Regale, Rhea - Wild Nights [Blood Moon Legacy 2] (Siren Publishing Ménage Amour)

by Rhea Regale

  “I heard you and Lenox earlier.” Aya’s sweetly soft voice filtered through his mind like smoky tendrils, but her words drew shame from his veins. The wolf within him padded down, relaxing in the presence of his mate.

  And mate she was. He couldn’t deny it. Not even his words held conviction when he outlandishly rejected her to Lenox. Her confession made him ill to his gut. He’d never been so weak, so torn, since his father’s murder. Ayasha White elicited the deepest of suppressed emotions within him, stirring life from the bottom of the well.

  “I’m not about to force you to stay.” Aya’s lush lips pulled down. Damn, why were her eyes shimmering? “Quite honestly, I don’t want you to stay if you’re only here to prove something to Lenox. But I think you need to listen to what he’s said. More than anything, he wants for you to accept what really happened when my parents were killed. He feels responsible for you.”

  “He has no reason to feel responsible,” Riley responded. His voice barely thrummed the telepathic line. Had she even heard him? Aya sighed and shook her head, the wispy ends of her dark hair caressing her pale cheeks. A yearning to touch her face flared to life. A need to comfort her, protect her, and have her believe in him erupted. “I’m a big boy. I don’t need someone watching out for me.”

  “I think you do, Riley. I think you need someone to show you there is more than the darkness and self-pity you’ve holed yourself up in.”

  Riley watched as she walked past him, her fingertips pressing into her arms. That shame snaked up his neck and warmed his face. He fought to grab hold of his old self, the arrogant, uncaring bastard he was most comfortable with. The emotions she brought to his surface were confusing and unsettling. He didn’t know how to swallow them, how to embrace them. He had claimed her body, but the idea of what he truly starved for shocked him more than discovering the lies surrounding him.

  I want to claim her heart.

  He slid off the boulder and followed her to the river, but she didn’t pause at the water’s edge. Instead, she padded into the glittering river, goose bumps forming over her arms and shoulders. Hell, he wanted to smooth those bumps and warm her skin…

  “What are you doing?” Riley quickly rubbed out the sharp edges of his demand. Aya didn’t respond. In fact, he almost believed that if she demanded something of him, he’d be on his knees to please her in an instant. The change came suddenly, just like Lenox said. “Ayasha, you don’t need to go in the water.”

  She didn’t stop. No surprise. Why would she listen to him? He had said some pretty abominable things about her, to her. She had no reason to show him any respect.

  He deserved her cold shoulder, but he would find a way to warm her up to him again.

  “Ayasha. Sweetheart. Wait.”

  Aya paused then, turning her head enough for him to glimpse the etch of emotions splayed over her face. He ignored the cool temperature of the water as it climbed up his legs the farther he waded. The dark waters swirled around Aya’s waist, but when he reached her, the level barely reached his hips. The woman was so tiny, so delicate, so opposite of Eliza. Eliza, a woman filled with confidence, sexual prowess, toned muscles, and curves. A woman whose breasts overflowed his palms, whose mouth spoke dirty, whose eyes shadowed with lust and hunger more than anything. Eliza knew two things. Fucking and preening.

  Aya was perfect. Her breasts, though smaller, were supple and fit in his palms. Her passion swam just below the surface of her being, but exploded while in the thralls of sex. She took what she wanted, but didn’t demand. Her mewls of pleasure, the soft yips and cries as he had driven her to the edge, stoked his wolf to pleasure her more rather than seek his own release. Aya, kind little Aya, who had more layers to her than even the thickest flower.

  He came around and blocked her from entering deeper waters. He reached for her cheek, brushing the back of his knuckles over her soft skin. The depth of her turmoil, the waves of emotions that churned in her eyes became a vortex for his spirit. The gentle swaying of those very emotions coming off her wrapped him in a tender embrace. She held mysteries and promises he wanted to discover from this moment on.

  “I’m sorry,” Riley murmured. He straightened his fingers and cupped the side of her face. Aya’s chin quivered, but she let out a slow breath that steadied her just before her eyes fell shut. “You’re right. I do need someone to show me direction.”

