Caught: A Paranormal Romance (The Swamp Book 3)

by Rebecca Royce

  A whole new MacKenzie Harper. Or maybe I was being ridiculous and I should just make love to Preston and not overthink this.

  “I want your clothes off, Mr. Harper.” There, I’d called him Harper and resisted the urge to say Lejeune. His smile was huge and told me he’d noticed.

  He ran a hand through his hair. “Sure. Because you got the name right.”

  I winked at him. “Is that the only reason?”

  Running my hands over his chest—I loved his strong muscles—I massaged the mark that made him mine.

  “Maybe that isn’t the only reason. Maybe there are many.” He kissed my neck. “Mac, I’m going to need you to get off my lap if you want me to strip off my pants.”

  That was a good point. I dramatically sighed and rolled off him onto the bed, which put me right next to Jarret. I stared at him for a long second. He had his eyes closed but he wasn’t sleeping, more like he was lying there with contentment.

  He opened his eyes and winked at me. “It does take getting naked to have sex.”

  I laughed just as Preston pulled me back over him. “Now, where were we?”

  Okay. We weren’t the smoothest crew to ever have sex like this, but I wouldn’t trade these laughing moments for anything in the world. There was such joy in being with them in this uncomfortable bed while we made this up as we went along. I knew I’d never forget it, and even if it would never find its way into some how-to book on group sex, I’d take these moments over anything else in the world.

  He was hard, and I was more than ready. I sat up higher, but just so I could fit him inside of me before I pressed down. He cried out, making the best gasp I’d ever heard. That was the thing with Preston. Every time felt like the first time with him. He was always so surprised to be inside of me, and that was really wonderful. Everyone should know this kind of adoration. It should be a requirement for life, to know that the person you were with wouldn’t trade you for anything in the universe.

  Preston took control of my hips, setting my pace, and I let him. Yes, he was right, the angle and the movements were better. He got to rub me the way I needed, and he got harder and harder with each pass.

  Oh the power in knowing I could make him this needy. I threw my head back, grasping my own breasts in my hands and squeezing my nipples. Preston let out a long moan. I guessed he liked that. Or no guessing about it, he fucking did.

  We banged against each other. I let go of my breasts to hold on to his shoulders as we dug and dove into each other’s bodies. I’d never been closer with him. He pressed his forehead to mine, and it was like we were breathing together. Every in and out we took was joined. I finally couldn’t stand it anymore.

  “I need…”

  Somehow, he knew without me having to finish that thought. Preston placed a finger between us, stroking my clit for a long second. I exploded. Yes, I’d needed that. But then I couldn’t breathe. I could just exist in the universe where Preston was taking me hard. My body clenched around him, as I had no control over what my muscles did. I couldn’t have thought thoroughly enough to have made anything happen just then.

  With one last jerk, he spent himself inside of me. Tears sprung to my eyes again, and I let them fall. This was a day for crying, for beautiful tears to show how beloved I was to these men that I had made my own.

  “Love you,” Preston whispered in my ear. “Always will.”

  I believed him.

  Time blurred for me. Eventually, I lay on the bed, snuggled between Jarret and Preston, embraced in their warmth. It was a great feeling to float in giddiness.

  Preston started to snore, and it dragged me out of my haze. I smiled. He was always telling me to kick him, but I wasn’t going to do that. Ever. Who wanted to be kicked?

  Jarret leaned up on his arm. “One time we were on a vacation, which was weird for my family. We didn’t go anywhere because my mom was so afraid of someone coming to take Anton, but Gus insisted. So we all went on this camping trip. He and I ended up in a tent. Longest night of my fucking life.”

  I shook my head. “I like the sound. It tells me he’s there.”

  “See? I love my brother, but you are in love with him. Totally different thing. I’ll kick him for you.”

  I rolled my eyes. “I wouldn’t kick you either.”

  “You’re also in love with me.” He rubbed his eyes. “I’m hungry. Are you hungry?”

  His saying it made me suddenly aware of just that. “Yes. Starved.”

