by Treva Harte
“Tell me, Grey.” Dek turned his head and spotted Lowell. “You, boy. Who is top dog?”
Shit. Noticed. That was bad.
“You are, Dek. You’re boss.” Lowell was proud of himself for not stuttering.
“Grey? Who is boss?”
“You are, asshole.”
Dek stood up, suddenly completely calm. Grey lay on the floor for a minute more before he pulled himself up to his knees. He stared up at Dek, chest still heaving.
“What was that all about?”
“Stay right there. Both of you.” Dek’s voice got deadly quiet.
Grey froze in place, just the way Lowell had already. For all his yelling, Grey knew when to obey orders.
“Leila, come here.” Dek’s voice changed from commanding to gentle as he called outside. Damn, he sounded almost pleading. Lowell tilted his head to one side. What now?
He could hear footsteps moving slowly, reluctantly, to the door.
“Leila, this is my family. Grey, Lowell, this is my mate.” Dek pulled forward a woman.
Lowell’s breath caught. Jesus, that wasn’t just any woman. Trust Dek to bring home a special treat. She was beautiful. Her hair was long and mussed. She looked angry. Gorgeous and wild, but furious. Lowell decided it was smarter to stay on his knees and properly respectful.
“Gentlemen, this is Leila.”
“Aw, shit.” Grey’s voice was rough, but he stayed crouched, too. “You’ve gone and done it now, Dek.”
“You’re insane. All three of you.” This Leila hugged a small child close to her legs. “Why are you doing this, Dek?”
“She’s a human, Dek.” When Grey spoke up, he sounded angry and—and frightened? If Grey was afraid, Lowell didn’t understand anything. The world had just rotated and left everything upside down, and he didn’t get it. “How the hell can she be the one for you?”
“She has to be, Grey. And something inside that human hide of hers is were. Has to be. She birthed my daughter.”
“A daughter?” Grey yelped.
“Gentlemen, this is Lin.”
Lowell sniffed. There was woman scent in the air and more. The girl…Lowell gave a small chuff of surprise. A small face peered at him, with Dek’s color eyes and a wary look in them.
“Lin is mine, just like Leila is. You’ll obey Leila; you’ll care for Lin. Law of the pack.”
LEILA KNEW HER palms were sweaty. When Dek said they were going to his house, she hadn’t expected any of this. The isolated ranch, the rest of Dek’s “family.” Like the big Hispanic-looking guy had said, she was human. She wasn’t one of these—these pack animals! What was she supposed to say or do now?
Whatever it was, she knew it was important.
“Stand there, Leila. You too, sweetheart.” Dek’s voice changed, grew tender, as he spoke to the little girl. “Just stand. We’ll take care of everything from there.”
Take care of what? Leila kept a grip on Lin.
“It’s all right, baby. They aren’t going to hurt you.” It was fortunate Lin was so tired, or she’d have a sobbing little girl on her hands. God knows she felt a little like sobbing herself.
Dek motioned to the other men. “Grey.”
“Aw, shit.”
“Grey.” Dek’s voice snapped.
Leila wanted to shrink back as the large stranger came closer to her. He looked a little scruffy, a lot mean. She could see a scar on one cheek. Dek had said he’d been beaten…
“Hold out your hand.” Grey’s voice was gravelly, as rough as his face.
“W-why?”
“Because it’s the most polite place I can think of to do this.” For a moment it looked like a smile would almost touch his thinned lips, but then it disappeared. “Uh—please.”
She held out her hand, proud that it wasn’t trembling. She yelped a little when Grey’s nose rubbed against it. Yewww! But she held still as he sniffed it thoroughly. Didn’t even blink when he lifted Lin’s hand and did the same. The little girl giggled.
“Tickles, Mommy.”
“Hush, Lin. This is important.” Why it was important didn’t matter. Apparently it had to be done. But Dek sure as hell better explain a lot, very soon now.
The young one of the group came next, in a half-crouch. She almost expected him to crawl over on all fours. He sniffed, looked up at her face, and gave her a shy smile. Almost a reverent one.
