by Becca Van
“You know I did.” Fin shifted in his seat. “How the hell are we going to get her to agree to mate with us?”
“We do what all the other members of the stealth did and take it one day at a time.”
“I’m not sure I can last one day, let alone longer.” Fin shoved to his feet and stalked toward the fridge, grabbed two more beers and then brought them back to the table.
“You have to,” Cal said emphatically. “This is the most important ‘game’ of our lives and if we want to win, we have to take things slowly.”
“What do we do if she refuses us?” Fin rubbed a hand over his chest right over his heart.
“Then we go see Ward and Serge once she’s gone.” Sadness permeated Cal to his heart and soul. He didn’t want to die, but if Pepper rejected them, they would end up mindless ravaging beasts. The last thing he wanted to do was put the members of the stealth or the people of Savoonga in danger. If that meant asking Ward and Serge to prepare a lethal injection so he and Fin could end their own lives, so be it.
* * * *
Pepper swallowed down the sob welling in her chest and ground her teeth as she willed the tears burning her eyes away. She hated feeling so emotional. She wasn’t like this in the least. Usually she was emotionless and analytical, but right now, her stomach was churning with a large knot of anxiety and her heart felt as if there were a fist wrapped around it trying to squeeze the life out of her.
She hadn’t meant to go outside or cause herself harm, but after everything she had been told, she’d felt more than a little hysterical. Being inside, surrounded by those four walls had been claustrophobic, and she hadn’t been able to breathe. Add in the simmering fire that had started in the pit of her belly, which was another paradox she’d never felt before, and she’d just had to cool off.
A high-pitched laugh escaped her parted lips, but she quickly quelled her roiling emotions. She didn’t want Cal or Fin hearing her hysterics. She didn’t want them coming into the bathroom and stirring up the lust now that it had lowered to embers. When she’d been left standing alone in the living room, she’d felt as if her feet were slowly sinking into the floor, like she had the weight of the world on her shoulders. And she had been scared. No, she’d been downright terrified that once the floor opened up and trapped her, that was where she would remain until she’d died. She rolled her forehead on the tiles with a groan. Even she realized how fucked up that sounded. She’d always thought she was one of the sane, normal people. Looked like she’d been wrong. She chuckled and wondered what made something normal. Other people’s normal were nowhere near hers. Everyone was different, which she supposed what made life exciting.
She’d never had exciting in her life before. Well, not until laying eyes on Cal and Fin. They were the first men to make her heart go pitter-patter and cause her body to light up with desire. However, that wasn’t all she felt when she was around them. There was something so familiar about them. She felt like she’d met them before. There was a connection between the three of them, and no matter how hard she tried to ignore, to deny it, she couldn’t. Nonetheless, she would never admit it to them. They were alpha males and had big enough egos as it was.
She paused over that. Was it ego, or was she confusing that with confidence? So far, they’d been nothing but honest with her. An egotistical asshole wouldn’t be so upfront. Would they? She gave a mental shrug.
She closed her eyes, and when the image of Fin’s tall, hard, naked body flashed front and center, she thudded her forehead against the tile wall. Then did it again and again. This was getting her nowhere except hot and bothered. She ruthlessly shoved the image of his muscular body and long, thick, hard cock from her mind and back onto something that always calmed her.
Work.
Work was her sanity, a calming influence since she had all the control. Yet she wasn’t even sure about that anymore. She needed to get her hands on her laptop, which was still on her plane, and once she was hooked up to the internet, she was going to investigate her boss. Pepper had a feeling something nefarious was in the works, especially after sighting that evil-looking guy near her aircraft. As soon as this blizzard died down, she was going to remove every single panel in the cabin, search every little nook and cranny because she had a dreadful feeling she’d just carried something highly illegal to St. Lawrence Island.
But what, was the important question.
She shook her head as she pictured Cal and Fin doing something against the law, but she couldn’t see it. Maybe one of their friends were criminals, but again, her intuitive instincts told her she was on the wrong track.
