Hidden: The Swamp

by Royce, Rebecca

  “Oh, I see.” My stomach grumbled. I’d skipped lunch while I’d wandered from room-to-room. It was catching up with me now. I smiled at Preston. “If you get me a towel, we can talk and…”

  The smell hit us at the same time. There were humans at the front door. I’d not heard a car come back but then again, I’d not been listening for it.

  Preston scowled. “Fuck me. They’re back. I already talked to them at work. Those three are jumpy tonight. Stay here. Okay?”

  I nodded. “Sure. I’ll wait. I get it. I’m not to be seen.”

  He winced. “And I get that you don’t like it. I wouldn’t either. Wolves don’t like to be caged. Thanks for not being stupid about it.”

  I waved my hand. “I’ll just stay in this bathtub and do nothing.”

  Preston groaned. “I have to go talk to humans while you’re naked in the tub. Life is so unfair.”

  His words warmed me as much as the water. I flipped around. Rainer appeared where Preston had been.

  “Same three as earlier. They’re here to talk to Preston, and Jarret’s going to go out with him. I’m not sure what has them so worked up. But it can’t be good. I don’t want you lying in the tub just in case.” He held out a towel. “Here.”

  Well, there went that great plan. “Really? I was thinking of living in this tub. Maybe permanently.”

  “That would be a shame.” He winked at me. “You’d become a giant prune.”

  I couldn’t believe how amazingly at ease I was with the four of them. Oh sure, I’d had sex with Rainer, but even that shouldn’t have brought on the constant feeling of self-confidence. I’d never felt so comfortable in my own skin before. Was that the wolf or was it these guys? Or was it something else entirely?

  I pulled myself out of the tub, and he passed me the towel. I didn’t suppose it was realistic to live in the tub. I quickly dried myself off, not missing the way his gaze followed my every move. My heart rate kicked up. It would be impossible to be naked around Rainer and not want him. Even when the timing was totally off.

  I passed him heading into the room and changed quickly into clothes. If Rainer was worried, I didn’t want to be caught mostly naked.

  “Are we okay?”

  He nodded. “I think so. For now. They’re really adamantly talking.”

  I met Anton in the hall, who stood back in the shadows watching the exchange through the window at the front of the house. “How’s it going?”

  He put his arm around me and tugged me to him. His scent was stressed, and I leaned into him. “You didn’t want to go out there, either?”

  He shook his head fast and rolled his eyes. I didn’t blame him. I didn’t want anything to do with them either. Why did they keep coming by? Was this just some sort of buddy buddy thing? I’d always found it hard to make real friendships with humans, and what was more was that I was pretty sure that even though they didn’t know why, the humans were sort of off put when they were around me.

  “How do they not think you guys are werewolves? They kidnapped you as a baby.”

  Rainer took a step toward us, coming from the shadows on the other side of the window. “Anyone who took Anton is dead. And there was no shifting involved. We went in as humans. Went out that way, too.”

  “We?” I asked Rainer. “You were there.”

  “I was.” He nodded. “They didn’t bring Preston, but I was old enough to defend our family. I was there.”

  Anton’s sudden intake of breath told me he hadn’t known that. Rainer didn’t react. He continued to look out the window. “Anton didn’t shift when they hurt him. How could he have? We don’t do that as babies, but they didn’t know that. And then when we rescued him, we were humans. If anything, we confirmed our human status to them. That is if somehow anyone who was there lived through the experience. No one was left alive.”

  They’d lost Joe, but we didn’t need to bring that up right now. “Who knows what they know now.”

  “Exactly the problem. Those three? They might have been teenagers. Aware of their family’s proclivities. Not quite yet involved. That would be my guess.”

  Anton shook his head and pointed at Rainer. I followed his thinking. “You went. They might have gone, too.”

  “Maybe. But then they’d just think we were violent humans.” He stepped away. “I should…”

  My hands burned a second before the scent hit my nose. There was a Loup coming.

  “Fucking timing,” Rainer spoke through clenched teeth. “We need to get them out of here.”