Lin held up her hand like a princess when he turned to her. He bent over it like a courtier. When he was done, he backed away.
“Now.”
At Dek’s word, the two men actually bent down, on their knees. Heads went to the floor.
Oh, my God. What had she stepped into here? Well, she hadn’t stepped exactly. Dek had more or less dragged her. But what was going on? She knew Dek was different and that meant his “family” was different. But no one had told her the rules.
“Leila is my mate. That means she has my authority and my protection.” He turned to her. “Leila, meet the pack, Grey and Lowell.”
“Gentlemen.” Leila nodded at the still bowed heads. She felt like an idiot. What do you do in a situation like this? Miss Manners hadn’t ever discussed this kind of scenario. “Will you please get up?”
They glanced over at Dek and then stood, still shooting uneasy glances over at their fearless leader. Wonderful. Apparently they weren’t into obeying her the way they did the top dog in the room. Dek ran his hand down her shoulder.
“Take Lin to the far bedroom down the hall and let her sleep. We’re not done yet.”
* * * *
She stared down at Lin, who was already closing her eyes. It had been too long a day for the poor baby to worry about a strange bed. Hell, so many strange things had happened, what difference did the bed make?
Was she really going to throw away everything to follow Dek around? He might not leave her this time—she was almost sure of that. But she was sure it was because of Lin, not because of her. Lin was family, and Dek didn’t leave family.
Leila wasn’t family. Dek liked her body just fine, but he’d never said he loved her. Maybe that wasn’t a were thing.
Leila stared at her daughter’s mouth, relaxed in sleep, the wild tangle of hair that no one could quite tame. Those eyes, just as intense and hot as her father’s, were hidden behind closed eyelids, but they were there. Dek’s eyes and maybe Dek’s way of seeing the world. Dek said having his baby changed everything. God knows Lin had changed her life, but he hadn’t meant that. He meant things she couldn’t even begin to imagine.
Leila bent closer. She couldn’t see any traces of were in her baby, but it was early days. Deklin told her once that he first found out he could change in puberty, but every were was different.
Different.
Her baby was different. Leila knew that, but she chose to forget most of the time. This whole bizarre evening had reminded her. Lin was going to grow up and face things Leila knew nothing about. Things only her father could teach her.
For that alone, Leila knew she had to stay. Not because Dek told her she must. Not because of the great sex.
“Not that great sex can’t be a real nice bonus.” Leila heard herself say the words out loud and almost grinned.
She wasn’t going to let Dek think he could have everything his way. If she was sticking around, there were some rules to lay down right off. Men, especially werewolf men, needed rules.
GREY TRIED NOT to twitch as they waited for her to come back. He didn’t want her to come back. If he could, he would have erased the whole past hour. He surely didn’t want to deal with what came next.
He’d never wanted a woman. They were all right, he supposed, but they meant nothing to him. They all heard her footsteps coming back to the living room. Blackness gnawed inside his gut. Inside his heart. He might not need women, but his alpha was different. Dek had a new mate and a woman.
Dek. Ah, damn it. He’d known this would happen eventually, but he’d hoped it would take much longer.
Wh
en he’d first met Dek, back when his leader found him in that stinking hole, Grey had looked up and thought he saw an angel. A dark angel, perhaps, but still someone unearthly…precious. They’d left hell together. Dek had carried him, washed him, fed him, cleaned up after him. They were a family, a pack, together and united. Lowell’s presence hadn’t changed that.
But this woman would. A woman and a child. Wolves mated for life. The pack took care of its own, most especially its children. That was the point of the whole damn stupid show they were going to go through now.
Fuck this. Not only did he have to give up Dek, then watch Dek with some woman, but he had to devote his life to Dek’s human woman and child. Law of the damned stupid were-pack.
He watched Dek hold out his hand as his new mate returned. Like it or not, life was about to change.
“I’M HERE.” Here and ready to stand up for herself.
It didn’t matter that somehow Dek oozed sex pheromones just standing in the center of the room. It didn’t matter that she was the only woman in the group and very far from civilization…if you could call El Paso civilized. The point was that things had gone way off course this evening, and she was going to get them straight.