Whatever was going on, someone in Savoonga had to know. It was just a matter of finding out who.
Pepper stripped her soaked clothes from her body and quickly washed. She turned off the shower, grabbed a clean towel from the vanity, and dried off before wrapping it around her nakedness. She glanced at her clothes on the floor of the shower and then turned toward the bedroom. After rummaging through the dresser, she found boxers, sweat pants, T-shirts, and sweaters. The pants were way too long and big, but thankfully they had a drawstring she was able to pull tight enough to keep them from falling off her hips. The long-sleeve T-shirt was huge, the hem falling to her knees, and she had to fold the sleeves over and over until her hands were visible. She eyed the sweater, and while she knew it would be uncomfortable to wear over the bulky shirt sleeves, she needed it to keep warm. The house was centrally heated but still way too cool for her liking. However, now that she knew that Cal, Fin, and their friends were shifters, a mix of a saber-toothed tiger and a polar bear, she figured they wouldn’t feel the cold as much as she did.
Another search through drawers and she found some thick wooly socks, which she put on, biting her tongue when her ankle hurt, and then she headed back to the bathroom to dry her hair. She’d thought of cutting it short so she wouldn’t have to spend so much time drying or braiding it to keep off her face, but that was the only feminine vanity she had. When she’d been in the orphanage, the nuns hadn’t had the time to deal with all the girls’ hair, so they kept it short with regular trims.
Although foster care had been difficult, at least she’d had the freedom to make personal decisions and the first had been to let her hair grow out. She still got it trimmed twice a year, but she liked having it long enough to reach her ass, even if it took time to keep it neat and tidy.
She picked up and wrung out her soaked clothes and hung them over the shower to dry. When she glanced at the spa bath and saw that it was still full of water, she shoved a sleeve up, bent, and dipped her hand in to pull the plug. When she noticed she was drying her arm over and over and that it was as dry as it was going to get, she realized she was stalling. She didn’t want to go out there and face them, not after her stupid, emotionally driven actions that led her outside, but she knew she couldn’t hide from them forever.
Pepper shored up her defenses, shoved her shoulders back, lifted her head, and exited to the bedroom. Even while her heart was racing and her body was still tingling with heat, none of that would show on her face. She was an expert at keeping her thoughts and emotions hidden.
When she reached the entrance to the kitchen, a shiver traversed her spine, causing her to shudder. She inhaled deeply, exhaled slowly, and entered the room.
Cal and Fin were sitting at the kitchen table sipping on bottles of beer. They turned their gazes toward her as she limped toward them.
“You shouldn’t be on that foot.” Cal shoved his chair back, raced toward her, and before she could blink, scooped her up into his arms.
“Put me down!” She scowled up at him, defensive over the way her heart flipped at his masculine strength and the way her body heated up as his warmth and scent seeped into and assailed her.
“No.”
“Of all the arrogant, bossy, overbearing…asshole.”
Cal kicked a chair away from the table and gently lowered her onto the seat. Her ankle was sore and throbbing, but she’d never let a litt
le pain stop her from doing anything.
“I need to get to my plane,” Pepper stated as Cal resumed his seat.
“Why?” Fin frowned.
“I need my laptop.”
“And?” Cal quirked an eyebrow.
Pepper scowled and wondered if they could see her concerns regarding this flight. She didn’t see how and decided to ignore the butterflies in her belly.
“And what? I need to contact my boss to let him know I’m stuck.”
“He should already realize that,” Fin said. “He’s probably been watching the weather on the radar.”
She wasn’t so sure about that. Her boss was a cold, domineering bastard and didn’t seem to give a shit about any of his employees. The only reason he kept tabs on them was to make sure all the pilots delivered their cargo and passengers without any hitch.
She grimaced when she remembered the tantrum he’d thrown when Jarvis had taken medical leave and vacation time. Anyone would have thought the world had ended by the way he’d carried on. He’d even offered Jarvis extra money to continue flying his route, which didn’t make a lick of sense to her when he would know very well an incapacitated pilot was dangerous.
