Their Mate

by Charlie Hart

  “Do you always say what’s on your mind?”

  She snorts. “Yeah, and it usually gets me in trouble.”

  I step closer, wrapping my arms around her waist. River and Callum stand back, giving us space. I’ve known them my entire life, and we’ve talked about being in a group relationship before. The way our pack leader runs things doesn’t sit well with us. Women aren’t seen as equals to them, they are treated as objects and slaves.

  We want more.

  We’ve all seen shitty things happen to those we love. Both my mom and Callum’s were ruined by their husbands—our fathers. And River’s sister, Becca, was given to a mate that forced her to become a shell of the girl she once was. We knew a few years ago when we left the pack, that if we were going to do something different, hold out for our one true mate, we would share her. Lavish on her all the love we know she deserves. But we knew we couldn’t do it alone. We may be animals, but we aren’t lone wolves. We run as a pack.

  “I don’t want to embarrass myself either,” I tell her, her chest pressed against mine. “I plan on letting my animal instincts take over. Does that scare you?”

  She dips her chin but raises her eyes. “It doesn’t scare me. I like it. The idea of this being about primal desire not, you know, anything else.”

  I give her a crooked smile. “Like feelings?”

  “Exactly. When my emotions get involved things tend to get a little unbalanced.”

  “So tonight, we are leading with our bodies.” My cock is eager and ready.

  She nods, her breathing shallow, her heart pounding. “Exactly.”

  Then I kiss her, unable to hold back and knowing she doesn’t want me to. I’ve never kissed a woman, always waited for the woman whose scent called to me.

  I’m fucking glad I held out. Remedy’s mouth presses against mine, her lips parting, and she lifts her hands, her fingers threading through my hair. With a hand on the base of her neck, I draw her nearer still, wanting her hips lined up with mine, wanting her tits against me, inhaling her beauty and memorizing her smell—knowing I’ll never forget this kiss.

  We’re panting, hot, and losing control.

  All from one fucking kiss.

  She steps away, practically pushing away from my arms. She presses her fingertips to her swollen lips. Her eyes are written with a story I can’t begin to understand.

  “Holy shit,” she whispers. “What are you?”

  My brow creases. “What do you mean?”

  “That wasn’t a kiss.”

  I cock my head to the side, fully aware that River and Callum are watching, craving her mouth as much as I am. “What was it then?”

  “It was…” She drops her hand. “I don’t know. It was… like… really intense.”

  “In a bad way?”

  She traces her lips with a finger, slowly shaking her head. “No. It was amazing.”

  A grin spreads across my face, relief flooding my veins. Callum steps forward. “In that case, let’s see if my mouth possesses the same power.”

  He takes her in his arms and kisses her hard. A gasp escapes her, and she runs her hands over his back, as Callum massages one of her tits. Her body melts against his, and they kiss with fervor, like they can’t stop. Passion enveloping them as they devour one another.

  Watching them is strange, but also fucking erotic. I love the idea of Remedy feeling so wanted. And she is. We trailed her scent for miles knowing she was the one we wanted; the one we’d been waiting for.

  And now here she is, eyes closed and mouth open, and fuck, my cock is as hard as a rock just watching the way she’s enjoying herself.

  River steps forward, and Callum, though I know it kills the cocky fucker to step away, lets River take over.

  And suddenly the mood shifts, no longer frenzied kisses—with Remedy in River’s arms, the moment slows, the desire growing into something more than heat. It becomes a stocked fire, ready and pulsing.

  In River’s arms, he unclasps her bra, tossing it to the floor, his mouth moving from her lips, lower. To her collar, her breastbone, her nipples.

  In a fluid motion, we begin to undress. Remedy doesn’t have to fumble with her clothes because River is on his knees, unbuttoning her jeans slowly, teasing them over her hips and looking up at her, as if silently asking if this is okay.

  She nods. “I want this. I don’t want to be alone.”

