by Callie Rose
“I thought… fucking hell, I thought he just ran off to some human city to start a new life,” she murmurs, brushing her dark hair back with both hands. “I never imagined… is he dead?”
“I don’t know,” I reply, grief and anger burning side by side in my chest. “But based on what Sable saw, I think it’s safe to assume he’s gone.”
Amora’s eyes go wide, and she covers her mouth with one hand, giving a sad shake of her head.
I clasp her shoulders in my hands and press my forehead to hers. She slides her own hands up to my shoulders, and we stand with our heads together, our arms locked, eyes closed, sharing our grief. It’s a mimic of a hug, but more meant to give each other strength.
We were childhood friends. Amora. Me. Lawson.
We spent all our days together, getting into trouble in the woods, building treehouses, racing through the ravine as wolves, howling at the moon and promising we’d be friends for life. Then we were teenagers, and something changed in Lawson. He started bullying younger wolves, becoming more interested in selfish gain and less in the good of the pack. Our friendship ended, and even the love we once shared as brothers frayed, but memories never fade.
Amora swipes tears away from her eyes as she releases me, but then her face smooths into her usual battle armor. “All right. What’s the plan?”
I motion for her to follow me back to my cabin so I can put on some clothes and make some coffee.
“We need to move quickly,” I tell her, “and I need your help.”
19
Sable
Archer’s house is quaint and comfortable. It feels like a home, more so than my uncle’s farmhouse ever felt. But I’m so on edge that I want to tear all four walls down and scream at the sky.
I pace back and forth between the couch and the front door, my hands twisting into knots in front of me. It’s been a few hours since Trystan and Ridge left, so I know they’ve probably only just arrived at their respective packs, but I’m ready for them to come back. Now. I know what they’re doing will take time. Logically, I know I need to be patient because that means they’re being safer, being cautious.
But I hate being away from them. I hate not knowing what’s happening out there in the wilderness, both with Cleo and the coven’s plans, and with my mates. I hate just sitting here. Waiting.
It’s not like there aren’t things we should be doing here to prepare, as well. Archer cut out not long after Trystan and Ridge left to meet with his father and his council of elders. Dare’s been sprawled on the couch ever since, a blanket tossed over his hips and his eyes wide open as he gazes at the ceiling. We’re both supposed to be sleeping, resting up for the battle ahead, but I’m too antsy and Dare’s too broody.
I spent some time going over the book Gwen gave me. Though I attempted a couple spells inside the house, Dare’s constant cringing at the sight of the black smoke sent me into the backyard. Luckily, Archer’s house is at the far end of the village, and his backyard isn't really visible from the neighboring houses.
But after practicing sigils for over an hour, I started to lose my concentration and gave up before I made a mistake and lit the house on fire or something.
“You need to rest,” Dare says in a gruff voice. That’s been his refrain for the past thirty minutes, every time he gets tired of me passing by the couch as I wear a trail into the hardwood.
“You’re not resting,” I shoot back irritably.
“I’ve been a wolf a hell of a lot longer than you,” he replies. “Bark at me all you want, moonlight. You need to rest.”
We’re interrupted by the front door opening, and I whirl around, my shoulders relaxing a fraction as Archer trudges into the house. I won’t relax any more until Trystan and Ridge return, but for now, I rush across the living room to wrap Archer in a hug.
“You’re supposed to be sleeping,” he says into my hair.
“Dammit.” I grimace, although he can’t see it with my face pressed against the soft material of his shirt. “You’re just as bad as Dare.”
The man in question chuckles behind me, and when I look up, I see the two of them exchanging amused glances.
“She hasn’t sat down since you left,” Dare informs him. Traitor.
Archer frowns at me. “Sable, that was two hours ago. Maybe more.”
“More,” I say with a shrug.
He slides his arm around my shoulders and leads me down the hall. “We just had a crazy intense few days,” he says gently. “That amount of travel, of running at full speed, would tax any ordinary shifter. Plus, you used magic multiple times, and that takes energy too.” He reaches past me and turns on the bedroom light, ushering me inside. “You need to sleep to be able to fight when the witches come. Don’t you want to be able to fight?”