  “Let’s see if we can get Rainer to make grilled cheese.”

  I loved that idea. And even knowing that it was all going to be really, really hard shortly couldn’t diminish my happiness.

  Chapter 8

  Goose Lake in Oregon was beautiful. It wasn’t anywhere I’d ever planned to visit. But there I was, standing on the side of the lake, wondering where to go from there. Rainer handed me a sweater, and I smiled at him.

  “Thanks.” I nudged him. “I have no idea where he is by the way. I’m here, but I don’t have a deep-seated internal radar that tells me where he is.”

  I couldn’t feel a tug or anything. He might not even be here for all that I knew. We’d brought a caravan of wolves to Oregon from Louisiana, and I didn’t have a clue if I’d just given us all a massive ride in the car for no good reason. Of course, it hadn’t been me. It had been my guys, but I grouped myself with them. What they did, I did. It just sort of worked like that.

  If I’d been conscious, I’d have gone right along with what they’d decided.

  “He’s here.” Rainer rocked back on his feet. “And it won’t take long for him to notice that we are and have a temper tantrum about it. Things will take a sharp left turn soon.”

  “How do you know?”

  “I just do. I can feel the challenge coming.” He lifted an eyebrow. “In the end, it will be him and me in an Alpha challenge. Let’s hope I can beat an old Alpha who has garnered more power over the years than he was entitled to.”

  The wolf rushed into my eyes, and his joined me. Rainer might not know it, but his was smiling right now. I grinned back at him. Our wolves had no question about his strength. His wolf was one hundred percent certain he could best any challengers, win any war. There was a strut to him that Rainer in his human form simply didn’t have.

  Ross the Loup had seen to that with the Accords, when they’d beaten him down emotionally, framed him for something he hadn’t done, and sent him to prison. That had kicked the shit out of my Alpha. But his wolf had held on, even in the years of never shifting. He’d waited, and in this moment that would be coming, he knew himself to be strong enough.

  Plus he had me, and I had generations’ worth of Omega knowledge to see me through what I had to do.

  He wasn’t telling me how he would kill the Loup, and I wasn’t letting him know what I intended to do to help. This was a funny moment. If either of us broke our silence, the other might try to interfere, might get worried. Staying mutually close-mouthed made this an equally thought out choice to not burden each other with what had to be done.

  Our wolves understood it, and even though I didn’t consciously know what Rainer intended to do, my wolf trusted his. And so therefore, I did as well.

  That was the beauty of the dual nature of ourselves. We could relate on many levels, and all of them made sense in a way I couldn’t have fathomed.

  My wolf pulled back and so did his. I didn’t have to tell him that I believed in him. I just had, and not with words.

  “MacKenzie…” His smile was soft. “What happened with you and Jarret and Preston on the motorhome…”

  I lifted my eyebrows. Where was he going to go with this? “Yes?”

  “Not for me, okay? I want to be that person like Jarret and Preston. But I can’t be. At least, not yet. When it’s you and me being intimate, can we keep it just you and me? I’m so glad you all had fun and wanted that.” He cupped my cheek. “I get so little time with you alone, and I don’t want to be disappointing, so if it’s impor
tant to you, then…”

  I kissed his chin, and he stopped talking. “You could never be that. And yes, it can just be us. There are no rules about this having to be a constant group…romp.” I wasn’t sure if that was the right word, but I was using it because it would get my point across. “I don’t think they’d want that either. I think that was them fulfilling a request I made earlier. I don’t think it was on either of their lists.”

  Rainer kissed my cheeks. “They’d never have done anything they didn’t want to do. You asked the right two. I can’t speak for Anton, but I didn’t get the impression while we were driving that he was anxious either. So maybe we’re selfish with you.”

  I shook my head. “You two are absolutely not that.”

  He wrapped his arms around me and held on. I closed my eyes and sighed. This might be one of the greatest hugs I’d ever had. Rainer was great that way. He didn’t give affection looking for it to become something else. I’d heard women in the hair salon where I’d swept up talk about that. They never could have a kiss or a hug that didn’t turn into sex with their partners. That wasn’t what Rainer did. It was as though he understood my need for affection that was just that, affection.

