A Thousand Years Dead [Pine Falls 1] (Siren Publishing Ménage Amour)

by Ashley Malkin

  Overall, Aiden thought the shifters of Pine Falls took the news well. They trusted their Alpha implicitly and Aiden only had to show his fangs to one person, Sean’s mom. Not because she didn’t believe him to be a vampire, she just thought it was fascinating.

  As all the members of the pride greeted Aiden, they each tried to familiarize themselves with his scent. It was soon apparent that his scent was only discernible to the cats.

  “I can’t scent anything,” Landon Damarin, the tavern owner said. It was his third try at detecting a scent from Aiden and he was getting frustrated. He clapped a hand on Aiden’s shoulder and even his vampire skeleton bent under the pressure. Landon was a bear shifter and stood nearly seven feet tall as a human. “Maybe if I shift, I’ll be able to smell you.”

  “Why don’t we have Brayden shift and give it a try?” Prescott said. “Last time you shifted inside you broke most of the furniture.”

  Landon went to backhand Prescott, but he ducked out the way in time. “Brayden?” Caleb asked. Brayden Walsh had been introduced to Aiden earlier. He was a wolf shifter, and had also been unable to scent Aiden.

  “I had a friend who was a wolf shifter, and he never detected a scent from me,” Aiden said.

  Brayden still wanted to try and went into Landon’s office to shift, returning moments later as a huge arctic wolf.

  “Has it made any difference?” Aiden asked him. Caleb had told the pride of his abilities, but it still took Brayden by surprise.

  “None. If I wasn’t looking at you, I wouldn’t know you were there.”

  Prescott changed the patrols around so that at least one cat was always patrolling, and the other shifters all left for the night.

  “I need to speak to you and your Alpha.” Aiden had directed the thought to only Sean. Sean excused himself and left Kaitlyn talking to his parents and her father. He nodded toward Landon’s office and Aiden went in to wait for them. He was pacing the office when Sean arrived with Caleb and his brothers. He didn’t want to alarm anyone, but the more he’d thought about it, the more worried he’d become.

  “The vampires are going to be coming for Kaitlyn the minute they know she’s gone. They may already be on the way.”

  “You said they would need to check on her when they discovered her absence, to make sure she had no memory of her attack. That made sense if they wish to preserve their anonymity. What’s changed?” Caleb asked.

  “Sean, have you tasted Kaitlyn’s blood?”

  “I gave her a hickey.” Sean looked at his Alpha and blushed. “We haven’t mated yet, Aiden. You know this.”

  Caleb stared intently at Aiden.

  “I have. Her blood isn’t normal. Not to vampires, anyway.” He ran is hand through his hair, and leaned against the huge wooden desk in Landon’s office.

  “Explain,” Caleb said.

  Sean was staring at him intently. All of his questions were flying through his mind so quickly that Aiden only caught a few of them.

  “I haven’t fed on her,” he said to Sean. “When I kissed her hand, I scraped it with my fangs.” Aiden would have blushed if he’d been physiologically able to. Explaining vampire foreplay to a room full of men was something he’d never imagined doing. “It’s a vampire thing. It feels good for both parties.”

  The silence in the room was deafening. Finally, Prescott laughed. “We’re just messing with you, Aiden. We’re cats. We’re biters, too.”

  Sean smiled. “Did I keep you out of my head?”

  Aiden shook his head. “Yes, you did. All those questions were a deliberate attempt to keep me out?” When Sean nodded, Aiden didn’t feel quite so worried. “You cats are constantly surprising me.”

  “Good,” Caleb said. “Now, tell us what’s so special about Kaitlyn’s blood.”

  * * * *

  Kaitlyn remained silent the whole way back from town, and once she’d said goodnight to her father, she went to the bathroom she’d used earlier and shut herself in. Sean and Aiden had talked to the Alpha and his brothers alone for a long time. She needed to know what was wrong. “Tell me what’s wrong. Please.”

  When there was a knock on the bathroom door some fifteen minutes later, she threw it open in relief. She sagged when she found her father standing there. She looked around his shoulders, but the bedroom was empty.

