Taken

by Janet MacDonald

  Chapter Thirteen

  She soaked in her bath and looked herself over. Her skin was littered in bruises and bite marks. They were now turning a greenish purple. She wondered if she’d heal as fast as the brothers had from their fight. Kaiden was rough and brutal in his desire. Her wrists, thighs, knees and hips showed his marks of passion. As did her throat from the hickies and bite marks he’d given her during their savage tryst in the woods. The sex had been so wild and fiery she’d climaxed several times, and he’d not only left her completely satisfied but utterly exhausted.

  The two brothers were so different. She wasn’t sure how she’d handle all this. Caleb was more tender and caring. She already had feelings for him. He was kind, gentle and even loving with her. Kaiden was something else. Raw, savage and explosive, he gave her a rush of excitement she hadn’t thought she’d ever enjoy.

  She tried not to think about the past twenty-four hours. Kitty closed her eyes and the sounds of everything around her filled her ears. Someone walked down the hall, the waves crashed on the shore. A night bird sang outside her window, a car started up somewhere in the villa’s driveway. A phone rang not too far down the hall. A soft sound of what reminded her of padded feet drifted to her ears. The smell of Caleb and Kaiden filled her room.

  She got out of the tub and wrapped her bathrobe around herself. Kitty stepped out into her massive bedroom. Both the brothers stood there, their eyes glowing softly in the early evening twilight. Their massive, muscled bodies were covered in a dense black fur. Musky smells filled her senses and she shivered in anticipation of something she couldn’t quite comprehend. They towered over her as she stared up at them. Caleb howled long and forlornly. It was followed by Kaiden, and she felt something in her try to pull its way up out of her throat.

  Pain raced up her back and her stomach felt as if it were being twisted into knots. A blaze of heat ran over her. Everything in the room swam as she crashed to her hands and knees onto the floor. Her skin became hot as it warped, tightened and a strange ache flowed over her muscles. Her back arched and her bones cracked and pulled.

  “Oh god, this hurts,” she screamed. Her body was thrown into tormented anguish. Her joints snapped, her flesh rippled and her body twisted and contorted as she changed.

  The night air around her was ripped again by a howl. This time it was hers. Then both her mates joined her. The howls seemed to pull at her from deep within, a sign of their union in a different way. Caleb was first to nip her hind leg and then Kaiden. She turned on them and snapped. A primal alarm washed over her. Both males were much bigger than her. They smelled of heat, and her instinct to flee flooded her.

  Something inside her made her bolt for the open door overlooking the terrace to the shore below. To her wild amazement, she landed softly in the sand. She saw her hands against the white sand on the beach. Her mind tried to wrap around the fact they were now covered in honey-blonde fur and her nails were razor-sharp-looking claws.

  A heavy thud in the sand behind her let her know the males had followed. An inner need to run caused her to take off. An exciting rush of adrenaline kicked into her system as a basic longing to make these two hunt her down overwhelmed her. The males needed to catch her to mate her. A shiver ran down her spine as animalistic yearnings took over. She smelled her musky scent in the air. Somehow she knew it would drive the two males insane with desire. Their howls into the night air sent her racing toward the thick forest of the island.

  She knew they had all the advantages. The night air was even more alive with different scents. The smells that filled her nose gave her all kinds of information. She tried to use it to help her find the small river she’d stopped at earlier. Water was a good masking agent for an animal’s sense of smell, and that’s where she was headed.

  She rounded the small sand dune and could smell the fresh water as well as hear it. Kitty pushed harder as she forced her body to move faster. It was only a few yards away. Suddenly her legs were taken out from under her. She was sent tumbling into the sand. A heavy male body pinned her to the ground by her throat. His teeth barely gripping her fur-covered flesh. His scent told her it was Kaiden, and she shivered with his heavenly musk.

  Then he was gone as he was toppled off by Caleb. She moved and watched as the two roughed it up a bit. A deep growl rumbled from her chest, and both of them stopped and looked at her. She demanded their attention. Kitty tilted her head up, she sniffed and then an urge to roll in the sand overtook her, and she did. Soon she was being nipped by both brothers before they bathed her with long, wet tongues as she lay there and allowed them to.

