Fifth (A Cinco Series Book 1)

by Kit Lane

The door opened and Kyle looked around. He was wearing clothes for once, an old gray T-shirt and faded jeans. “You’re awake!”

  I could hear the relief in his voice. “Hey. Are you okay?” He came over to grasp my hand, holding it tightly. His hand shook and I squeezed it. “It’s okay, Ky. I’m fine.”

  “You nearly died.”

  I hadn’t expected to wake up again. The last thing I remembered was going down under a pack of wolves and the agony of my flesh tearing under sharp teeth.

  “How did I survive? I told you to get away.”

  Kyle refused to meet my eyes. Uh-oh, what was that about? “Alex saved you.”

  “It was a team effort,” she protested, but Kyle shook his head.

  “You were the one who saved him. Alex drove straight at the wolves, who scattered. We got you into the car then we drove away. She’s an amazing driver, Matt.”

  I stared at Alex, who just shrugged.

  “We couldn’t leave you there.”

  “So where are we? I heard a Fae in my head.”

  “My Aunt Ruth. She was a friend of my mother’s. It was only once we got here I found out she was Fae.”

  “She helped to heal you,” Kyle said.

  I looked at them doubtfully. Fae weren’t known for helping wolves, or any species. Fae helped Fae and that was it.

  Alex bit down on her bottom lip. “She was my mom’s best friend. She says she had the same mother, so maybe she really is my aunt. I’ve known her all my life. Maybe she’s helping out of loyalty to my mom. I don’t care. We needed her and she came through.”

  “I’ve been asleep for twenty-four hours?”

  Kyle chuckled. “Try four days.”

  “What?” I stared at them aghast. “I’ve been unconscious for four days?”

  Alex took my free hand. “You were really badly hurt, Matt. You only shifted back this morning. That’s how we knew you were going to wake up.”

  “We’ve been by your side the whole time,” Kyle added.

  “Where are the other two?” I asked.

  “Lee is monitoring the network, and Ronin is asleep,” Alex said. “He’s been healing you since the attack, and he’s worn out.”

  “I thought he was sleeping here.”

  Alex smiled at me. “He was. We all were. But I insisted he got some proper sleep. He’s in the next room.”

  “I woke up in the night. I felt you all here. The Fae talked to me.”

  “I’ll introduce you to Aunt Ruth. She’s certainly full of surprises.”

  “Alex, I don’t mean to seem ungrateful, but what have you done? You’ve led the Cinco straight to the enemy.”

  Before Alex spoke, a cool feminine voice answered. “Who is your enemy this time? You’re safe for as long as you’re here, Alpha. That’s more than you can say for the outside world.”

  I turned to see a Fae, presumably Aunt Ruth, standing by the doorway. “With respect, I don’t know you. You could be talking bullshit.”

  “With respect,” she echoed mockingly, “you know shit. You could be dead now.”

  Chapter 25 - Alex

  What in hell? I stared at Matt. “You’ve just woken up and you’re already causing trouble? My Aunt Ruth saved your ungrateful hide, if you remember.”

  “I thought you saved my life,” Matt muttered.

  “Don’t get pedantic on me,” I snapped.

  I was sick and tired of tripping over all these prejudices and being expected to deal with them.

  Matt tried to sit up and Kyle rushed to help, placing pillows behind him.

  “You talk to the wolf,” Aunt Ruth said. “Remind him of his manners. I’ll arrange for some broth.”

  Matt stared at her in horror. “Broth?”

  She might as well have said cyanide.

  Aunt Ruth rolled her eyes. “You’ve not eaten for several days. Your stomach will have shrunk. It’s like feeding a starved puppy. It takes time to get back to your normal diet.”

  “But—”

  She walked out on his protest and shut the door. He turned to me and I scowled at him. “Yes?”

  “I’m a wolf. I don’t eat broth.”

  “And yet today you are.”

  Matt frowned at Kyle, who had a hard time trying not to laugh. “Tell her, Ky.”

  “I’ll go check on Ronin,” Kyle said and rushed out of the room.

  “Traitor.”

