by Liza Street
Quarterly dues, to keep the pride “healthy,” as Marlana said. He’d had to start paying them as soon as he turned eighteen. The money went toward Guardian wages and upkeep on the estate and whatever else Marlana wanted to spend it on. At least he could pay it all at once this quarter. When he’d first opened the deli, he’d had to take out extra loans just to pay Marlana. “As soon as the lockdown is over, I’ll withdraw it from the bank.”
“Good boy.” She patted his cheek again and he suppressed a snarl.
*
Everyone assembled in the large living room after dinner. “We stay inside tonight,” Marlana said, her alpha power washing over the room. Dristan felt it all through his body. If he tried to leave the house, it would cause him great pain—probably so much pain that he wouldn’t be able to go through with it.
“Tomorrow at dawn,” Marlana continued, “we’ll send out scouts to examine the areas surrounding this property. We’ll look for likely places that the vampires could be hiding, and report back here. This is our first step—to find the bloodsuckers. The second step will be to vanquish them. I checked the shifter forum earlier today and confirmed that there was a treaty, long ago. They broke that treaty by returning to North America, and we will show no mercy.”
Expressions on the faces around Dristan ranged from grim determination to excitement to fear. Laura sat on a sofa a few feet away, and she caught Dristan’s eye. He’d have smiled back at her, but Marlana’s words earlier still rang hollowly in his mind. He didn’t necessarily believe Marlana, but he still felt off-balance and unsure about what was supposed to happen between him and Laura now. Marlana hadn’t forbidden anything. Had she spoken to Laura, too?
“Be in this room tomorrow morning at five-thirty a.m.” Marlana ended the meeting with an impatient shooing gesture. Dristan wondered if she was just as unhappy with everyone crowding into her home as Dristan was.
As he walked upstairs, Rafe was in front of him. Nina, Laura’s sister, was quickly catching up to Rafe, her wavy brown hair bouncing with each rushed step. Dristan wanted to tell her not to waste her time—Rafe hadn’t seemed interested in anyone since Justine had been an Exchange at his parents’ resort, and even then, Rafe’s interest in Justine had looked superficial from Dristan’s standpoint. In fact, Dristan had never seen Rafe serious about any woman. He’d go out on dates, but usually just one or two.
Idly, Dristan wondered if Rafe had ever gone out with Nina. Probably. But it was none of Dristan’s business, so he sped up and rushed past them before going into his room and closing the door.
He leaned against it, exhaling. At least Marlana recognized that if they were all stuck in the house, they’d each need their own rooms, and she’d purposefully designed this place to be more like a manor than anything else. He grabbed his toothbrush and went down the hall to the bathroom, ignoring the sounds of an argument from one of the couples’ rooms. Michael and Agatha, by the sound of it. This vampire problem was stressing everyone the hell out.
Back in his room, he undressed and lay back on the bed. It was snowing outside, and it made everything feel cozier and quieter. For some reason, it made him lonelier.
From the room next to him came the unmistakable sounds of sex. Michael and Agatha were now going at it. Dristan groaned. He needed to get out of here. Standing up, he pulled on a pair of pajama pants and opened his door.
He nearly ran into Laura. She wore sweatpants, an overlarge t-shirt, and a mischievous smile.
“Did you hear me waiting out here for you?” she whispered, and then her mouth was on his, her arms locked around his neck.
He backed into the room, pulling her with him, closing the door. “No, I was just trying to get away from the sounds of Michael and Agatha going at it.”
“Ew,” she said. “We’ll just have to be a little bit louder.”
He groaned again, this time out of pleasure, as Laura gripped his cock through his flannel pajama pants.
“You’re going to be my undoing,” he murmured, and then his hand was in her hair. He gripped her neck, angling her head so he could press biting, sucking kisses along her throat.
