his mates, wherever they might go. Being here now with them, he understood that. And he knew he’d never fit in with the clan as he once had.
“You okay?” Anya asked quietly.
Seino spoke with Liam’s guards a short distance away.
“I’m good. You?” He kissed her and hugged her to him.
“Better than I ever thought I could be.”
She’d told him about her past, and he’d shared with her and Seino more than he’d ever shared with anyone. They felt so right. He wasn’t sure why he’d fought against them, even for a minute.
“You don’t mind leaving here?” she asked.
He shook his head. “I was dying here. Too boring. No fights. Even the cats left us alone.” They shared a smile. “Besides, Seino will get into too much trouble alone. Some Protector. He couldn’t even defend himself from that tiny Serena without us.”
They nodded, completely ignoring the fact that Serena had almost found enough power to conquer the Great Forest.
“So we spend some time here, with shifters. And the rest of the time protecting the Seventh Kingdom?” Anya stared up at him with that mesmerising gaze that made him want to love her until exhaustion.
He cupped her chin. “That okay with you?”
“As long as I’m with you and Seino, I’m happy. Or course, it wouldn’t hurt if you reminded me how much you love me.”
He knew she hadn’t liked him hugging Rudra. “Hmm, let me think…” He grunted when she elbowed him hard in the gut. “Kidding. I love you, Anya. And I always will. Who else but a superior cat would put up with a lowly bear and an arrogant demon with a hero complex?”
“I heard that.” Seino scowled down at them.
A few shifter children were running by and froze when they saw him, then shrieked and ran the other way.
Jericho laughed. “Sorry, I meant domineering complex. What was that you said about discipline?” Truth to tell, he looked forward to Seino’s lessons. And whenever Anya tried to give her opinion, Jericho had great fun in showing her how to obey him.
Seino’s smile warned him to beware. In seconds, the three of them were naked in Jericho’s cave.
“Now, bear, I want to hear those words again.”
Heat filled him every time he said it. “Come on, Seino.”
“That’s Lord Seino.” Seino slapped him on the ass, and Jericho’s cock jumped.
“I love you,” Jericho muttered.
“Again. Louder.”
“I love you. Both of you,” he said before Seino could correct him.
Anya’s response was to cling to him like a burr and kiss him until he couldn’t think but for fucking her. But Seino, damn him, pulled her away before he could.
“Very good, bear. I think it goes without saying I love the pair of you. I’m not sure why, but I do.” He sighed, as if put upon, but his eyes were full of joy. “Hmm, I think it’s time you learned the value of silence. What can we fill that mouth with?” He held himself, thick and hard and aroused.
Anya giggled. “I love all this love talk. It makes you both so hard.”
“Don’t think you won’t be getting some of this too,” Jericho warned her.
“I can’t wait.”
And neither could he.
Also available from Total-E-Bound Publishing:
Storm Lords: Aftershocks
Marie Harte
Excerpt
Chapter One
Two months ago on Earth
Living in Seattle for the past twenty-eight years had definitely not prepared Ellie Markham for what her father had asked her to do. Not having seen the man for over a year—no phone calls, no letters and not even a parting good-bye—should have warned her he was up to no good. But when he suddenly appeared out of the blue a few months ago, she’d been all bright-eyed optimism, sure she could still turn him around.
“I am such an idiot,” she murmured as she prepared another round of Screaming Orgasms for the male college students ogling her over the bar.
Hell on Earth couldn’t have come at a worse time. Just as she’d been six credits from earning her Masters degree and an amazing teaching position at the university, good old Ethim had reappeared. An armful of flowers for Mom, a nice dinner out on the town at Ellie’s favourite restaurant, charm and concern, an emotional epiphany of love and regret that he’d been away for so long…
And here she stood on a Saturday night, poured into tight jeans and a bright blue tank top to combat the heat in this godforsaken bar. She wanted to kick herself for falling into Ethim’s plans so easily. Any other guy she’d be kicking in the teeth, but for good old Dad, she’d practically become a doormat. She wished she had a stronger backbone. But dammit, she still ached to make her father happy, to make him proud. And for that, she had to watch pretty-man Darius—
“Ellie?”
