by Kristina Lee
“I’ve got a bad feeling about this, Zane. Him vanishing at the same time your mate arrives stinks something royal.”
The wolf clawed the confines of his mind, eager to find the solution to the growing number of rogues that kept multiplying despite him and his hunters work with the youth. They had no solid evidence that Aden had turned rogue, no proof that he was guilty of anything more than meeting with the now dead rogues sometime within a day of them turning.
He held out his hand when Selena neared and wrapped her into the crook of one arm. “Leaving Pack protection only draws more attention to his activities. Not a smart move on his part. No matter what it coincides with.”
Jesse took off toward his wife and daughter while Zane used the opportunity to steer Selena in the opposite direction. He slowed his pace, matching her short strides, reveling in the intimate moment of two lovers walking together. She shivered against him when the wind picked up, wrapping the heavy wool sweater he lent her tighter around her slim frame.
“Not a winter person?” He smoothed his hand down one arm, drawing her close, already aching to turn around and take her back to bed.
“I’d hibernate if I could.”
He smiled at the pleasant image her statement conjured, pictures of Selena curled up in his bed, his body wrapped around hers, Cory on the other side. Sex in the air.
“You could.” He stopped them in front of the vacant, fenced lot, tipping her chin up to so he could lose himself in the sparkle of her eyes. “In our bed.”
Our bed.
It didn’t matter whether he meant his and Selena’s or Cory, his and Selena’s. Within the span of twelve hours, she already owned part of it. Just as she owned part of him and would forever now. It didn’t matter that officially he hadn’t mated her yet. Once he had a chance to speak to Cory, to soothe his lover’s doubts, together they would.
“So why are we out braving the cold today?”
Zane looked across the lot, empty but for a row of benches and storage lockers along one edge. The tangy scent of sweat and blood clung to the area. “Training day.”
Selena turned into him, sliding her chilled hands beneath his sweatshirt and around his waist. Burying her head into his chest, she murmured. “Maybe try putting it in non-wolf speak.”
He smiled. With his mate beside him, the one woman it felt like he’d known forever, it was easy to forget she wasn’t a shifter, wasn’t aware of their society’s rules or activities. He tangled his fingers through her unbound hair, keeping her close, listening to the comfortable beat of her heart against his chest.
“Once a week I invoke a fighting circle and let the Pack youth take turns sparring with me.”
Selena pulled back as far as he’d let her and peered up at him. Her delicate scent filled his nostrils, invigorating him, heating his blood even as she worried her lower lip between white teeth.
“Sounds dangerous.”
He shook his head, knowing whether she understood the importance of this training activity today or not was less important than her accepting his participation. Of not being afraid for the rowdy teenagers when he pushed their boundaries and taught them self-control.
“Far less dangerous than what would happen if they didn’t learn to control their beast. As wolves we possess greater strength than most and it’s important they learn their limits now in a controlled environment before one provoking on the streets cause them to snap.”
She slid her hands higher up his back, as if trying to burrow into his skin. Whether she attempted for warmth or just because she needed the physical contact didn’t matter. He went hard within seconds.
“Suppose that makes sense. So why am I here?”
When she lifted her angelic face to his, slowly rubbing her belly against his throbbing shaft it was all he could do not to turn around and carry her back to his home. “Because I can’t resist the opportunity to show off.” He teased with a cocky grin.
And I don’t want you out of my sight until we’re fully mated.
“I suppose I might be able to swoon a little for you.” She batted her eyelashes in mock appreciation. “Of course it will be because my feet went numb.”
He swallowed his worry as he led her into the lot where various teens and some of his fellow hunters gathered. The foreign emotion threatened to choke him enough lately as it was.
“I really want you here and you’ll see why soon enough.” He guided her to one of the benches and settled her atop it, pulling a wool blanket out from a nearby bin and laying it across her lap. Leaning close, he kissed the tender spot beneath her ear, heat rushing through him at her small shiver and whispered “Besides, getting you warmed up later will be all kinds of fun.”
