by Alicia White
Every picture contained Cole and Charlie. They spent hours upon hours satisfying her until she passed out, only to wake up again with aching need. They took her separately and together until she had too many orgasms to count. Damn, I actually begged and pleaded for more. Emily groaned before she threw the blankets back and climbed out of bed, making a beeline for the bathroom.
She skidded to a stop in front of the mirror, tripping over the rug in the process. Staring at her reflection in the mirror, she couldn’t believe all of the bite marks that covered her body. She leaned closer and stared at them. It seemed as though those two lost control repeatedly. Fuck, they marked my whole body. Stepping back, she looked down and wanted to scream. Emily spun around to check out her ass. Yup, one of them actually bit my ass.
“Fuck, Charlie, you asshole,” she whispered out loud.
“Actually, it was Cole.” She jerked her head up and stared at Charlie as he leaned against the door-frame. “Don’t be too mad. He got a little out of control with all the beggin’.”
Gritting her teeth, Emily tried to stop herself from screaming. He was trying to goad her, trying to make that heat build inside her once more. She knew that. The heat hummed through her body still, trying to take over, but she pushed it back and fought an internal battle with her bear.
“We’ve got to check in with our Alpha, unless of course, you still need us to service you.” Charlie grinned wickedly.
Ignoring him, Emily started the shower and climbed under the water. She yelped when the cold water hit her heated skin and gruff laughter echoed around the bathroom. Grabbing the soap, she lathered up and did her best to rinse away their scent. Even after washing multiple times, she could still smell them both all over her body, and she shivered for an entirely different reason now.
Once out of the shower and dressed, Emily walked out of the bedroom. She knew that the men weren’t home, and the silence was deafening. Walking around, she went into the kitchen and could still smell the passion from their encounter. Lust and sex hung in the air like fog. Emily shook her head and headed outside, she needed to clear her mind.
The front door slammed behind her, and the cool air filled her lungs. One of the trucks was gone, and she assumed that both Cole and Charlie had left. She shrugged, pretending that it didn’t bother her. She didn’t want to feel anything for them, but it was hard not to when every instinct inside of her screamed to be with them. She wasn’t even sure what day it was. That heat had been the absolute worst she’d ever experienced.
Actually, that heat had been the best. She had experienced so many intense orgasms that she couldn’t even pretend to be disappointed. Both men gave her exactly what she needed, desired, and demanded for days until the worst of it wore off. Shaking her head, she tried to stop the images from flashing inside her mind. Her body still felt sensitive, and even the lightweight jacket rubbing against her skin sent little bolts of pleasure through her system. Maybe there might be an adult store in town? That thought cheered her a bit.
Emily stepped down off the patio and walked down the driveway. She wouldn’t be the little woman that sat at home and waited for them to arrive. She wanted to check out North Ridge and see what it had to offer. She also needed to check in with Tommy and make sure he was doing okay. She kicked a few small pebbles as she soaked in the sunrays and ignored the chill in the air.
Doubts began to enter her mind, making each step more difficult. She started thinking of the past and the wolf that had broken her heart many years ago. There were still so many questions that had gone unanswered. I’m a bear and they’re wolves…can this really work? Do they really want me for me or is it only fate? Is it even possible to have children? If so…would they be cubs or pups? What if the wolf pack as a whole doesn’t accept me? Will I be considered an outsider? Oh, God…maybe this was all a bad idea.
Emily tried to keep her panic to a minimum. The unknown was always difficult. Living, working, and playing within one’s own community, that was easy. Leaving home and starting over, that was a bit more difficult. Taking deep, cleansing breaths, Emily pushed her fears out of her mind. She didn’t have the answers yet, so it was pointless to dwell.
* * * *
Cole knocked on the door and waited for his Alpha to answer. It had been a couple of days since they had returned to North Ridge. He had planned to check in sooner, but Emily demanded satisfaction, and as her mate, he needed to fulfill all her needs. He wasn’t complaining. She had surpassed his wildest dreams. Fate had chosen correctly when Emily was picked for them.