“Pepper, are you okay, baby?” Cal asked as he reached out and covered the hand she had resting on the table. She gulped and nodded as she pulled her hand out from under his. Even though he was no longer touching her, tingles were still racing up and down her arm and warming her chest. She actually felt her breasts swell and her areolae ruche as her nipples hardened. Thank fuck she had two layers covering her upper half. Hopefully they were thick enough to conceal her reaction.
She nodded. “How often does Jarvis deliver goods to the island?”
“Every week,” Fin answered.
“What sort of things does he deliver?”
“Food, clothes, building supplies. Anything we order online. Why?” Cal asked.
Pepper shrugged. “Other than the plane crash, has anything strange happened?”
“Like what?” Fin sat up straighter in his chair and gazed intently into her eyes.
“I’m not sure, really. Has there ever been anything in your stuff that you hadn’t ordered?”
“No,” Cal answered.
“Are you sure?”
“Positive.” He scowled at her as if offended by her questioning.
“What aren’t you saying, sweetness?” Fin rested his elbows on the table.
“Never mind.” She waved her hand in the air. “Is there any way I can get my laptop?”
“I’ll get it for you.” Fin rose.
“Will the weather affect you?” Pepper glanced toward the dark dining room window and although she could still hear the howling gale force winds, she couldn’t see out the glass since it was frosted over and no doubt had snow piled up high against it.
“I’m—”
“On second thought, have you got a computer I can use?” She didn’t want Fin going outside into blizzard conditions, even if he could shift into a sabear. The thought of him freezing to death caused her heart to ache and her breath to hitch. For some odd reason, she didn’t want him or Cal out of her sight.
“I can get your laptop.”
Pepper shook her head. “Do you have a computer?”
“In the office,” Cal said as he stood.
She was about to rise, as well, but Fin raced around the table and lifted her into his arms. Her first instincts were to protest, again, but she bit her lip and held it back, because her ankle was throbbing like a bitch. Plus, each time Cal or Fin touched her, her body liked it. With every passing minute, the yearning hunger to be close to them, to have them touching her, kissing her, grew stronger and stronger, and while she knew she was getting in too deep, she just couldn’t seem to resist that deep burning hunger simmering in her lower belly.
“Thanks,” she murmured when Fin set her down on a padded office chair behind a large desk. She glanced about the room, taking in the masculine décor. The room and tones fit them, and she could imagine them sitting at their desks as they did paperwork. When she realized where her thoughts were going to, she shoved them aside. She wasn’t the type of woman to dream about hearth and home, and there was no way in hell she was starting to imagine such things now. She was independent and relied only upon herself and wouldn’t be changing anytime soon. Yet deep down in her subconscious, she knew that she was lying to herself.
The thought of staying and mating with Cal and Fin was a deep primal hunger that was quickly taking over, and she wasn’t sure how much longer she could resist them.
Chapter Eight
Fin pretended to work at his desk across from Pepper, and though he was staring at his computer screen, he was watching his mate from the corner of his eye. He didn’t have to be a genius to figure out Cal was doing the same. His best friend had grabbed a stack of files from his desk and then sat on the sofa just inside the entrance to the office. From the way Cal was flipping through the pages, his mind wasn’t on the job either.
What had his gut in knots, though, was the worried frown marring Pepper’s gorgeous face. She was gnawing on her lip in concentration as she stared at the bright monitor.
“What are you looking for?” Cal set the files aside, got up from the sofa and then walked around to stand behind her.
“I’m searching through all of Jarvis’s manifests.”
Cal grabbed a spare chair and carried it back toward Pepper. He placed the seat next to hers and sat down. “Why?”
“There’s something…I’ve got a hunch.”
Fin didn’t like the sound of that. He stood and moved across until he was standing behind Pepper. The urge to rest his hands on his shoulders was strong, but he ignored it.