She whimpered and moved her legs against his. One thing he’d discovered about Laura during their first night together was that as in control as she wanted to be about everything else in her life, it turned her on to be bossed in the bedroom. Based on her reactions to nearly being seen in the parking lot at Hart’s, he guessed she also got off on the risk of exposure. He wondered how he could turn the full mansion to their benefit, without actually letting others know what they were up to.
Then she squeezed him again through his pants and all thoughts of strategy flew out of his mind.
Everything was Laura—her scent, her sounds, the way her skin felt under his hands. He traced circles along her stomach, teasing as he made his way up to her breasts. No bra again—perfect, just the way he liked her.
“You’re missing your bra,” he said, then paused to kiss her again. “Did you go without panties, too?”
He thrust his tongue inside her mouth, preventing her response, at the same time he plunged his hand into her sweats. No panties, gloriously wet for him. He slid one finger back and forth against her folds, and she arched her back, pressing closer.
Pulling away from her mouth, he said, “Touch me. Feel how hard you make me.”
She complied eagerly, sliding his pajamas down just far enough to expose his aching cock. When her fingers touched the skin, he swore. “Fuuuuck. Need to slow down.”
He took his hand out of her pants and stepped away from her touch. “Strip.”
Laura’s shoulders were down, her head slightly lowered, all submission. But her eyes met his, and they were sparkling with playfulness.
She slid the sweats down her legs while he stood there, his own waistband caught around his thighs, cock jutting out. He gave himself one long stroke and watched Laura lick her lips. When she pulled her shirt over her head, revealing those beautiful breasts, he stroked himself again.
Backing up, he sat on the edge of the bed and kicked his pajama bottoms the rest of the way off. He gestured to his cock. “Come sit on this for me, will you?”
She climbed onto his lap, straddling him. Slowly guiding him inside her, she moaned loudly.
“Shh,” Dristan said. “You don’t want everyone to hear, do you?”
She sucked in a breath and tightened around him. “No.”
He grinned against her ear. She said she didn’t want to be overheard, but he could tell she actually liked the idea. He fondled her breasts, tracing her hard nipples. Teased her with thoughts of being discovered. “Then you’re going to need to be very quiet, otherwise everyone will know what you’re doing in here with me.”
She lifted off his lap and came down again, hard, and he had to stifle his own moan. He watched her face as she moved on him, her pupils dilated, eyes half-lidded, mouth partly open. She panted and moaned softly as he whispered about all the different things he was going to do to her, and how she’d have to be silent so the whole house wouldn’t hear. Definitely a little of the exhibitionist in her, and he loved it.
“Someone could be walking down the hall right now,” Dristan whispered.
Laura began moving faster, and she bit her lip.
“They’re right outside our door, wondering who’s in here with me. Pressing their ear against the wood to listen to us.”
The sounds of their flesh hitting together became louder and faster, and Laura shuddered on top of him, her walls squeezing him tight. He gripped her hips, pumping into her harder, and finally allowed his own release.
They collapsed onto the mattress, still joined, and Laura nuzzled into his shoulder and lazily licked his throat.
“Salty,” she whispered.
After pulling out of her, he slid down the bed and kissed the inside of her thigh. She tried to squirm away but he held her leg firm and licked toward her center. “Sweet.”
Eleven
Laura woke wit
h a start. It was still dark outside, but dawn was just a few hours away. Dristan was warm next to her, and she snuggled in closer. He was surprisingly comfortable to sleep next to despite all his hard muscles. Their legs were tangled together. Laura was tempted to reach beneath the warm comforter and bring him awake again for yet another round of sex, but she’d stayed here long enough already.
As fun as it had been to pretend people might hear them last night, Laura didn’t actually want to be caught in Dristan’s room—not until she knew more about how they would handle things with Marlana. She hated that he and Fraze had been stuck with that terrible legacy; it had never been fair for them, and it still wasn’t.
Pressing a kiss against his shoulder, she eased out of the bed. Even though the house was heated to a comfortable temperature, Laura shivered now that she wasn’t in Dristan’s protective warmth. Quickly, she put her clothes back on.