Unfortunately, now that the intense heat had passed, he didn’t believe that Emily would welcome them again. Would he have to wait until next month? Would she only admit to wanting and needing them when the bear took over? The animal in her recognized them as her mates, but the woman…she was resistant. We claimed and marked her, but she didn’t sink her teeth into either of us.
He’d been prepared to put the brakes on, but watching Charlie fuck, mark, and claim Emily had pushed him over the edge. His wolf wouldn’t allow him to be the gentleman and wait. It was time for a new plan of action, and he hoped that Charlie would get on board and listen to reason. He didn’t want his mate a few days a month when she couldn’t say no because her need was too intense. Nope, he wanted forever. Even now, he wondered if they had gotten her pregnant. What would their cubs be? Would they be half-breeds, part wolf and part bear? Feeling panicked, Cole closed his eyes. Oh crap, I didn’t even think about that.
“Cole? Cole!” Blinking open his eyes, he looked at his Alpha, Gabe Wolff. “Are you all right, man? You don’t look so good.”
“Emily…we claimed her.” He could hear the panic in his own voice.
“I’d say congratulations, but you don’t look that happy.”
“She’s a bear. We’re wolves. She could be pregnant right now. Wait…can she get pregnant? What if our cubs aren’t accepted? We haven’t even introduced her to the pack. What if the pack doesn’t welcome her? Will she feel like an outsider forever? Oh, God, should we have stayed with her clan?” All the questions in his mind seemed to roll out at once, and before he knew it, he was pacing back and forth in front of the door, talking out loud.
He had never felt so unsure of himself or a situation in his life. Emily. Pictures of her flashed through his mind, and he started to see things from her point of view. It made sense now, all of her fears and that fact that she didn’t want to come to North Ridge. Wait. He stopped himself. Why am I having these thoughts? Are these even my thoughts or do they belong to Emily?
“What!” Charlie pushed Cole to the side and stepped into the Alpha’s home. “Ignore him, Alpha. We’re here to report.”
“Cole.” He jerked his head up and again met their Alpha’s eyes. “She’s your mate. Fate chose a bear shifter for you and Charlie. I’m sure this isn’t the first time that different shifter species have mated. It’ll be fine. Come inside, and we can talk in my office.”
Nodding, Cole didn’t say a word. Instead, he stepped inside his Alpha’s home and followed him down the hallway, toward his office. He needed to give the report on David and then he planned to head home and talk with Emily. The thoughts running through his mind had to belong to her. That’s the only thing that made any sense. He hadn’t been worried, not one bit until now. The only thing that changed was the fact that he and Charlie had marked and claimed her. Pushing any negative thoughts out of his mind, Cole focused on the moment.
“Take a seat and tell me what happened with David. The bear Alpha, Adam Novikov, filled me in, but I want to hear your story.” Gabe gestured to the two chairs in front of his large wooden desk before taking his own seat.
“We stayed on David’s trail, following him to Alaska. We were close, but not fast enough. He’d already taken the bear’s mate, Emma, when we found him in bear territory. He was planning to kill her. The bears attacked David and killed him.” Cole gave him the facts, wanting to quickly get this conversation done with.
&nbs
p; “Do you think that David really planned on killing her?” Gabe’s voice was calm.
Did their Alpha really think that David wanted to live without his mate? Cole wouldn’t be able to survive without Emily. That thought caught him by surprise, and Cole realized in that moment how deep his feelings really were for her.
“Yeah. He had a knife to her throat and openly admitted that he was going to kill her and die in the process, so he could be with his mate. He knew it was a suicide mission. We tried to get to him in time, but failed.” Charlie finished for him.
“You didn’t fail. He wouldn’t have lasted long here with the pack. He would’ve gone rogue at some point, and we would’ve had to put him down ourselves,” Gabe said, leaning back in his chair.
“That’s true. We can’t live long without our mates.” Josh added as he walked into the office and stood next to his brother. “I wouldn’t want to live if anything happened to our Nicole.”