  River stops undressing her. “Remedy, we don’t have to sleep together in order for you to feel safe, you know that, right? You can slip under the blankets and we can go outside, keeping watch all night.”

  “No,” she says loudly. “It’s more than not wanting to be alone. I want to be held and touched and… I want this.”

  River presses his lips to Remedy’s bare belly, arms around her narrow waist. “Good, because, Rem, I want this too.”

  Maybe it’s the way he shortened her name, the intimate way that he held her, or the growing desire between all four of us—whatever it is, it's clear the evening has turned from excitement to something more.

  River has helped her out of her jeans, and she stands in nothing but a pair of panties.

  “You’re all overdressed,” she says with a smile playing on her lips. I can already tell that her smiles are few and far between, I can sense that when she offers one that it is something precious, something to hold onto.

  “We can fix that,” I tell her, taking off my pants, my boxers. This is all new territory for us, but I’m not going to let fear drive me now. It never has before.

  Her eyes widen as she takes me in. I may be a wolf, but right now I am nine inches of man.

  Chapter 7

  Remedy

  I’ve kissed a few guys before—but not much else. I didn’t have time for guys when I was trying to keep my life in one piece.

  So, I know what a kiss feels like.

  Or at least I thought I did. Turns out kissing a wolf shifter is not the same as kissing a man.

  Because they don’t kiss. They devour. They inhale. They use all their senses.

  And holy shit, it feels good.

  More than good… it feels like a part of me has been sleeping for twenty-one years and just now woke up. It feels like everything I thought about sex was a stupid school-girl notion.

  Because this is not the same thing that my roommates described, or as movies depicted. This is different.

  This is instinctual.

  The cave should feel cold; we’re in the middle of the woods for god’s sake—but I’m not cold at all. I’m hot and bothered and damn, East is ripped. He’s all strength, but when I look past the deep V, I realize he’s also all man. His beard is thick and his eyes flicker with light and everything about him is a sunrise. Warm and inviting, he puts me at ease in a way no one else ever has. Which is why when I see his cock, I don’t run.

  No. I’m eager to explore his body.

  Callum is beside him, and in seconds he is naked too, his body is leaner, he’s taller, darker—and his muscles are taut. Like everything he does is with calculated precision—even his workouts. And now, as he watches me look him over, a cocky grin spreads across his face, causing me to blush.

  “You like what you see, Rem?” he asks, stepping toward me. When he kissed me, I swear I thought I was going to hyperventilate. It was all-consuming. And fucking hot.

  My mind flashes with ideas of him handcuffing me to a bed, blindfolding me, having his way with me—and these are not thoughts that I have ever entertained. I’m not a submissive, anyone could see that by my scowl and sarcasm… yet in Callum’s arms, I have this urge to give him the reins. To let him take control.

  It relaxes me, the idea that I could let someone else take care of me, if even for an hour, for a night. My breathing is easy as Callum takes me in his arms, his fingers on the waistband of my panties. Easing them down past my hips, until they hit the ground. I inhale sharply, very aware of my naked body against Callum’s naked body.

  I shiver, my entire body awake, ex
cited. The anticipation building as Callum runs his finger up and down my spine, not touching my most private parts, instead, he thrills me with the touch of his fingers against my bare flesh.

  Then River is naked, behind me, his hands on my hips, pulling me around to face him. Callum takes his place behind me, running his large hands over my ass as River and I meet eye to eye.

  With River it’s different. It’s not just his smooth, shaved face that sets him apart… it’s the way his dark eyes match mine. The way his heart pounds in the same rhythm as mine. East grounds me, Callum ignites me—but River? He sees me. I don’t how I can deduce all that in a single night but I’ve been on my own forever and learned to read people in order to stay safe.

  “You are fucking hard as nails, Rem,” he says softly, sweeping his hands over my hair as if smoothing my rough edges. “And I love it.”

  I bite my bottom lip, not understanding. “Why?”

  “I want a woman who won’t back down. Who knows her worth."