“Good.” Dek’s voice was low and way too sexy. It was also much too bossy for her peace of mind. Why did she want to respond to both the sex and the command wrapped around his word?
“We’ll see just how good it is once you explain what’s going on here.”
“This might seem a little different than what you’re used to, Leila—”
“No lie, buddy.”
“—but it’s necessary, especially because you look and act so damn human. No, don’t try to smart ass me on that, lady. You’re were now. Some trace of you has to be, or you’d never have had my baby. But we need to make sure the whole pack and any stray who comes by knows you’re were and you’re mine.”
Were? She’d never considered that. Damn, she didn’t have time to consider it, not with Dek prowling toward her. Leila fought taking a backward step as Deklin moved in. Instead she poked a finger in his chest as soon as he got close enough.
“I’m thinking you don’t mean you’re giving me your class ring.”
His teeth showed in that damn grin, and his hands went to his belt buckle. “Not exactly. I’m going to give you something, though. I’m going to mark you.”
Leila shuddered. She couldn’t help it. For just a minute, the old, bad memories of Rod came back. He’d marked her backside often enough with a belt.
“No, baby. Not that.” Dek touched her chin, smoothed her hair. “You know I wouldn’t ever do that.”
Damn mind reader. She hated his ability to do that almost as much as she hated showing weakness.
“What do you plan to do, then? How are you going to mar—Oh, no.” Leila grabbed the hand with the belt. “No way.”
“It’s the only way. It’s not like our marking won’t wash off if you really want it to.”
Leila stared at the man in front of her, the sexy one with the half-undone fly. She could almost reach out to touch the avid interest from the other men who stood silently, waiting. What the hell would the rest of them do if Deklin insisted? Would they hold her down? Maybe that’s what they wanted to happen.
For a moment she toyed with the idea of those jeans falling to completely reveal that enormous cock…the belt wrapped around her wrists…those other men watching…and, by God, her breath quickened. So much for all that work at being a good girl. Oh, damn, why could Deklin get her secret fantasies so stirred to life by just looking at her?
Then she remembered just how every dog she knew marked his territory.
Oh, no, he wasn’t. Nonononononono. Not this woman. That was definitely not one of her fantasies.
For a second, red-heated anger really did film over her vision, just like the books said. Leila growled. She could hear it herself, over the noise of adrenaline-pumped blood hissing up through her ears.
“Listen, you. I’ve put up with being fucked on my floor, manhandled out of my house, and having me and my daughter sniffed by two very strange men. If y’all think you’re going to pee on me after that, I’m taking every last one of you to the pound and getting you fixed. We’re doing things my way now. Civilized human style. You can start by talking instead of lifting your leg.”
DEK COULDN’T STOP the strangled sound that came out of his mouth. Jesus, he’d forgotten how Leila made him laugh at the worst possible times.
“You have about ten seconds to start talking, Rin Tin Tin.” Leila’s chin jutted out.
“The explanation can come later.”
“The freaking explanations can come right this minute.” She was smaller than he was, but for a moment he wondered if she really could take him on.
Oh, shit, who were they both kidding? Of course she could. And his cock was already so hard against the fabric of his pants, he was going to have to keep unbuttoning his fly, or explanations weren’t the only thing that would be coming in a minute. Even her glare got him going, damn it.
“We won’t make this too bad for you, Leila.”
Her eyes narrowed. “You better make this real good for me, bucko.”
Oh, hell. He could feel the heat of his seed, the pressure inside his balls, wanting to spill. This wasn’t the time to suddenly wonder what happened if he didn’t make things good. What did he do if she wanted to run afterward?
Run her down. Keep her. The wolf in him rose at just the thought of the hunt.
He fought the change this time, fought the sensation of time-changing motion as he turned. Leila seemed to like his wolf form, which was a big plus, but he didn’t think she wanted three wolves in front of her, all waiting to—
“Oh, my God, Dek.”