—Storm. She blinked up into dark, murky eyes and a face that would stop any woman in her tracks. Okay, so he had a face made for pleasure and a body made for sin. For some odd reason, he just didn’t do it for her. She wondered again where the hell her libido had gone.
“Darius, what can I do for you?”
He frowned and looked around. “You haven’t seen Gerry’s new hire, have you?”
“New hire?” She nodded to one of the waitresses to pick up a tray of drinks and wiped down the bar in front of her.
“You know, that assessor, Samantha something or other?”
She stared at him, aware of his casual interest that was all too telling. For the past four months, she’d studied and reported back to her father every last detail of Prince Darius Storm’s comings and goings from the bar. He’d been interested in a few women from time to time, but he’d never acted so obviously disinterested. Hmm.
“Oh yeah, Samantha Brooks. Dirty-blonde hair, green eyes, lot of attitude?”
He grinned, and she wondered again why she felt nothing for a man so obviously her type.
Shrugging, she shook her head. “I haven’t seen her yet tonight, but I can let her know you’re looking for her if—”
“No, no, don’t bother.” He glanced over his shoulder at Mike yelling for him. “The women over there are practically climbing over the damned bar.” He looked at her section and grinned. “I see you have a similar problem.” Several nearby men glared at Darius while trying to catch her attention.
She sighed. “Want to trade?”
He noted a close-by greasy male sporting too much chest hair and shook his head. “Hell no. I’ll talk to you later.”
She watched him return to his crew and made a mental note.
Hours later, after a pleasant discussion with Darius’ Samantha, she watched Samantha leave the bar, at Ellie’s request, to venture into the basement for some much-needed house ale. Not a minute later, Darius darted to follow the woman, deliberately remaining a few steps behind. Almost half an hour passed before both parties emerged—Samantha with a dazed and almost hunted look on her face, and Darius with a deeply introspective expression.
Smiling, Ellie decided she’d played as far into this game as she wanted. This was exactly the information her father had been seeking when he’d assigned her this task. And now that she’d witnessed the results he was so eager to hear, she had
no intention of carrying her charade any further.
Seattle, Present Day
Three months after she began working at Outpour, Ellie gave Gerry her final notice, less than pleased she’d been forced to continue working at the bar through the spring. It would take forever to get back into the academic groove. Her own fault, really. She was honest enough with herself to admit ‘forced’ meant ‘trying to gain Ethim’s approval’. Much as she distanced herself from that otherworldly part of her makeup, she knew how important the Storm brothers were to her father. Hell, the way he acted, life as she knew it would fall to pieces if she didn’t report every move Cadmus made.
A small hand on her arm shook her thoughts, and she smiled down at her soon-to-be ex-boss.
Gerry looked like he was on the verge of tears as he stood to say his good-byes. My father could take lessons from this man. “We’ll miss you here, Ellie. You were more than just an employee.”
She smiled and hugged him, letting out a startled breath at the tight squeeze he gave her. Nodding warmly, she pocketed her last paycheque and exited the back office into the alley behind the bar.
Since it was still daylight, she had no worries about being molested in the sour unloading zone, though the hand that yanked her back into the shadows startled a small gasp out of her all the same.
“What exactly happened between you and the Earth Lord?”
She let out a breath and tugged her arm from the large hand grabbing her. “Jonas, you scared the piss out of me.”
“Oh, did I?” her cousin asked pleasantly. “Well, ever since Darius married his affai and took off for Tanselm, you’ve been acting peculiar around his brother.”
She hoped the shadows of the alley hid the sudden pallor of her face. Cadmus, one of Darius’ brothers, one of his identical quadruplet brothers, was the one sticking point in her life she couldn’t, for the life of her, wrap her mind around. She had enough trouble dealing with his haunting memories. She sure as hell didn’t need Jonas interfering where he had no business.
“That’s a moot point now, isn’t it, Jonas? Considering Cadmus is in Foreia and far away from me.”
“Not necessarily,” he hedged.
Alarmed, she quickly scanned their immediate surroundings, only to find them empty. “I told you I was finished. I wanted out a long time ago, and now that Ethim has the information he needs, there’s no longer any reason for me to be involved.”