Warmth rushed through me. King wanted me as much as I wanted him. I’d known that, but hearing his brother say it made it easier to believe.
“Is this his house or yours?”
“It’s ours; all of us live here except my sister. King thinks he runs the place, though. He would be our leader if we were a pack like in the old days. He likes to indulge his baby brother, though, and no matter how much he hates it, he doesn’t always get his way.”
“So you think you can convince him to let me stay?”
“Yes. I’ll take you out to the guesthouse now before he gets back.”
“Is this one of those easier to ask for forgiveness than permission things?”
“Abso-fucking-lutely.”
3
King
I’d come in from my run, sweaty and panting, wearing nothing but one of the towels we kept by the back door to cover ourselves when we shifted and didn’t have clothes waiting for us. My brothers were all congregated in what would have been called the drawing room in our grandfather’s time. Storm must have called for an intervention, exactly what I did not need. I stomped up the stairs without acknowledging any of them.
Storm wouldn’t let this drop, but I needed a shower and something to eat before I could even consider listening to them tell me all the things they thought I’d done wrong. I’d brought down two rabbits while I burnt off steam in the woods, but they hadn’t even touched the hunger I’d built up running for miles at top speed.
I rang for our butler, Arthur. “Yes, sir?” The voice came through the intercom, which had replaced the old bellpull system that had been original to the house. I’d loved playing with it when I was a kid, but sadly, it wasn’t practical.
“I need something substantial to eat brought to my room as soon as possible.”
“Yes, sir. I’ll take care of it.”
I knew he would. He’d been with our family since my father was a teenager. “Thank you.”
When I’d showered and eaten, I felt fully human again.
Find our mate. Why did you let him go?
Well, almost human. Emerson couldn’t really be my mate, could he? I knew some humans had shifters in their ancestry. The shifting ability was recessive and rarely came out in hybrids. And my sister had mated with a cat shifter. That should have taught me not to expect the perfect submissive wolf to fall into my lap just because that’s what had happened to my father. But a human?
Then explain your reaction to him.
I didn’t want to think about that, but my brothers were obviously going to make a big fucking deal about it. I put on my favorite suit so at least I’d look well put together for this interrogation. Most people found me intimidating in a power suit. Too bad the assholes downstairs wouldn’t.
“What the hell do you mean he’s in the guesthouse?” My voice boomed loudly enough to rattle the windows.
Storm held up his hands. “Settle down and listen to me.”
“I told you to offer him a ride home, not—”
“You want him here; you just don’t want to admit it.”
Bryce rolled his eyes. “Can you stop with the cryptic shit? Who does King want in the guesthouse?”
I ignored Bryce. As second oldest, he loved to try to be even bossier than I was. I glanced at Storm, who had the nerve to smile at me.
“See? I didn’t tell them anything except that there was important family business to discuss.”
“So what is the important business?” Bryce asked. “I don’t have all day.”
“Storm has given our guesthouse to a human,” Garrett said.
“What the fuck?” Bryce yelled. “We have a no-humans rule.”
“At the club,” Storm said. “But—”
“You know good and well that—”
“Enough,” I roared.
Shadow growled, glancing first at me and then at Bryce and Garrett.
“You’re scaring Shadow,” Storm admonished.
My fourth brother was in wolf form. He was pressed against Storm’s side, and Storm was running his fingers through Shadow’s fur. Shadow spent a lot of time in wolf form. We’d rescued him from an abusive Dom at sixteen, and he’d become part of our family. In the two years since, he’d come out of his shell a lot, but he still spent far more time as a wolf than most shifters. He found it more soothing than the pressure of playing human.
I took a slow breath, trying to calm down. My wolf was already close to the surface again. Any thought of Emerson seemed to do that to me.
“Storm said the human was important,” Bryce said. “But I hadn’t realized he meant important to you specifically. So a human made you lose your icy control?”
“Fuck off.” I glared at Storm, but he just shrugged.
“You knew you weren’t going to run out of here like that without getting our curiosity up.”
I sighed. I had, but I didn’t have to like it. “Storm and I saved the human from some of the Crown brothers and their friends. He was drunk and unable to consent.”
“And he should never have been there,” Garrett said. “Why didn’t you kick him out like you did them?”
“Like I said, he was drunk and not in control.”
“That’s what cabs are for.”
“He doesn’t have anywhere to go,” Storm said, a growl in his voice.
“Settle down, baby boy.” Bryce patted Storm’s shoulder. “Garrett’s just being an ass like usual.”
“I don’t see why we need to be involved with a human like this.”
“He wasn’t safe. He needed a place to spend the night where he could sober up.”
“And you could fuck him?”
I growled at Garrett, claws shooting from my hands. “You know me better than that.”
Garrett snarled and snapped at me, and I readied myself for a fight.
“Can we please talk about this seriously?” Storm asked.
I was supposed to be our leader, and yet lately more and more, Storm was the one who focused us and brought us together. “Storm’s right. Explain why the human is in our guesthouse.”
