by Callie Rose
Finally, he pulls away, his breathing ragged, each gasp tearing from his chest as if it hurts him. We stand for a long moment with our foreheads pressed together and his hands rubbing up and down my arms as he composes himself.
Archer breaks the spell as he joins us, his hand wrapping around my elbow. Then he’s hugging me, pressing light kisses to my face, my lips, my jaw. A moment later, Dare is in front of me, his arms strong and sturdy around my shoulders as he leans in for a kiss.
Their combined anger and fear finally starts to fade from the air as we come together, the five of us gathered in a tight knot in the middle of the woods.
When Dare releases me, Trystan turns me to face him and kisses me thoroughly too. His hands slide down the curve of my waist and over the swell of my ass as our kiss deepens. And then he gives one cheek a light slap, making me yelp into his mouth.
There’s a teasing glint in his turquoise eyes as he pulls back, but I can hear the gravity in his voice when he speaks.
“Don’t ever do that again. Got it?”
“You wouldn’t listen to me.” Guilt still churns heavily in my chest, but I keep my chin up, glancing around to catch their eyes with a kind of direct seriousness that says I’m not playing around. “I tried to talk to you about it after we left Elder Jihoon’s house, but none of you even wanted to consider it. I know you were scared for me. But I need help. If I didn’t leave, I’d never be able to track down the witch and find the answers I need.”
My words hang in the air for a long moment, and I wait for the argument we had yesterday to start up again—for my mates to start listing off all the reasons I shouldn’t go. But instead, Archer just nods.
“You’re right,” he says simply. “We were wrong to ignore what you were saying. We completely disregarded your feelings.”
“We let our own desire to protect you stand in the way of what you need,” Ridge says. His voice is thick with emotion, his honey eyes dark with the lingering worry that clings to him like an aura. But he holds my gaze as he adds, “That’s why we aren’t here to drag you back home.”
I blink. “Really?”
“Really,” Trystan replies. “Our packs will function without us for a few days. It’s shitty to be gone from them again, but ultimately, this will benefit everyone. The witches are still a threat, and there’s nothing we can do to change that. But we can at least arm ourselves with information.”
“I left Amora in charge,” Ridge tells me. “And she’s sending messages to the other packs.”
Dare touches my face, the calloused pads of his fingertips rough against my skin. “We’re with you. If you’re determined to track down this witch, we’ll be right by your side.”
11
Sable
I was making good time before my mates joined me, but now, with their comforting presence around me and their voices in my head as we run, time breezes past like it doesn’t even exist at all. Now that they’re here—and they know I’m safe—some of the tension has dissipated.
Something seems to have shifted between all of us, and I think it’s because we’ve all accepted that we have to allow for more give and take. I’m slowly coming to realize that although the mate bond binds us together, connecting us on what feels like a soul-deep level, it doesn’t guarantee everything will be perfect between us all the time.
It still takes work to build a strong relationship. It takes open communication and mutual respect.
The sun moves across the sky overhead, and we keep up a steady pace in wolf form. The forest thins, turning into a rolling landscape that’s partly barren but incredibly beautiful, filled with small canyons, steep hills, and rocky terrain. Then we pass back into the woods, where wildlife teems around us and the trees’ canopies hang thick with leaves, blocking the heat of the sun.
By mid-day, we pass what the men tell me are the furthest northern barriers of shifter territory and leave the protection of the shifter’s borrowed sigils behind.
If I’m really honest with myself, I’m glad to have the men with me now, even though I hate the idea of putting them in any amount of danger. I’m clinging to the hope that this lone witch might not be our enemy since she doesn’t have allegiances to a coven. But that doesn’t mean we couldn’t come across others out here who want to strip us limb from limb.
God, I hope we don’t run into any other witches. That would mean I’d led the men I love right into danger.
Again.
Are you fucking kidding? Classic rock trumps modern heavy metal any day, Trystan says, and I tune back into their conversation to get the hell out of my own morbid thoughts.