  *

  Kitty was even lovelier as a werewolf. With her honey streaked fur, bright silvery-blue eyes and lean powerful body, Caleb was so proud. Her scent told him she wasn’t just flirting with him and his brother. She wanted them. She was in heat, her body ready in more than one way to be mated. As they flirted back with her, he had no doubt she’d take them both tonight.

  Still as the dominate male, he had first rights to her. As she relaxed, he twisted her fur-covered body over, forcing her onto all fours. Caleb bit her shoulder and moved to take her. Her tail slid out of the way. The human part of him had done this act countless times with women, but his werewolf side never had. This was its first time. Tonight all three of them would mate as lycans, and as his body joined with Kitty’s, he growled low and deep into her fur as his need easily overtook him.

  The yelps he drew from her soon eased as he pumped feverishly into her. This wasn’t about making her feel good, or making him feel good. This was something they needed to do. An urge filled him, consuming the last frays of his human mind and left only what the animal inside wanted. Her body received his in tight, hard tremors. Kitty climaxed as pussy pulled relentlessly on his length buried inside her tight core. His seed flooded out of him as his howl ripped through the night air. Still he stayed inside her. Not willing to let his brother have her yet. She tried to pull free and struggled in his grasp. Caleb bit harder into her shoulder to force her to be still as he moved again. Tonight was about mating, not lovemaking. It wasn’t long before he erupted deep inside her again.

  He left her side and watched as Kaiden took his place. The deep heated growl that came from her surprised him as Kaiden tried to mount her. Kitty yelped again as his brother pinned her easily under his weight. His brother wasn’t about to be refused as she played hard to get. The musky smell of their mating filled the air on the sandy shore.

  Kaiden took his time, making Kitty whimper under him. Caleb lay in the sand nearby and watched his mate climax for his brother. At first, he’d thought it would bother him. But as he watched Kaiden lick the side of Kitty’s muzzle as he brought her to another orgasm, he knew this was the only way it should be.

  Kitty was their mate, and together he and Kaiden would protect, love and care for her. It would be wrong to deny his brother his right as her mate. Now the three of them would be as one. A family.

  * * * *

  Kitty rolled over to a heated body beside her and felt a second hot one snuggled up to her bare back. The warmth of their naked flesh against hers felt so good. She willed herself to continue her wild passionate dreams of the twin brothers. A set of lips pressed against her neck, and her eyes flew open. She looked directly into Kaiden’s deep intense eyes as he smiled at her. Caleb’s arm slipped over her naked waist. It hadn’t been a dream. She’d turned into a large hairy monster and let them have her on the beach.

  Kitty was instantly mortified.

  She twisted out from between them and grabbed for the sheet, which lay shredded on the bed. She looked around the room and saw it was a disaster area. The end table was knocked over and the bedding was cast all about the room. The large mirror over one of the dressers was not only tilted sideways but cracked. The floor was speckled with sand. Her mind was still foggy about last night’s events, but she knew the brothers had taken turns with her. Not just on the beach either, nor just one at a time. Her cheeks felt hot with
her embarrassment.

  “Oh god, wh-what did we do?” she stammered.

  Caleb looked at Kaiden and they both moved closer. She shimmied farther up on the bed. Both brothers were completely naked. It didn’t help with her urge to fulfill the erotic fantasy she’d been dreaming about. She then remembered it hadn’t been a dream.

  “Kitty, it’s okay. We mated,” Caleb told her. She stared at him, his words really didn’t help.

  “This isn’t okay.” She nearly shouted.

  “Hey, it’s what you wanted,” Kaiden said. The urge to slap him filled her.

  “Excuse me,” she snapped.

  “Kaiden, let me handle this.” Caleb growled.

  He turned and looked at her as his twin got up and then ran a shower. Caleb looked at her softly.