  I didn’t even know if we had that kind of time. Loups were out of their mind. They couldn’t be counted on to not engage in front of humans. Particularly if they were trying to get to me.

  Rainer tore out the door. Surely Jarret and Preston must have smelled them, too.

  I rushed forward, but Anton grabbed me, keeping me back. I whirled to stare at his face, his grasp not lessening on me. He shook his head, his meaning clear. He didn’t want me to go out there.

  I hissed. My hands were outright burning and my need to shift rode me hard. There was a Loup coming, and he needed me.

  Anton pulled me closer. His touch was gentle but firm. I wasn’t getting out of his hold unless I wrenched myself away. We both knew I could do that and that he could go even further to stop me. What I had to assume was he wanted me to resist the need to get away from him. He needed me to think through this. I didn’t know how I understood him so well. I’d never be able to explain it except that I did. I was either crazy to think I was right, or I simply understood most of what Anton would say were he able to do so.

  I’d try to figure out our connection another time.

  For now, I’d started to shake. He put his head down, pressing his mouth on that place where my shoulder met my neck, that was solely his. Rainer had bitten me on the other side. Somehow, even in just days, this side had become Anton’s spot. He breathed heavily. This was hard on him, too.

  If I shifted, he would. I closed my eyes. I had to resist. I wouldn’t only risk myself. It would be all of them. For them, I’d hold on.

  A roar sounded outside. It was the Loup. I winced. Rainer must not have been able to get the humans away or lead the Loup somewhere else. I really didn’t know what he’d meant to do.

  “Get the guns.” One of the humans shouted, and I growled. No, they couldn’t hurt him. He’d come here for me. He was mine to fix.

  “We’re going to get one. Yes. I’m going to kill another fucking werewolf.”

  Another one? No.

  Anton let go of me, nodding. He understood it. His eyes turned wolf. My own were probably the same.

  I would protect that Loup until I could save him. I shifted mid-way out the door. The colors of the world changed, becoming less intense as the scents threatened to overwhelm me. No matter how good my nose was in my human form, it would never be as good as when I ran on four legs.

  Words became pictures, how I understood life changing. What did I know right away? There were shouts. Not just because I’d come out as a wolf. No, because the Loup was there and because Rainer, Jarret, and Preston had shifted as well.

  Gunpowder. It reeked. A loud sound. Someone had fired. No. I growled loudly, menacingly, and I attacked. Humans had threatened us, and the humans would be dealt with. Blood filled my mouth as I tore into the man’s neck. I wasn’t alone. Behind me, Anton knocked into the man I had, digging his mouth into his arm.

  The human couldn’t scream. I had his neck. It didn’t matter. I tasted his fear. He should know that before death.

  Still, the need to protect the Loup overrode my need for death. I let go of the one who would hurt us and turned instead to the snarling sick one. My heart broke for him. Why were so many of us sick?

  The madness brought the physical change. I knew that even though I shouldn’t. I rushed toward him. This was going to hurt. It always would. But it was my job to save them until there were no more to save.

  I pushed my energy into him. He was sicker
than the other two I’d saved. His bones were brittle, his mind practically gone. I closed my eyes, and a whine escaped from my throat. I might not be strong enough for this one. No, there was something else. I sniffed. I was more than tough enough to heal any Loup. What was wrong?

  I jumped back as awareness overtook me. One of mine was hurt. The humans were all dead, but someone was hurt. Jarret. I rushed over to him. They’d gotten a shot off. Rainer stood over him as Jarret whined, staring up at me. He was sorry. The Loup needed me. I brushed against Jarret. The Loup would wait. Mine came first. Always. I nudged at him. Emotional healing was hard but physical was harder. Still, my energy could fix this. He wasn’t too far gone to bring back.

  I threw everything I had into those moments, knowing he was getting better. I could smell the metal as the bullet hit the ground, taste the smell of the healing on my tongue. His scent improved.