Dare bounds forward with a fierce shake of his head. Absolutely not. There’s more heart in heavy metal. More emotion.
What metal are you listening to? Ridge laughs. Just a bunch of incoherent screaming, in my opinion. How is that emotion?
Just because you like country songs about pickup trucks and moonlight and six-packs, Dare replies with mock disgust. What do you like, Sable?
I’m so caught up in listening to them—amused by their passionate rants and pleased by the break from talk of witches and magic and danger—that his question startles me. I shake my head lightly, not breaking stride. Oh, well, I guess I’m equal opportunity. I like a lot of different stuff.
That’s a non-answer, Dare shoots back, amusement in his voice. Come on, moonlight. You can do better than that.
I blink at his use of the nickname. I remember he called me that when he was buried inside me, pressed up against a tree outside the North Pack village. I liked it then, and I like it even more now. There’s something warm and familiar and possessive about the way he’s created a name for me that’s just his.
When it takes me a second to answer, he nudges me with his shoulder, barely even breaking stride. I look over at him to see his tongue lolling out of his mouth and his brown eyes glinting.
I’m not used to Dare being so playful, but it makes a little bubble of joy rise up in my chest. I know he feels better, more himself, in his wolf form, but I wonder if it’s us, too—me and the other men. Do we make him feel more comfortable in his own skin?
Fine. You’re all wrong, I tell them. It’s pop music or bust.
Oof. How are you my mate? Dare jokes, his chuckle filling my head. I grin at him and nudge him back, nipping at his ear.
Make or break question. Archer speaks up, posing the question to all of us at large. Musical theater?
There’s a chorus of groans in my head, and I let out a little yip. It’s the closest thing to a laugh I can manage in this form.
I can tell they’re discussing anything and everything to keep my mind off what lies ahead, and I appreciate it. Finding out new things about them makes me feel like I’m getting to know them better, little by little. Plus, it reminds me of our time back at the mating cabin, when we were all happy together, before everything fell apart and I turned into something unexpected and dangerous.
I wish I could have more time like that with them. Just the five of us with no worries. Time to cuddle on the couch, to play poker again, to discover each other’s likes and dislikes. I already know I love these men, but every new piece of themselves they share with me only deepens my feelings for them.
I’ll get that back, I vow, putting on a fresh burst of speed with the force of my conviction. We’ll get back to those easy days of happiness. I’m going to fix this. Fix me.
Near dusk, we come across an unusual scent of musk that Ridge tells me is a female bear on the move with her cubs. We shift direction to give her a wide berth, since tangling with a mama bear could be a death sentence even with so many of us together—especially with me being so unpracticed at hunting or fighting in this form. When her scent is gone from the wind, we circle back around toward the north.
The sun is beginning to set when we leave thick woods behind for a huge plain that stretches for miles ahead. I’ve never seen land so flat here in the middle of mountainous territory. Up ahead, the northern
mountain range is turning darker on the horizon and gaining more distinct definition. We’re close—so close that I can see the silver ribbon of the Two-Tone River cutting through the plain ahead.
Somewhere in that range is Wolfsbane Mountain, and beyond that, the witch.
Let’s pack it in for the night, Ridge says, his pace slowing. This is as good a place as any to rest. Good visibility. Nobody can sneak up on us here.
We’ll sleep in wolf form since we don’t have tents or sleeping bags or anything. But we work together to gather kindling for a fire, and then Archer and I get it nice and hot while Dare, Ridge, and Trystan find us something fresh to eat. Before the sun is fully gone over the horizon, we have several rabbits turning on crudely made spits and two cans of beans sitting directly in the burning flames to warm.
The guys keep their running banter up as we eat dinner, but I only half pay attention. The food is surprisingly delicious, and I eat like I’ve been starving. But I can’t stop thinking about how desperate I am to find peace with my mates.
