by Jane Jamison
Yet, did it matter now? There was nothing she could do to save herself. Hopefully, the pack would protect her mother. She drew in what could possibly be her last breath and, once more, prepared to be attacked by animals or shot.
When the shot didn’t come, when the growls turned to snarls that weren’t accompanied by razor-sharp claws and teeth tearing into her flesh, she dared to open her eyes. The two men with rifles were gone. A flash of fur disappeared into the night.
“Mom?” She whirled around, ready to find out once and for all if the animal was her mother. But the chupacabra was gone.
No. Please. Not again.
Yet she’d told her mother to run, and her mother had done exactly that. “Damn.”
Sensing the presence of someone watching her, Tasha stiffened again and forced herself to turn back. “Oh shit.”
Three wolves, one black, one brown, and one with lighter fur, stood in a line in the same place where the men with rifles had stood. They were enormous animals, their size at least triple that of a normal wolf. Powerful muscles rippled under their fur. Instead of the red eyes of the chupacabra, glowing amber locked onto her.
Are you fucking kidding me? First men with rifles, then a chupacabra pack, and now wolves? When am I going to catch a break?
A giggle, not born of mirth, but of astonishment escaped her.
She swallowed hard, finding it difficult to breathe. Once again, she found herself in a vulnerable position. Should they attack her, she’d have no way to defend against them. Keeping them in view, she looked around, searching for anything she could use as a weapon. Grabbing a large rock, she lifted it above her head and tried to appear as threatening as possible.
But the wolves didn’t budge. Their eyes never blinked. Slowly, silently, they padded toward her.
Needing to do something, anything, she stuck out her hand, palm out, and demanded in the most commanding voice she could, “Stay back. Go away!”
The wolves stopped. Strangely, she would’ve bet money that they’d understood what she’d said. Had, she believed, responded to her demand more than to the tone of her voice.
Do they understand me?
She lowered the rock for a moment then quickly lifted it again. “Go away! I don’t want to hurt you, but I will. I’m not an easy prey.” She’d almost forgotten about the rock she held but raised it even higher. “Get away! Shoo!”
The golden-furred one tilted its head to the side. If she hadn’t known better, she would’ve sworn it was smiling. Or was it laughing at her?
“Get! Shoo!” She dared to step forward, doing her best to scare them away. “Get out of here, damn it!”
The black wolf, slightly larger than the other two, lowered its head and growled. Yet the growl wasn’t meant for her, as it looked to first one then the other wolf. The other two wolves dipped their heads as though nodding their agreement.
She didn’t dare speak again. If they were going to leave, they’d do it now. Or was the leader telling them to get ready to attack?
Suddenly, the leader wagged its tail. She blinked, unwilling to trust its change in demeanor. Then, with a quick flick of its tail, the large black wolf whirled around and dashed into the bushes. The other two wolves followed him.
Relief flooded her. Her legs lost the ability to keep her standing, and she slumped to the ground.
* * * *
As soon as they were far enough away for Tasha not to see them, Wick shifted into his human form. His brothers shifted, too. “Fuck. What do we do now? Take off after those guys or stick with her? We can’t leave her alone.”
Paul rolled his shoulders, the moonlight showing his muscles. “We stick close to her, but we stay out of sight. Those must be the men who are after her mother. Looks to me like they’re not planning on taking her alive. I sure as hell didn’t like the weapons they carried. I wish like hell we could follow them, but I don’t want to leave Tasha alone for long.” He turned to his brother. “Shane, you run back to the house, get us some clothes, then hightail it back in the pickup. We can’t help her get back to the house, but at least we can pick her up halfway home. We can always say we were out searching for her and lucked out running into her.”
“Do you think that was her mother?” asked Shane. “If she was, why didn’t she stick around to protect her daughter?”
“I don’t know. But you’re right. She shouldn’t have run off.” Wick suppressed the anger he felt toward the chupacabra. No real mother would’ve left her child—even a grown child—to face armed men alone.
“Maybe she took off thinking the men would chase after her.” Shane shrugged. “We don’t know enough to judge her.”
Wick didn’t want to agree. If he had it his way, he’d see Tasha’s mother again and let her have it. “Whatever. We need to get moving. I think we scared those guys off, but we don’t know that they won’t come back. We’ve already left her alone and vulnerable long enough.”
“Right. I’ll get back as soon as I can.” Shane shifted into his wolf then dashed off.
* * * *
Tasha felt like a damn idiot. Not only had she “borrowed” a horse—which had seemed like a good idea at the time—but then she’d lost that horse. Then, although she was grateful that the men had found her halfway back to the house and had given her a ride, she’d basically proven that she couldn’t take care of herself.
But the men had been wonderful. They hadn’t given her hell for taking the horse and had been more interested in finding out if she was all right. Had she been hurt after getting thrown from the horse? Did her feet hurt from the long walk? Did she have blisters? She’d done her best to make them understand that she was fine. And she was, except for her bruised ego. Thankfully, as she’d thought it would, the horse had found its way back to the barn.
