First Beast

by Faye Avalon

Caleb nodded. “I imagine we all have those.” Nobody more than him.

  He glanced around the table, noticing the discomfort of every man seated there. He couldn’t blame them. For long years, their pack had lived by the rules of the land, which applied to shifters and humans alike. One man, one woman. The only difference being that while humans were afforded the opportunity to divorce a spouse if things didn’t work out, shifters mated for life. Once a man chose his mate, marked them as such, no other male was entitled to encroach on his territory without threat of punishment.

  Harsh punishment.

  Caleb’s most pressing reservation centered around that one sobering fact. Talia would bear Joshua’s mark. In claiming her as his, Caleb knew he was breaking a fundamental rule of their kind. But he had no choice. His sacred responsibility was to protect his people, to guard his pack. Right now, the only way to do that was to bring Talia under his direct command.

  As splintered conversations erupted around the table, Tynan leaned close to Caleb. “Even taking Joshua out of the equation, if Talia loves him, wants to stay married to him, how the hell are you going to make this work?”

  “I’ll get her to acknowledge she wants me.”

  “And if she doesn’t?”

  “She does.” He threw Tynan a sidelong glance. “Besides which, it’s only a matter of time before she realizes that being the leader’s mate is more beneficial than being married to his brother.”

  “I’m not sure that will matter to her.”

  “Then she’ll be forced to have us both until it does.”

  Tynan gave a low chuckle. “What the hell are you suggesting? A threesome?”

  Caleb held his friend’s gaze. “If necessary.”

  A mixture of shock, disbelief and admiration filled Tynan’s eyes. “Fuck, Cal. You’re out of your mind.”

  Pretty much. He had to be to even consider such a solution, although he’d be a liar if he didn’t admit that the thought of getting between Talia’s legs filled him with unadulterated joy. Hell. He’d sported a permanent hard-on since meeting the woman and seeing those delicious breasts and that delectable pussy. He’d been fantasizing about tasting her, sampling her. He’d shifted more often than not in an attempt to deny the tearing need for her that threatened to drive him out of his mind.

  He wanted her. Fucking desperately. If he had to share her until he could make her realize that he was all the pleasure she would ever need, then so be it. The sex would be a welcome side benefit to the main reason for his suggestion. Which was to have her directly in his power and limit the potential threat she posed.

  “If you can think of a better suggestion, I’m ready to hear it.” Caleb fought back the snap of irritation. Having spelled it out to the Council, he was now eager to get things moving. His previous reservations about his plan had seemed to diminish once he’d actually given voice to the idea, and hadn’t his father once said that drastic times called for drastic measures? He was obliged to honor tradition, but first and foremost he had to protect his pack. That meant doing whatever needed to be done. He couldn’t deny that wanting Talia so badly made the whole thing almost palatable, and perhaps that was what concerned him the most. Was he putting his own desires before those of his people? Was he prepared to go against convention to satisfy his own salacious needs?

  Nathan interrupted his musings by banging his fist on the table in order to stop the conversation that continued to rumble. “We need to take a vote. You have my aye and you have Enoch’s. Let’s go around the table.”

  To a man, albeit reluctant to some, they agreed that Caleb’s solution provided the best course of action to rectify the problem Talia had become.

  When the vote was cast, Caleb let out a breath. “Okay then. Let’s take this to the next level. No reason to waste time.”

  Enoch nodded. “Get Joshua in here.”

  A disgruntled Joshua had been summoned to wait in the outer hall while the Council met. He made no secret of his anger at having been displaced as leader, let alone being relegated to the outer circle of Bonded Principals, second sons with no voting rights.

  Now it was time for him to be told the reason for which he’d been summoned, and the decision the Council had reached.

  Caleb knew they were in for a fight.

  True enough, when Joshua entered, he looked ready for battle. In the past, when their father had been alive, any time Joshua had been summoned to the Council it was always to be chastised for some misdemeanor or other.

  He had the same expression now as when he had been a rebellious teenager. The only difference was that on this occasion, Enoch bid him sit rather than remain standing.

  “As you are aware,” Enoch began, “the Council had reservations about your mating and marriage outside the shifter community, which were officially noted. Due to circumstances that existed at the time, your position as proclaimed leader warranted a certain degree of support for your wishes and agreement was reluctantly given. Caleb’s return means that he has taken up his rightful place as pack leader and he has been apprised of resolutions taken in his absence. It is his prerogative to override, with the agreement of this Council, any decision made that he considers is detrimental to our community.”

  Joshua’s back went ramrod straight, his jaw tightening to such a degree that Caleb thought it might break. Since he hadn’t been given permission to speak, Joshua wisely remained silent. Caleb knew that his brother realized any interruption right then would not help his case.

  “Your mating and subsequent marriage have been brought to his attention along with the concerns we all still harbor,” Enoch continued. “As such, a suggestion to the problem has been voiced and unanimously agreed upon by this Council.”

  Joshua sent Caleb a glare that said he knew exactly what the new leader’s suggestion had been, and before Enoch could continue, he broke his silence. “You’re not dissolving my marriage.” His venomous gaze bore into Caleb. “The decision was made while I was leader. Talia’s my wife and she’s going to stay that way.”