  I close my eyes, thinking River is missing something. I’m a wreck, ruined. I am a screw-up. My worth? I scoff. “I think you’ve pegged me wrong.”

  River cups my face in his hands, his thumbs running over my cheeks, as if patiently waiting for me to see myself as he does. “Then I guess Callum, East, and I will need to remind you how special you are.”

  My hand is on his wrist, wanting to pull away. I’ve spent my life retreating when things get scary, but River steadies me; doesn’t let me back away. It’s as if he knows my fight or flight behavior is ingrained in me, etched in my soul. It’s overwhelming, to have someone peel off your mask, and see you for who you are. Flawed.

  “You don’t need to run, Rem.”

  Tears suddenly blur my vision. I’ve waited my entire life for someone to ask me to stay.

  The brick that has been pressed against my chest for so damn long is lifted and he lays me down on the pallet. Right now, I don’t need to worry about the fact I killed a man and have no money and no tent and virtually no future. Because right now, River is above me, our bodies pressed together, and I am safe.

  Callum and East lie on the bed with us. Callum’s fingers trace up and down my skin as if touching me to be sure I’m real. And East kisses my ear, my shoulders, his lips soft and our lips come crashing together with delight. Callum’s mouth is on my tits, my nipples hard as he flicks his tongue over them.

  Lower, River runs his hands over my thighs, my legs parting as he begins to leave a trail of kisses from my knees to my most tender place. His tongue is running over my pussy, opening me up in a way I’ve never been before.

  I bite my bottom lip, the pleasure of being touched and felt and seen is overwhelming. But then as River begins to kiss my folds, flickering his tongue over my sensitive clit, I relax. My shoulders fall and my body hums with excitement. I’m not tense. These men, all three of them, put me at ease.

  “You taste so good, Rem,” River tells me, his fingers now fluttering over me, against me—inside me. I gasp as he moves his hand against me, the rippling effect of being touched by a wolf-man. It’s like he moves against me in a way that a mere man couldn’t. Like he knows my body—knows me.

  My body drips for him. The orgasm builds as he fingers me with deft movements. My back arches and suddenly I’m needy--needing more. Needing everything. I move my mouth to Callum, kissing him as my knees buckle.

  Our tongues roll together as East straddles me, in that effortless way of his. Below me, River moves faster against my pussy, and my hands reach around East’s cock, taking hold of his velvety smoothness, his thick and solid shaft.

  Everything I’ve kept bottled up, in this moment, is set loose. Suddenly, whatever primal instincts the guys have, I am filled with too.

  “I need more,” I pant. “Now. Come inside me. I need to feel you inside me.”

  River doesn’t hesitate, he moves his hand away and the space is filled with his tip. I close my eyes; East’s cock is still in my hand as I pump his shaft. River moves against me, his cock entering my virgin pussy.

  I roll my head to the side, taking in Callum’s massive cock. He is kneeling beside me now, and I need to taste him. I need my mouth around him, I need his come in my mouth. I don’t know why it feels so desperate, but it is.

  River moves gently inside me, taking me against him. I gasp as he enters me, the moment so perfect, so primal. So absolutely ours.

  “I don’t want to hurt you,” he growls.

  “You won’t. I need this. I need you.”

  I open my mouth and take as much of Callum as I can. My hand pumps East’s cock and I take Callum down my throat. It burns, my lips tight against his shaft, but it feels so damn good. Like I am all powerful; like I am alive. Like they are mine and I am theirs— and for tonight, we are.

  River moves his cock deep inside me, and I forget to breathe. I am cradled and held and kissed and taken and I come, hard. I come knowing that this is more than sex—it’s ecstasy. It is everything.

  Chapter 8

  River

  The next morning, we wake at dawn. Our bodies are still thrumming with pleasure, still high off the night we shared with Remedy.

  I sit up and pull on my boxers. Callum meets my eyes and I nod. We need to talk.

  East spoons Rem, their bodies curled together as one, and my heart constricts at the sight of them.