  “This hasn’t been easy for me either, Riley. I hope you understand that.” For the first time, Aya turned her face into his palm and nuzzled him on her own accord. He wanted to smooth the pinch in her forehead and kiss her delectable lips, which drifted apart on a heavy breath. “I never expected two mates.”

  “Say what it is you’re thinking, little wolf,” Riley urged quietly. He braced himself for her stabbing response, but she simply shook her head. The only answer he received was the soothing sound of the river. “I deserve any harsh truth you speak.”

  “You speak the truth to me. I’m not going to be that lenient with you.”

  That stung, yet he knew he deserved so much more in the way of punishment. Aya figured out one sure way to humble him. Admitting wrong broke a man’s resolve, weakened him. Verbalizing it exposed a man’s heart and his capacity to care.

  “Perhaps I was wrong about…things. Misled. Deceived. Whatever you want to call it.” Riley moistened his lips. He sounded like a fool. God, he was a fool. He sank to his knees in the chilly waters, lowering himself before Aya. He unleashed her arms from around her breasts—her pearled nipples made his mouth water, and he fought to suppress that desire—and took her hands between his. “I’m your mate, but I led the pack that murdered your uncle.”

  There it was, in the open of the night. He admitted his guilt. Aya subjected him to humiliation he hadn’t known since the days of his mother forcing him and Lenox to apologize for pulling pranks on other pack mates.

  “I understand loss, Aya. If I had known any of the things Lenox suggested to me, I would’ve gone to the extreme to spare you that grief.”

  “Would you have?”

  She challenged him in those three words. Riley’s jaw worked to answer, but no sound came out. If Lenox had gotten to him before he ordered his pack to burn Charles’s house to the ground, would he have stopped to spare her the heartache? Would he have believed Lenox at all?

  A merciless thought slithered into his mind. He had intended to kill this woman. That fire was supposed to be for both Charles and Aya.

  Damn, how ruined had he become over the years? How callous and cold and evil?

  Riley swallowed back the shame that choked him and nodded once.

  “Yes,” he said. He gave her hands a gentle squeeze. “I comprehend the changes inside me, sweetheart, but they’re alien. I can’t explain what you’ve done to me, but I know now I will never bring harm to you in any way.”

  Static sizzled over the silent telepathic line to his pack. He ignored the interruption, his attention brought sharply around to Lenox, who stood calf-deep in the water. How long had he been standing there?

  “We’re here to guide you, Riley,” Lenox said. Riley narrowed his eyes as the man waded over to them. He rose to his feet when Lenox stepped up behind Aya. His hands lowered to her shoulders while Riley clung to her cool fingers. He dug for anger or frustration, something that would shield his shame and humiliation from Lenox. “Don’t bother with it. I heard everything. We’re all part of this, part of each other, and you needn’t find a way to hide anything from us.”

  “Don’t shut Lenox out,” Aya said. She leaned forward and rested her head on his chest. Riley stared at her in awe before he snapped his gaze to Lenox. A smile came to his old friend’s face, one that brought back a swarm of memories. Warm memories of them dodging through forests and hunting small game. Memories of nights going out to bars and plotting their futures. Gratitude. Acceptance. It was all there on Lenox’s face and shining in his eyes.

  The buzz in his mind zapped to life again.

  “Ri…ley.”


  Riley shook his head. The quaint rightness that had settled around them shattered. Aya leaned back. He caught the worrisome glance she tossed back at Lenox.

  “She’s kil…led the…boys.”

  “What’s going on?” Lenox asked. He stepped around Aya, keeping one hand firmly on her shoulder. His eyes narrowed on Riley.

  “Maddock, what the hell are you talking about?” he demanded. Dread breathed ice down his spine as he waited for a response.

  “Riley?” Aya murmured. She was chewing her lip, concern weighing against her delicate features.

  “I’m not sure,” he admitted, feeling his way along the path to Maddock’s weak link. His wolf roused and began whimpering against his mind. Something was amiss, whether it was from the cryptic interruption or the wheezing words that bumped along the connection. Instinct flashed a warning jolt, and a cringe-worthy heaviness pressed down on him.

  Aya’s soft palm brushed back over his cheek, her fingers combing into his hair. He held her wrist, her flesh a means of grounding his turbulent thoughts.

