Clawed (Black Mountain Bears Book 1)

by Bell, Ophelia

  “Good enough for you, master Gunnar?” Julian asked, a hint of irony tinging his voice.

  In that moment, Emma got the strongest sense that the pair were much better acquainted than she’d realized.

  “Good enough for the best of us,” Gunn said and pulled Julian into a swift and dangerously passionate kiss.

  Emma watched, astounded at the hunger that passed between them. Should she worry about her cousin with this man she’d given him up to? Should she worry about Julian, if he was about to become her mate?

  “Old friends,” August said, sitting up to whisper in her ear. “Let them have their farewell.” The kiss he pressed to her neck made her feel like less of a bystander.

  “Farewell, friend,” Julian said. “And thank you for the send-off.”

  Gunn’s gaze shifted to Emma and he smiled. He pressed his hand against her pelvis, guiding her onto the pair of cocks he held poised for her. She sank down, paused when the dual heads pressed against her tight opening, and closed her eyes, preparing herself to be filled fuller than she ever had in her life.

  Now, she thought. Right now is when your life changes forever. With three men having their hands all over you. This is your life, Emma Stonetree. Oh fuck, if Erika Rosencrans could see me now. Her mind wandered back to the kiss she’d shared with her rival. She’d wager her life savings that Erika wasn’t currently about to be fucked by the two most beautiful men in the world.

  She let out a giddy laugh, but the thought of Erika swiftly disappeared with the first dual thrust of their cocks into her. They filled her so completely it obliterated the rising empty ache of her estrous that had threatened to overwhelm her again. The stretch and slide of them deep into her made it a challenge to maintain sanity. Emma tried to hold on, but lost motor function within a few seconds of their thrusting and finally gave in, letting the pair of them maneuver her body on their cocks. Every movement gave her a fresh blast of ecstasy and their hands never ceased touching her. They gripped her to move her on them, or teased her clit, or her breasts.

  She felt like a rag doll between them, but didn’t have the leverage to control anything. She did still have a voice, and used it, to their delight.

  “Oh, fuck, you two feel so fantastic. Please don’t hold back.”

  They sped up, holding her hips and ramming her down repeatedly on their cocks. All Emma could do was hang on tight to Julian. She clutched his head, dug her fingernails into his scalp, and tried to hold onto reality while the most intense pleasure of her life threatened to overwhelm her.

  She didn’t think it could be more mind-blowing until August sank a finger, slick with her copious juices, into her ass again.

  “I know you like this,” he murmured in her ear. “And I think after we get done with tonight, I’d like to explore a bit more. Would you like that, Princess?”

  “Oh, fuck yes.” It wasn’t fair of him to ask in the middle of the act, but she had no other answer. She let out a low moan when he added another finger. Her pussy clenched hard around them both and they responded in kind.

  “Emma, fuck,” Julian said. “You’re killing me.”

  She met his eyes long enough to see the pure adoration in his depths, and pressed her mouth on his.

  The electric contact of his tongue combined with the light stroke of his finger over her clit made her jerk. The pleasure always came faster than she could track, the orgasm an elusive beast that she always sensed in the darkness, prickling at her senses until it finally launched and consumed her whole.

  It came too fast for her and she arched her back, her entire body spasming under the pressure. August caught her in a quivering embrace and let out a loud roar, his cock shooting hard inside her. A second later, Julian followed suit, digging his fingers hard into her hips where he held them.

  A soft growl sounded from nearby and Emma turned to see Gunnar stroking himself off. She smiled and mouthed the words “thank you” to him.

  Large, gentle hands pressed against her hips, lifting her off the pair of cocks she’d decided she loved more than life itself.

  “Hey, did I say we could stop?” she protested.

  Julian gave her a sleepy smile. “No, but it is a mating ritual. We have a time limit. Next time we’re together, we can go all night. Tonight, you have obligations. Fulfill them, Princess.”

  The last step was really the easiest, yet the most intimate. She pressed her hand between her thighs, gathered the pool of fluid in her palm, and smoothed it over Julian’s scored shoulder. Their fluids mixed with his blood in the wound, the combination glowing in the darkness, the shimmer lingering long enough for Emma to see the wounds stitch closed, leaving behind an upraised scar.

  “You’re really mine now, aren’t you?” she asked.

  “Always,” he said, grinning. He leaned closer and whispered in her ear, “I love you, Emma. I’ll always love you.”

  Shaken by Julian’s revelation, she turned to August and paused. The intensity of his gaze threw her off.

  “Are you all right?”

  “Better than I’ve ever been. I’m yours. What more could a man ask?”

  “You can ask for anything.”

  “Seal my mark, and I will. Trust me.”

  Emma stepped between his legs and he wrapped his arm around her. When she pressed her slick palm against his wound, mixing their fertile fluids with his blood, she gazed into his green eyes the entire time. His face buried into her bosom and he sighed.

  “You are magical, Emma. I love you.”

  * * *

  “They’re still singing,” Emma observed, listening to the rhythm of chanting that had been so prevalent all night she’d finally tuned it out. She closed her eyes and found the words to the song inside her and whispered them in time with the music. She was surprised that it came so easily to her.