  “Sean got a call from someone called Shane about ten minutes ago. He and Aiden ran out of here like their tails were on fire.”

  “Aiden doesn’t have a tail.” She felt the tear slide down her cheek. They hadn’t said good-bye to her.

  “There wasn’t time, my heart. Those vampires will kill to get you.”

  He didn’t need to say anything more. She needed to pull herself together. She refused to think about all her fears in case she gave them life by distracting Aiden.

  “Let’s go put on some coffee. They’re going to need something warm when they come back.”

  As Kaitlyn and her father waited for Sean and Aiden to return, they had what felt like their first-ever honest conversation. Her father had worried about Kaitlyn’s safety her entire life. He’d kept her isolated to prevent her mixed race being discovered by either shifters or vampires.

  “I never knew what would happen if anyone noticed you were different,” Ray said. “I just knew your mother had been terrified of you ever being found.”

  “It must have been lonely for you, too, Dad. Never staying anywhere long enough to make friends.”

  “It was worth it for you,” he said. “You have good mates, Katie. I really am happy for you. Perhaps I should search for your mother again now that Aiden and Sean are protecting you?”

  Kaitlyn tried to bury her worry for her mates, but it was hard now that her father had mentioned them. “You should try and find her, Dad. You deserve to be happy. I’d like to find out why she left me, too.”

  Chapter 15

  Simon Kennedy stalked slowly up to the big pub in the town of Upper-Nowhere, Wyoming. Honestly, with a pub this big, the entire town must be drunk every day. The whole town stunk of shifters. Every time he turned his head, a different shifter scent trail assailed him. Kaitlyn’s trail was nearly smothered by their stench.

  Useless creatures, you couldn’t feed from them without a fight, and then you had to dispose of them. Hiding bodies was also a lot more troublesome than it used to be. He found it unusual for so many different races of shifter to be concentrated in a single town. They usually dwelled exclusively in their own territories, much like a coven did.

  He’d tracked the delectable Kaitlyn here in a matter of hours. Her blood was a siren call he’d not soon forget. But that was why he was here. So he wouldn’t ever have to forget. He’d have his new favorite blood on tap. And she’s to be found in a pub.

  “Good God. I’m hilarious.”

  “Want to share the joke, brother?” Simon swung his head around and eyed the vampire that stood before him. He was taller than him, rangier, too. Simon had taken a liking to the lifestyle of the British aristocracy in the sixteen hundreds, and had shied away from anything even remotely resembling physical activity ever since. Not that he wasn’t still inherently strong, but he’d have to admit to being out of practice.

  “Not really. You had to be there,” Simon said, appraising the vampire. It unsettled him that he’d been so distracted he’d allowed the stranger to surprise him like this.

  “But it’s going to be a long night. I could do with a laugh.” The man was leaning against the side of the wooden pub and inspecting his nails. Simon quickly judged him to be a rogue, but a harmless one.

  “Run along now. I’m here on business for my coven leader. He’s going to be a very powerful man soon. You don’t want to get on the wrong side of him.” The man’s eyes locked onto Simon’s. His shoulders drooped and he licked his lips.

  “Really? Does he need any new members? I’m willing to start at the bottom. I’ll do anything.”

  “I bet you would,” Simon stepped around him, dismissing him as he w
ould a stray dog. “With the money and power my coven is going to wield, we’ll have royalty begging to join us. We won’t need rogue scum like you.”

  “Damn, he’s an asshole. Have you heard enough?”

  Simon turned around to see a huge man standing in front of him. He looked like a mountain.

  “Yes. He’s all yours, Landon.”

  * * * *

  Sean slapped Landon on the ass. “Good job. I didn’t know a head could be removed that way.”

  Landon had a booming laugh, and the windows above his head shook a little. “I’m surprised there are any vampires left if they’re all as pompous as that prick.”

  Aiden laughed and shook Landon’s bloody hand. “We’re not, thankfully, or I might have been tempted to kill myself.”

  “Ha. I like you.” Landon clapped Aiden on the back and he staggered forward a step before stopping himself.

  “I’m glad you do, after seeing how quickly you could kill me.”

  “So what do you think we can expect, Aiden?” Caleb asked.