“Yeah.” That’s the only thing Cole could say.
His mind was focused on Emily, and he wanted to get back to her. Maybe if he could talk to her, they would be able to put her fears behind them. She was everything to him, to them. Didn’t she realize that yet? Didn’t she know that mates were forever? Do shifters get headaches? Cole shoved his fingers through his hair and rubbed his temples. This shouldn’t be this stressful.
“The annual run is coming up. The other packs are going to be coming to our territory within the next week or two. We need to make sure that there is plenty of food on hand, all the guest houses and cabins are fully stocked, and the events are planned so that everything flows perfectly. Addison and Nicole have been going to each house to make sure that everything is in order. They’ve made a list of different things that need your attention. I’m going to reassign some of the other projects though. You two should probably spend some quality time with your mate.”
“Thank you. I appreciate that.” Cole relaxed a bit, relieved that some of their responsibilities could be given to someone else.
“Why don’t you both head on home and figure things out with Emily,” Josh suggested.
Cole got up, heading out of the office. He didn’t need to be told twice. He wanted to get to Emily.
* * * *
Emily made it to town after a really long walk. Jeez…had the house been this far away from town? It hadn’t felt like it when they were driving in the truck. It would’ve been a hell of a lot easier to shift and run through the woods, but showing up naked in town wouldn’t be a good idea. Oh well, she’d finally made it. Cracking her neck, she stretched before making her way down Main Street.
She looked into the windows of each store, making a mental note of where she wanted to shop. A few people walked past her and craned their necks, staring. Pulling her thin jacket tighter, Emily looked at her reflection in one of the windows nearby, wondering what they were looking at. She brushed her fingers through her hair and wiped her face, hoping that she looked okay. Shrugging, she kept strolling down the road until she noticed a grocery store and decided to go inside. She needed a few items and hoped that, like most stores, they would have a small personal massager she could purchase.
Feeling giddy, she opened the door. A small bell tinkled, alerting her presence, and she grinned toward the woman standing behind the counter. She nodded back in response, and Emily headed toward the aisle that shelved various toiletries. She searched for the massager, skimming her eyes up and down each shelf. Tampons, Kotex, condoms, lubricant…there it is! Emily grabbed the massager and did a little happy dance right there in the aisle.
“What are you doing?” Emily jerked her head over and stared at her brother, Thomas. His eyebrow rose, and he leaned against the aisle, crossing his arms over his chest. This is awkward.
“Nothing…I just found what I was looking for. That’s all.” Emily immediately put her hands behind her back, hiding the prize she’d found.
“Sure.” He arched a brow. “Do your mates know you’re here?”
“Of course. They both went to see their Alpha, so I came here.” She shrugged nonchalantly.
“Looks like they claimed you.” His eyes focused on her throat, and Emily moved her shoulders, trying to cover their marks without revealing her new toy.
“Well, I’m gonna head out.” Emily palmed her toy, trying to hide it before walking past him.
When she got closer, she pushed it into her pocket for safe-keeping. She needed him to leave the store before she could make her purchase. There was no way in hell she was going to let Thomas in on her little secret. That would be too damn embarrassing. When they reached the checkout counter, she looked at the magazines and grabbed one, thumbing through it.
“Do you want me to take you back to your mates? My car is right outside.”
“Nope. I’d prefer to walk. You can head on out.”
“Naw…I think I’ll hang out a bit.” Thomas’s voice sounded distant and Emily looked up from her magazine.
Emily followed his line of vision and noticed that he was checking out the woman behind the cash register. She seemed to be watching them just as intently as Thomas was. Looking back at her brother, Emily wondered what thoughts were running through his mind. She’d never seen her brother act this way before. His body was tight and he looked ready to pounce. Huh? That’s interesting. Is it pent-up sexual frustration or did Thomas just find his mate? She wanted to laugh, but resisted.
A tap on her shoulder got her attention and Emily spun around and came face to face with an older gentleman. She sniffed and knew right away that he was a wolf. Instinctually, she took a step back, needing some space, but the man followed her, putting her on edge.