  “They’ll be at it until dawn,” August said, pulling her down and wrapping his arms around her. “We have a few hours to spare before having to answer to your mother. I want to hold you until then.”

  “Don’t leave me out,” Julian said, his dark shape looming above them. He flopped down beside Emma and slung a blanket over the three of them. She nestled between them, happier than she’d been in her entire life.

  “Do you think we did it?” Emma asked. “Got me pregnant, I mean.”

  Julian grumbled. “Are you doubting our virility already? You’re pregnant. I can smell it on you. Go to sleep.”

  Emma pulled a quilt up over her shoulder and stared into the forest beyond their little spot. August pulled her tight against him, murmuring into her shoulder. “Sleep, Princess, or I’ll be forced to make you sleep.”

  “What happens when my mom finds out we sabotaged the ritual?”

  “You’re pregnant—that’s all that matters. They’ll forgive us, under the circumstances. We’ll worry about the fallout after your cousins wake up.”

  Emma settled down into August’s embrace. Just as she was about to drift off, a light caress trailed over her cheek and she opened her eyes.

  “Julian?” she said, blinking up into his face, confused by the frown he gave her.

  He brushed a hand through her hair, avoiding her gaze.

  “Are you okay?”

  The troubled look in his eyes was enough to signal he wasn’t. “It’s going to be miserable saying farewell to you.”

  Emma’s skin prickled as though a chill wind had blown over her. “I thought you didn’t have to leave until the Equinox? Autumn told me the guardian schedule was quarterly, that you’d be gone for a few months, but would be back each season for just as long.”

  August’s embrace squeezed tighter behind her and he leaned up on one elbow. Emma stared up at them both, wishing one of them would speak, but they only shared a grave look with each other.

  “That’s changing with the new year,” August explained. �
�It may be Midsummer in the Sanctuary, but it’s Midwinter in the human world. The new year is only a few days away. We need to be there by New Year’s. And we won’t be coming back. At least, not until the threat to our home is dealt with. Guardians from all the clans are joining us.”

  Emma almost asked, “What threat,” but remembered the exquisitely built clock her father had shown her the day before and the timer indicating an inevitable confrontation with their enemy.

  “But that’s not happening for decades! Why do you have to leave now?”

  “We still have a few days, Princess. Let’s make it last,” Julian said.

  “No! I don’t want you to leave. Can’t I command you to stay? You are mine, aren’t you?” Panic threatened to overwhelm her and she sat up, shaking her head. “I’ll come with you. After I wake up my cousins, Jade can take my place. I can go with you.”

  “Emma,” August said softly. “You can’t come through the portal with us if you’re pregnant. And by the Equinox, the Sanctuary will be on lock-down. The only ones permitted in or out are going to be Windchaser runners, carrying news and commands to the guardians on the outside. This is one of the reasons your mother didn’t want you to mate us, besides the fact that neither of us are the son of a clan leader. Not to mention the fact that your power is needed inside the Sanctuary.”

  “But I need you.” She raised both hands, clutching at the backs of each man’s head. They leaned into her, resting their foreheads against hers. She clenched her eyes shut, holding back tears and wishing like hell her life hadn’t become so damn complicated. Yet she knew there was no way she’d have been happy remaining in the dark about her origins.

  Emma took a deep breath and let it out slowly, digging deep for the courage to do what she knew she had to do. It had been hard enough having to give them up the first time, for the sake of their race, and for her cousins’ lives.

  With a nod, she released them and wiped fiercely at her eyes. August rubbed her back, the gentle caress a small comfort. She sagged against his chest and pulled Julian down with her. They lay with arms and legs entwined. Emma had been so close to sleep a little while earlier, but now it was the furthest thing from her mind.

  Soon, Julian’s light caressing of her abdomen gradually shifted and he traced a line up her sternum and around the swell of one breast. August slid his palm down her side and up over the round curve of her hip before venturing over her thigh. He wrapped his fingers around her leg, the span of his hand so vast it actually made her feel small for once. Those fingertips made her feel even more amazing, especially as they moved again, teasing up her inner thigh.

  “I guess we’d better make the most of our time, then,” August rumbled.

  Emma nodded and tilted her head back, accepting his mouth and savoring the thrust of his tongue between her lips just as his fingers slid between her folds. Another hand followed, Julian adding his own fingers to the mix while his mouth worked its way from her collarbone down the center of her chest and trailed a hot tongue across her skin to find her nipple.

  They laid her down and continued to make slow, glorious love to her as the sun rose on the most bittersweet day of Emma’s life.

  Chapter Nine

  The entire walk back to the lodge shortly after dawn, Emma’s mind churned. Mostly with constantly rejected excuses to keep her mates with her, but the tiniest, most prominent part focused on her cousins and her newfound power. The power itself was still nebulous, but she could feel it inside her, a comfortable heat in her belly, just beneath her breastbone.

  There was another glow inside her, too—the warm, heavy sensation in her lower abdomen of the power that signaled the presence of the baby she and her mates had conceived together.

  Julian and August walked beside her, hands gripping hers. They stayed silent, the sounds of early morning a soft soundtrack accompanying their walk through the woods.