  Last night we made love for hours. All four of us taking turns—Rem’s mouth against mine, my cock buried inside her, her tender pussy coming against my hand. And East and Callum taking their time as they took control in their own way. They took her the same way I did, their cocks deep inside her pussy, coming against their mate. Each of us making sure Remedy was getting everything from the night she may have dreamed of having.

  East, as if reading our minds, stirs. He gently moves Remedy out from under him and sets a quilt over her. Her skin is a sight to behold, so damn soft. And she may have a battered heart—but her body is soft and supple.

  The three of us leave the cave; the early morning fog is thick and the sun nowhere to be seen.

  “Is it gonna be weird?” East asks. “All of us sharing her? I know in theory we had talked about it… but now…”

  “Now it’s real?” Callum shrugs, pulling his jacket. “I fucking hope not. Because now, she’s…”

  “Ours,” I finish for him.

  “Exactly,” Callum says.

  “I’m your what?” Remedy asks, stepping out from the comfort of the cave, into the early morning chill. She has the blanket pulled around her shoulders and her eyes are knit with confusion.

  Callum, East, and I share a look. Jaws tense, mouths tight. We can see that Rem is a firecracker and the last thing we want is her running. Pushing a hand through my hair I know it’s gonna be a lot for her to take in.

  “Should we eat first?” I ask.

  She shakes her head. “What’s going on? You’re all acting spooked.”

  “You need to understand something,” East says. “And it might feel a little overwhelming, is all.”

  Rem pulls the blanket tighter around her and narrows her eyes. “I’m a big girl. I can handle it.”

  Smirking Callum says, “Fine, you don't want us to ease you into the information?”

  “Nope.”

  “Well,” he begins. “We’re wolf shifters, remember last night––”

  Rem cuts him off. “Yeah, I remember. The whole bear attack thing was pretty traumatizing. I don’t think I’ll forget that for as long as I live.”

  “Right.” Callum sighs. “As wolves, when we mate, we mate for life.”

  Her eyebrows shoot up. “What does that mean?”

  “Well, when we mate… when we make love, it creates a bond that can’t be broken.”

  She purses her lips. “Um. Okay. What does that have to do with me?”

  “Last night we—“

  She scoffs. “We did not make love. We fucked. We screwed. We did the freak nasty—but there was no love. And I am
no wolf and I don’t mate for life. You might move as a pack, but me? I’m a loner.”

  “You were,” East clarifies. “You were a loner. But now we are a unit. A family.”

  “Okay, look, I know we didn’t do any ancient Ayahuasca rituals where we got blitzed—but I think you’re seriously smoking something. We’re not a family unit. We lost our virginities in a crazy sex spree. That’s not love. That’s called an orgy.”

  She may be all fire and fury, but she’s also wrong.

  “Not here, in these woods,” I tell her. Trying to lay it on gently. “When you entered these woods last tonight, the rules changed.”

  She shakes her head. “No way. You sound crazy, do you realize that?”

  “Rem.” I reach for her, but she’s already backing away, into the cave.

  “Don’t come in here,” she hisses. “I’m changing.”

  I move back, giving her space.

  “So now what?” East asks. “We can’t force her to stay. Otherwise, we’re just like everyone in our old pack. Everyone we hate.”

  “We can’t let her go,” Callum says forcefully.

  “Agreed— but we aren’t keeping her prisoner,” I say. “She’s her own person.”

  East swallows. “She’s also our mate.”

  “Then how do we convince her to stay?” Callum asks, his voice making it crystal clear that he’s pissed off.

  “Wild wolves must roam free,” I tell them, repeating words as ancient as our wolf blood.

  “So, we let her go?” East asks.

  I nod. “And we let her return in her own time.”

  “And what if something happens to her?” Callum asks.

  The three of us tense at this possibility. “Then we follow her,” I say, “because, hell, we can’t let that happen. She’s our responsibility. Our mate.”

  Chapter 9