by Milly Taiden
Karla jerked out of his hold as if she’d been bitten by a snake. “Thanks again, Charlie.”
He nodded. “We can chat another time.”
She rushed out of the teachers’ lounge. Jordan and Ellie grinned.
“Hm…what did we miss?” Jordan asked, waggling her brows.
“I almost fell on my face, and he caught me.”
“Looked to me like he was about to make a move on you,” Ellie joked. “I’ll have to make sure my brother steps up his game so the PE teacher doesn’t steal his woman.”
Karla rolled her eyes. “Yeah, okay.”
“Charlie likes Karla,” Jordan taunted and made kissy faces.
“Yeah, well, he’s better off liking someone else,” she grumbled.
Ellie laughed and hugged Karla to her side. “Relax, hon. He’ll get the picture soon enough. Besides, he’s not a bad guy, just young.”
“And in love with Ms. Alves,” Jordan whispered.
“Shh!” Heat crowded Karla’s cheeks. Thank goodness they arrived way before any of the other teachers or she’d never live down the embarrassment.
IT TURNED OUT to be a really long day for Karla. Her parent workshop on helping children study happened to be that night. It meant she left later than usual. She ended being the last to leave the school that night.
She had just exited the back of the building when she realized someone stood before her. The large body loomed over her, raising distress alarms in her chest. He pushed her back against the door.
“Karla.” Nate growled her name.
The fear that built deflated like a popped balloon. Nate’s lips crashed with bruising intensity over hers. Had the back of the building not been dim, she would have realized it was him sooner.
There was something strange about him. He drove his tongue deep into her mouth.
Greedy. Hungry. Domineering.
At the same time, hands wrenched at her clothes.
It took all her focus to tear her lips from the possessive and angry kiss. “Nate?”
He snarled.
She gulped down the moan working up her throat. Her pussy moistened and readied for him. This aggression was not something she was used to in Nate. It made her nervous, but turned her on like crazy. His eyes glowed bright and another rumble sounded in his chest.
“This comes off. Now.” He tore at the material of her top.
“What are you doing?” She tried really hard to not sound excited, but Nate had never been aggressive. She wasn’t sure what was going on.
“Off. Now,” he snarled. “Need you.”
“What?” Was all she got out before his lips took hers in another deep, dark kiss. His body vibrated over hers. She dug her nails into his tense arms, grasping at his smooth, fevered skin.
He sliced through the rest of her clothes, shredding her pants and underwear into thin ribbons. Hot, evening air caressed her naked body. She couldn’t find it in her to stop him. They were in the back of her school for goodness sakes! Yet all she could do was give in to the beast.
He slipped a hand between her legs and groaned. “Hot,” he said and licked her bottom lip, nipping it between his teeth. “Wet.”
She wiggled on his finger, wanting the digit to penetrate her and calm the fire he’d ignited in her core. Christ. Seeing Nate that way was hot as hell. The wild eyes. The deep growls, and the almost uncontrollable way he rubbed his body over hers was sexier than anything she’d ever experienced.
“Nate…”
“I. Can’t. Wait.” He pressed her body flush on the metal door she’d exited the building through. The hiss of his zipper only amped up her excitement. She panted, lifted her legs and curled them around his waist, clinging to his neck. He met her gaze. The beast stared at her through his eyes.
Wild.
Possessive.
Demanding.
He palmed her ass and drove into her in a forceful thrust.
She gasped at the intense feeling of fullness. His cock pounded her pussy in quick hard drives. She didn’t know what caused his wild reaction, nor did she care. But she sure as hell enjoyed the hot, hard slide of his cock slamming her up against the door.
He sucked on her neck, drawing circles on her flesh and growling with each drive. Her orgasm took her by surprise with its speed. A burning wave of pleasure sucked her under and hurled her out into space.
Her body shook, and he kissed her at the same time she screamed, drinking in her breathless call of his name. Her sex tightened around his cock and flutters of mini orgasms proceeded to flare shockwaves through her channel.