  I couldn’t let go until he was all right. Sounds eventually traveled into my consciousness. Jarret was okay. He licked my face, the whining a different sound than before. I blinked. Yes, he was fixed. I panted. Okay. There was something else…

  I could hardly think as I remembered the Loup. I limped toward him. Rainer growled at me, getting in my way. My Alpha didn’t want me to do this. I understood, but I was doing it anyway. There wouldn’t be any rest, any fixing anything, until this was done. I pressed my head against the side of the sick Loup, and I gave him everything I had left. I really hoped it was enough.

  * * *

  Sometime later with the sun officially gone, I collapsed. It was like my back legs simply gave up on me. I couldn’t support myself on them. The Loup was fixed. That much I knew. Rainer, already shifted into his human form, stared down at me. He squatted. “Shift back, MacKenzie. It’s enough.”

  I did as he asked, staring up at him. My head pounded, and it tasted like I had cotton in my mouth. “Is Jarret okay?”

  He limped over next to Rainer. “I’m going to be okay, Kenzie. You didn’t have to do that. It wasn’t life threatening. It could have waited.”

  I shook my head. “The four of you will never wait.”

  “I’m sorry he got me.”

  Rainer put his hand on Jarret’s back. “It’s your second shift. You don’t even have your instincts intact yet. You did fine. They had guns, and they wanted to kill werewolves. They didn’t get us thanks to our Omega.”

  Preston walked over and scooped me up. “She’s spent. There has to be a way to stop this from happening. To control it.” The former Loup groaned. Preston stepped over him. “One of you deal with him. Get him away. He’s already had all he’s going to have from her. We can make a thank you day, but it isn’t going to be today.”

  Anton squeezed my foot as we passed by him.

  Rainer shook his head. “Sure. I’ll deal with him. I’ve got to call Gus. They used to have a place where they dumped bodies in this swamp. I need to know where it is.”

  Anton pointed at the boat, and Rainer turned around. “You know where it is?” Anton nodded.

  I pressed my head against Preston’s chest. “You’re okay?”

  He laughed. “Am I okay? Yes. I can’t believe how this went down. They were Hunters. I knew it. But to have them come after us when they’d been coming to my house to bullshit about the Saints for years… it was something else. I’m wondering how we cover this up. But you don’t need to worry about that. Gus and the other dads were experts on this. They’ll tell us what to do.”

  He skipped taking me upstairs and instead went to the living room that still seemed to be working as a makeshift bedroom. I held onto his hand when he would have left. I knew this feeling. I didn’t need sleep. It was the emptiness that hurt like a wound, like someone had taken off my arm. “Preston… I’m aching inside. Empty.”

  He blinked. I hated having to explain this, detested the neediness. He pressed himself over me like he was doing a pushup but stopped before he went back up. His mouth met mine. It was warm, and I breathed him in. Still, I halted, putting my hand on his chest to stop him.

  “You don’t have to.” I hated him feeling obligated. “I’m sorry. I hated asking Rainer, and I won’t force you to do something you might not want to because I have some kind of need. I’ll figure it out.”

  He lifted one eyebrow and smirked at me. “You think I don’t want to? Have I not made myself clear about this?”

  “Yes, but…”

  He kissed me. “There’s no but. I want you however I can have you. If that helps you to be better, then even better. This isn’t an obligation. It’s a privilege. You’re mine.” He put his nose on my neck. “And I need my mark on you. It would fill me up inside.”

  Now it was my turn to smirk. “Way to turn that around.”

  Preston laughed, it was a low sound, and it moved right through me. He lifted his head and looked over his shoulder, the sound of the retreating airboat filling the room. “They’re all leaving. Even the Loup.”

  I followed where he’d indicated. “How do you know?”

  “About the Loup? I can smell it. Want me to take you upstairs?”

  I poked at his chin. “If they’re all leaving, then we can stay right here.”

  He kissed my chin in response. My body tingled, and I closed my eyes. I just wanted to let Preston bring me pleasure and give it to him in return. I didn’t want to think or face a crisis. I just wanted him.

  I ran my hands across his abs. “The shifting made it so much easier. We don’t have to undress each other. I get to see all the… goods right away.”

  “The goods?” He grinned, and I decided that Preston’s smile was the best thing I’d ever seen. “No, I’m the one who’s going to see the goods.”

