by J. K Harper
The relief washed over them instantly as they joined her on the bed.
Jax kissed her as if he could never stop. “Don’t ever scare us like that again.”
“I didn’t mean to tease you so long.”
“Not that,” Hendrix said. “He means when you left before. We woke up and couldn’t find you. Not having you here nearly broke us, Rynn.”
“I’m sorry. Everything was just happening so fast. I mean, we’ve only known each other a couple of days. I wasn’t expecting it. I wasn’t expecting you. My head just needed to think it through.”
“Take all the time you need to think, but always let us know where you’re going first,” Jax said. “Otherwise, we may not be able to handle it at all.”
“I will. I’ll tell you from now on. Promise.”
Hendrix kissed her next, and she felt desired as he unbuttoned her shirt and Jax worked on her pants.
This was the first time that Rynn ever felt safe. When she was with her shifters, she felt a protection barrier all around her. It felt good to admit that they were hers. Both of them belonged to her as much as she belonged to her wolves, and no one would ever separate them again.
The three of them lay in bed together, with the room filling up with love, magic, power, and a calming peace knowing that they had each other.
Her magic opened up to them and accepted them easily. It always needed to wait for her to catch up, but with Jax and Hendrix, she followed her magic’s flow. She began to relax to the feeling of acceptance, security, and warmth her wolves were providing as they stripped her bare.
Their clothes came off fast and then they were there with her in the large king-sized bed. Hands explored her, while lips licked and nipped at her skin, making her entire body throb with need and want.
Rynn’s libido picked up until it was a growing part of her magic and engulfed her and the two men around her. They devoured every single part of her until she was lost in them.
This time, she faced Hendrix and had Jax at her back, spooning closely behind her. Hendrix found her slick heat and teased her clit until she panted.
“Hendrix, please,” she cried. “More. Need more.”
“I got you, baby. Always.” Hendrix raised her leg up and wrapped it around his body. He positioned her so she was as close as she could be to him without penetration.
The head of his cock brushed her entrance, teasing her on what was to come. She tried to jerk forward to meet him, but her men held her still. Hendrix finally pushed his cock into her slowly but firmly, and he brushed against her G-spot, making her quiver.
“Goddess,” Rynn cried.
Jax’s hardness pressed into her ass, and she leaned back into him. She could feel the warmth of him on her back, causing a sensational tingling to travel inside of her body.
Jax used the moisture building up between her legs to bring up to her back entrance. He was gentle as he pushed the first finger in and had her arching back into him. He added another finger and kept opening her up to him.
“Jax,” she cried. “Need you, too.”
Hendrix slowed his rhythm as Jax pressed his cock slowly into her tightness, allowing her to adjust to his large size. Both of them had her full and quivering with them inside.
When they finally moved, her world exploded into brilliant light. There was no darkness as stars burst open and her first orgasm crashed into her, forcing her to clench around them. Hisses and growls from her men filled her ears, and their sounds moved her to a steeper high.
Her magic poured out of her and became a living and breathing part of their lovemaking just as Jax and Hendrix’s wolves forced primal lust through her.
She had found her perfect matches, two men who knew how to work her body well and learned the best way to send her closer to the peak of orgasm. She could feel them sliding through her like some powerful force she could neither explain nor care to understand. All she knew was that both of them found a way to make her body fall into tune with theirs.
As they were both inside of her, they waited until she could adjust to them before they started moving, and their movement nearly drove her insane. It was so damn good that she thought her spirit had left her body for a brief moment and gone into another realm that none of them could see. The sensations forced such intensity inside of her that her moans became involuntary.
Her magic worked well with her body, using her power to take her pleasure to different heights. She gripped them tightly, pulling them as far into her as they would go. Her pussy squeezed them closer until she could hear nothing but their groans and growls in her ears.
It didn’t take long for them to orgasm together, their cries syncing together as one. Rynn could feel the magic explode from her body as she tumbled over that high peak with each man coming deep within her, marking her as theirs.
She was so dazed that she didn’t feel pain as both men marked her with their bites, Hendrix on one side of her neck and Jax on the other. The pressure broke another orgasm from her body that had been hiding away, waiting for them to claim her both inside and out.
Her high was still coursing through her as they separated but still kept her wedged between them. Sleep called to her, and she needed it after the craziness from earlier and the sexual exhaustion they had just provided.
It was the tickling sensation on her navel that had her waking up from the lull. She shifted her position between them to look down.
“What’s wrong?” Hendrix asked as he looked down in the same area she did.
“I felt something on my stomach.”
Both men sat up instantly. “Is it the baby?” Jax asked.
“Do we need to call Olma again?” Hendrix asked.
She giggled. “No. I don’t think it’s something bad. It just feels weird.”
“She’s right,” Jax said staring down at her. “Something’s happening to her.”
“What do you mean?” she asked. It was time to freak out, so she sat up in time to see symbols appearing around her navel and weaving together.
Her water element sign was the first thing she recognized, but it didn’t stop there. On either side of her water element were two crescent moons, one dark and one light.
“I can’t see it well from up here.”