* * * *
Cory hadn’t intended to walk within half a mile of the training circle today. Teaching the youth was a task Zane personally oversaw, leaving the rest of the hunters to focus their attention on tracking rogues and keeping their quiet Pack safe. But when he scented Selena’s soft fragrance on the breeze, her delicate signature not woven with that of his lover, rage overrode common sense.
Zane was wasting precious time by not mating her, fooling with a bond as sacred and old as time itself. He and Selena belonged together. The two of them. Period. Anger weaved through his every cell as he strode to the vacant training lot. Each quick step closer brought the familiar scents of Zane to him as well as the overwhelming sweetness of his mate. The hurt over losing Zane now, over losing Linnea all those years ago riled his temper further. Marching right up to the fray, he stopped, ignoring the startled stares his presence evoked.
“Ian, go have Selena check your wound,” Cory growled as he waited impatiently for the teenager to exit the fighting circle, fury racing through his blood.
The second Zane remained in the ring alone, Cory sprinted inside, resisting the urge to let his claws loose as he shoved him forcefully with both hands. “What the hell is the matter with you, Zane?”
His temper escalated further when the Alpha refused to defend himself.
“I’m sure you’re about to tell me, love.”
The near smirk on his lover’s chiseled face fueled a hot rage and Cory shoved him once more, this time letting his claws out to scratch Zane’s bare chest. His partner finally retaliated, slamming his fist across his punching shoulder and driving Cory backward.
Regaining his composure, he stepped right back into the Alpha’s space. “You didn’t seal the bond with Selena, dammit.” He all but shouted on a vicious growl. “And everyone here with a working nose scents your indecision. You’re hurting your Pack.”
He slashed outward again, Zane easily sidestepping his lethal claws.
“I told you I want you there with us.” Zane grated, as they circled the ring, drawing a crowd. Their relationship was no secret in the close bonds of their Pack but never had they fought against each other even in training.
Cory ignored the wide-eyes of the teens around them. His soul had nearly been lost all those years ago when Linnea died. He wouldn’t put himself through the torture again. Wouldn’t subject Zane to a similar fate. “I said no, Zane. Accept it.”
When Zane shook his head, sweat flinging from his face, Cory lunged. Dropping low, he swung his leg in an arc, knocking Zane flat on his back. A few stunned onlookers hollered, having never seen their Alpha downed but Zane rolled and sprung back up. Before he could turn, Zane connected his boot with the back of Cory’s knee. He roared in agony as he hit the hard earth.
The feminine shriek startled him and he lifted his head off the ground, his eyes locking on Selena’s tear streaked face. Damn. Ian had his hands around her waist, holding her back but just barely. She was a fighter, he’d give her that. When he shook his head, mouthing it’s okay, she stilled.
Zane’s thick-soled boot pinched one clawed hand to the ground as he bent low and fisted Cory’s too-long hair in his hand. He leaned close enough for him to scent the raw essence of his lover beneath the sweat and dirt from the training s
ession. On any other day he would welcome being able to scrub it off Zane’s body, but not today, possibly not again for a long time.
Cory could hear the quickened beat of his heart, no different from when they made love. He groaned in miserable frustration, his mind and body torn about doing what it wanted and what was right.
“If you force me to choose between you two,” Zane whispered into his ear low enough the other wolves wouldn’t hear, “I’ll ignore the mating pull no matter how destructive I become. I won’t give you up. Take Selena with me.”
Outraged Zane would place the burden of Pack survival on his shoulders, he ripped his hand free and brought Zane back down beside him with a swift chop of his arm. The metallic scent of blood coated the air as he rested his claws directly beside his lover’s carotid. “You’re a bloody idiot, Zane.”
He watched the normally warm brown eyes of his partner turn cold as they narrowed and waited. A detached piece of him knew he’d pay for insulting his Alpha in public. “She’s your mate,” Cory pointed to Selena with his free hand. “Yours.” He growled.