“More than anything.”
The viciousness of my voice surprises me a little, but Archer just grins, laughing softly as he releases his grip on my shoulder and tucks a lock of hair behind my ear.
“That’s my girl,” he murmurs, kissing the tip of my nose. “But there’s nothing to fight yet. So we need to gather our strength while we can, okay?”
Wrapping one arm around me, he backs me up until my legs hit the edge of the mattress. Dare appears in the doorway behind Archer, still naked from his shift back to human form earlier. He’s abandoned the blanket on the couch though, leaving nothing but hard planes of muscle on display.
I can’t help the bolt of heat that streaks through me as I glance at him, and Archer must guess what I’m looking at, because his grin widens.
“Would it help convince you to go to bed if we get in with you?” he asks, his eyes dancing with amusement.
I nod, the motion immediate and automatic.
Dare laughs, stepping into the room to join us. We get ready for bed quickly, and I don’t even bother to grab a pair of shorts and a tank top to sleep in. Instead, I shuck my clothes and crawl onto the mattress naked.
Archer cocks an eyebrow at me before doing the same, and he turns out the light before he and Dare climb into bed on either side of me, sandwiching me between them. The warmth of their bodies immediately begins to soak into mine, making some of the tension drain from my muscles. Nothing in the world feels quite as good as being skin-to-skin with my mates, so I pull them both a little closer, trying to let their presence relax me enough to sleep.
Moonlight streams through the windows, and after a while, my eyes start to adjust to the dim light. I find myself staring up at the ceiling, counting my breaths and trying not to fidget.
It’s hard not to. Even though I’m lying still, my mind is still running sprints inside my head. I shift a little, brushing my hand over Dare’s thigh.
I feel his body react to my touch, stiffening a little. I like that, so I do it again, gliding my hand up his leg more deliberately this time. My other hand moves in the opposite direction, reaching over to trail across Archer’s hip.
“Sable.” Archer’s voice is low. “You’re supposed to be sleeping.”
“I know.” I let out a breath, not stopping my gentle exploration of them. “But I can’t.”
He grabs my hand before it can dip too low, threading his fingers through mine and bringing them to his lips. He plants a kiss to my knuckles, and I can feel his lips curving in a wry smile. “Try a little harder.”
I turn toward him, hoping he can see the pout on my face in the shadowy darkness. “I have tried. I think I need help.”
“Help falling asleep?”
“Help getting tired.”
Dare chuckles behind me as I say the words, his hand skating over my stomach and across my rib cage, grazing the underside of my breasts. “She’s got a point. Maybe we could all use a little help getting tired.”
Archer makes a noise in his throat, and for a second, I think he’s going to protest again or tell us to try counting sheep or something. But instead, he releases my hand and palms the back of my head, leaning closer to me until our lips meet.
Warmth floods me,
spreading out from the place where our lips are connected. As I sink into the kiss, Dare moves closer on my other side, curling his body around mine. His hands roam over me, palming and squeezing my breast as his lips graze my shoulder. The darkness of the room is like a cocoon around us, and I lose myself in the feel of my mates, my body moving between theirs as I try to press more of my skin against them. Dare’s cock presses against my ass, and I can feel Archer’s length throbbing against my stomach when I move my hips forward.
I don’t know how long we stay like that, groping and kissing each other in the darkness, but I’m flushed with arousal by the time Archer breaks away from me. He rolls me onto my back and crawls down my body, settling between my legs as Dare traces the shell of my ear with his tongue.
I squirm as the pleasant tickle of Dare’s wicked tongue sends sparks down to my clit, and when Archer presses his lips to the inside of my thigh, I whimper. He works his way up my leg slowly, teasing me as Dare kisses me deeply. When he reaches the aching spot between my thighs, he bumps his nose against my clit, making a little zing of pleasure shoot through me.