The only time they’d given her any problem was when they’d refused to let her go into her camper. Instead, they’d insisted she come into the house and get something to eat. Until Shane had set the food in front of her, she hadn’t realized how hungry she was. She’d eaten in silence, the men making small talk while they heaped more and more food on her plate.
At last, she’d had to push back from the table. “No more. I can’t eat another bite. Thank you.”
“Good,” said Paul. “We like to see you eat.”
His eyes brightened with bits of amber. She started to ask how that could happen, but now wasn’t the time. She would’ve sworn the lust in his eyes said that he would love to eat her. Heat rose to her cheeks.
“Are you all right?” asked Wick.
It wasn’t as though she could tell him the truth. “I’m fine. Really.”
“Come on.” Shane took her hand, bringing her along with him as he led the way into the living room.
“The dishes.” She turned back, but he kept her moving.
“Don’t worry about them. Wick will clean up later.”
“I will?” From his surprised expression, Wick hadn’t realized he was scheduled for clean-up duty. But he recovered nicely. “Sure, sure. I’ll take care of it.”
Tasha was exhausted, yet the strange, vibrant sensation she always felt around them was there yet again. Shane’s touch had sent it into overdrive.
She studied the men, acknowledging how handsome they were, but knew the feeling didn’t come from simple sexual attraction. Yes, it was very sexual, heating her from her pussy to travel throughout her limbs, but there was more to it than that. The electricity between them made her feel as though she’d known them for a lifetime.
No, that’s not it.
It felt more like she’d been waiting for them her entire life. Waiting and wanting them without knowing they actually existed.
“We believe you.”
Her gaze jumped to Paul. Was he joking? Maybe placating her? But, no, the truth was in his earnest expression. “You do?” She looked to the other men. “All of you?”
“I believe you, darlin’.”
“We sure do,” added Wick. “How
can we doubt you when we saw it?” He cleared his throat. “I mean, her. Your mother.”
“So you saw the chupacabra? You saw her?” Excitement rushed through her. To be believed renewed her strength. Yet, she had to tell them. “But I don’t know if that was my mother. I didn’t have time before—” She clammed up, unsure whether to tell them about the men.
“Before the men showed up.” Paul sat on the edge of the couch, his expression intense. “Who were those guys? Do you have any idea?”
“I don’t know who they are.”
“But you’ve seen them before, haven’t you?” pushed Wick. “You said as much, right?”
She nodded. “When I met my mother in the café and she told me everything, I saw them in the alley. But it was shadowed, and I didn’t see their faces. And I didn’t see them tonight, either. Did you?” But her hope was dashed at their silence.
“Damn. I was hoping you could give us a hint.” Shane dropped his gaze to the floor as he grew deep in thought.
“So you saw my mother—I hope—and the men? But how? Where?” She stared at them, suddenly realizing they weren’t being completely truthful with her. “You were there, weren’t you?”
Again, the truth was written in their expressions and in their silence.
“I don’t understand.” She clenched her hands. She’d wanted to trust them, but how could she when they kept the truth from her? “You picked me up halfway back. If you were there, why didn’t you help me? Why didn’t you help my mother?”
Chapter Five
“We’re busted, guys.” Paul hadn’t wanted Tasha to find out they’d been following her, but he wouldn’t lie to her any longer. “Yes, Tasha, we were there.”
Although she’d figured out what they’d done, she still didn’t want to believe they’d lied to her. Hurt and disbelief were all too evident in her beautiful eyes. “You were there?”
Wick answered for them. “Yes. We were.” He looked to Paul to explain.
Thanks for nothing. For once, I’d like one of them to take the lead.
But he had to keep going. Her searching look ate at him. “Yes, we followed you. We saw you taking off on the horse and didn’t have any choice.”
“Okay. I can understand what you must’ve been thinking, but I still don’t get it. Since you were there, why wouldn’t you help me?” She edged away from them. “I could’ve been hurt or killed, but you didn’t show your faces. Why?”
What could he say? This time, he was the one to look to his brothers. If he stuck to telling her the truth, he’d have to tell her what they were. Was she ready? Or did she have enough problems to deal with?
Instead, he choked back the truth and forced another lie from his lips, forgoing his early vow not to lie again. “We got there late. By the time we found you, the men were leaving. The chupacabra left, too. All that was left was you and…”
Shit. I just fucked up.
“And the wolves.” Her need to believe him, to trust him, flowed off her. “So you saw the three wolves and you still didn’t step in to help me? This isn’t making any sense. I thought I could trust you guys. I would’ve bet you’d help me if I needed it.”
Paul’s gut twisted. If he didn’t start telling her the truth, he’d hate himself. “Look, Tasha, there’s something you need to know.”
She looked to him, eager for him to restore her faith in him. “Yes?”
Shane, however, knew what he was thinking and was ready to stop him from telling her they were werewolves. “We screwed up, darlin’. There’s no other way to put it. We got there late, and then we just froze when we saw the wolves.”
Shit. This is so fucking wrong.
It didn’t matter who was doing the lying. They were all just as guilty. “Shane—”
But his brother wouldn’t let him interrupt. He wouldn’t let Paul tell the truth. “And then the wolves were gone. You weren’t in any trouble any longer.”