  That left a pissed off Matt and me glaring daggers at each other. I didn’t care if he wanted the finest porterhouse steak, he wasn’t getting it until he was good and ready.

  The silence stretched out until he dropped his gaze. “I’m sorry.”

  I wanted to stay angry with him, but he looked exhausted and I realized that short encounter had taken everything out of him. “Just rest. You’re still weak. Drink the broth and if you keep that down, I’ll see about getting you a steak tomorrow.”

  “More than one.”

  “We’ll see.” I made no promises.

  Matt lay back against the pillows and sighed as if all the fight was drained out of him.

  “I’ll go check on the broth,” I said, but Matt grabbed my arm.

  “Stay with me. Lie down here.”

  His eyes fixed on me and I saw his need for me to stay there. I nodded, climbed onto the bed and lay down next to him.

  “Closer?”

  I shuffled closer to him, and he put an arm around me. I rested my head on his chest cautiously, but he sighed, and I wasn’t getting any sense of pain from him. The soft hair on his chest tickled my cheek, but I wasn’t inclined to move away.

  We were silent for a long time and I thought he’d fallen asleep when he said, “So you can drive.”

  I smiled against his chest. “My dad taught me.”

  “You know you’ll be doing all the driving now.”

  “I don’t mind. Ronin and I can share.”

  There was a dissatisfied rumble and I realized it was from his wolf. “You can calm down too, buster.”

  The startled silence from wolf and human was very satisfying.

  “You can hear my wolf?”

  “I guess so.” I frowned and raised my head to look at him. “I can hear all your wolves now. They talk to me too.”

  I stopped because I realized that was true. Sometime in the last three days, I’d started hearing both the human and the wolf, two beings.

  “Only wolves can hear wolves,” Matt said.

  “I’m part wolf.” No idea which part, but it had to be there, right? I lay back down again and thought about it. “I think it started when we connected in the Cinco.”

  “You really are one of us.”

  “You say that like it’s a bad thing.”

  Matt held me closer. “Not bad. I’m overwhelmed. No matter how much we talk about being a Cinco, you can’t know unless you’ve felt it.”

  “The rest of us have,” I pointed out. “You were too busy taking a nap.”

  “Heh, thanks for that.”

  “You’re welcome.” My cheek raised as he sighed under me again. “Be nice to Aunt Ruth, Matt. I get the feeling taking care of us comes with personal cost.”

  “I’ve spent my whole life thinking Fae were the enemy.”

  “You spent your whole life thinking pack and the Elders would take care of you,” I pointed out.

  There was a long silence. “True. It tears at my heart to know this isn’t true.”

  “If you contacted them and said you would turn me over to them would they take you back as pack?”

  “The hell!” Matt roared, surprisingly loud for a man who’d been unconscious for four days. He dislodged me and sat up, his amber eyes dark and furious.

  The door flung open and Kyle, Ronin and Lee tumbled through like circus clowns, tripping over each other in the attempt to be there first.

  “What’s happened?” Lee said.

  “What’s wrong?” Ronin demanded.

  Kyle just stared at us.

  Matt pointed at me. “Alex thin
ks we should turn her in to the Elders.”

  “That’s not what I said,” I protested.

  “That’s exactly what you said!”

  I rolled my eyes. “I asked if you’d be safe if you handed me over to the Elders. At the moment you’re in as much danger as me.”

  Ronin’s face darkened. “Don’t even think about it.”

  The three men climbed onto the bed and surrounded me, as if they were trying to ward off the Elders. I sucked in a breath. It had been a lot easier sleeping with four wolves, and when I wasn’t the one in the middle. Now they were a mess of limbs and eyes and hard bodies, and all of their attention focused on me. I wanted to push my way out, to breathe freely again. I wanted more than that. I had a sudden image of the five of us on the bed, but we were all naked. I had one feeding his hard cock into my mouth, one kissing down my neck, one loving my breasts, and one intent on his cock, watching as he slid into me. Then I realized it wasn’t my dream, and from the in-drawn breaths around me, we all shared that fantasy.

  I stared at them wide-eyed. “You’d like that?” I asked all of them.