  “Caleb and this Council realize that,” Enoch went on. “But you must agree to the decision made to mitigate any problem that could arise in the future regarding a mate who is a non-shifter, especially in view of your wife’s occupation. The decision has been made.”

  Joshua’s jaw went even tighter and his eyes shot pure malice. “I’ll not agree to a dissolution. And neither will my wife.”

  “That’s not for you to decide.” Enoch raised his voice, something which rarely happened, but when it did, people took note. “You have failed to keep her in check. She not only continues to work as a journalist on the local paper, but she regularly fraternizes with members of the local community who are considered undesirable.”

  “You mean her colleagues at the paper,” Joshua snapped. “I’ve already taken issue with Talia over that. I’m working on it.”

  “Since your wife is now considered a member of our community, and her leaving is impossible,” Enoch said, ignoring Joshua’s reasoning, “Caleb has offered a solution. He will take her as his mate, his wife.”

  The muscles of Joshua’s throat stood out and his face blazed red. He shot to his feet and whirled on Caleb. “No fucking way.”

  “The vote has been taken and—”

  “The laws of this pack are clear.” Joshua glared at Enoch. “Once a man takes a mate, he has the right to defend the advances of any other man.”

  “In normal circumstances, yes,” Enoch agreed. “But the situation in which we find ourselves is far from normal. Caleb is our legitimate leader and as such he is able to overturn any policy change made in his absence if he considers it injurious to our—”

  “He just wants the opportunity to screw me over,” Joshua spat. “Any bloody excuse to wield power over me. That’s all this is.”

  “You will agree to this decision, or you will be stripped of your
land and your position within this pack.”

  “And fucking banished? Forced to make my own way? Ostracized by every other pack in the land because I dared to defend what was rightfully mine? And she is mine.” His eyes darted this way and that. “I’ve…marked her.”

  Not wanting to dwell on that, and sensing the conversation would go in circles as the Council debated the ins and outs of the decision with his half-brother, Caleb raised his voice. “There is a solution to that.” Holding Joshua’s hard gaze and waiting patiently until he sat again, Caleb clasped his hands and placed them on the table. Sometime soon, his pulse might slow down. “She will mate with us both.”

  Certain that his sibling was about to shoot to his feet again, Caleb held up his hand. “While it is uncommon in recent times, records show it is not unknown for members of the shifter community to engage in such a practice.”

  “If you think for one damn moment I intend to share my wife, with you or anybody, you’re out of your fucking mind.”

  Again, Caleb knew they could regurgitate the same argument, so he glanced around the table. He hadn’t wanted to play the card he kept close to his chest, but knew that the occasion called for it. It wasn’t the way he liked to work, but sometimes the end justified the means.

  “Gentlemen? I’d like a moment to speak with my brother alone.”

  Staring down into Talia’s challenging gaze, Caleb realized that confronting Joshua had been a walk in the park compared to facing the spitfire in front of him.

  As leader, it was his place to advise her of the decision reached regarding her marriage to Joshua. A less than palatable task, considering the way his stomach tightened.

  “I want to tell you to get out of my house,” she said, folding her arms across her breasts, which were currently encased in a lacy bra that the white T-shirt totally failed to camouflage. “But seeing as it’s actually your house, I think the best thing Josh and I can do is find another place to live. At least that way you’ll be unable to barge your way in anytime it takes your fancy.”

  Considering he’d let himself in and made himself comfortable in the kitchen to wait for her, Caleb thought it prudent to ignore the insult and the sarcastic tone by which it was conveyed. “That won’t be necessary.”

  “Oh really?”

  She angled her chin toward him, the look of defiance on her face managing to push his escalating libido to even greater heights. There had to be something perverse in his character that allowed him to be turned on by sarcasm and insult.

  “So what are you suggesting?” she demanded. “That you move out?”

  “Seeing Joshua had my belongings put into storage the moment he got word of my apparent demise, I’d have to actually first move back in for that to happen.”

  Her chin dropped a fraction and her eyes actually softened. Hell. Was there any expression the woman could adopt that wouldn’t have his prick throbbing?

  “That must have been difficult for you, knowing all your stuff had been removed and that people thought you were dead.” She offered him the ghost of a smile. “Look, this is your house. Josh and I will move out.”

  “Nobody’s moving out.” When her brows drew together, he cleared his throat. It wouldn’t do to piss her right back off again by coming over heavy-handed and unreasonable. He needed her to understand the predicament the pack found itself in due to her marriage, and he needed her to accept that there was really only one solution to the problem. “You are no doubt aware that your marriage to Joshua has caused strife amongst members of the community, most especially with the Principals who, even now, remain skeptical of the wisdom of allowing it.”

  Her frown deepened and she tightened her arms across her chest. Her chin rose in direct challenge again and Caleb had to resist the urge to simply swoop down, whisk her off to the bedroom and show her just what he had in mind to resolve the problem. Instead, he pushed his hands deep into his pockets and planted his feet. When she glared at him, all attempts to remain reasonable flew out the window.