  Not that I’d complain if we were to end up having sex either, but this wasn’t the time for that. I was glad for his strong arms.

  “Whatever happens…” His voice sounded hoarse. “I wouldn’t trade a minute of what we’ve had together.” I tugged back to argue with him about thinking dour thoughts, but he continued to speak, his words drawing me into what he saw in a way that stole my breath. “You showed up with Gus, and at first, I couldn’t believe he’d done that. Rescued you and brought you to Preston? I mean, he didn’t even know that the rest of us would be there when he’d made that decision.”

  I hardly remembered that time. I’d been so completely out of it. “I don’t remember you being that thrilled.”

  “No, we’d fought all day with Preston. Anton wanted him to come home. He wasn’t going to do that. I was feeling completely off balance being there at all, and Jarret was a shell of himself.” He sighed. “But then you came, my beautiful mate. And I didn’t know it yet, but you were going to make everything better. You have, time and again, taken care of us. Now it’s our time to help you.”

  I shook my head. “Are you under the impression you haven’t done that? I mean, I was pretty much comatose for days. And yet, here I am.”

  He winced. “That was Jarret and Anton. I didn’t do anything but encourage them to try. And Preston worked this out, where to go. How to do it. That’s all them. Now it’s going to be my turn.”

  I squeezed his hands in my own, loving the slight roughness of the callus on his fingers. “Rainer, you don’t need to feel like you…”

  That was when I felt them. The Loups. I dropped Rainer’s hands and swung around to see what had happened. My hands burned. Loups surrounded us.

  “Well, I see what you mean about him throwing a fit.”

  Rainer sighed. The first time we’d seen Loups, we’d all been asleep in our home, lying on mattresses on the living room floor. They’d forced the first shifts on Jarret and Anton, scaring the crap out of the rest of us. We’d all shifted and battled. Rainer had restrained himself from killing two.

  Now, he was sighing. Oh, how things had changed.

  I put my hands on my hips, even as they burned, ignoring the feeling. I’d gotten better at letting some of the urge to immediately fix wane, and the knowledge of the dead Omegas helped, too. I just had to breathe through the urge

  There were ten of them.

  That was more than I’d handled all at once before, but I’d cleared entire rooms of the control Ross had over them, so I supposed this wouldn’t be very different.

  “Do you suppose that Omegas could be born tomorrow?” I shook my head. “Like we kill Ross today and a hundred of them are born tomorrow? Then I just have to wait eighteen years for some help.”

  Rainer actually laughed. “I don’t think there are one hundred werewolves pregnant right now.”

  “That’s too bad.”

  But it turned out I was really not alone. Growls sounded everywhere, and I swung around to look. Anton. Jarret. Preston. Isaac. Agustin. My mother, which took me a hot second to digest. All of the Lejeunes. Miranda. Her mates. We weren’t just surrounded by Loups. Oh no, they were ready to get into the fray of the whole thing with our makeshift pack.

  I put my hands out in front of me in the universal sign for stop before I spoke. “Okay. Thank you. We don’t need to hurt them. The thing Ross doesn’t understand is that he doesn’t control them, not really. I do. No amount of control he has will ever circumvent what they need from me.” I tilted my head. “But if you guys could herd them like sheep, I’d be so grateful. Bring me one at a time.”

  Anton moved forward, but my mother beat him to it. I smirked. She was going to have a hard time taking a step back from me when this was over. She pushed her Loup toward me, grabbing on to his leg until he was right in front of me.

  I smiled. It was funny. I knew it was she, and yet I’d seen her as a wolf for just seconds once before. But I knew it the way that wolves knew these things. The brown wolf with white spots was my mother. And she was dragging a Loup by the leg.

  Chalking that in the column of things I never expected to see was one of the things I’d do today. I stepped forward, placing my hands on the Loup’s arms. His pain hit me, but there was something more. Ross had a strong hold on this Loup. Maybe it was the fact that he was so physically close to this Loup, or maybe he’d pushed his strength more than ever before.