  Sean watched Aiden as he deliberated. He’d been right about the vampires. They had come for Kaitlyn as soon as she’d been missed. They wanted her blood. “Dammit, what’s so fucking special about her blood?”

  “Doesn’t matter why,” Caleb said. “We have to protect her, and this town.”

  “They’ll come for her,” Aiden said. “He has no cell phone, so I’d say they’ll wait a day, no more, before they come looking for both him and Kaitlyn.”

  “Should we take the fight to them?” Sean asked.

  “We risk leaving the town vulnerable if we miss them while travelling north,” Prescott said. He was a good enforcer. Sean had been in the Marines with him, and he’d saved a lot of lives as their troop’s lieutenant.

  “So we stay and keep up the patrols,” Caleb said. “We’ve proved we can smell them. Good work, Lachlan.”

  “He’d passed me before I could get to him, though. You fuckers are fast.”

  “That was to our advantage,” Sean said. “We now know why they want Kaitlyn.”

  “They can’t have her,” Aiden said. His accompanying growl was one that any cat would have been proud of.

  Landon delivered another reassuring pat to Aiden’s shoulder. “Of course they can’t.”

  * * * *

  Aiden and Sean ran home together, Aiden running slowly, so he and Sean could discuss how they planned on protecting their mate. The shifters of the town had proved themselves to be ready and willing to protect her with them. Aiden felt humbled by their acceptance of both Kaitlyn and him.

  “I think one of us needs to stay with Kaitlyn at all times.”

  “Agreed,” Aiden said. “I’ll patrol tonight.”

  When they arrived home, they walked in the kitchen door to find Kaitlyn and her father waiting for them. Kaitlyn threw herself into his arms. He lifted her and she wrapped her arms and legs around him, peppering his face with kisses. “I’m so glad you’re safe.” His heart filled, and so did his cock. Her scent filled his lungs, driving his need higher. She was becoming impossible to resist.

  She reached for Sean and Aiden released her to him. She repeated her actions with him. “We’re fine, baby,” Sean whispered in her ear.

  Sean let her go when she pushed against his chest. She took Sean’s hand and then his and began to walk backward out of the kitchen, pulling them along with her. “I made coffee and I talked to Dad. I deliberately didn’t think about you getting killed or maimed so I wouldn’t distract you, Aiden.”

  Aiden looked at Sean for guidance, but he just shrugged. She kept pulling them. Aiden couldn’t interpret her thoughts, they were too jumbled. He had no idea what she was doing.

  “But now you’re home and safe and I want to be your mate. I should have…”

  Aiden picked her up and had her in Sean’s bedroom, their bedroom, before she spoke the next word.

  “…told you I loved you.” She’d waited, and finished her sentence as Sean ran into the room behind them.

  “I love you, Kaitlyn.” Aiden took her lips in a hungry kiss, their lips sliding together, their tongues stroking. Aiden released her and turned her to face Sean. She had two mates.

  “I love you,” Sean said. She moaned into his mouth as they kissed.

  As the scent of her arousal filled the room, his cock began to throb painfully. He walked behind her and ran his hands down the length of her back to cup her ass. If she wasn’t ready, he’d wait, but if this went on much longer, it might cost him his tenuous grip on his sanity.

  “God, what you do to me, Kaitlyn.” He ground his pelvis into the softness of her ass. She moaned and broke away from Sean’s mouth.

  “I want to be your mate. I don’t want you going out there and fighting for me without the mating bond joining us, without you having a piece of my heart with you always.”

  “My cock is going to explode, baby. Are you sure?” Sean asked, nipping at Kaitlyn’s neck.

  “Tell him, Aiden. Am I sure?”

  “She’s sure.” It was Aiden’s turn to groan as Kaitlyn thought in explicit detail about what she wanted to do.

  “We have to make sure you’re ready for us first, my heart. Then we will make your wish a reality.”

  “Jesus. Now I wish I could read minds,” Sean said, moaning into Kaitlyn’s neck.

  Kaitlyn began to pull at Sean’s shirt. He drew away from her to pull it over his head. “Were you hurt tonight?” she said softly.