Or maybe she did. He could tell she was as fascinated as she was afraid. The scent of her aroused musk was beginning to fill his nostrils. Shit. Maybe the problem was that he didn’t want to see her in the circle with all his packmates. She was his.
Before he could think anymore, he pulled his hard cock out of his pants. That head didn’t want to think. It wanted Leila. She licked her lips, her eyes widening. She didn’t say anything else, and the blood pounded in Dek’s ears. If Leila wasn’t talking, that meant…that meant…
He didn’t care what it meant. He gripped the material of her shirt, ripping it open so it gaped wantonly, baring shoulders and showing off her pretty lace bra. Leila’s erect nipples scraped against the bra’s sheer fabric, straining against that slight constraint. He lunged, and somehow he was on the floor, on top of her. She whimpered when he nipped her shoulder. Her back arched up, fitting her more closely to him. When he reached down, she had already loosened her pants. The panties had been discarded back when they’d fucked at her apartment, so the only thing left was—he took a handful of that sweet muff and savored the wet invitation at the V between her thighs. Yeah, she wanted him. Almost as bad as he did her.
“Who do you belong to, Leila?”
She opened her eyes, looking dazed and delighted and mad all at once. There. That was his Leila. He tickled the folds of her labia, and she whimpered again. Then he waited.
“Who, Leila? Say it out loud.”
“N-no.” She whispered, arching up again.
Stupid human inhibitions. If she wouldn’t say it, he’d have to make her. Because right now, like it or not, they went by were rules. He’d never wanted to be human before, but just now—Hell. That was just being stupid. Instead he growled, “Who? Come on, woman. Talk.”
She looked at him again, a small bit of awareness stirring in all that confusion and pleasure. He slid one finger just a millimeter inside her and let her clench before he ripped it away. That was all she was getting until—
“You, Dek.”
Just vaguely he heard the guttural growls of the pack behind him. He was too far gone to wonder what anyone else was doing after her hoarse cry of submission. He thrust his finger up hard and high inside her sheath, just on
ce. She jerked, bucking against his hand, and moaned.
That was it for him. Still fingering her, he squeezed his cock with the other hand. Once, twice. Then he spurted hard, freeing the come inside him and letting it spill in a hot, fierce gush between her breasts.
She writhed, and he flicked her swollen little clit before he worked a second finger up into her. Leila moaned again. Dear heaven, he was getting hard all over again, looking at her. It didn’t matter if the others were watching.
The others. Dek reminded himself of just why they were doing this.
“Go on.” Dek turned to the rest and forced the words out.
They stood there, looking—well, damn it, like a pack of wolves, waiting to jump on a bone. Part of him wanted to slap them down for staring at his mate like that. Part of him wanted to taunt them with what he had.
What happened next wouldn’t be so bad. Not with his fingers working Leila, making her wetter and hotter with every second that passed. He was in charge; he was the one making her want, even if—
Lowell broke first, giving a long howl, his fist clenched on his cock. Dek watched Lowell’s semen mingle with his, splashing on Leila’s skin in a long stream. Leila panted now, staring up at Lowell in disbelief, but letting it happen. Dek stroked her thighs to quiet her. Possessiveness, anger, satisfaction, pure heat spread over Dek as he watched Lowell mark his mate.
“Grey. Damn it, go ahead!” Dek wasn’t sure how much longer he could allow the ritual to continue.
“Omigod, omigod, omi—” Leila’s voice, strained but undeniably aroused, broke on the words as Grey bent over the two of them.
“Fuck it.” Grey glared at Dek, crouched between Leila’s knees, and Grey’s teeth bared. “Only for you, you alpha bastard.” He groaned, as if he were in pain, and Grey’s semen added to the rest.
The men all stared down at the residue, and Dek added a third finger, stretching and shoving into Leila’s channel, not letting her think about what was happening. Instinct. They both needed to go on instinct here. He probed and explored the passage that belonged to him. She shuddered. She wasn’t quite ready yet? Dek snarled out a laugh and pinched her clit. Leila howled, brokenly, and for a moment he thought her canine teeth lengthened, turned wolfish. The thought of her biting him made the breath catch in his throat.