  Matt chewed on his lip, then he nodded. Ronin did too. Lee and Kyle seemed a little more hesitant, but then Lee said, “I’ve never done that. Shared with anyone. But it was hot.”

  There were murmurs of agreement. It had been incredibly hot. To be the focus of four men. I’d never imagined anything like that before.

  “I’ve never… you know.” Kyle was mortified.

  I took his hand in mine. “Only once,” I told him, but I was telling them all really.

  Kyle gave me the tiniest of smiles and the others nodded.

  “Maybe that’s something for the future,” Matt said.

  He didn’t add “If we live that long.” He didn’t need to.

  Chapter 26 - Ronin

  It was my dream, my fantasy, of my Cinco sharing pleasure in every way imaginable, but I didn’t realize I’d been broadcasting it to all of us. I was so tired my defenses were down. I caught Matt’s quirky grin as he glanced my way. He knew it was me. I gave him a small shrug. No one ran from the room screaming so that was a plus—right?

  The wood nymph, Kay, brought in a bowl of broth, and at Matt’s immediate scowl I excused myself. I was too tired to deal with the alpha in a bad mood. The last four days had drained me. I’d spent more time in the spiritual realm than here, focusing my life force on trying to keep Matt alive. Good food, plenty of sleep, and knowing we were safe, had helped me, but I realized just how inadequate my skills were when we were under attack.

  “Don’t put yourself down,” Aunt Ruth murmured.

  I started. “I didn’t know you were there.”

  “I know,” she said, and her grin had an edge to it. I huffed and her smile got a tighter edge, then it softened. “How is your alpha?”

  “Complaining about the broth. He’s fine.”

  “And how are you?” She studied me carefully.

  “Tired,” I admitted.

  It was a relief to have at least one person where I didn’t have to pretend to be all right.

  “Go take a rest, Shaman. Your alpha is awake, your Cinco is fine.”

  “I’ve just woken up,” I protested.

  Aunt Ruth gave me a look which said she saw through my protest. “Do any of your Cinco know you’ve been draining your life force continuously to keep Matt alive?”

  “No.”

  “I thought so. You will need your strength when you have to challenge the Elders. Go back to bed, Ronin.”

  I blinked, then stared at her. “You think that will happen?”

  “Do you intend to stay here forever?”

  Good point. I hadn’t thought past saving Matt’s life. But she was right. We couldn’t live with the Fae indefinitely. We would need to make plans.

  “You can make plans later. For now, sleep.”

  As if she put the idea in my head, I yawned, and then a thought occurred to me. “You can read my thoughts.”

  It wasn’t a question.

  She shrugged. “If you’re not shielding.”

  I stared at her, unable to hide my horrified expression. Oh dear God, she must have caught my fantasy of us making love to her niece.

  She gave me a wry smile. “You wolves are very basic. Eat, sleep, fuck.”

  I didn’t know what shocked me more. Her opinion of wolves or the curse word coming out of her mouth.

  “Don’t make the mistake of thinking I’m a human, wolf.” And now that was a warning.

  Then I saw her; her true Fae self, something few wolves ever saw. She was beautiful, and she scared the living crap out of me.

  She nodded. “Now you understand.”

  “Does Alex know?” I asked.

  “I haven’t revealed myself yet. She’s not ready.”

  “Alex is part Fae. Does this mean she has this form?”

  “Who knows what she is, or what form she will take. There’s a reason we don’t interbreed.” She sounded disapproving.

  I really wanted to ask her what she meant by that, but I was too tired. It would have to wait until another day.

  I returned to the room I’d slept in before. It was a large, pleasant guest room, decorated in light wood that was echoed in the furniture and the paneling, and shades of green reminiscent in a forest. The afternoon sun flooded through the window and I closed the slatted blinds. I sat on the bed spread and yawned again. I contemplated stripping off and going wolf, but then the door opened and Alex smiled at me.

  “May I join you?” she asked hesitantly.

  “Hey.” I held out my hand and she joined me on the bed, leaning against my shoulder with a contented sigh. I stroked her hair, loving the feel of the vibrant curls. “Are you coming for a nap?”

  “Aunt Ruth sent me. She said I looked tired.”

