by Dawn Forrest
“You are liking what you see, Joanna? He has a very good body, does he not?”
“Mmm, yes.” Then she understood his joke and with a sardonic drawl added, “and so says his identical twin.”
“But I am thinking that my cock is bigger than my brother’s.” His smug expression made her laugh. “Do not be accepting my word, you must be making careful examination and comparison.” He nodded thoughtfully.
She cocked her head and gave a mock frown, liking this playful side of him.
“You know, they say that self praise is no praise.”
“I care not what they say, only what you say.” He took her hand and held it to his heart.
She was sure that he didn’t need any reassurance about their good looks, but somehow she understood that he needed to hear from her that she found him attractive.
“Vlad, you and Yuri are”—she waved her free hand at them as if conjuring up the right word—“magnificent.”
He smiled with what looked a lot like deep satisfaction and a smidgeon of arrogance and inclined his head, gracefully accepting her praise.
“And you, my mate, are very beautiful. You are my life’s longing and heart’s desire made real.”
Wow, a charmer. But she knew he meant it. Oh hell, I’ll never live up to what they are expecting. She couldn’t help but imagine a tall pedestal with her on top crashing to the ground. It suddenly hit her that they knew next to nothing about her, and she knew even less about them.
Vlad somehow sensed her unease. “We have much time to learn of each other.”
He wasn’t kidding, because it could be hundreds of years. His large, warm hands gently stroked her hair. Both men liked physical contact, and she realized with surprise that she welcomed their touch.
“I am twenty-three years old. How old are you?”
The actual number wasn’t so important, rather what those years represented in terms of their life experiences. Vlad’s hand stopped midstroke.
“You are very young, but it matters not. We were born in Russia in 1888.”
“Wow.” For a few seconds she didn’t know what to say. Her mates were much older and more experienced than she was. They’d lived through the deposition of the Tsar, the Russian revolution, the creation of the Soviet Union, and then its dissolution in 1991. She thought of the ancient Chinese curse, “May you live in interesting times.” They had certainly done that. She suddenly felt gauche, unsophisticated, and immature.
Vlad took her hand. “We will make many new experiences together.”
Jo appreciated his attempt to make her feel more comfortable.
“Yes, we will.” She smiled at him. “I couldn’t help thinking of all the changes that you have lived through.”
“Da. We survived because we stayed in a remote, harsh environment, and our Pack is strong. Now that Russia has market-based economy, we buy back our land, and our Pack is living very well. Our land has many natural resources.”
Harsh environment? That didn’t sound inviting.
“Where exactly do you live?”
“Siberia, near—”
“Siberia!” She’d thought that it was just their Pack name taken from the Siberian wolf or something, not where they actually lived.
All she knew about Siberia was that it was cold and bleak. It was a large area within which the Soviet Gulag had deported and exiled many people to live, work, and often die in forced-labor camps. It wasn’t on her list of holiday destinations, and it sure as hell wasn’t where she wanted to live.
“It is very much beautiful,” Vlad said as if sensing her distress.
Yeah, in a stark, freeze-your-butt-off kind of way.
“It’s very much far away,” she mumbled, aware that she was falling in with their pattern of speech.
Now that some of the sexual pressure had been released and the mating fever had eased a little, she could think more clearly. She had two Siberian mates, they were Pack Alphas, so presumably they would have to return to Russia, or more specifically Siberia. Where did that leave her? Probably suffering from cold extremities. I can’t even speak Russian. Yet the thought of being separated from them didn’t sit right either, and her beast fretted and paced at the very notion. Her human side began to worry about the logistics.
Yuri strode out of the kitchen area with a tray of snacks and drinks. She grabbed a glass of straight vodka, and, forgoing any cola, she slugged it down. It was like fire in her throat and heated her belly. She stifled a cough. Her metabolism would burn through the alcohol quickly, but it might help to avert the panic that she felt rising within her.
“Ha, see, like Russian already,” Yuri said.