“I don’t think you have to,” Hendrix said.
She looked over to see a glow of the same symbols appearing on his right ribcage just under his muscular chest. One glance at Jax, and she saw the same on his left side.
“I’m confused,” Rynn said. “I thought only witches and warlocks could get triad symbols.”
“It doesn’t look like that applies anymore,” Jax said. “Lance was right. The powers in this town are changing. Something is happening to all of the paranormals and not just the magicals. Maybe something bigger is shifting in us all.”
“Something’s changing all right,” Hendrix said, pulling Rynn to him and kissing her.
“Again?” Rynn asked, chuckling at his vigor.
“The tattoo thing was kind of hot,” he said, making his way to her neck and even farther down than that.
“I can’t argue with his logic,” Jax said. “Our tattoo looks sexy on you.” He took her lips with his, reminding her that she would always be wanted.
“Why do I feel like we’re not getting any sleep tonight?” she asked.
“Because our woman is a smart witch,” Jax said.
“Smart and sexy as a vixen,” Hendrix added.
She didn’t have the energy to argue with their sane reasoning and didn’t want to.
Epilogue
Sweat trickled down Rynn’s face as she bared down one final time and was rewarded with the sound of a cry, her baby daughter’s cry. She fell back, completely exhausted. Although her magic aided in subduing some of the pain, it still tired her to no living end.
Witches and warlocks could use their magic to limit their pain and speed up healing, but it left them drained from the magical energy needed to sustain it. The birthing pro
cess was no different.
Rynn’s body called out for sleep, but she wasn’t closing her eyes before taking in her little girl.
“There, there, little magical,” Olma said, wiping the baby off. “No need to cry now. Not when you have three wonderful parents waiting to meet you.”
Olma brought the baby to Rynn and placed the bundle in her arms.
Rynn stared into the tiniest and sweetest face she’d ever seen. Her little girl opened her eyes and met hers, and she felt the tears start falling.
“Do you want them to come in now?” Olma asked.
“Please,” Rynn said, not trusting her voice to say more.
“I’ll send them in and give you some time with the little one.”
Olma left, and it was a matter of seconds before Rynn’s two wolves came in.
In the seven months she’d been with them, she’d never seen such a combination of fear and joy fill in their faces.
“Is that her?” Hendrix asked.
“No. Olma delivered someone else’s daughter and swapped her out,” Jax said, hitting Hendrix. “Of course it’s her.”
Hendrix’s eyes widened. “Did you just make a joke?”
Rynn immediately laughed through her tears. Leave it to her men to keep her from bawling. “I think he did.”
She could see the switch in her men, Hendrix’s serious demeanor and the relaxed smile of Jax. She knew they had probably been terrified in the small waiting room. They’d told her how their mother had died in childbirth after having Hendrix. She felt awful for the pain her labor probably brought them, fearing she could die the same way. She’d made it through it, and the happiness in their eyes wiped all that past misery away for the moment.
“Our daughter,” Jax said with a sigh.
“Our daughter,” Hendrix repeated.
“Well, do you guys want to hold your daughter?”
“Yes!” both cried out at the same time.
“You first, Jax,” Hendrix said. “I’m too nervous to go first. I don’t want to drop her.”
“Don’t be nervous,” Rynn said as she eased their baby into Jax’s arms. “I can tell that she’s going to love both of you as much as I do. Just look at her. You can see how much she’s going to need you.”
“She’s so beautiful,” Jax said. “Beautiful and perfect.”
“Just like her mother,” Hendrix said as Jax passed her over to him.
With the love for their daughter clearly written on their faces, there was no doubt in Rynn’s mind that they would love her like she was theirs. To them, their daughter belonged to them as if she was their biological child, and no one was going to tell them differently. They had convinced her of that over the past several months, and she believed them. It wasn’t until she saw them fawning over their little girl that she finally understood they meant it more than words could ever express or promise alone.
“She needs a name,” Rynn said. “We still haven’t decided on that.”
“Actually, Jax and I were talking about a possibility while we waited.”
“Really? And what name did you discuss?”
“As a witch, she takes your last name, right? The children pass down the mother’s namesake?”
Rynn nodded. “That’s tradition.”
“We thought that maybe her first name could start the way ours ends.”
“Kind of like our line flows into her.”
She smiled at the symbolic way they thought of their daughter’s name. “You’ve been giving this some deep consideration.”
“Of course,” Jax said. “A name is important.”
“Xoria,” Hendrix said. “It’s a strong name for a strong girl.”
“I like that. Xoria Duval.” Rynn allowed the name to roll off her tongue. It suited their girl well. After all, they were both survivors. She never wanted her daughter to go through any of the hardships she had, and she trusted Jax and Hendrix to help do that.
“Thank you,” Jax said, staring down at her.
“For what?” she asked.
Jax brushed the back of his hand against her cheek, and she moved closer to his tender caress.
“Making our family whole again,” Jax said.
“We wouldn’t have one without you and Xoria,” Hendrix said, taking her hand.