“Does the human have a name?”
“Emerson,” Storm and I said at the same time.
I glanced at Storm and gestured for him to continue. “The reason he was drunk and acting reckless last night is because his boyfriend discovered him watching shifter porn, freaked out, and kicked him out of their apartment. He was laid off from his job a couple of weeks before that. So now he’s jobless and homeless and—”
I snarled. My wolf immediately wanted to find the bastard who’d hurt my mate and tear him apart.
“You offered him a place to stay,” Bryce said.
“Yes, because I’m a decent person, and I was sure King would agree to help him if I explained.” Storm gave me a knowing look. Had he read more into my reaction to Emerson than I thought?
“He can’t stay here,” Garrett insisted.
“He can for now,” Storm said. “It’s not like he’s bothering anyone in the guesthouse. We aren’t using it.”
“He’s human.”
“So we’re going to treat him as poorly as the bastard he was dating did?” Surprisingly, that came from Bryce.
“No,” Storm said. “We’re not.”
Garrett crossed his arms. “This is going to cause a lot of trouble.”
“I don’t disagree.” Storm smirked at me. The little bastard.
I needed to take control of this meeting fast, but how much should I tell them? As kids, Bryce, Lacey, Storm, and I had shared everything. We were close like most wolf families, but as we’d gotten older, we’d all gained secrets, and Garrett and Shadow had never been as open. What they’d gone through in their own childhoods made that difficult. But when it came to me potentially finding my mate, could I really keep that a secret from the people I was closest to? Lacey had told us all right away, even when her mate was a tiger, not another wolf.
I looked at each of my brothers. They were all watching me, waitin
g for an explanation. I felt the same way I had when I’d come out to them. Scary as that was, it had absolutely been the right thing. Not only did they accept me, Bryce came out as bisexual a few weeks later, and when Storm realized he was also gay, he knew he’d be fully supported. And when we’d rescued Shadow, he’d known he was in a safe place. Garrett and Lacey were the lone heteros of the family, but the rest of us forgave them for it.
“I think Emerson is my mate.” I said the words fast before I could second-guess myself.
Garrett frowned. “A human mate?”
I glared at him, daring him to challenge me.
“Are you sure?”
Was I? “I noticed his smell before I even saw him.”
“What?” Storm stared at me. “Is that why you seemed so—”
“Yes?”
“So what?” Bryce asked.
“He tripped over nothing walking across the club.”
Bryce laughed. “I wish I’d been there.”
I scowled at both of them.
“If you think he’s your mate, why were you going to send him home?” Garrett asked.
Shadow made a sound that was a combination between a whine and a growl. I was sure he was asking the same question as Garrett.
The enormity of it all crashed over me. “How can he be safe with me? I don’t want to hurt him.”
“Why did he come to the club?” Bryce asked.
“He was drunk and pissed at his ex.”
Garrett studied me for a moment. “You’re leaving something out. Why our club?”
“Because he wants to be with a shifter.”
“Of course he does, if he’s your mate.”
“But that doesn’t mean—”
“It means he’s willing to take the risk,” Storm said.
“You would never hurt your mate.” That came from Shadow, who’d shifted to human form.
“He’s too vulnerable for what he thinks he wants.”
“So he wants you to be his Dom?” Shadow asked.
“He never said that exactly.”
Storm glared at me.
“He was drunk, and he probably doesn’t even remember what he said.”
Bryce rolled his eyes. “Why don’t you go ask him, since he’s right over there in the guesthouse?”
“And not out there in the world alone where you have to search for him.” How the hell had Garrett gone from being pissed off a human was here to being angry that I was neglecting my mate? “Do you even know anything about him but his name?”
My pulsed whooshed in my ears. I’d fucked this up so badly. “A few things.”
“His last name?”
“No, not that.”
“But you believe he’s your mate?” Shadow asked.
“Yes, I had the scent recognition, and I can’t stop thinking about him, and—”
“I’m not asking if you can list off reasons why he might be. Do you feel it inside? Do you know it’s true, not based on logic, whether you think he’s safe with you, or anything else?”
The room spun around me, and my chest grew so tight I could barely breathe. I thought about the way I’d felt when our eyes had met for the first time. “Yes. I feel it.”
Shadow gave me a rare smile. “Then you’d better go make sure he doesn’t leave.”
“I can’t keep him here. I don’t—”
“He’s your mate,” Bryce said. “He belongs here.”
“He asked me if he was a prisoner,” Storm said. “I told him no.”
“Of course he’s not. Why did he think that?”
“I’d taken his clothes and his other belongings.”
“Why?” I demanded.
“So he wouldn’t leave.” Storm said it as if that were completely obvious.
“You never intended to send him home, did you?”
“I would’ve taken him there myself and placed a guard on him. Then taken you to him when you wised up.”
“So you did know how he’d affected me.”
“I suspected. I knew there was more there than simple attraction. I’ve never seen you like that.”