“Talk to us, baby.” Cal stroked a hand over her head and hair.
Pepper obviously liked his touch because she shivered and the scent of her arousal grew.
“Something’s not right.” She sighed and turned her gaze toward Cal’s. “There was a strange man lurking near my plane this morning. No one is allowed access to the hangars or any part of the aircraft unless they’re a boarding passenger or maintenance crew.”
“What makes you think there’s something going on? Did you see him do something?” Fin asked, giving into the urge to touch her. He clasped her shoulders and began to knead and massage the rock-hard knots under her skin. She moaned and leaned back toward him, settling deeper into the seat.
“Just a feeling. You have to admit it’s rather suspicious after my landing gear failed.”
“You’re right.” Cal nodded and clasped her hand in his.
Pepper looked down when Cal threaded his fingers with hers, but again she didn’t protest. Did this mean that they were making progress with their mate? Was she getting used to them? Becoming more comfortable with them?
God, I hope so!
The sweet musky aroma of her arousal grew increasingly stronger, and when Fin leaned over her so he could see her beautiful brown eyes, he couldn’t help the rumbling growl forming in his chest from escaping. Her gaze was hazed over with heat. His sabear butted his head into his guts, trying to escape, but Fin pushed him down hard until his animal was sitting on its haunches.
“I want to look over my plane,” Pepper stated breathlessly.
“And we’ll help you, but you aren’t going outside until this blizzard is over,” Fin stated emphatically.
“But what if—”
Cal cut her off. “No what if’s, baby. We aren’t about to let you out in the freezing cold again. You’ve already experienced a slight case of hypothermia, and that was only after a few minutes.”
“I could borrow some gear from the other women.”
“Not happening, Pepper.” Fin bent until his cheek was resting against hers. He dragged air in through his nose and immediately wished he hadn’t. When her amazing, delectable scent hit his senses, the mating heat surged into his blood faster and harder than ever before. Not that it had dissipated any. It had been constantly
simmering in his gut since the first time he’d seen Pepper, but now it felt as if his blood was boiling.
His cock was so fucking hard he was leaking pre-cum. His balls were tight and so heavy they felt as if they’d turned to stones. His skin was itching as if he was about to sprout fur, and his gums were aching, too. But that wasn’t the worst of it. No, the worst was the blazing, painful hunger that was twisting his guts into knots.
When Fin felt his canines punch through his gums, he knew he was in trouble. He forced himself to straighten and take a step back from his mate. He glanced at Cal and then back at Pepper. Her gasp made him realize that his struggle with his sabear was obviously visible in his eyes, which had to be lit up brighter than a Christmas tree. He sucked in a ragged breath, stumbled out from behind her and Cal, and raced toward the door.
He didn’t make it.
* * * *
Pepper gaped at Fin as fur sprouted over his arms and his face began to change. His whole body shimmered as if he was underwater but worse. She couldn’t see the outline of his body at all. As she stared, a bright, white light flashed before her eyes, causing her to blink to get the spots in front of her vision away. When she could see again, a huge white polar bear with three gray stripes starting at its spine and curving down his sides stood where Fin had been. She realized after a few moments that her lungs were burning from lack of oxygen, so she exhaled before gulping in a deep breath. Her gaze wandered over the massive animal, but instead of being afraid, she was in awe. His canines were about four or five inches long and curved like the saber sword that part of his anatomy mimicked. She couldn’t stop her eyes from wandering from the top of his head down to the end of his back and over his legs. The black talons were thick, curved, and a few inches long.
“Fin, change back,” Cal ordered.
The sabear chuffed as it swayed its head from side to side. Pepper didn’t know if that was his way of denying Cal’s order or if it was just an animal instinct. When the polar bear mix took a step in her direction, the breath froze in her lungs again, but again, not from fear. She was astonished over how beautiful Fin’s inner beast was, and though she wanted to move closer so she could touch him, she didn’t want to startle the animal. She didn’t want him to think she was being aggressive and incite him into anger.