Their breaths co-mingled. He growled into their kiss. Deep. So deep the rumble felt as if it were coming out of her chest. One deep drive and he tensed. Another and he shook. On the third, he pressed further than before and stopped, his cock pulsing and filling her with his heated seed.
She panted and glanced up into his still bright eyes. “What,” she cleared her throat from the dryness taking hold, “brought that on?”
He kissed the corner of her mouth, sucked on the curve of her jaw, and licked his way up to her earlobe. Then he pulled out of her slowly. She almost whimpered from the loss of heat. “Your scent.”
A honk’s blare sounded in the distance, and she remembered she was naked in the back lot of the school. Ready to run for cover, she wiggled in his grasp. “Put me down before we get found here like this.”
Instead of doing as she requested, he carried her to his truck and sat her in the passenger side, then he handed her a blanket from the back seat.
“Thank you.” She wrapped herself in the soft cotton and waited for him to enter the driver side. His face continued to have that half-feral half-angry look. Once he sat down next to her, she continued her questioning. “What did you mean when you said my scent?”
His hands tightened on the wheel as he took a couple of deep breaths. The leather on his seat squealed when he shifted to face her. “I spoke to Kel earlier. He told me you were leaving late. I was waiting to surprise you and take you home. But when you walked out, you smelled of a different male.”
She blinked, her jaw hanging wide open. Then it clicked. “I slipped in the teacher’s lounge earlier, and Charlie grabbed me before I hit the floor.”
His eyes narrowed. “I could smell his desire for you on your clothes.”
What? “You could?”
She’d never had any man show jealousy for her before. It was strange and a little freaky.
“It caught me unaware and pushed the wolf to the surface.” The wild side lingered close by. It was obvious from the deepness of his voice to the tightness on his face.
“I’m sorry.”
He shook his head and faced the steering wheel. “It’s not your fault. I’m the one who’s sorry. I didn’t mean to scare you with my reaction.”
“You didn’t scare me.” It was probably not good that she’d actually been excited to see that aggressive side of him. Or that she’d loved every second of the rough coupling. But she had issues. She shrugged it off as another side of Nate she had the hots for. She lifted a hand and placed it tentatively over his. “It was new and different, but I know you wouldn’t hurt me.”
His brows dipped in a troubled frown. “You’re right. I wouldn’t hurt you. Ever.”
She smiled. “I know. Can you take me home?”
“You’re sure you want to be around me? The animal is still restless, but I promise you I have him under control.”
“Yes. Can you take me home or would it be a problem to have someone drop off my car?” She felt the need to reassure him again. “I’m not scared of you.”
The lines on his forehead smoothed a little. “I can take you home. I’ll call up one of the enforcer packs doing rounds in this area.”
She patted his hand. It was nice to be able to give him some reassurance in his time of insecurity. “Good. Let’s do it.”
“GUESS WHO CALLED me,” Kel said the following day at end of their long school day. They headed
for the parking lot behind the gym.
They were the most unusual looking triplets. She and her sister were physically identical, while Kel was the total opposite. Where they were short, he was tall. They were curvy, he was muscled. The girls had their mother’s lighter skin tone, and he had his father’s bronzed.
“Oh! I know. Was it that TV show to let you know you are NOT the father?” She laughed.
“No, smartass. Kass.” He hugged her to his side and planted a kiss on her head.
Oh. Not the news she’d hoped for. “What did she want?”
Their sister had stayed away from them for years. She’d chosen to live with their mother and follow in her footsteps. Only Kass had a much meaner personality than their mother. And with the way Karla had felt lately, she’d likely tell Kass off than try to get along.
“Said she was headed this way and would come visit.”
Karla stopped at the entrance to the gym and turned to her brother. “You’re messing with me, right?”
He grimaced. “I wish I were. She said she misses us and wants to spend time with you.”
“Me? What the hell did I ever do to deserve that kind of punishment?” She groaned and yanked the door to the gym open.