I frowned. I didn’t think I’d been that obvious. “Like what?”
“Unable to hold back your wolf.”
“What?” Bryce looked like he was holding back laughter. “He broke you that badly?”
“He did not—”
Garrett started laughing then, a raucous, joyous laugh, something I’d only heard from him a few times.
The others joined in, and before I knew it, we were all squished together on the couch half piled on top of each other. I wrapped an arm around Storm, and Shadow—who’d returned to wolf form after bringing me to my senses—curled up on my lap. Bryce and Garrett bracketed us, and for several moments we enjoyed the contact as we caught our breaths from laughing so hard.
“You’ll figure this out,” Garrett said. “You always do.”
“This isn’t business or shifter community bullshit. He’s human, and I’m… I know you think I’m all ice and control, but—”
“You like to go hard on your subs,” Storm said.
“What? How do you—”
Bryce snorted. “Do you really think we don’t hear things?”
I growled. “Sometimes it would be nice to have a little privacy.”
Bryce laughed. “I’m with Garrett. You’ve yet to meet a problem you couldn’t solve. You’ve always taken care of us, even when you had to fight Dad to do it.”
But all those things were other people’s problems. I knew how to take care of my brothers, stare down a business opponent, and refuse to give in to threats even when they came from the Crowns, who backed up their threats with weapons more powerful than claws and teeth. But my brothers were strong, maybe stronger than me, even if they didn’t always seem like it. I could play the confident alpha whose arrogance and bravado got him what he wanted. I could train a submissive, teach them how to obey, how to take pain and let it become pleasure. But those men had never really been mine, and they were shifters who could take lots of damage. How could I take care of a fragile mate, one who belonged in the human world, especially when, on the inside, I was a fucking mess?
“King.” Storm squeezed my hand. “You take care of us. You can take care of your mate.”
“What if I’m wrong? We don’t know that he’s—”
Shadow growled. I petted him, smoothing down his fur. “Sorry. You’re right. It’s just… What the hell am I supposed to do about this?”
Bryce laughed. “If you don’t know what to do with a mate by now, I don’t think we can help you.”
I shoved at him. “Get the fuck out of here if you can’t be more helpful.”
He just laughed and snuggled closer against me.
Garrett spoke next. “Are you actually asking for advice? Or is this one of those times where you’ll shoot down everything we say and then do exactly what you’d planned all along?”
I dropped my head onto the back of the couch and ran my hands through my hair. “I wish I had something planned so I could ignore all of you.”
Garrett laughed. He was enjoying this way too much.
“Just go talk to him,” Storm said.
I glanced at the time. I was due for a meeting at an escort service I owned. “He needs to rest, and he’s probably in a terrible mood.”
“And you’re scared as shit,” Bryce added.
“No, I’m late for a meeting.”
“I could go in your place,” Storm said.
“And negotiate with Trent?”
“Fuck, what does he want now?”
“What he usually wants: permission not to ask as many questions of the men and women we hire.”
Bryce growled. “We’re not hiring anyone who’s being coerced or underage.”
“No, we’re not. I fought to turn this into a legitimate business where our escorts and our clients are safe. I’m not going to back down on that.”
“So fire Trent,” Garrett said.
Garrett growled. “Sometimes I really just want to say fuck all this community harmony bullshit.”
“And that’s why King’s in charge and you’re not,” Storm said.
Garrett huffed, but Storm ignored him. “Do you want me to come with you?”
“No!” they all said in unison as Shadow snarled.
“I can take care of myself,” Storm insisted.
I shook my head. “Trent shows way too much interest in you. I don’t want you anywhere near him.”
Storm rolled his eyes. “We could use that to our advantage.”
“Fuck, no.”
“Fine, but you need to talk to Emerson today.”
I could face down a crafty extortionist who should have been a weasel shifter rather than a bear, but the thought of talking to my mate had my heart racing and my palms sweaty. Not just because I didn’t know what to say, but because I knew the second I saw him, talking would be the last thing on my mind. I’d barely managed to keep from touching him last night. When he’d started stroking himself, I’d wanted to flip him over, spank the hell out of him for teasing me, and then fuck him until he screamed, begged, and cried. I wanted to hurt him and pleasure him and make him utterly mine. “Oh, fuck.”
“What?” Storm asked.
“Nothing.” I fought my way up from our puppy pile and stood. “I just need to get going.”
Storm glared at me. “Don’t ignore this, big brother.”
“Just let me get through this meeting and the rest of the shit on my plate for the day, and maybe visit the club and make sure things are fine there.” My wolf growled inside. He did not share my reluctance. He belongs to us.
I felt the same all-consuming need I had the night before, and I was sure I smelled Emerson’s scent. I glanced up, expecting to see him, but there was no one there.
“Are you okay?” Bryce asked.
“What? Yes. Someone find out where Emerson lived before, get his belongings, and make damn sure his ex knows how displeased we are.”
“Can we hurt him?” Bryce asked, voice filled with glee.
Claiming Bite Page 3