  Emma was pretty sure their thoughts mirrored her own.

  “I need a name,” she blurted.

  Both men jerked their heads to look at her, surprised by her sudden outburst.

  “For the baby,” she said. “If it’s a girl, I want to name her after my mother. But I don’t have any good boy names in mind.”

  “Gunnar,” Julian said, without missing a beat.

  Emma smiled. “Settled,” she said. “If he comes out with white hair, you guys might not be happy, though.”

  August’s steps faltered and Emma immediately regretted her words. They wouldn’t even be here when their child was born.

  “I didn’t mean . . . ” she began, and stopped when August squeezed her hand. He halted and pulled her around to face him.

  “We understand the sacrifice you’re making. The one we’re all making. We also know what your mother did for us all. She wouldn’t be near death right now if she hadn’t done it. It won’t be easy for any of us for a long time.”

  “I just don’t understand what the threat is. I’ll do anything to keep us all safe, but what about everyone else?”

  “Humans are not at risk from this threat, Princess. Only our kind,” Julian said.

  “The enemy . . . ” August began, his throat constricting for a second before he continued. “They’re called the Ultiori. They capture our people. They experiment on us, drain our blood, infuse themselves with it to gain our powers. They can, for a time, but it doesn’t last. I think they want more. And I think they’ve found a way to make it permanent.”

  “This is what my mother’s hiding from me?” Emma asked.

  August nodded. “She’s still the queen. She loves you, so she didn’t burden you with this so soon after having you back.”

  “But she’s dying, and I’m her heir. I should know these things.”

  “It’s been two days, Princess. Give her a break,” Julian said.

  “Do you know how long she has left?” Emma asked. Her fists clenched at her sides as she waited for the answer. God, if her mother died . . .

  “No . . . I think she still has enough power to choose the time of her death,” August said.

  “We can do that?”

  “We could die right now, if we had a purpose we believed in and an appropriate receptacle for our energy. Whatever we left behind would be given to our offspring.”

  Emma’s heart stopped. Her mother could . . . die . . . to give her all her remaining power? Oh, God, or Gaia, or whomever, she hoped her mother didn’t intend to do that.

  She sped up, her bare feet hitting the worn dirt path harder, then broke into a run.

  “Emma!” Julian called after her.

  “I’ve fucked around my entire life! I’m not wasting this time.”

  Her heart pounded with the exertion of her run, but she didn’t stop. Julian and August paced her and she was grateful that they simply ran beside her rather than making her stop.

  In spite of the anguish, she felt amazing. She wasn’t a runner, but the idea sank into her brain like an instinct and she let it. She stripped bare, shifted, and ran.

  She had no care for anything but the flex of her limbs and the sweet scent of the forest in her nostrils.

  When she reached the lodge, she shifted back.

  Julian and August were with her, smiling conspiratorially.

  “You left your clothes about a mile back,” Julian said.

  “How far are yours?” Emma asked.

  “About as far,” August said. “You surprised us. But I never regret a chance to shift.”

  She turned to look at the entrance to the lodge. There was no decision to make about whether she’d take that walk or not. They all knew it.

  “This week is it for us,” she said. “I hate this.”

  She hugged August, then turned to her other mate and took him into her arms. She lingered for a moment with Julian. “I wish we’d had more time,” she said, thinking about his kiss wit
h Gunn. There had been so much love between them, but they’d easily let it go. How much time did anyone really have with the people they loved?

  Then she left them standing in the entry to the lodge and walked resolutely into the throne room where her cousins still lay comatose.

  She still had no idea how to use her powers. She stared down at Jasper’s silent body, pale and gaunt from two days of inertia.

  “This is for you, Jas,” Emma murmured, pressing her hands against his chest.

  She closed her eyes, summoning the glow of energy that rested deep inside her. It came rushing through her veins, her palms tingling as though she’d just pressed them simultaneously to a block of ice and a glowing ember. She opened her eyes with a gasp, in time to see the power flood into her cousin’s chest.

  Jasper’s prone form jerked and made a sudden inhalation. He breathed for a few seconds, his eyes meeting hers.

  “Emma? I had the weirdest dream.”

  “It’s about to get weirder,” she said as she moved to Jade to repeat the process.

  * * *

  Emma padded wearily up the stairs, looking forward to several hours of nothing but sleep. She’d been given a room on the third floor of the lodge, overlooking the garden, but this would be the first time spending more than five minutes in it. When she’d arrived with Julian and August, she’d sent them up to wait for her.

  Voices carried out onto the balcony outside her room, a ledge similar to the one outside her mother’s that overlooked the vast throne room below. They were raised in argument, two of the female voices the most vehement of them all.

  “It was not your decision, Windchaser! She’s the princess of our race! Mating common guardians was not her fate.” Emma recognized her mother’s voice, fierce and loud, but quavering enough to signal to Emma how much she strained to push enough energy into it.

  “I’d say that was exactly her fate, considering that’s what happened. You can’t argue with the outcome. And it worked! She has two mates who adore her, and an heir on the way. You know a Windchaser would never have been able to do so well for her, even the son of a clan leader.”