“What can I do for you?” Emily asked, stepping back once more. What the hell? Had this man never heard of personal space?
“You’re a thief. Do you know what we do to bears who steal from our pack?” He spit, crowding her, and Emily could barely think.
She was in shock. Who the hell was this guy accusing her of stealing? She hadn’t done a damn thing. She would’ve pushed him back, would’ve defended herself, but before she could utter a single word, Thomas stepped in.
“You better watch how you talk to my sister. We’re both welcome here. She didn’t steal anything.” Thomas growled and Emily stepped back further, only stopping when the magazine rack was against her back.
All of her fears came rushing back in that moment. She had almost forgotten that she was a bear mated to two wolves. She’d almost been happy to start over in North Ridge. That was before this horrid man got in her face and accused her of a crime. Before he sneered the word bear, she’d been just a woman. Now, she just wanted to get the hell out of this place and back to where she felt safe and secure. Fuck, I shouldn’t have let my guard down.
“I saw her put something in her pocket! She’s a thief! All you damn bears have sticky paws.” He growled at her, pushing against Thomas and trying to get to her.
In that moment it dawned on her. She had slipped the small personal massager in her pocket. Not to steal it, but to hide it from her brother. She didn’t want him to see what she was purchasing. Closing her eyes, she wished that a giant hole would open up now. Crap, this is bad. She just knew that this whole situation was going to become a whole lot worse.
“Don’t accuse my sister of anything.” Thomas pushed the man back, using only a small portion of the force he held within himself. “I don’t particularly like the way you say bears either. It’s wolves like you that give shifters a bad name. Cole and Charlie Ward are her mates. We’re welcome here.”
“Let me search her. I’ll prove it!” The wolf tried to move around Thomas.
“You won’t touch her!” Cole yelled as he charged into the store, Charlie closely following. “What the hell is wrong with you, Ben? I can’t believe you’re treating my mate with such obvious disrespect.”
“She stole from our pack. I saw her put something in her pocket,” Ben said, pointing an accusatory finger at her.
Emily bit her lip. Yep, she’d been right. Things definitely did get worse. It was nice to have her mates rush in to rescue her, but she really wished that they hadn’t. The small massager in her pocket felt heavy now. The men seemed to go back and forth arguing while Emily stood frozen. She wasn’t sure what to do at this point. Would her men believe her story? Would she be viewed as a thief, even though that hadn’t been her intention?
“Emily.” Her head jerked up and she stared into Cole’s eyes. “I’m so sorry that I have to ask you to do this.” He shoved his fingers through his thick mass of hair, looking frustrated. “Would you please just empty your pockets so we can get the hell out of here?”
Leaning into him, she placed her mouth by his ear, not wanting everyone to hear what she had to say. “I did put something in my pocket.” The muscles in his body flexed and he stood rigid. “I wasn’t going to steal anything. It’s just…Thomas scared me and I panicked. I didn’t want him to see what I was buying.”
Cole didn’t say anything. She stood in front of him, biting her lip and feeling sick to her stomach. She stared into his beautiful brown eyes, hoping he would see the truth. Before, he had looked at her with such love and adoration. Now, he looked bleak. No emotion showed at all and Emily could feel his disappointment. That realization cut deeper than she would ever admit.
“Yeah…right,” he grumbled, arching his brow.
Steeling herself, Emily grabbed the massager out of her pocket and threw it in his face before storming out of the store. With each step, her heart broke a bit more, but she didn’t stop, she couldn’t.
When she was beyond town and the tree line, she quickly stripped out of her clothes and shifted. She started to run, letting the bear take over. She no longer wanted to think or feel. Those few moments in the grocery store, the look in Cole’s eyes had fractured her heart. The pain was almost unbearable. She ran and ran until she was out of breath, and even then, she kept moving, trying to get as far away from North Ridge and her mates as possible. She wanted to run all the way back to her home in Alaska.