  “You continually push the boundaries of what is considered proper, and you reject all attempts by your husband to keep you in line. As a result, you leave me no option but to take matters into my own hands.”

  “Keep me in line?” Her voice was so low he held his breath to clearly catch what she was saying. “Push the boundaries of what is considered proper?”

  Now it was his turn to glare. He didn’t appreciate having his own words tossed back at him in such a derogatory manner. He was leader, for God’s sake. His people treated him with deference. This woman didn’t seem to understand that…or didn’t seem to care.

  One more reason why he had to keep her in line.

  “Are you denying that you fraternize with fellow reporters?”

  “It would be hard not to, seeing as I work with them. What do you want me to do? Keep my head down all day then scuttle away at the end of it? Don’t you think that would raise more questions than my having the odd drink with them? Or maybe you’re worried I’ll have one too many Chardonnays one night and reveal all my deepest, darkest secrets.”

  His nostrils flaring, Caleb leaned down into her space. She didn’t move an inch, although he saw her swallow. It pleased him to know he could intimidate her. He leaned closer. “I’m not worried, sweetheart.” Closer still. “Because if you ever so much as breath a word about those deepest, darkest secrets, that pretty little ass of yours will be paddled so hard you’ll be powerless to sit until your hair turns gray.”

  For effect, he reached down and picked up several strands of her silky blonde hair. He deliberately fingered them, making sure that his knuckles brushed lightly across her cheeks in the process. Her eyes went wide and awareness flashed in them, but she jerked her head away and he let the strands slip through his fingers to fall to her shoulders. His fingertips tingled in the aftermath of that silk sliding over his flesh, and he wondered how it would feel sliding over an entirely different part of his anatomy.

  In response, his cock jumped.

  “Your threats don’t frighten me.” Since her voice trembled a tad, Caleb knew otherwise. What the hell had come over him? He didn’t threaten women. But these were extenuating circumstances and, damn it, he was way out of his depth.

  “You’re part of this pack now.” His stomach tightened anew. “The only reason you were given permission to marry within our community is because Joshua was leader at the time and as such was afforded certain privileges. Since he is no longer leader I have the right to revoke those privileges.”

  Her blue eyes widened. “What are you saying? That I can no longer be married to Joshua?”

  “Had his request to marry a non-shifter been made when he was a general member of the pack, the Principals would have rejected it.”

  She touched a hand to her throat. “You’re going to make me leave?”

  “An impossibility. As I said, you are now part of this pack.”

  “I don’t understand. I can’t leave and yet you won’t let me stay married to Josh?”

  Her long fingers stroked over her collarbone, making Caleb’s itch to take their place. “He has demonstrated he is incapable of controlling you.”

  “I don’t need to be controlled.” For a moment, Caleb thought she would stamp her feet. As it was, she hissed out her response through gritted teeth. “Joshua trusts me. He knows I won’t ever do anything to put this pack in jeopardy.”

  “Regardless, there is only one solution to the problem. As leader, I have a responsibility to protect my people, to do whatever is necessary to keep our existence unknown to the rest of society.” He waited a beat, his heart hammering in his throat. “In this respect, you’ll agree to accept me as your mate, your husband.”

  Talia paled, almost spluttering in her attempts to vocalize a response. “You? Are you insane? I’m…I’m already married. Already m…mated.”

  Her hands
, he noticed, were trembling. He wanted to reach out and comfort her, but she might then believe he was open to reason, to persuasion. Best she realized that his word, his decision, was now law.

  Her eyes were huge blue saucers in her pale face. “Why…why are you doing this?”

  Because I want you beyond fucking reason. Because I’ve never felt such a strong sexual need for a female in my damn life.

  To disguise his feelings, Caleb looked down his nose at her. “I am merely troubleshooting a situation that should not have been allowed to exist. Joshua should never have been given permission to marry a female outside our community.”

  “All this because you still think I can’t be trusted to keep your secret? You think by marrying me you can control me?”

  “I will control you. For damn sure you won’t be given the freedom Joshua allows you.”

  Color speared across her cheeks, replacing the pallor. “Oh, I see. This all comes back to my job, doesn’t it? Joshua has no problem with me being a reporter, but apparently it only serves to fuel your unwarranted suspicions and paranoia.” She crossed her arms again. “Well, I won’t give up my job and I won’t divorce Josh.”

  Caleb decided to leave the job issue until another time. There were times a man had to pick his battles. “There’s no reason for you to divorce him.”

  Her brow creased. “But you just said you wanted me to marry you.”

  “The one thing doesn’t demand the other.”

  She tucked her chin into her chest, her frown deepening. “I don’t get what you mean. You surely aren’t suggesting I’m married to both of you?”

  Pasting a neutral expression on his face, he nodded. “And mated.”

  Her head snapped back. “To…to both of you? At the same time?”

  “It has been agreed.”

  “Not by me, it hasn’t.” She huffed out a humorless laugh. “It’s ridiculous. Monstrous.”

  “Your husband has given his agreement. As such, your fate has been sealed.”

  “What? Are you for real? This is the twenty-first century, buster. I don’t have to do what any man tells me, even if he is my husband.”