He drags his tongue between my folds, and I let out a heavy, hungry sigh as Dare rests on one elbow to look down at me. I expect Archer to lick me again—my body is taut and ready for it—but instead, he draws back. I glance down at him as he tilts his head up to meet my gaze.
“Can I ask you a question?” he murmurs.
I nod, practically holding my breath. I don’t know what kind of question he would want to ask while he’s nestled between my legs like this, but I won’t deny him. He’s my mate. He can ask me anything.
Archer’s green eyes glint in the dim light. “Have you ever touched yourself?”
Dare makes a low noise in his throat, and I suck in a breath, my cheeks burning.
Yes. I have. It seems like a million years ago, so far removed from the life I have now—the person I am now. But some nights, wrapped in loneliness and darkness, I would slide a hand between my legs and bring myself the only kind of peace I could find.
My gaze flicks up to Dare, who’s watching me intently, before I look back down at Archer again.
“Yes,” I whisper.
“Will you show us?” His voice has a slight rasp to it, and his face is still close enough to my core that I can feel the warmth of his breath as he speaks. “Show us what you like?”
My face is so hot I’m sure Dare can see the redness painting my cheeks even in the darkness. It’s not that I’m ashamed of having touched myself. But the idea of doing it in front of these men, of letting them see me—of showing them—makes my whole body burn.
I swallow. “I like it when you guys do it.”
Archer nips at my inner thigh, growling softly. “That’s good. I’m pretty sure I can speak for all of us when I say we like that too.” Then he lifts his head again, crawling up my body until he’s hovering over me, his face next to Dare’s. “But we want to see you do it this time. We want to see what you like.”
He’s speaking for Dare, but the look in my darkly handsome mate’s eyes lets me know Archer was right to include him in the “we.”
I stare up at them both, biting my lower lip until it stings. My heart is beating hard and fast in my chest. I don’t know why the idea of them watching me like this feels so dirty and terrifying at the same time, but I’m sure if I say no, they won’t push me. They’ll find some other way to make me feel good.
But…
“Okay,” I murmur, the word a little husky. “Turn on the lamp.”
Archer moves so fast that I’d laugh if I weren’t too distracted by the feelings bouncing around inside me. Nerves. Excitement. Arousal. He flips on the bedside lamp, bathing the room in a soft yellow light. Dare and he end up on either side of me again, both men kneeling on the bed near my legs.
We’re all naked, and although I’ve gotten much more accustomed to being undressed in front of my mates, I feel especially bare right now.
I feel… exposed.
“You can’t laugh,” I say, even though the warning is unnecessary. I know neither of them would do anything to make me feel stupid.
“Never,” Archer promises, and the heat in his eyes lets me know that he doesn’t find this remotely funny.
My heart beats harder in my chest, pounding so violently that I’m pretty sure it’s shaking my rib cage. Slowly, I rest my hand on my stomach, then trail it downward over my mound. My clit is already throbbing when my fingertips brush over it, and I let out a soft sound, my legs moving restlessly on the bed.
Dare and Archer are both zeroed in on every movement, their cocks hard and jutting out from their bodies as they watch me.
My fingers slide over the firm nub of my clit, finding the rhythm I like easily. I still feel awkward and vulnerable, and I try to remind myself that they’ve touched me more intimately than this before.
That thought makes a flash of heat rise up in me.
I have so much more experience with pleasure now than I did back in those lonely nights in my little room at Clint’s house. I know what’s possible now, and as my fingers continue to tease my clit, I think of all the times my mates and I have been together. My touch becomes harder, more demanding, as I arch my hips up toward my hand. My free hand moves to my breast, rolling the nipple in a way I didn’t even know I liked until Dare showed me.
“Fuck.” He curses roughly, reaching down to fist himself as Archer does the same.
Emboldened by their reactions, I hold Archer’s gaze as I move my fingers faster, letting him see the naked desire on my face. A muscle in his jaw jumps as he strokes himself, and he’s breathing just as hard as I am as he murmurs, “Holy fuck, Sable. You’re so beautiful like this.”
