by Kit Lane
A door opened on the far side of the chamber and Alex rushed over to us. A wave of relief rushed through the Cinco as Matt grabbed her in his arms and we crowded around her. The minute we touched her, we could feel her again.
“Thank the Wolf-God,” Matt murmured again and again. She was tiny in his arms. My wolf came up to her chest, Kyle and Lee not much smaller. We pressed in and Alex threw her arms around us in turn.
“It’s okay. It’s okay.” She kept saying it, as if she needed to reassure herself as much as the others. I gave her a long sloppy lick up her cheek and she groaned and laughed. “That’s gross, Ro.”
She rubbed her cheek into my fur. My wolf was satisfied. Now she smelled of me and that was much better.
“What are you wearing?” Matt asked. He tilted his head as if he’d never seen her before.
I studied her and realized she was wearing a long, gray dress, similar to the Fae Queen. Her feet were bare, and her hair piled up in an elaborate design. She was all Fae and I wasn’t sure how I felt about that.
Alex blushed a little. “I said I needed to shower, and Grandma offered me clean clothes afterwards.”
Grandma?
We all very carefully didn’t glance at each other. When had the Queen of the Fae become Grandma?
She didn’t seem to notice our confusion. “Speaking of showers, you guys should do the same. You’re all rank.”
I sniffed. We smelled the same as far as I was concerned, but Matt sighed. “Fine. We’ll shower, but I’m not wearing a dress. Not even for you, Quinto.”
Alex gave a nervous giggle. “Do I look ridiculous?”
Matt stammered about how good she looked. I rolled my eyes. If I’d been in human form I’d have made it clear exactly what I thought of her in a figure-hugging gray silk dress, displaying her creamy skin in all the right places. As it was, all I could do is nudge her until she gave me a scratch behind the ears. If I’d been a cat I’d have purred. From the way Lee and Kyle pressed into her, ridiculous was the last thing in their minds.
My wolf growled at that thought and they all turned to me. Matt gave me a hard stare while Alex furrowed her brows, obviously confused. Dammit, I was going to have to control my thoughts around my own damn wolf or Matt was going to take it as a challenge.
Lily came in and announced, “You’ve got half an hour before we leave for the plane. You guys need to shower, do it now.”
Whoa, how did she know about us showering?
“I can talk to the Fae now,” Alex said, apologetic but with a hint of defiance. She held her head high, expecting the worst from us.
“You can talk to wolves and Fae?” Matt asked.
I thought he’d be furious but his head cocked, studying her like he was thinking about the possibilities.
“I guess my Fae half just needed kick-starting,” Alex said.
“You are a bundle of surprises.” Matt laid his hand on her shoulder.
My hackles rose and I snarled.
Oh shit! Oh shit!
This wasn’t good.
Alex looked down at me. “Ronin? What’s wrong.”
Matt tried to get between me and Alex.
I snarled at him, snapping as he got near me. “Get away from my mate!”
“Your mate? Ronin, what are you talking about?” Alex was even more confused.
Matt shifted and suddenly I was confronted with a large and very pissed-off alpha wolf.
“Alex, move away,” Matt ordered. “Stay with Lee and Kyle.”
The two smaller wolves had already moved to one side. Good. I loved my brother wolves and there was no way I wanted to hurt them. My wolf’s issue was with Matt, my alpha. He touched my mate as though he owned her.
The alpha fixed me with a hard stare. “You need to get over this, Ronin. She’s not your mate yet.”
I refused to submit, drawing up to my full height. Muscle for muscle, Matt and I were about the same, and he was weakened by the attack. I could take him down. “She’s not yours!”
“Alex is our Quinto. I’m the alpha. That makes me responsible for her, and you.”
I heard the plea in his voice beneath the hard layers of alpha. He didn’t want a fight. He didn’t want a fight with me. But he would if I challenged him.
“Will someone tell me what the hell is going on?” Alex’s voice rose to a yell.
What happened next was a shock to the entire Cinco.
Chapter 49 – Alex
What the hell was going on? My sweet, placid Ronin had turned into a snarling wolf. Matt was furious. I saw that in his eyes and his stance. He seemed to have grown to three times his size, and then he shifted. For the second time I saw the true alpha wolf appear. To my inexperienced eyes, he was impressive.
For a split second, he glanced my way and I swear I saw amusement in his eyes. I blushed, hoping and praying he’d not heard me. Then he returned his attention to Ronin.