She paused before opening the door. Good. No footsteps or sounds of movement in the hallway. If she could just get to the other end quickly, she’d be home free. No one except her and Dristan had to know about last night’s sex-fest.
Breath held, she opened the door.
“Sneaking out?” Dristan asked.
She nearly squealed. She turned to face him. “You scared me.”
Stretching, he patted the bed next to him. “I can make the monsters go away.”
“You are a monster,” she said, shaking her head and smiling. “I gotta go.”
“If you say so,” he said, but he pushed the comforter down to his knees. His cock was semi-hard. He cupped his hand against it, and Laura watched it twitch and grow harder.
Damn. She’d love to wrap her lips around that again.
“I can’t,” she said, as much to herself as to Dristan.
“Why not? Seriously. We don’t have to mess around at all—I’m just wondering why you think you have to rush off.” He sat up, and pulled the sheet over his junk as if to show he really wasn’t kidding around anymore.
“Because it’s…we’re…it’s too soon, Dristan. I just can’t stay.”
His blue eyes reflected bright yellow in the light coming from the hallway. “Fine, I get it.”
“Wait. Get what?”
“Nothing.” He lay down and turned his back to her, but even from the doorway she could smell his anger. Dusky, smoky, dangerous.
She had to get going. Standing here and arguing only increased the chance someone would see her in his room. They could argue later, or not. Maybe he’d just ignore her.
Maybe that would be better.
She eased out of his room and closed the door behind her. No, ignoring each other wouldn’t be better. She didn’t want to argue with him but at least when they were arguing, they were talking.
What did he want from her? What did she want from him? She wanted to be with him, but it was still so new, and there was so much going on. She stole into her room and climbed into bed. These questions were too much for her to consider at—she looked at the alarm clock—three a.m. She tried to let her mind drift away, but sleep eluded her.
Sitting up, she grabbed her phone and pulled up the internet browser. She signed onto Furry Friends, a site that most humans assumed was for people into furry kink, but was actually a front for a shifters-only forum. Shifters had to be invited and vetted before joining any shifter-relevant discussions.
As soon as Laura logged in, she was directed straight to the forum where fellow shapeshifters gathered—the same forum Marlana had used to find out about the vampires. She typed “mate laws” into the search bar and waited to see what came up.
*
When Laura went down to the kitchen for breakfast the next morning, she felt like a zombie. Last night’s research session had confirmed what she believed—that she and Dristan were mates, and they belonged together. What that meant for their place in the Corona Pride, though, wasn’t quite as clear.
Also, just because she felt that she and Dristan were mates, didn’t necessarily mean that he would believe the same thing.
This was too complex to think about so early in the morning, on less than an hour’s sleep. She poured herself a coffee from the pot some saint had already prepared and stared at the steaming liquid.
Nina came in and hip-bumped her. “You look like death warmed over.”
Laura gave her a good glare. “Tell me again why we’re friends?”
“We’re sisters,” Nina said, laughing. Her hazel eyes twinkled. “You can’t get away from me, so you better make the best of it.”
Nina busied herself with preparing her own cup of coffee. Laura shuffled through the large living room and into one of the smaller sitting rooms that branched off of it. She settled into one of the sofas and wondered where she’d left her coffee. She was too tired to get back up, though.
This room had been dubbed the “music room” because of the baby grand piano taking up one corner. Laura gave a disgusted shake of her head, remembering the lessons she’d been forced to endure for three years, until, as a ten-year-old, she’d threatened to break every one of her fingers instead of practice.
It had been a bold, melodramatic move, but it had been effective. In the end, it had been Marlana who stepped in and told Laura’s parents to let Laura quit. For all of Marlana’s meddling, she’d had a streak of softness when it came to Laura.
Laura wished she could still experience that, but lately, Marlana had served only to antagonize her.
Nina came in and sat next to Laura on the sofa. “You forgot your coffee,” she said, handing the mug to Laura.
“Now I remember why we’re friends,” Laura said.