The quiet unnerved Paul even more. She looked to each of them, her confusion marring her sweet features.
“But why didn’t you tell me you were there? Why didn’t you take me home?” She shook her head. “Why wait to pick me up later? No. Nothing’s making sense.”
“We decided to let you walk home.” Shane shot Paul a look silently asking for forgiveness. “Paul was still angry about you taking the horse without asking. He wanted to prove a point with you by letting you walk home. It was the wrong thing to do, and we’re sorry as hell about it.”
His brother had just thrown Paul under the bus. His wolf rose swiftly to the surface, growling, snarling, demanding to be set free to tear his brother apart. Wick’s hand on Paul’s shoulder, interrupting his anger, was the only thing that kept him from shifting.
Shane kept his attention diverted from Paul and centered on Tasha. He repeated the apology. “It was a shit move, and all of us are to blame. We screwed up, and we’re sorry.”
“So you let me walk all that way for nothing? But how’d you get there? I didn’t hear the pickup.”
“We’d parked away and followed you from there.”
Paul gritted his teeth and kept his attention on the floor. When had his brother become such a liar? When had he?
“But how did you manage to follow me in a pickup? I went off the road and even backtracked. It was only luck that I found my mother. Or, actually, that she found me. And I sure don’t know how those men found me, much less the wolves.” She fell back against the couch. “I am so confused.”
Paul checked with Shane then Wick. His look begged them for permission to tell her what they were. They’d promised each other that it would be a mutual decision to say when to tell their mate. He’d almost slipped up earlier, but he’d hold to that agreement now. Wick looked away, and a dejected-looking Shane barely shook his head.
Maybe they were right if they were thinking she had too much to handle already. His gut twisted even more. “When?” he silently asked, whispering so low that Tasha wouldn’t hear him.
Instead of answering, Shane moved to sit next to Tasha. “I know. We messed up, and that’s all there is to it. Believe me when I say we never wanted to do anything except make sure you were okay. Then, we even fucked that up. We were lucky in the end, but that doesn’t make what we did any better.” He slipped his arm around her shoulder.
Tears began to stream down Tasha’s cheeks. Sobs wracked her body. Unable to stand it any longer, Paul got to his feet and pulled her against him.
“I’m sorry. Sorry for everything, sugar.” He wrapped his arms around her as she clung to him, her sobs trembling against his chest, her tears wetting his shirt. “If there was any way to change things, I would.”
“We would,” added Wick. “Tasha, baby, we’re going to make things right. I swear we will.”
“Damn straight.” Shane stood, his expression filled with anguish. “We’ll do everything we can to help you find your mother.”
When she leaned away from Paul, he was stunned to see lust filling her eyes. The connection was stronger than ever, but he hadn’t expected it to overrule the disappointment, the sorrow she had to be feeling.
“Can I stay here tonight?”
Had he heard her correctly? “Here? In the house?” He didn’t want to assume anything. Not when they had so much to make up for.
She nodded, her tongue slipping between her lips. “Yes. Here. I don’t want to be alone in my camper.”
“Of course you can,” answered an all-too-eager Wick. “You can stay here for the rest of your life.”
She closed her eyes, and for one awful moment, Paul was certain Wick has said too much and frightened her off. Yet, when she reopened them, the need in her face had grown stronger. She looked toward the stairs, her meaning apparent.
Paul’s wolf rose to the surface again, but this time for a completely different reason. Lifting her into his arms, he carried her to the stairs. She kept her attention focused on his face as Wick and Shane hurried past them.
* * * *
A door was opened.
Paul carried her into a huge bedroom. Slowly, carefully, he placed her on top of a massive bed. Carefully, reverently, the men surrounded her and began to undress her.
One by one, the pieces of her clothing were removed. With the toss of her shirt, the yank of her jeans, she kept her gaze moving from one man to the next. Once she was undressed, naked and vulnerable under their hot gazes, they stepped back and began to disrobe.
Her hunger rose as they revealed their magnificent bodies. Every tanned inch was perfection. They were beyond strong, their muscles rippling and flexing as they moved. They were rocks come to life, boulders set on top of other boulders made of soft, yet hard flesh. By the time they’d stripped, she could barely breathe.
“Ready, sugar?”
She couldn’t answer. Instead, she closed her eyes. When his lips met hers, she drew in a breath then began savoring the roughness of Paul’s masculine lips against hers. At first, the kiss was tentative as though asking permission, a permission he didn’t need. Still, after what the men had done, following her then not helping her, they had to feel hesitant to demand anything from her. Yet, although she knew she should be angry, the sensation whipping into a frenzy inside her wouldn’t let her push them away. She needed them as much as she needed the air to breathe.
The kiss grew in intensity, deepening as his tongue savagely plunged inside to play a game of chase with hers. She played the game, toying with his tongue, only to offer hers to him again. His was a unique mixture of flavors, and she savored them all.
Suddenly, Paul broke the kiss to travel his mouth down to her nipples. He tortured them, sucking, nibbling, tugging until she squirmed with need.
Had Shane and Wick gone? She’d no sooner thought the question then it was answered.