“I wouldn’t either,” Rynn said. She welcomed her daughter back into her arms as Jax and Hendrix moved to each side of her, making her feel all the love they had to offer. That love was more than enough for their family, more than enough to last a lifetime.
Burden
by Élianne Adams
Chapter 1
Joss’s entire body shook with the growls he barely contained. After all the Mahehkans had done to his pack—to his family—he had thought no amount of depravity would shock him. He’d been wrong.
Unable to turn away, Joss watched the beautiful young she-wolf sleep. Her long black hair covered his pillow like delicate lace. Her breaths, slow and deep, slipped from her parted lips. She looked so at peace, so serene, he could almost pretend they hadn’t hurt her. Damn those bastards.
Even though they had returned to the Komoro village three days earlier, she had yet to speak a single word. Violet. The only reason he knew his mate’s name is because Delana had asked one of the other women they had rescued who she was. Weak and malnourished, Violet spent most of her time sleeping or sipping the herbal tea Delana brought her every morning.
Violet groaned and turned onto her back, bringing her right hand up to her belly. Even in sleep, she grimaced. He took a quick step forward. His wolf beat at him, trying to get to her. It wanted to soothe and comfort her, but Violet was nowhere near ready for that.
She didn’t open her eyes, but her fluttering eyelids gave her away. Joss’s gaze drifted to her temple where the dark purple bruise was slowly fading. As a wolf shifter, the injury should have healed within hours—a day at most. So either her injury was more severe than he’d suspected, or her wolf had given up. Neither option was a good one.
The growl he’d suppressed since he’d entered the room rumbled free.
Joss flinched at the small whimper that came from the she-wolf in his bed. He would rather cut off each of his limbs than harm a single hair on her beautiful head, but she didn’t know that. “I know you’re awake, Violet.” The smell of her fear assaulted him for what seemed like the hundredth time since he’d brought her home. Maybe he should have let her go to one of his pack sister’s homes while she recuperated, but just the thought of her being anywhere but with him made his wolf furious. It needed to keep watch. To protect.
“Delana says you can eat today. I’ve prepared some things I thought you might like,” he told her as he crossed the room and placed the tray next to her on the bed. Her nostrils flared, and her eyes slit open, but she made no other move. She didn’t even look to be breathing.
“Listen, I know you’re scared—you have every right to be—but you’re safe here.”
She opened her eyes wider and gasped when he sat on the edge of the bed. The distress and mistrust dulling them gutted him, but in time, she’d learn her past was truly that, in the past. The last thing he wanted to do was push her to do anything, but too much was at stake. Today, his only goal was to get her to eat. No matter what.
“There’s nothing wrong with the food I’ve brought you. I’ll even taste it myself to prove it, but then I expect you to have some. The baby needs more than herbal tea to grow and be healthy.”
Violet looked at him, then at the food. Her eyes shone with tears she had yet to release, at least not in his presence. With a long, shaky breath, she sat up as far away from him on the other side of the bed as she could and nodded.
Joss’s heart pounded. All his other attempts at communication when she’d woken had resulted in one huge failure after another. One little nod from her, and he was ready to smile and shout from the rooftops. It was a small gesture, hardly anything at all, but for her, it was huge.
He plucked a piece of d
ried meat from the tray and popped it into his mouth. He didn’t fail to notice that Violet swallowed when he did. She had to be hungry. When he finished, he opened up and showed her the food was gone. “Do you need me to try the berries and the cheese, as well?”
He didn’t expect her trust. Not yet. She’d been through too much. And asking her to make decisions, as small as they were, put the power back in her control. He had a feeling she hadn’t had a whole lot of either in a long time.
Her mouth opened, and for a half second, he thought he might finally get to hear his mate’s voice, but then she snapped it shut and tilted her chin up before nodding again.
Joss swallowed his disappointment. At least she was looking at him today. It was progress. He ate a berry, then a piece of cheddar, showing her once again that he’d swallowed what he’d taken. Some of the women had told Delana that they had been fed rancid food on a regular basis. It was no wonder they didn’t trust even the most basic thing—a good meal.
“I’ve always loved the preserves more than anything else,” he told her before pulling it out and sticking the treat into his mouth. “My sister makes the best jam.”
Joss slid the tray closer to her and waited. He didn’t want to be pushy, but for the baby’s sake, he’d get her to eat.
She glanced at the tray and licked her lips. Pulling her long black hair over her left shoulder, she exposed more of the bruising on her neck. A bite mark. Each time he’d seen it, his wolf had raged. Its fury beat at him so hard that his skin prickled with the need to shift, but he shoved the beast back. He took a slow breath through his nose, trying his damnedest to keep his growl deep inside. The tips of his fingers burned as his claws fought to break through the skin.
Violet’s eyes rounded, and her hands fisted on her thighs.
“It’s okay. You’re safe here.” He would keep repeating the words until she believed them.
She waited so long before unfurling her fingers and reaching for the food that he was afraid she wouldn’t. Keeping her gaze locked on him, she blindly grabbed some cheese. When she finally got it close to her mouth, her hand trembled so hard that it fell from her fingers, bouncing off the mattress and onto the floor.