“Ha. So, I heard you leave your room last night,” Nina said in a whisper so faint that Laura had to read her lips.
It didn’t look like anyone else was around, but in a house full of mountain lion shifters, they could never be too careful of eavesdroppers.
Laura nodded and mouthed, “Dristan.”
Nina punched the air with her fist. “I knew it!” Then she got closer to Laura and breathed, “Mom’s gonna freak.”
“She doesn’t need to know,” Laura said. Yet. Mom didn’t need to know yet, but she would need to know eventually.
They heard voices from the kitchen—more people were up, and soon other members of the pride started trickling into the music room. Laura watched, annoyed, as Ben and Doug had a private conversation via text message, but she couldn’t deny it was probably the only way to have a guaranteed private conversation this morning.
The texting reminded her of her brother and his new, secret girlfriend.
“Where’s Juan?” Laura asked.
“Haven’t seen him since he went to bed,” Nina said, pursing her lips. “He’ll be in soon. You know he’d risk the alpha’s wrath just for the chance to sleep in.”
Marlana spoke from the living room. “Everyone, come in here.” She didn’t even have to raise her voice.
And that reminded her of Dristan’s whispered commands in his room last night. She felt her vaginal muscles clench.
He was already in the room, sitting on the back of one of the sofas. He looked completely unperturbed, and Laura remembered why it had been so hard to ignore him all those months—she’d been tempted, so tempted, to do something to erase his calm veneer. She’d wanted some kind of proof that what they’d done had mattered to him.
“Is everyone here?” Marlana asked.
Laura looked around the room. Still no Juan. Should she risk getting him in trouble? “I’ll be right back,” she said. “Just need to grab Juan.”
She passed her parents on her way up, and her dad smiled at her gratefully, revealing his chipped front tooth. “Thanks, L.”
Her mom’s green eyes stared hard. Laura shrugged on the outside, but inside, she wondered what she’d done to earn her mother’s disapproval.
She’d likely find out soon enough.
Upstairs, Laura padded down to Juan’s room and knocked. “Juanito-Mosquito?”
/> No answer. Maybe he was in the bathroom. She checked both in this hall, but both were empty.
She went back to his room and knocked again. “Juan, open up.”
He still didn’t answer her. If she had to drag his ass out of bed, Marlana was going to be furious. When she’d said five-thirty, she hadn’t made it an option.
Opening the door, Laura stepped inside.
Juan’s bed was made. It looked like he’d never slept in it. She looked inside the closet, feeling stupid. Of course he wasn’t in there, hiding. She sniffed the pillow, and her suspicions were confirmed. He hadn’t slept in his room last night.
She ran down the stairs, thinking. Was there anyone he might have slept with? He was only fourteen. The closest person to his age was Viviana, who was twenty-two, but that would just be wrong. Besides, Viviana was downstairs, sitting obediently next to Marlana.
“He’s not there,” Laura said. “Has anyone seen him?”
“I saw him go into his room last night,” Nina repeated for everyone. “That was it.”
Laura said, “He’s got to be somewhere in the house, right? Nobody could have ignored Marlana’s order to stay inside.”
Everyone murmured the affirmative. The magic of an alpha’s orders was too strong to ignore.
Laura’s mom had her phone out. “I’m calling him.”
Everyone could hear the ringing tones until the call went to voicemail.
“He would answer,” Laura’s mom said. “He’d answer my call—he always does.”
Laura rubbed her knuckles against her chin. “Did anyone see him in here when Marlana was telling us we couldn’t leave?”
No one said anything. Juan was one of those kids who was an expert at not being noticed. Until Gloria and Julian had adopted nine-year-old Penny six months ago, Juan had been the baby of the pride. As soon as he’d figured out how to sneak away and not be the center of attention, he’d done it and he’d practiced often.
Laura’s mom let out a sob. “He didn’t hear the order at all.”
“We’ll find him,” Marlana said. “Locating Juan takes precedence over everything else. Pair up and get in line.” She started giving off orders of who should go where.