The sacred mating bond existed between two individuals. No threesome possible. No matter what trash Zane mouthed, he craved Selena, needed her to stay in his life. Cory wouldn’t ruin that by tarnishing their time together. It took a certain kind of woman to accept two powerful, demanding men and she wasn’t it.
And he knew firsthand that hoping for it to be otherwise would end up in disaster.
“She’s either both of ours or neither of ours. Your choice, love.”
Gritting his teeth against the hunger he experienced as the Alpha refused to exclude him, he shook his head and growled. His wolf wanted to believe. To trust their leader. When another of Selena’s whimpers carried to his ears, he pulled his claws back, fearful of scaring her away. The Pack desperately needed her healing touch. Zane took the moment’s reprieve to knock him sideways and scramble to his knees.
“Mate her,” Cory demanded roughly.
Zane leaned back on his haunches, retracting his claws to swipe at the blood dripping from his hard chest. Cory knew he was furious as hell for fighting him here, for dragging their private matters in front of the Pack’s impressionable youth with Selena watching. But dammit, their stubborn, thick-headed leader needed to address this.
“Make me,” Zane taunted with a devilish grin, clearly enjoying a win in their tête-à-tête.
Ignoring the rules governing the training circle, Cory shifted into his wolf form, fully intending to do exactly what Zane asked despite the pain numbing his hands and legs from breaking the magic of the circle. Before he could prowl closer, Selena burst into the ring, throwing herself between the two predators.
“Knock it off this instant,” she shouted, her face flush from either fear or anger. More likely a healthy combination of both.
Chapter Six
Selena peered down at the magnificent wolf before her, her anger cooling as she probed the depths of Cory’s remarkable gold eyes. They were hauntingly familiar to those of the man and the pain clouding the edges squeezed her heart.
“Show’s over boys,” Zane’s voice was hard steel behind her. “Ian, get them out of here.”
She waited while the group of boys shuffled away, never taking her gaze from Cory’s. She knew they fought over her—hell, every youth and hunter here did—and couldn’t believe how ridiculous the whole situation was. Claws, blood, snarling teeth.
Sometimes men made no sense at all.
But as she stared into the concerned gold orbs of the man who drove her delirious this morning with mind-blowing pleasure, she understood his anger. Zane’s firm hand stroked down her back, resting at the curve above her hip. She shivered at the possessive touch, her body waking for more. From him. He leaned down and nipped her ear lobe before resting his forehead on her shoulders. Her stomach clenched.
“Are you hurt, Zane?” Her voice cracked with worry, fear evident in every soft syllable.
He squeezed her hip, drawing her tight to him. Possessive. Hungry. Like a dominant lover comfortable in his own skin. “No,” he whispered, breathing hot puffs of air across her exposed neck.
Selena stepped away from his comforting presence, simply knowing what it was that needed to be done. “I’d like to talk to Cory alone then.”
Surprisingly, Zane pulled back, trailing his fingers down her arm before stepping away. The loss of his heat was substantial, but she stood still wanting to make this right. Needing to. When she finally tore her gaze from the wolf, she was shocked by the tenderness in her mate’s dark eyes. It was almost possible to believe he admired her, loved her even. Just like that. Fate.
Forever.
“I’m going to wash up,” he said after a silent moment. He turned to Cory. “Be stubborn all you want but don’t leave her alone. That’s a fucking order from your Alpha if you need clarification.”
With that he left the training area, leaving Selena standing beside a beautiful gray and white wolf nearly as tall as she. Hands on her hips, she narrowed her eyes. “Shift back and let me see your injury right this minute, Cory.”
A marvelous flash of sparkly white followed her demand and in the next second Cory knelt on the hard ground, naked as the day he was born. She blushed a crimson red taking in every inch of tanned, hardened muscle sculpting the man before her. And there was plenty to feast on.
“I didn’t realize you’d be naked.” She whispered, breathless.
Expecting a teasing smile, she was disappointed when he pushed his bloody hand toward her without a word. Frowning at the tension vibrating like a ticking bomb between them, she asked “can I clean it or do you just want me to touch the wound like the boys did?”