  He kissed down my chest toward my stomach and down farther. I didn’t have a shy bone in my body and spread my knees apart. If he was going to go for it there, then I was going to let him. Preston kissed my pussy. His breath was warm, and it sent a jolt up my spine. I moaned before I placed my hands in his hair. It was soft. The blond tips shone out, illuminated by the one light coming from the kitchen.

  He replaced his lips with his tongue. It was even warmer. I squirmed and giggled. He lifted his head to meet my gaze. “None of that. This is a very serious matter.”

  I loved his fake tone. “Sorry. Guess I’m ticklish tonight.”

  I’d no sooner said it than it passed. I couldn’t be laughing and silly when his mouth found my clit. I bit down on my lip. Oh yes, that was what I wanted. He moaned, and I could smell his desire. The only problem was that I couldn’t touch him in return. I raised my hips; I couldn’t have stopped if I’d wanted to. Pleasure rode through me, and I was close. Still, he didn’t let up with his tongue. It was almost too much. I might have asked him to slow down if I could have formed words, but soon that second of needing him to back off passed, and I exploded in his mouth.

  I cried out, and he continued to stroke me until the wave passed. I panted, couldn’t catch my breath and wasn’t sure I ever would again.

  Preston lifted his head. “Hey, beautiful. You coming… that’s the best thing ever.”

  I smiled at him and crooked my finger. “Get over here.”

  He scooted up fast. I put my hand over his heart, and it pounded fast and strong beneath the pads of my fingertips. He kissed my chin and then all over my face. “How are you real, Mac? I keep thinking I’m going to wake up and you’re going to never have existed. Like I made you up.”

  I kissed his lips gently. “The more we get to know each other, the more you will see that there isn’t a piece of me in existence that is perfect. You’d never have dreamed up someone who is going to drive you as crazy as I am bound to do.”

  He shook his head. “I highly doubt that.”

  I wasn’t going to argue with him about this right now while his cock was hard and finally right where I could reach it. I stroked him, a long hard swipe from his balls to his tip. He jerked against me, and I smiled up at him. “Think you like that.”

&n
bsp; “I can’t get enough of you touching me. Even if you brush against me accidentally in the kitchen. You can’t fucking believe how much I like it when you touch me there.”

  Actually, I could, but he kissed me before I could tell him. I stroked him hard, finding a rhythm and keeping it up as I kissed him. Preston pushed his tongue into my mouth, dancing against my own.

  He moaned, a low, almost pained sound, and stopped my hand with his. “I want to be inside of you, and I’m going to be honest… I’m close.”

  I nodded. “Come inside of me, Preston. I want that, too. I want to be connected with you that way right now.”

  He shifted his hips slightly, lining up so that his cock was on the edge of my core. A moment later, he pushed inside of me. I cried out, my body stretching to fit him. He moved slowly, his hand on my forehead while his fingers traced my face. He pressed our noses together for a second before he kissed me with such tenderness I teared up from the intensity of his care.

  The heat built between us. His hips jerked in motions that moved his cock right over my clit. It didn’t take long. I came on a sigh, a noise I’d never heard myself make before escaped from my lips. My fangs elongated. Without giving it another thought, I bit down on his neck. His whole body jerked while he emptied himself inside of me. His own mouth pressed down on my skin, right above my heart. I cried out, coming again. He marked me as I licked his blood.

  I smiled.

  Chapter 10

  I had to pee, which gave me the opportunity to put on a shirt. When I came back, Preston had managed to dress himself from the waist down. He put out his hand, and I took it, letting him draw me down onto the mattress. We wrapped each other up like a pretzel. Who needed covers? These werewolf men were like heating blankets.

  I ran my hands through his hair when he spoke. “I promise that I’m going to make you so happy. You’re going to be happy here. I promise you.”

  I rubbed my cheek against the slight growth of hair on his cheeks. The stubble burned and I loved it. “I don’t need promises. I’m actually a pretty simple person. I might be wrong to be the first Omega born in who knows how long. I should be spiritual and all knowing. The only thing I can think about right now is how many clothes we go through with the shifting. Put them on, tear them off.”