  The bedroom was unlit, only the moonlight from the open curtain lighting the room, but Aiden didn’t doubt she could see all of Sean’s naked torso. Very clearly, if the rise in her pulse rate was an indication.

  “Touch him, Kaitlyn,” Aiden whispered. “His cat is snarling at him, it craves your touch so badly.”

  She raised her hands and ran them over Sean’s body. His growl was soft and she shuddered as the vibrations ran through her. “You’re perfect,” she said.

  As she thought about how much her breasts ached, Aiden stripped off his clothes and pressed himself to her back. She sighed at the contact, then moaned as he ran his hands under her blouse to cup her breasts.

  “Oh,” she said with a gasp. He lightly pinched her hard, peaked nipples.

  “You have beautiful breasts. Sean would like to taste them.”

  “Yes,” they both said together. Sean kissed her, and ran his hands down her arms. When he reached her hands, he gently moved them behind her back.

  “Aiden needs you to touch him, baby.”

  Aiden’s knees threatened to buckle as she took Sean’s directions and wrapped her hands around the length of his cock.

  Sean unbuttoned her blouse and undid her bra, exposing her breasts to them both.

  He hissed as she gently stroked him. “Is that too hard?” He nearly came at her innocent question. She’d never even touched a man before.

  “It feels good, Kaitlyn, but I want to come inside you this first time we’re together.”

  Sean kissed his way to her breasts and Aiden released one of her nipples. Sean cupped her breast and sucked the hardened nub into his mouth.

  Kaitlyn moaned, but didn’t release his cock. She explored it with her soft fingers, stroking and squeezing. She rubbed his wetness around the head, and glided her fingers along his slicked skin. It was a delicious torture.

  “It’s so soft,” she whispered.

  “Now Sean, Kaitlyn,” Aiden mourned the loss of her warm hands, but knew that Sean craved her touch as much as he did.

  She unbuttoned Sean’s jeans and lowered the zipper. Sean’s cock sprang free and she repeated her exploration on him. Aiden shut his mind to Sean’s thoughts. He would share Kaitlyn with him, but he didn’t need to share everything.

  Aiden released Kaitlyn’s nipple to run his hands to the top of her jeans. She sucked in her stomach and his hand slid down to the top of her panties.

  “Can I taste you, Kaitlyn? I can smell your cream and I need to know if you taste as good as y
ou smell.”

  “I ache so badly. My body is starting to hurt.” She began to shake, her skin heating under his palms, the temperature rising swiftly.

  “Sean,” Aiden said. He drew away from Kaitlyn, his hands gently cupping her head from behind. “What’s wrong with her?”

  Sean’s mouth released her breast with a pop. “We’ve started the mating process.” Sean stripped Kaitlyn’s blouse and bra from her shoulders and unbuttoned her jeans. “Once we’ve marked her, she’ll be fine. Her cat just needs us to be together. She won’t allow us to turn back now. If we do, Kaitlyn will die.”

  “God, I’m dying now.” Kaitlyn stepped out of her jeans and climbed up Sean’s body. She latched onto his neck with her mouth and bit him.

  * * * *

  Kaitlyn groaned as the taste of Sean’s blood exploded onto her tongue. She held tight to him with her arms around his neck, her legs wrapped around his waist. She needed more.

  “Aiden, please touch me.” She licked the small drops of blood from Sean’s skin and rubbed her aching clitoris against the hard planes of his stomach. She was too desperate for them to be embarrassed. “Aiden, please.” She’d beg if she needed to, she was going to die if he didn’t touch her.

  “I’m here, my mate,” he whispered in her ear. He pressed his naked chest to her back and she sagged against Sean in relief. The flames that had threatened to scorch her cooled a little, the panicked urgency receding.

  “I need you both. Please. I need to be your mate. I love you both so much.”

  Sean’s mouth silenced her begging. She opened to him and enjoyed his savage kiss. She could feel the desire he felt for her as his hands roamed her back.

  In the next heartbeat she was lying on the bed, with Aiden lying on top of her, the press of his cooler flesh making goose bumps tingle across every inch of her skin. He kissed her tenderly, his hand caressing down her side, igniting her need as he cupped her ass and pulled her against his hard cock.