Selena had been surprised by the young wolves’ requests. Naturally they healed faster than humans and Zane had been careful to just surface scratch most of them but they all requested she touch the wound. It was as if they believed her warm contact would help them heal.
“Both.”
She retrieved a nearby water bottle and dumped a generous amount of cool liquid over his skinned hand to clear both blood and dirt. Using her shirt, and old one of Zane’s, she wiped carefully at the wound, tears burning the corners of her eyes. His pain was her fault and knowing that horrified her.
“I’m sorry, Cory.”
She lifted his injured hand to her lips, placing a slow, tender kiss across each of the jagged ridges of his knuckles. The gashes sliced across the length of his hand but it was clear Zane hadn’t held him too tight. She couldn’t bear the thought of them beating each other up further.
This wasn’t what I meant when I dreamed of being the center of their attentions.
“You have nothing to apologize for, little one.”
He lifted his uninjured hand to her face, catching her tears from rolling to her lips. She shivered as his rough fingertips lingered, leaning her cheek into his palm and sighing. “I’ve upset things between you and Zane.”
Biting her lip to keep back a sob, she pulled a bandage out of her pocket and distracted herself by wrapping it around his marred hand. Cory continued to smooth his fingers over her face as she worked, catching the tears that just wouldn’t stop.
Both he and Zane cared so deeply about her feelings, her comfort and security. She’d never experienced such a connection before, no matter how hungry she’d been to find one. Their tenderness moved her like nothing else.
“It was bound to happen sooner or later, Selena. We both knew you were out there.”
Selena closed both her hands around Cory’s bandaged one, letting her warmth soak into him. He closed his eyes and she watched him take a deep breath. This powerful, handsome man fought over her. For her. Trailing her fingertips to his, she let go. “Why were you two looking for me?”
Cory opened his eyes slowly, as if her touch left him drugged. But her warmth hadn’t placated his pain as it did with the others. His hazel eyes, rimmed with sorrow, tormented her. Her desire to comfort rushed back to the sur
face.
“The Pack is hurting, Selena. An Alpha’s mate fills the role as Pack healer. Not just our physical wounds either.”
His words were a hoarse whisper, and deep down she knew he’d done everything in his power to make it otherwise. Moved, she closed his fingers in hers, squeezing against his hurt. “When you touched the boys today, you soothed something inside them. I can’t wear those shoes.”
She stared stunned until Cory scanned the vicinity around them. Certainly this powerful, considerate, passionate man didn’t find himself inadequate? Yet the sheer misery in his voice could not be ignored. With gentle strokes, she smoothed her fingers higher, past his wrists and over the roped muscle of his forearms.
Whatever guilt he carried, whatever doubts he had over his ability to be the man Zane needed and she wanted, Selena would purge because nobody had ever cared so deeply for her or treated her with such tenderness. She would not let anyone leave Cory behind—the sadness and fear of having been in his same situation hardening her determination.
But if she was meant to be the Pack healer, then—“Would Zane mate me just for duty?”
Cory dropped his gaze back to hers, the gold flecks of his eyes shimmering. As if sensing her inner struggle, knowing that his answer could very well be the straw that broke the camel’s back, he lowered his lips to her forehead and gently kissed her heated skin.
She shivered against the explosion rocking her insides from the tender touch. He wrapped his firm arms around her. “Zane’s job is to keep the Pack healthy and safe. But you’ve captured a piece of him, Selena. One he’s never shared with me.”
Too much hurt, fear and doubt in the both of them, she thought. Snaking her arms around Cory’s narrow hips, she splayed her hands over the tight muscles of his ass. “He wants to share it with you, Cory. He’s hurting without you.”
After being together with Zane for multiple years, wasn’t Cory able to decipher Zane’s ferocious need for him? In the span of less than twenty-four hours, Selena already picked up on the deep bond these two men shared. As easily as she picked up on their simmering tension.