  “Maddock? You gonna answer me?” More sizzling. “Fuck, man, what the hell’s wrong with you?”

  A gurgling crossed the line. Riley’s brows furrowed involuntarily. Aya pressed up on her toes and barely brushed her lips over his. Something new and soft brushed his spirit, his wolf. He lowered his gaze to her, his lips tight.

  Lenox clasped his shoulder.

  “I’m getting residual energy over your pack’s line. Someone’s hurt,” Lenox said, his voice lowering to a rasp. Riley caught the feral glow of the hunter cross over his eyes.

  “Something’s off. Maddock—” The telepathic line zinged. An ethereal feeling of pain spread over him. He barked, spinning away from Aya and Lenox as burning agony speared through his mind.

  “Riley! What’s happening?” Aya rounded him, her hands smoothing over his neck and face. Her touch did little to vanquish this new bout of dread. Lenox growled at his back.

  “Maddock, what the fuck is going on?” Even as he waited for a response, he grabbed Aya’s arm and began to drag her from the water. “Lenox, get her outta here.”

  “You can’t go to him alone. Let me get in touch with my pack. We’ll set up a search—”

  “Don’t challenge me on this!” Riley snapped. Maddock was trying to speak, his breaths labored over the line. “Get her to your home and keep her safe.” He shot Lenox a steady glance. “I know these wolves better than you. I’ll be fine.”

  At last, Maddock filled his mind.

  “Liza controls the pack. She always has. I-I’ve tried to get…away…but she ambushed me. The others are dead…you mustn’t come back, Riley. She’ll kill you… She’s after the white and she’s…she’s used us all.”

  Chapter Ten

  Riley vanished into the swallowing darkness of the forest with nothing more than a sharp demand to get her to safety.

  Water streamed off Aya’s body, leaving paths of icy coldness along her skin. She hugged herself against a rack of shivers and succumbed to the powerful body that cocooned her, resting her head on Lenox’s chest. She felt helpless, useless. Her gut instinct screamed at her to stop him, but her words held no weight to the fierce hunter she saw in Riley. The man had a stubborn streak that put the long-standing redwoods to shame. Nothing could deter him if his mind was made up.

  “Can’t we go with him?” Aya asked. The muscles along Lenox’s chest and shoulders tensed. He groaned his frustration, a deep rolling rumble that vibrated against her ear. The deft pace of his heart turned to a hard punching. She stretched along his spirit, locating his pacing wolf. The restlessness she contained within her was mirrored within him.

  “I won’t leave you unprotected, and there’s no way you’re going where there might be danger,” Lenox said sharply. His hands splayed over her back and shoulder, holding her tight.

  “Lenox, what if it’s a trap? We can’t leave him to fend for himself. Not now.”

  “If there’s a wolf who knows how to fend for himself, it’s Riley. The years have turned him into a cruel and calculating bastard.” A sigh left his lips. “But you seem to have brought him back around in mere hours.”

  “We did,” Aya corrected. Worry coated her spirit. She didn’t want Riley to go off alone. At last, she had her mates. Two incredible males who made her blood sizzle with desire, her body ache with need, and her heart race with…

  Aya blinked. She turned her face up to Lenox. His gaze shifted from the forest to her. One of his hands slid up to her neck, tipping her head back enough for him to claim her mouth with ease. She moaned against his lips, the lazy strokes of his tongue along hers stoking hunger in her womb. His growing arousal nudged her in the belly.

  Ah, yes. Maybe her heart did race with love for both her men.

  The breeze shifted, and with it, an unnerving scent that immediately stabbed at her. Lenox ripped his mouth away and spun, shoving her behind his solid form. Her heart thundered against her ears. Her wolf whined and clawed to come out. Instinct howled at the unsettling air as she surveyed the bank across the river.

  “Someone’s here,” Lenox snarled, forcing them back behind a boulder. The icy blue glow from the moon became obscured. Aya glanced toward the sky. Thin clouds slid over the white orb. The night whispered of danger. The air, moments ago so light and right, filled with the darkness of their ominous threat. The hairs on her nape stood up straight. They were at the center of intense focus. She could almost feel eyes burning into her. Marking her.

  “Oh, God. We have to get out of here,” Aya whispered. Lenox nodded once. His face was a stoic mask, but she could detect the furious workings of his thoughts.