“What is to worry for, my Joanna?” asked Vlad.
“My mom.” It was the truth, just not all of it.
“Why not call her? Use my phone.” Yuri put the tray on the bed and bent over to retrieve his phone from his pants. It might be worth going to Siberia to see that fine ass and impressive set of balls every day. With only very recent firsthand knowledge of such matters, she briefly wondered how they fit between his thighs without getting uncomfortably squashed but then snapped her attention back to the conversation.
“Can I trust you not to speak about my mom to anyone?”
They nodded.
“I’m serious, guys. If I don’t have your support to help my mom, then our relationship is going to get very difficult.”
Yuri bristled. “We are with honor. We give our word.”
She nodded and accepted his phone with his declaration. First she accessed her emergency e-mail account and with utter relief saw her Mom’s short message. It meant she was alive and well and sticking to their plan. Then she called her mom’s phone but was diverted straight to voice mail. She left a brief message saying that she was well, unharmed, and would be addressing the Council tomorrow. She mentioned that Ashok Khan had been picked up alive but was no longer a threat at this time. She did not say anything about finding her mates, which, judging from the straight, tight line of Vlad’s mouth, did not go over well with him. Yuri’ s poker face was expressionless, but she could feel his disappointment.
“You are not happy and being proud for our mating?” he asked when she finished the call.
She sighed heavily, and her shoulders slumped. How could she explain something that she didn’t totally understand?
“On an instinctive level I know that you are…right for me, that I am yours and you are mine.” She noted a flicker of emotion, surprise, and happiness in his eyes when she declared that they also belonged to her. “I guess that any female would feel honored to be your mate. I feel safe, sexy, complete, and dare I say it…content, with you near. The thought of you not being near fills me with an irrational dread.” She snorted. “I’ve been independent nearly all of my short life, yet I get palpitations at the mere thought of being parted from you. It’s hard to believe.”
“What is this ‘palpitations’?” Vlad asked.
“When your heart beats irregularly and there’s a fluttering in your chest.”
“Yes, I am knowing this feeling. I experienced it for the first time a few hours ago when I could not get to you. When I was shot.” He sounded a bit pissed as he snarled that last part but then smiled at her. “We feel same way, but are not being confused by it. We are waiting many years for you. You are our hope for our future and our life now, and we are being very happy about it. We have honor to be your mates, and we will protect you always.”
Mmm, but who will protect me from you? She began to wonder how much independence her mates would allow.
“Well you see, I only ‘became’ last month, and I haven’t had a lot of time to really get used to the idea of turning furry. I mean, my mom and I guessed I might because all the physical indicators pointed that way, but we kind of lived in hope that I wouldn’t be a werewolf.”
“What you are is rare, precious, and to be revered and cherished, not hunted and used. I am sorry for what your mother has experienced,” Yuri sa
id, frowning when he saw that she deleted the last call and connection information from his phone, indicating that she didn’t totally trust them.
“I do not want to leave my mom if she is vulnerable and alone. I can’t abandon her.” She handed his phone back to him.
“You are loyal. That is very good thing. We will help.” He stroked her shoulder and neck. “We offer sanctuary, but it would be much more easy if she was finding her mate quickly.”
Jo bit her bottom lip. She couldn’t ask for more than that, but it was unlikely her mom would go to Siberia. Jo wondered how often she would be able to come home and visit friends. Home, where exactly was home now? When she thought about it she’d already said good-bye to the few good friends she had, because once she had “become” she’d had to abandon a normal, settled life. Even if she didn’t have mates she wouldn’t be able to keep up with her friends and could only see Lynne infrequently and irregularly. Only with Yuri and Vlad could she possibly have a stable home. They were not taking anything from her that she hadn’t already lost. They were her saviors, giving her the possibility of a happy, settled life. Still, did it have to be in Siberia?
“I am not sure that I want to go to Siberia.”
“You will. We will be with you.” Yuri confidently dismissed her concerns.