  “Kitty, you accepted both of us last night. We didn’t force you to mate with us,” he finally said. Her foggy memories did confirm that. She’d been more than willing to let them take her. She recalled at one point forcing the issue on Kaiden as he tried to rest.

  Kitty looked at Caleb and tears lined her eyes as she stared at him. With a tender caress, he ran his finger through her hair and kissed her softly. It was strange how her insides melted at his touch, and something inside her calmed.

  “Why me?” she murmured as he pulled his mouth from hers.

  *

  The words froze in his throat. I love you was the answer in his mind, but Caleb didn’t let them past his lips.

  “We need you, Kitty, as much as you need us,” he said instead.

  “What am I supposed to do?”

  “Well, you’re our mate. I’m to be alpha and Kaiden beta for the pack in the Barrens.” He paused momentarily before continuing. “That’ll make you the alpha female, our bitch and den mother.” He saw her face look more than a little outraged.

  “You’re what?” Her words were almost a growl and he smiled. She was starting to lose a little of her meekness.

  “Kitty, it’s not as bad as it sounds.”

  “Not as bad as it sounds? Caleb, you turned me into a giant fur-covered, sex-crazed, dog in heat.” She nearly screamed at him.

  “Ah…well…I.” He was at a loss for words.

  Kitty sat with the tattered remains of the bed sheet barely covering her naked body. The room, as well as themselves, smelled heavily of their sex from last night. His thoughts turned to yesterday evening. She was right, she’d been sex-crazed, insatiable, and had nearly exhausted both himself as well as Kaiden. Her lycan half was definitely a handful, and they’d enjoyed her new wild side.

  A deep growl rumbled from his chest as his inner wolf demanded its mate be more submissive. It didn’t work, though. He stared into her eyes and felt the tendrils of her change beginning.

  “Kitty, you need to calm down or you’re going to shift,” Caleb managed to warn just as her skin rippled.

  “Oh god, this hurts.” She groaned. Her bones cracked under the stress of her trying to fight the change.

  “Relax. Try to concentrate on your breathing.” She struggled on the bed to gain control and he wasn’t sure if she could even hear him.

  This wasn’t good. They had to fly out today without her, and she had no control of her moods or her shifting. There would be no one to keep her from tearing half the inhabitants to shreds if she lost her temper. There was only one place safe to keep her. He knew putting her in the room would leave her a little more than upset with all of them. It was the safe room in the basement, and it was basically a cell.

  Caleb watched Kaiden walk out of the bathroom and look down at their struggling mate. He turned on his heel and walked back into the bathroom as a mournful, painful howl came from Kitty.

  “Breathe, baby. Take a slow deep breath.” He heard the water running in the bathroom.

  “Bring her here,” Kaiden yelled. Caleb eyed their semi-transformed mate. Her fangs were already large enough to tear his throat out as were the long, sharp claws, which had erupted from her bloody fingertips.

  “Ah… No!”

  Kitty could easily kill him during a bad shift. Her mind was most likely only half there as the wolf and human inside fought for control. Kaiden again came out from the bathroom, looking at him with a raised eyebrow. “Chicken shit.”

  “Be my guest,” Caleb retorted and watched the hesitation on his brother’s face as he looked Kitty over.

  “I’ll just use this vase,” he said. He grabbed it and tossed the flowers into the trash before he filled it with water.

  Chapter Fourteen

  Her mind was still foggy as she sat wrapped in a towel. Apparently, she’d needed to be doused with cold water to stop the change.

  “Why don’t I remember everything that happens when I turn into a…lycan?” she asked. Her voice trembled. She was still having a hard time coming to grips with any of this.

  “I don’t know. We’ve never turned anyone before. Do you remember mating?” Caleb asked as the two brothers sat on the now wet bed, looking at her. She felt herself blush as bits and pieces played in her mind, and she nodded.

  “How do you deal with all of this?” She waved her hands around.

  “All of what?”

  “The strange smells, loud noises, urges to…umm.” Her gaze shot down as she felt the heat rise to her cheeks.