Her question went unanswered when they saw Ellie, Jordan, and one of the Wolfe pack enforcers in the center of the gym, fighting.
“What’s going on here?” She yelled, rushing toward her friends.
Ellie had the enforcer in a headlock, while Jordan was twisting his leg in a weird direction.
“Hey, Karla!” Jordan grinned and blew a strand of hair away from her very flushed face.
“Um, hi?” She pointed at the guy. “What are you doing?”
“We’re training,” Ellie answered before letting the poor man go. “Thanks, Mike! We’re good for today.”
The enforcer nodded and rushed out of the back door. “I’m running late for my shift, Ellie. I’ll see you ladies next week.”
Karla moved closer to the yoga-geared women. “Is a zombie apocalypse happening that I’m not aware of?”
The roar of Mike’s bike sounded outside as he left the parking lot.
Ellie laughed, tossing a towel at Jordan along with a water bottle. “Nope. We decided we need to be better equipped to deal with more attacks, should they come.”
Kel nodded. “Makes sense. I’d love to take some of those trainings too.”
Jordan practically bounced on her feet and did a karate chop. “You should! It’s really fun, and we’re learning lots of new moves.”
“I’m not getting taken down that easily again.” Ellie’s eyes flashed with anger. She’d taken a massive beating along with Jordan a few weeks back. Karla had felt bad seeing Ellie angry. It hurt all of them when one of them was injured. And Jordan had suffered enough in her life. She didn’t deserve any more pain.
“You know,” Kel turned to Karla, “you should take a couple of these self-defense classes too. I mean falling on your ass would be normal for you anyway.” He grinned.
“Are you PMSing, Kel?” She struck her tongue out at him.
Ellie and Jordan shook their heads at his suggestion. Jordan glanced down at Karla’s belly. “Our Karla is a lover, not a fighter.”
Karla growled. “Is everyone out to tick me off today?”
Ellie grabbed her school bag, and they all headed outside. “Never you, darling. You’re just too quiet sometimes. We like to see a reaction.”
Karla smacked Ellie on her ass, making her friend gasp. “There’s your reaction.”
“I don’t know if I should be watching this,” Kel mumbled. “But what the hell? Don’t mind me.”
“Men,” they all said at the same time. Jordan’s car was closest. She unlocked the doors as they closed the distance toward Jordan’s car.
A forest green van passed in front of them. Three men, growling and half-shifted jumped out of the van and then the van sped off. Kel, Jordan, and Ellie were ahead of Karla when everything went crazy.
“KAR, STAY BACK!” Ellie shouted and met one of the men head on. She shifted to her black and white wolf, pushing the man with her paws on his chest. He landed on his back with a loud, hair-raising growl.
Jordan was grabbed by one of the men around her waist from behind. That lasted all of a second. She stomped on his foot and yanked back one of his fingers until it broke. The sound of cracking bone filled the air along with the man’s angry cry. Jordan turned the moment he released her. She swung hard and drew her claws deep into the man’s face. His long blond hair swung in a halo around him as he tried to pull his face away. He released a loud, angry growl and fully changed into a large gray wolf. Jordan shifted too.
Karla couldn’t believe how fast everything was moving. Her breaths tripped over each other in her chest. Nerves turned her fingers ice cold. She tried to keep it together, but fear wormed its way into her chest so fast it left her panting. Her brother fought the third man, but Kel wasn’t a shifter.
The big half-wolf shoved her brother hard, slamming him against Ellie’s car with a loud thump and the angry sound of shattering glass. She dug her hand into her cross-body bag, searching for a weapon. There. Mace. She glanced up, and the shifter ran for her. She wasn’t a fighter, but she was ready. Well, as ready as she could be. She squeezed the mace Emma and Jordan harassed her into carrying around and sprayed the guy in the eyes. He jumped back, but it was too late. The liquid hit the mark. He growled and rubbed his eyes. Tears streamed down his face. His nose ran, and his face was twisted in pain. His reaction gave Kel enough time to rush the shifter and tackled him to the ground.