“Ronin? What’s going on?”
Ronin didn’t respond.
Lee pressed into me and I squinted down at him. “He’s challenging Matt.”
“What?”
“He’s challenging Matt,” Lee repeated.
I frowned at him. “Why?”
Lee’s wolf stared up at me as if I’d said something stupid. “He thinks you’re his mate.”
“Matt?”
“Ronin.”
“I’m Ronin’s what?”
“Mate.”
I blinked. “Mate. I…”
Mates existed. I’ve never thought of such a thing. I couldn’t quite suppress the shiver of excitement that ran through me. I caught Lee staring at me closely with those amber eyes.
“You’re close to Ronin,” he said.
That was true. Closer than to the others, but then Ronin had been more open to me that any of the other wolves.
“Could… could Ronin’s wolf be mistaken?” I asked.
“Wolves mate for life.”
That didn’t quite answer the question. While the thought of being mated to the strength and gentleness of Ronin excited me, I’d had more than one dream of us altogether, and one of the others inside me. Lee had told me some Cincos mated while others stayed as friends and pack.
“If he challenges Matt what will happen?”
“If he wins, Ronin will take over as alpha and Matt will be cast out. If he loses, Ronin will be cast out,” Kyle said.
I stared at Matt and Ronin glaring at each other, all teeth and bristling fur and muscle. “Oh, hell no.”
I stalked over to the two wolves, ignoring Lee and Kyle, who both tried to herd me away. It didn’t escape my notice that more than one Fae was watching the confrontation, but none of them were intervening. “Matt. Ronin.” I was going to do this out loud so there was no mistake. The two wolves didn’t take their eyes off each other. “Matt. Alpha.”
He turned to me then. “You need to stay out of this.”
I shook my head. “This is not going to happen. I’m not going to lose one of you, just as I’ve found you.”
“You can’t stop this. Ronin has challenged me. The challenge must be answered.” Matt was grim and determined, but there was an edge of pain to his voice. He didn’t want this any more than I did.
I pleaded with my eyes for him to wait, hold on until I’d spoken to Ronin. He hesitated and inclined his head. I understood. He wasn’t backing down or conceding defeat, but he would let me talk to Ronin.
I turned to Ronin. “We are mates?”
Ronin growled low in his throat. At this stage he was more wolf than human. I wasn’t sure how to communicate but I damned well had to try.
“Ronin, don’t do this. I have just found my pack. We are Cinco. If this challenge ahead, then I lose one or the other of you. I’m not going to let that happen.”
“We. Are. Mates.”
Each word was slowly enunciated as though it was painful to speak. I hurt for him. I stared down into his angry amber eyes.
“You. Are. Mine!”
&n
bsp; Ronin snarled, and Matt made to get between us. I stopped him with one hand and focused all my attention on Ronin.
“I’m half-wolf, half-Fae. I don’t know your rituals, but I feel—inside.” I placed a hand over my heart. “I feel you. Here.” My words didn’t seem to be getting through to him. He was still angry and lost. I wasn’t even sure he was listening. “You say we’re mates. I feel you. But I need time to understand, and I need all of you with me to do that.” I paused. “We are Cinco.”
“Cinco.”
Three voices chimed through the link between us, even Matt’s. As wary and grim as his stance, he stared straight at Ronin. “Cinco.”
Ronin whined low, and the aggression seemed to seep out of him. He bared his neck to Matt, once again indicating his submissiveness. Matt took a moment, but he gave a nod. Ronin sat, his powerful shoulders slumped. “I’m so sorry.” The words weren’t being dragged over broken glass. He was back with us.
I put my finger to my lips. “Hush. There’s nothing to be sorry for.”
I glanced at Matt who nodded, and then knelt to bury my face in Ronin’s ruff. He trembled in my embrace. Kyle and Lee drew closer, and then we were Cinco again. We stayed like that for a long while until there was a cough behind us.
Lily said, and I heard the apology in her tone, “We’ve got to move. There are reports of more wolves heading this way, and the Queen wants to get to the plane before they arrive.”
I stood and the wolves gathered around me. I felt the wave of misery from all of them. Oh yes, air sickness. “Let’s go. I’ll take care of you all,” I promised.
They didn’t have time to object. We were led out of the main chamber through a door, where the Queen waited for us. Her face was pinched, and I could feel ripples of worry flow through her. We had brought danger to her door.
“This is not the first time, my child, and it won’t be the last,” she assured me. “Better you get away now. Your Cinco doesn’t need to see this.”