Every moment of our relationship has been fraught with threats and worries and mortal peril, and I just want us to find some kind of tranquility. I want to listen to them chat and laugh without knowing they’re partly just doing it to try to keep up morale. I want them to laugh because life is good.
I’m still ruminating over the perilous circumstances we’ve found ourselves in when Archer sits down on the soft grass beside me. The other men are all nearby, the low rumble of their voices providing a comforting backdrop. We’re about ready to settle down for the night and have already shed our clothes in expectation of shifting to sleep. I have to hide a pleased blush as I notice Archer’s gaze drop to my bare chest, heat passing over his features.
He drags his focus back up to my face, concern replacing some of the desire as he reaches out to run two knuckles down the side of my cheek.
“What’s got you so quiet tonight?” he asks. “Talk to me.”
The soft pressure of his skin against mine is like a balm over an aching wound. Immediately, my muscles relax a little, my head turning unconsciously to chase his touch. I shouldn’t be surprised he noticed I was acting a little withdrawn. Archer reads me so well it almost feels like he can see directly into my mind sometimes.
But as I look up to meet his eyes, I realize I don’t want to talk about anything at all right now.
I’d rather show him what I’m feeling instead.
Locking my gaze with his, I get to my knees and crawl into his lap, sliding my hands over his chest as I straddle him. Then I wrap my arms around his neck, lean in, and capture his lips with mine.
12
Sable
I don’t know if Archer is surprised by my kiss, but he certainly doesn’t seem to have any objections.
His arms wrap around me, pulling me closer as his lips move over mine. His tongue darts out to taste my lips as a soft noise spills from me. The air is growing cool as the fire starts to dwindle, but Archer’s bare skin is warm against mine.
I’m starting to like the fact that we have to strip before shifting. It allows moments like this to happen easily.
Our kiss starts out deep and slow. Archer’s hands move up and down my back as his tongue strokes gently against mine, as if he’s trying to comfort and reassure me through his touch. But it doesn’t take long for the pressure of our lips to become more urgent, our hands groping each other shamelessly.
As I slide my fingers through his blond hair, scraping my nails over his scalp, I realize that the voices of my other mates have died out. The world around us has gone quiet except for the soft sound of insects humming in the distance.
Archer seems to realize the same thing I have. He breaks our kiss, then presses his lips to the tip of my nose before glancing over my shoulder. As he does, a small grin spreads across his face.
“Look,” he whispers. “Look what you do to them.”
With his arms wrapped around me, I glance over my shoulder to the place where Ridge, Trystan, and Dare are gathered a short distance from the fire.
All three men are just as naked as Archer and I are.
All of them are watching us.
And all of them are hard.
A little thrill runs through me, a bolt of arousal and excitement that shoots through my veins and seems to end directly in my clit. My core clenches, tightening and releasing as if I’m already imagining what it would be like to have one of my mates inside me. Archer is hard too, his cock pressing against my belly as he chuckles softly.
With two fingers on my jaw, he turns me back around to face him. The low firelight dances in his beautiful moss-green eyes, and he drags his lower lip between his teeth as he holds my gaze.
“They like what they see,” he tells me softly, something heated and possessive in his voice. “Should we give them more?”
I nod, my clit already throbbing lightly in anticipation as I try to guess what he has in mind.
Whatever it is, though, I know I want it.
His smile widens, and he drops his head to kiss me again. This time, there’s no slow warmup, no build into it. I gasp into his mouth as he slants his lips over mine, devouring me with hot, demanding movements of his tongue. My whole body reacts, and when he drags his mouth away from mine after a moment, I let out a sound that’s half whine and half whimper.
He laughs softly again, and I decide I love that sound—the noise Archer makes when he’s happy and turned on.
And he makes up for stealing his kiss from me by pressing his lips to my jaw and neck, working them down the column of my throat. His hands splay across my back, supporting my weight as he leans me backward.