Ellie and Jordan, along with the gray wolves they fought, were biting and scratching each other. All the wolves sported bites and claw marks. There was blood on all their coats, and Karla started to panic. From what she saw, both Ellie and Jordan had deep gashes over their torsos and on their muzzles. She had to do something to help, but what? She’d have to get in the thick of the fighting to spray the other animals and risk injury in the process. Not ideal, considering she’d be putting her child in harm’s way. Plus, she really didn’t know how to fight. She’d probably do more damage rushing in.
The gray wolf fighting Jordan bit down on one of Jordan’s hind legs, and she howled in pain. That did it. She couldn’t let her friend suffer.
“Get out of here and stay safe!” Kel ordered.
Like hell. She might not be a violent person, but she wasn’t a punk either. She couldn’t leave her friends out there, fighting alone. She yanked out her cell phone and dialed 9-1-1.
“9-1-1. What is your emergency?”
“Some teachers are being attacked at the back of our school by shifters. We need help. Now!”
“Calm down, ma’am. Please give me the address to your school.”
Karla gave the school address on her run to Jordan’s car.
“I need you to repeat the address, ma’am.” The operator’s voice cut in and out.
She rushed the words out and yanked Jordan’s door open.
“Ma’am? Please repeat—”
The line went dead. She glanced at her cell phone. Her battery had died.
“Frickin’ hell!” For a non-violent person she was ready to beat the crap out of the phone.
With the press of a button, she popped the trunk and ran for the back of the car. If she knew one thing, it was that Jordan loved to carry around weapons to defend herself. After all the attacks on Jordan’s life, Karla could certainly understand. But Karla came from a non-violent family. A screwed up, but non-violent family.
Sure enough, there was a double-barrel shotgun in there. She was a decent shot, but with handguns and only because Emma and Jordan considered going to the shooting range female bonding time. She had no idea how well she’d do with a shot gun. But there was no time to think about it. She shoved some shells into the shot gun and picked up the loaded weapon. With a quickness she’d never thought she possessed, she pointed it at the shifter slashing gashes at her brother. P
oor Kel tried to throw punches in there, but the other guy was big and strong. Not to mention he had claws.
Aim. Fire. Land on your ass. The kickback from the shotgun wasn’t one she was used to, and sure enough, she landed on her ass from the force of the shot. But her efforts didn’t go to waste. She hit the shifter on his shoulder. The sound drew the attention of the other two, and she scrambled to her knees to aim the shotgun one more time. There wasn’t a chance to shoot. The two wolves and half-shifted man took off just as quickly as they’d attacked.
She ran for her brother. He sat up with a groan. Multiple deep gashes covered his chest and bloodied his torn clothing.
“Oh my God, Kel! Are you okay?” A loud sob choked the back of her throat. Tears ran down her face, blurring her vision. Great time for her hormones to show up.
“I’m fine. A little bruised and scratched is all.” He struggled to his feet and leaned on Ellie’s car.
She didn’t believe him for a second. The amount of blood spoke of deep cuts. She couldn’t even see clearly through his torn clothing, but knew he had to be hurting.
She rushed back to Jordan’s car and grabbed a couple of blankets and her “Furry Ass Repair Tote” also known as FART. Knowing it was possible to shift at any given time, they all carried some blankets around to cover up if they tore through their clothes. Though Ellie and Jordan are cut up, they aren’t groaning in pain, which tells her they might just be superficial wounds. Nor were they heavily bleeding any longer. Crouching down, she covered Ellie and then Jordan. That allowed the women to shift back to their human bodies. If only they’d had Mike stick around after the class. He’d have been able to help. Those few minutes meant her brother was wounded all over.
Her gaze focused on Kel’s cell on the floor next to him. He must’ve dropped it during the fight with the shifter. With a red battery light ready to give out, she took no chances with 9-1-1 and dialed Nate instead.
“Hey, beautiful.” His smooth voice calmed the near frantic beating of her heart and pushed back the bile burning the back of her throat.