  Of course she did. Aunt Ruth had an agenda. I just wasn’t sure what it was.

  We lay down together, and I spooned around her, enfolding her in my embrace. Alex was tiny in my arms, but she felt so alive. I was aware of every inch of her.

  Her breathing evened out and I thought she was asleep, until she said, “It was you, wasn’t it?”

  I sighed. I didn’t pretend not to know what she was talking about. “Yes.”

  “You were the one making love to me.”

  “We were all making love to you,” I said.

  I waited, but she didn’t say anything else. I had to know. “Did it scare you? All of us together?”

  “I thought it would, but no, it didn’t scare me.”

  She sighed happily and pushed back against me, snuggling in tight. It was a sign of how tired I was that my body didn’t react even after our discussion. I kissed the top of her head and she murmured something incoherent. We fell asleep together, my senses enveloping her, wanting to keep her safe.

  Chapter 27 - Alex

  I woke to find Ronin splayed on his back, snoring with gentle whuffs of breath. It was a chance for me to observe him without being observed. Ronin was a study in lean muscle and grace. His long lashes swept his cheeks, hiding his startling amber eyes. We all had the same color, but Ronin’s were brighter. It was odd that I could tell the difference, even though I barely knew them. He was the tallest of the wolves, long and sleek. He also took up most of the bed.

  I wanted to touch him, but I didn’t want to disturb him. Without him, Matt wouldn’t be alive. Lee had taken me to one side to explain what Ronin was trying to do. He’d clearly expected something from me, but I wasn’t sure what it was. I didn’t know enough to be helpful.

  I’d been surprised when Aunt Ruth had told me to take a nap. I was sleep-deprived after taking care of Matt, but I wasn’t a take-a-nap type of woman. Ronin, on the other hand, looked as if he could sleep standing up.

  I realized Ronin was a pack animal, more likely to sleep if someone was with him. The nights we’d spent on the bed together, surrounding Matt as he clung to life showed me how much he needed to be with others.

  Ron
in’s eyelids fluttered and he opened his eyes. A smile spread across his face when he caught me watching him. “Hey. I thought someone was staring at me.”

  “Disappointed it was me?” I teased.

  “You’d be the last person to disappoint me.” He reached out to stroke my cheek.

  I leaned into his touch and pressed a kiss to his palm. His eyes darkened and something fluttered inside me.

  “Do you want to kiss me?” I whispered.

  Ronin nodded, and slid his hand around the back of my neck, encouraging me closer. I ended up sprawled over him and leaned forward to kiss him. I stopped a fraction from his mouth.

  “Are you sure you want this?” he asked.

  “I’ve not done this before.”

  Ronin leaned forward and brushed my lips with his. “Practice makes perfect.”

  Then he held me and I was under him, and before I could get used to the change in position he kissed me again, a gentle brush of our mouths.

  He pulled back and I licked my lips, wanting more than just a peck. I inhaled his scent; woodsy with a touch of spice, underlaid with something musky. It took me a minute to realize it was arousal. Then he leaned against me and his hardness pressed into my hip. I pushed upwards, encouraging him, and Ronin groaned, his mouth on mine. Then he rolled off me and put a distance between us on the bed.

  I blinked back sudden tears, taken aback by his sudden rejection. “Have I done something wrong?”

  Ronin shook his head. “You could never do anything wrong.”

  He didn’t say anything more and I was confused. “Then why did you stop?”

  He huffed and moved closer to me. “You’re so tempting. But now is not the right time. When we make love…” He took my hand and brought it to his mouth to kiss the palm. The warmth in Ronin’s eyes eased the sting of his rejection. “I want us to take all night. Now, we’re liable to be interrupted.”

  As if on cue, there was a knock at the door and Kyle poked his head around. “Oh good, you’re awake, Ro. Lee and I are going for a hunt. They’re getting low on meat. Do you want to come with?” He smiled at me. “Are you okay to sit with Matt? He’s kinda grouchy at being left out.”

  Oh great, I get to babysit the grumpy wolf.

  Ronin stood and stretched, rolling his shoulders. “That sounds good. Do you mind? You’ll be safe here with the Fae.”