My spine arches, my nipples peaking in the cool air as I present my breasts to him like a feast. He growls against my skin, dropping his head even lower until his tongue darts out to flick over one of my hardened nipples.
“Oh!”
The soft cry spills from my lips before I can stop it, and as Archer tilts my upper body back even farther, I get an upside-down view of the three men standing a few yards away from us. Even from this vantage point, they’re beautiful.
All three of them have their fists wrapped around their cocks, their expressions full of naked desire as they watch Archer slowly draw my nipple into his mouth. My breath picks up, my chest rising and falling faster as he swirls his tongue around my hard bud.
Trystan lets out a low groan, gliding his broad thumb around the head of his cock as his gaze stays fixed on us. He strokes up and down his shaft as Archer switches to my other nipple, drawing a full body shudder out of me.
“Fuck, little wolf.” Ridge’s voice is like sandpaper. “You’re killing me.”
As if to punctuate his friend’s words, Archer flicks my nipple with his tongue, making me jerk in his grasp. I laugh breathlessly, reaching over my head to gesture my other mates closer.
I know Ridge didn’t mean it literally, but the truth is, I want them all near me. As much as I love putting on this show for them by letting them watch Archer kiss me and tease me, I want to feel their lips and hands on me too.
None of them hesitate, striding over to gather around us. Ridge kneels behind me, and Archer releases his hold on me as the honey-eyed alpha takes over the task of supporting my weight. My head rests on his shoulder, one arm sliding up to wrap around his neck, as Archer glides his palms over my stomach and hips.
Dare and Trystan end up on either side of me, and as if he can’t stand to wait another second, Dare’s lips are immediately on one of my nipples, licking and biting and sucking. Ridge turns his head and kisses me as Trystan palms my other breast. I lose track of who’s touching me where as I undulate in their grasp, my body chasing a dozen different addictive sensations.
“You’re so beautiful, sweetheart. So fucking ours.”
Trystan’s words make me moan softly, the truth of them only pushing my arousal higher.
I’m theirs. And they’re mine.
For years, in the small and confin
ed world I was relegated to in Clint’s house, I couldn’t even imagine finding one man to love, one man to spend my life with.
Now I have four of them.
And nothing but death could ever tear these men from my side.
The hands and mouths on me send me spiraling higher and higher, each touch building on the next until I’m so full of sensation that I might burst. When Archer hooks his arms under my knees and lifts my hips a little, I tighten my hold around Ridge’s neck and look down the line of my body.
Archer is holding me right where he needs me. The head of his cock brushes my entrance, poised to slide inside, and I whimper at the sight.
“Please,” I whisper.
His gaze finds mine in the soft firelight, and the shadows cutting across his face make him look beautiful in a way I’ve never seen before. He looks wild and almost otherworldly. And when he hitches my legs a little higher and shifts his hips to slide into me, the look of stark pleasure on his face makes goose bumps dance across my skin.
Ridge places open-mouthed kisses on my neck as Archer begins to fuck me, setting a slow and steady rhythm. Dare buries his face in my chest, nuzzling and licking my breasts, and Trystan…
Trystan’s hand slides down the flat plane of my stomach.
I gasp when I realize what he’s doing. His fingertips brush against my clit, so close to where Archer is sliding in and out of me, and my core clenches instinctively.
“Fuck.” Archer groans. His gaze flicks up to Trystan’s face. “I think she likes that.”
Trystan turns his head to catch my gaze, his turquoise eyes burning with desire. “Do you like it? You want more?”
I nod fervently, clinging to Ridge as the men support me between them.
I’m literally being held up by my mates, at their mercy entirely as they touch me, caress me—worship me.
Trystan watches my face carefully as he circles my clit with two fingers, matching his rhythm to the tempo of Archer’s strokes. Pleasure builds up inside me like steam gathering in a closed pot, and when Dare clamps one nipple between his teeth and tugs on it, I arch suddenly, crying out.