My hips twist and roll beneath my hand. Pressure is building inside me, and as it does, the feelings of awkwardness fade like dew burned away by the sun.
I want to come for them. I want to show them.
Holding my breath, I move my hand lower, sliding two fingers into myself. As I begin to move them slowly, Archer’s face goes hard—so hard that at first I think he’s angry.
But as his fist moves faster along the length of his cock, I realize I was wrong.
He’s not pissed.
He’s turned on.
“Archer.” His name is a breathy moan. “Dare.”
My fingers are coated with slick arousal, and I thrust them as deep as I can get them before drawing out and finding my clit again. The pads of my fingers circle it in a blur, and then I steal a trick I learned from Trystan. I pinch gently, and the rush of sensation that barrels through me pushes me over the edge.
I arch off the bed, writhing and gasping as I come hard—so much fucking harder than I ever did beneath my little blanket in my bed all alone.
“Fuck,” I gasp, struggling to catch my breath as stars dance in front of my eyes. “Holy fuck.”
“Jesus, Sable.”
Archer’s voice is hard as steel, and before I can regain my equilibrium, he hooks my legs and pulls me toward him. I have just a second to notice the beads of liquid seeping from the tip of his cock before he drapes his body over mine and fills me in one hard thrust.
It’s only once he’s inside me that I realize just what watching me did to him. I can feel his need for me in every line of his body, and my sweet, gentle Archer is more animalistic than I’ve ever seen him be before. His jaw is tight, and his hips crash against mine as he drives into me.
I fucking love it.
I love that he needs me as much as I need him. That I’m not insane for the way I feel about him—about all of my mates.
Or if I’m crazy, at least they are too.
As he drives into me, I cling to him with one hand, holding on to his shoulder as the bed rocks slightly beneath us. My other hand reaches up to cup his jaw as he stares down at me with fire burning in his green eyes. And when I bring my fingers to his lips, his tongue darts out to taste the arousal that still lingers on my skin. He bites down on my fingertips
and then stills inside me, his hips grinding hard against mine as he empties himself.
He releases my fingertips and slumps over me for a second before rolling onto his back so he won’t crush me. I can feel his heart beating wildly against my skin as I rest on top of him.
“Holy fuck,” he groans. “I know I asked for that, but I really wasn’t prepared.” He slides his fingers through my hair, lifting my head a little as he looks down at me. “How’d you get to be so damn sexy?”
“I think that’s the mate bond talking,” I shoot back breathlessly, although a flush of pride rises up in me anyway. “You could probably watch me write a grocery list and think it was sexy.”
“Mm. It would be.” He tilts his hips up a bit to punctuate his words, his slowly softening cock sliding a little deeper.
“He’s right. You’re beautiful, moonlight.”
Dare’s voice behind me makes me flush. It strikes me all over again how strange it is that I felt shy about touching myself in front of these men, considering the show Archer and I just gave Dare.
But I like when my mates watch each other fuck me.
I like the way it seems to turn them on, and I like the reminder that I belong to all of them. That my wolf chose each of them, and that they chose me right back.
Pressing up, I rest my hands on the mattress next to Archer’s head and look over my shoulder at my other mate. Dare’s hand is still wrapped around his cock, but he’s not stroking himself. He’s squeezing the base, his jaw set almost as tightly as Archer’s was earlier. Slowly, I lift my hips so that Archer’s cock slides out of me. A gush of cum spills down my legs as I hold Dare’s gaze.
His lips curve up on one side in a hungry smile, and before I know it, he’s behind me. He doesn’t even pull me off of Archer, just tugs my hips back a little until I’m solidly on all fours and then drives inside me. Archer lies still beneath us, watching with a heated expression as Dare claims me with hard thrusts.
When I lean down to kiss Archer, Dare palms my ass, sliding one hand over the arched curve of my spine. “That’s it, moonlight. Let him feel what I’m doing to you. Let him feel just how much you love it.”