  Aya shifted. Rocks slid beneath her feet and she fell onto her side.

  Into the open.

  A drawn-out whizzing sliced through the breeze. Aya scrambled back to the safety of the boulder. Lenox grabbed her. Rocks jabbed into her ribs as they rolled. A sharp plink and scrape yanked her attention back to where she had been a split second earlier.

  A dart stuck out between two rocks, the bright pink feathers at the end swaying in the breeze.

  “Go!” Lenox barked.

  Aya whimpered, digging her toes into the rocky riverside. She vaulted ahead, bending to the will of her wolf. Her body twisted and reformed. Her white coat sprang from her flesh. Paws hit the soft dirt as she crossed into the forest. Fear stung her senses, dimming her thoughts. She plowed ahead, her lithe form and agility making it easier for her wolf to maneuver the uneven terrain of the forest.

  Lenox came up alongside her, his gray and white fur ruffling against the speed of their run.

  “Don’t stop until we reach the house. Don’t stop for anything,” Lenox rasped. Aya yipped her response, springing over a downed tree. Another whiz skated along her hearing. Breathing hard, pushing herself to maximum speed, she glanced at Lenox. He leaped up, vaulting off a tree trunk as another bright pink-feathered dart embedded into the wood.

  “Who is it?” Aya gasped. She focused on the forest ground. At this speed, any glitch in her attention could easily land her skidding out of control. She’d be an open target. Her ears rested back against her head, but she could hear everything around them. The scraping of leaves under an animal’s nails. The dark symphony of nighttime insects crooning a scratchy melody. Lenox’s fast-pacing heart.

  The forest drowned in deep shadows as thicker clouds blocked the last sliver of moonlight. Lenox blended into the background except for splashes of white in his fur. The echo of their paws against the ground resonated straight down to the heart of her spirit.

  “Don’t know.” Lenox zigzagged over the terrain. She followed his path.

  A distinct crack pierced the rushing of air against her ears. Lenox bolted forward, coming up on her side. His heavy weight shoved into her, knocking her off path and forcing her to readjust her course. He worked to calm her wolf, calm the violent injection of adrenaline taking hold of her mind.

  A shot rang out.
A pained mewl shattered the pace of the night. Aya skidded to a halt in time to see Lenox flip and roll across the ground, kicking up dirt and leaves. He slid to a stop at the base of a towering redwood.

  “Lenox!”

  “Go! Don’t worry about me. Get home!” His command was etched with the strain of agony. Aya whimpered, lowering her belly to the ground as she crawled beneath the brush line to Lenox’s side. He snapped his teeth at her. “Woman…”

  Aya nudged his head, inhaling the scent of raw masculinity, the musk of wolf, and a tinge of coppery blood.

  She spotted the dart protruding from Lenox’s haunch.

  “Ayasha, he’s coming. Get out of here!”

  “Not without you!”

  “The drug…it’s already in my system.” Lenox’s breathing turned into gasps. He clawed at the ground, trying to right himself. Aya grabbed hold of the dart with her teeth and yanked it out of his haunch with a growl. She pressed her snout to his back and tried to help him to his feet.

  Lenox rose to his belly before falling over again. His gasps eased to steady breaths.

  “Lenox—”

  “Please, Aya…go…home.”

  No. She wouldn’t leave him here. Not with the dangers encroaching them.

  “Riley! I need your help. Lenox’s been shot with a tranq. There’s someone—”

  The brush separated. Lenox’s head lolled and his eyes closed. Aya’s head shot up from his furry scruff. The scent of spent powder and hot metal hit her. A strong wave of sweat smacked her nostrils. The air filled with the malevolent pressure of danger hovering close. Too close.

  Her eyes adjusted to the object trained on her. Her wild spirit reared and she clamored backward.

  “So we’ve found you.” The man chuckled. Muscles bulged beneath his black T-shirt as he shifted his gun. “Eliza will be pleased.”

  She snorted, the stench of the man making her stomach roll until she thought she would vomit. Her rear hit an obstacle, but she refused to take her eyes off the man. His finger twitched against the trigger. His eyes glinted. A malicious smile curled his lips and stabbed an icy poker of fear into her gut.