It rubbed her the wrong way that he acted as though he knew everything and that because he had declared something then it must be so. As if that washed away all of her concerns, as if nothing else mattered. The statement was more than a little arrogant, although she suspected that for the most part it was true.
“What will I do there?” She supposed that if they had a good Internet connection there wasn’t any reason that she couldn’t continue her publishing work, but they didn’t know that.
“Do?” Yuri looked genuinely confounded by her question for a moment. “You will have a home and children.”
“What! You’ve got to be kidding. I’m only twenty-three, and I don’t want children yet.”
“We are one hundred years older than you, and we have waited long enough. You will adjust.” Again the way he arrogantly pronounced it had her gulping her outrage down in surprise.
“Adjust?” Her voice sounded a little too high and strained to belie her shock and dismay. “You will be the ones adjusting, buddy, not me.”
Yuri’s eyes narrowed. “I think not. A good mate knows her place.”
“My place?” she shrieked. “Presumably on my knees waiting to serve you? Don’t hold your breath, or better yet do, because it’s never gonna happen.”
Yuri looked baffled. “You will be by our side, supporting us. We will protect you, our children, home, and our Pack. We will provide for you, and you will obey us.”
She jumped off the bed and grabbed the duvet to cover herself.
“Obey? Newsflash, this is the twenty-first century, mate, and I will not obey you. I’ll do as I darn well please.”
She couldn’t help but bare her teeth at him. It was a natural reaction to a threat. Vlad took a sharp intake of breath while Yuri just scowled and narrowed his eyes.
“Da I am arrogant and dominant male. Da I am your mate and Alpha, so da, like all in my Pack, you will obey me.”
“I will not.” She stood tall and looked him directly in the eye, never flinching from his hard gaze. Even through her outrage she felt a strong attraction to him. She had the urge to push him, to see just how strong he was and if he was indeed worthy of her. A little voice in the back of her mind urgently whispered that this wasn’t a good idea, but instinct screamed to challenge him. “You can’t make me obey you, you…you arrogant Alpha ass.” Again her lips pulled back in a snarl.
“This is not being a good start,” Vlad muttered just before Yuri pounced.
She barely saw it coming, he moved so fast, but something alerted her a microsecond before he acted, as if she sensed his intent. She threw herself onto the bed to evade him, leaving the duvet behind in his tight grip. She was fast but so was he, and he instantly went down with her. Vlad had to leap out of the way as both she and Yuri grappled, fought, and rolled across the bed and fell off the edge. When they hit the floor she was on top, and it flashed through her mind that he had deliberately taken the impact for her. Grrr!
Her claws and fangs extended, and she gave a feral snarl as she leaned in closer to his exposed throat. In a single fast and fluid maneuver, he swiped his arm up, blocking her, and somehow snaked it around to catch both her wrists in the one hand. At the same time his other hand closed around her throat. They froze, eyes locked, breathing deeply. He could so easily break her neck or cut off her air supply, but he gripped her with only the minimum pressure required to hold her still. She realized that he had been careful not to hurt her the whole time. He was a seasoned warrior, an Alpha, soon her Alpha, and her mate, and…oh hell, she wanted him to own her. How messed up is that? She relaxed and glanced to the side, eyes downcast. His grip loosened on her neck, and she turned her head a little more to bare her throat…submissively.
She heard Vlad say, “Mmm, that is so hot.”
Yuri growled softly, released his grip, and moved his hands to her hips. She had no doubt that should the need arise he could move fast and do any number of things to stop her reaching his throat and the vulnerable artery that throbbed with his life’s blood. Instead he held still and waited as she leaned in, close enough for a killing strike. She caught his eyes glowing bright with desire and dominance, yet it was contrary to what he was allowing. It was a display of trust that paradoxically reinforced his authority. He knew she would not hurt him. She buried her face in his neck, licking and gently scraping the skin with her sharp teeth. She petted and stroked his hair with one hand while she shifted and used the other to position his cock at her hot, slick entrance. They both groaned as she slowly lowered, taking his blood-warm, hard-yet-smooth shaft into her body in a snug embrace of willing, ripe flesh. He filled her completely, owned her body and soul.