  “You’ll get used to it,” Kaiden told her.

  “Look, there are a few things you need to know…things we do know,” Caleb said.

  “Like what?” she asked.

  “Well, you’re shifting will get easier the more you do it. Your aging will slow greatly. You’ll heal a lot faster. Your impulses to mate will be strong until we get you pregnant. Kitty, you’re going to have to be patient with us. We’ve never had a mate before either. This is new for us. But we’re a family…your family,” Caleb said as he cupped her chin and tilted her face to look up at him.

  “Okay…but that’s a two-way street. No more keeping things from me. You tell me the truth about everything. Don’t keep me in the dark,” she told them. Part of Kitty had wanted this for most of her life. Now as she looked at Caleb, then Kaiden, she knew in her heart they meant what they’d said.

  It took nearly an hour for them to explain they’d cut a deal with their cartel kingpin father to get her safely out of harm’s way. And now they needed to repay the deed by safeguarding a bunch of crates back into the States for Ashton. During which time she’d stay behind. Somehow Ashton was supposed to be able to ensure she got back home without her uncle learning of it or the State’s authorities.

  As she soaked in a hot bubble bath, she felt lonely, knowing it would be a couple days before the brothers returned to her. Kitty was lost in her thoughts about what it was she’d done last night with the twins. She had no clear memories. She tried to focus on getting any inkling of what had happened besides foggy images. She barely heard the creaking sound of her bedroom door opening.

  “Hello, I’m in the tub,” she called out the warning as she quickly moved to get out of the sudsy bath water and get covered up.

  “Meow.” She looked down to see the small black cat walk in as she wrapped her towel around her dripping wet body.

  “Well, hello. You gave me a bit of a start,” she said to the small furry animal. She reached down to scratch it behind the ears. It purred for a moment and then Kitty caught the smell of death.

  She straightened and looked to see Ashton as he sat on the edge of her bed. He hadn’t made a single sound as he’d entered. He wore black jeans and a white cotton shirt he’d left completely unbuttoned.

  “Well, I see you had an interesting night,” he said. His gaze traveled over her, making her tremble.

  “What do you want from me?” she asked, mustering up the nerve to be straight forward. His gaze locked with hers, and she felt compelled to stare back. His eyes were deep, icy pools, which seemed to engulf her.

  “I need you to take care of something for me,” he said.

  “Yes,” she replied instantly.<
br />
  “Come here,” he ordered. Kitty walked over to him, not even thinking twice about it.

  “Good girl, you’ll let no one take this from you. Do you understand me?” he asked as he undid his necklace and then slipped it around her neck.

  “Yes, I understand,” she murmured.

  “Now when you come to New York, you’ll find me in apartment one over The Liars’ Den Pub and bring it to me there. You’ll come alone and tell no one what you’re doing,” he instructed.

  “Yes.”

  “Now get some rest and I’ll see you soon. Oh, maybe you should hide the medallion when you’re not around anyone else.” He kissed her on the cheek before leaving.

  Kitty stood there for a few moments, looking at the bed in front of her. She was a little confused. How had she come to be standing in the room and not soaking in the tub? Her fingers gently traced the edge of her necklace as she turned and walked back into the bathroom to get dressed.

  * * * *

  Kaiden walked back and forth in the large study as he waited for his father. He’d said he wanted to talk to him privately, and it left a knot in Kaiden’s stomach. He looked the walls over and saw photos of them all as a family. They’d been a pretty happy one back then. However, that was before he and his brother had gone through their first change. After that everything was different. Kaiden knew his father wanted something from him. He always did.

  The hardwood door opened behind him, and he turned to see his father step inside. He looked tired today.

  “Have a seat,” he said. He walked over to an overstuffed armchair and eased himself into it.

  “No, I prefer to stand right now.” Kaiden leaned against the French doors, which led out to the terrace.

  “Suit yourself.” His father pulled a cigar from his shirt pocket.

  “What is it you want? I need to finish getting ready to babysit Ashton’s junk.” He growled.