  I growled, my wolf coming to my eyes. She wanted to shift. We could do all of this on four feet, but I was going to wait on that for later. A vision struck me. It was of an older Omega. She’d been gray haired and blue eyed. It was like she spoke to me in that moment.

  She leaned against a wooden pole, like she stood on an old-fashioned porch. Dressed in a green dress with white gloves, I wondered if she was on her way somewhere where she had to look fancy, or if she’d ripped such a lovely dress off every time she’d had to shift. I might never put on good clothes again.

  “The thing about a rope is that it can be pulled on both ends. You just have to make it taut and yank it harder. Sometimes, a Loup is still too connected to the Alpha that failed him to begin with you. Have to yank harder, you have to become the thing that they hold on to until you can set them right again.”

  I loved the slight lilt in her voice. It made me wonder about her background, where she had to have picked up that way of speaking. As far as I knew, we’d all lived in the swamp area and then gone from there, but she would have had to have been somewhere else entirely to sound like that.

  I smiled. There was so much knowledge lost in our history, and no one left to teach it to us. Centuries of werewolf understanding disappeared with the death of our people to the Accords. Thanks to the Loup still causing me a headache now.

  I pushed myself back to the present. Rainer tilted his head looking at me. “You okay?”

  “Just doing a little post-mortem communication.”

  He shook his head. “So weird.”

  “Yep. That’s a good way to describe it.” But I had something to do, and later, we could focus on how odd everything was. Maybe someday I’d just get to be a werewolf, shifting when I wanted to and living an otherwise normal life. Well…maybe. I was going to spend my life with four very hot men in a relationship that was more solemn than most human marriages. That was a different kind of normal.

  In the meantime, I focused on the wolf my mother held for me. I had to disconnect him from his Loup and tug harder. My powers were like a wolf with sharp claws. I struck out with them, severing Ross from this man’s mind, and then I pushed my healing magic at him so strongly, it was like a growl surging from my mouth. With a smile, I healed him as he gave himself over to me. I lifted my head to Rainer.

  “Got him.”

  My alpha mate smiled, slowly
. “I can feel him. You gave him to me.”

  For now, that was how it would work. What was mine was, as it was, his. “Take him.”

  “Will do.” He nodded. “Bring her the next one.”

  I wasn’t the least bit tired. I could do this all day.

  A roar sounded in my head. Everyone around us jumped, even in their wolf bodies, which told me that I wasn’t the only one who could hear it. No. I amended that thought. Rainer didn’t jump. He tilted his head in the way that he did when he found things interesting but not concerning.

  “Someone is mad.”

  The growls sounded everywhere. I didn’t blame them. It wasn’t any fun having Ross in their heads. They’d all suffered through that once. But this was different. It wasn’t control. It was projection. He’d yelled psychically loud enough through the link that we’d all heard it.

  I imagined that was everywhere. Wolves who had no idea what was going on in the middle of who knew where must have heard that noise. A roaring wolf. I preferred the sounds of growls and howls. Much more natural. But Ross had put away everything that was understandable a long time ago.

  Closing my eyes, I let myself see him in my mind’s eye.

  “MacKenzie?” Rainer asked, wanting my attention. He wouldn’t like this, me giving any part of myself over to see that Loup.

  I lifted my lids and patted his arm. “I’m okay. Ross is in his house. It’s very close. I can practically see him, but he’s going to wait because I’m busy right now.”

  “Next up,” Rainer called. “Bring her the next one.”

  I was an Omega. Ross would have to wait his turn for my attention.

  When I’d yanked the last of his Loups away, I stood straight up, stretching my back. Anton shifted back and walked toward us as Preston and Jarret stayed in their wolf forms. Preston rubbed against my leg, and I petted him between his ears like he was a friendly canine and not capable of biting off my hand if he so desired. Of course, he wouldn’t do that to me. But someone else? He just might. And I loved that about him.