* * * *
Dear God, his mate felt wonderful, and for a moment Yuri lost his focus. The speed of her reaction astonished and pleased him, but her open defiance had not. It was irritating yet irresistible. The beast in him loved it, but the man was more circumspect. He understood that this was all new to her and that it was now his and Vlad’s responsibility to instruct her in the way of things. He had to admit that her strength of character and her little challenge turned him on, but he needed her to understand that they were so much more experienced than her and that she must trust him to do the right thing.
“Oh, yes, that feels so right, so good,” she moaned.
Her heavily lidded eyes were focused on him as she began to move on his body. Her lips found his, and their teeth clashed as they sought to deepen the kiss. Their combined passion burned, threatening to turn his thoughts to ash, but he needed her to understand. He rolled her underneath him and gently pinned her arms above her head. Her face was flushed with desire. In one fluid movement he shifted his hips back, pulled out, and then thrust into her. It was heaven as his thick cock forged through her tight, slick, muscular channel and came to rest with the sensitive head nudging against her soft cervix and his balls nestled firmly against her ass. She moaned and raised her hips, ensuring that she was taking all he had to give.
“I will never hurt you, my mate. Always I am having your best interests at heart, and you must trust this. I am in need to know that you have this trust and will obey me and submit to my authority.”
He pulled back and felt her gripping him tighter, clenching against his retreat. He groaned and then pushed forward again through her passage, which tightened around him like a fisted velvet glove.
“I’m…I’m not a doll or a puppet, Yuri. I have a mind of my own.” She was panting and looked like she was trying hard to focus, to speak.
Perhaps he took for granted that they would want the same things. No woman had ever challenged him, much less bared her teeth at him. It was a tricky business to negotiate past the se
vere cliffs of tradition and through the shallow, sandy seas of modernity. He wanted harmony with his wife and mate and realized that some matters may require more gentle persuasion, some matters may even require compromise on his behalf, and some matters…well, he was the boss.
“I do not want a doll, and I am liking your mind, but you must accept my authority. Never openly challenge me in front of others, and never, ever run from me, my Joanna.”
She gasped, cried out, and writhed beneath him as he surged into her.
“You can run with me.” He slowly withdrew, dragging his hard length nearly all the way out, and then plunged fully into her hot flesh again. “You can run for me.” He pulled back then bucked deep into her. “You can always run to me.” He retreated quickly then flexed his hips to drive home. “But never think to run away from me.” He held himself deep within her core, grinding his hips and groin against her clit as he looked deep into her dark-brown eyes. He hoped to convey the strength of his feelings for her even though they had only just met. Time spent wooing, exchanging pleasantries, all of that human ritual was secondary to the fact that she was his mate. He kissed her again and began the sensuous dance that would take them to that place he could only find with her.
He leaned in closer, his breath in her ear. “You are mine to protect, to hold and cherish.” He managed to force out the words as his orgasm loomed.
She gave a guttural growl that went straight to his balls. “As you are mine,” she declared, and then, to his surprise, she threw her head forward and sank her teeth into his shoulder.
Fuck! The ecstasy and the energy of the connection were too much to contain. It detonated, and he let out a deafening roar as he came hard. He felt a huge shock wave pulse out from their joined bodies. Joanna howled loudly. It was the inhuman sound of her beast rejoicing in the claiming of her mate.
Chapter 10
Anil Kumar sat in the hall quietly, looking impassive and calm, as if his whole attention was focused on the nervous young Were tech expert currently talking about some Were web site nonsense. In reality, his mind was frantically working out a way in which this whole rotten situation with Khan could be turned to his advantage and whether or not there would be an opportunity to finally be free from his hated Prime. Khan was a slippery, devious, unforgiving character, and disloyalty would mean first despair then death. He would have to play his cards very close to his chest because the safety of that which was most precious to him was at stake.