What was she going to do to the attackers? I decided I didn’t need to know.
“Wise decision,” she said with some amusement. “Lily is going to take you to the plane. When you reach Maine, go straight to the cottage. If your father is anywhere it will be there.”
I couldn’t help the spark of excitement at the thought of possibly seeing my father again. “Will we be safe there?”
The Queen shook her head. “You won’t be safe until you’ve proved your father’s innocence. Remember what I told you. You can defend yourself.”
I felt the curiosity from the wolves. Before I could explain to them, Lily hurried us through another door which led into a tunnel. I shuddered. I’d had enough of tunnels to last a lifetime.
“We’re with you this time,” Ronin murmured, and there was agreement from the others.
I took a deep breath, inhaling the scents of pine needles and dirt, and my wolves. I wasn’t on my own. No matter how bizarre the circumstances, and the fact we were running for our lives, I wasn’t alone for the first time in two years.
Now I just had to get four air-sick wolves to Maine to find my father.
~//~
Thank you for reading Fifth. If you’d like to leave a review, the Goodreads link is here.
To be continued in Fourth
Coming May 2019
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About Kit Lane
Kit Lane has three passions in life; coffee, writing epic love stories, and dogs. She lives near London and claims the city as her own.
Her email is [email protected]
The Cinco series is Kit’s first venture into reverse harem fiction. She looks forward to sharing more of Alex and the wolves on their adventures.
Contents
All Rights Reserved
Dedication
Contents
Meeting Kit
Blurb
Chapter 1 – Alex
Chapter 2 – Kyle
Chapter 3 – Alex
Chapter 4 - Matt
Chapter 5 – Alex
Chapter 6 - Lee
Chapter 7 – Alex
Chapter 8 - Ronin
Chapter 9 – Alex
Chapter 10 – Matt
Chapter 11 - Alex
Chapter 12 - Kyle
Chapter 13 – Alex
Chapter 14 – Lee
Chapter 15 – Alex
Chapter 16 – Ronin
Chapter 17 - Alex
Chapter 18 - Matt
Chapter 19 – Alex
Chapter 20 – Lee
Chapter 21 – Alex
Chapter 22 – Kyle
Chapter 23 - Alex
Chapter 24 - Matt
Chapter 25 - Alex
Chapter 26 - Ronin
Chapter 27 - Alex
Chapter 28 - Ronin
Chapter 29 - Alex
Chapter 30 - Matt
Chapter 31 - Alex
Chapter 32 – Lee
Chapter 33 - Alex
Chapter 34 - Kyle
Chapter 35 - Alex
Chapter 36 – Ronin
Chapter 37 - Alex
Chapter 38 – Matt
Chapter 39 - Alex
Chapter 40 - Lee
Chapter 41 - Alex
Chapter 42 - Ronin
Chapter 43 - Alex
Chapter 44 – Kyle
Chapter 45 - Alex
Chapter 46 – Matt
Chapter 47 - Alex
Chapter 48 - Ronin
Chapter 49 – Alex
Coming May 2019
About Kit Lane
Table of Contents
Chapter 1 – Alex
Chapter 2 – Kyle
Chapter 3 – Alex
Chapter 4 - Matt
Chapter 5 – Alex
Chapter 6 - Lee
Chapter 7 – Alex
Chapter 8 - Ronin
Chapter 9 – Alex
Chapter 10 – Matt
Chapter 11 - Alex
Chapter 12 - Kyle
Chapter 13 – Alex
Chapter 14 – Lee
Chapter 15 – Alex
Chapter 16 – Ronin
Chapter 17 - Alex
Chapter 18 - Matt
Chapter 19 – Alex
Chapter 20 – Lee
Chapter 21 – Alex
Chapter 22 – Kyle
Chapter 23 - Alex
Chapter 24 - Matt
Chapter 25 - Alex
Chapter 26 - Ronin
Chapter 27 - Alex
Chapter 28 - Ronin
Chapter 29 - Alex
Chapter 30 - Matt
Chapter 31 - Alex
Chapter 32 – Lee
Chapter 33 - Alex
Chapter 34 - Kyle
Chapter 35 - Alex
Chapter 36 – Ronin
Chapter 37 - Alex
Chapter 38 – Matt
Chapter 39 - Alex
Chapter 40 - Lee
Chapter 41 - Alex
Chapter 42 - Ronin
Chapter 43 - Alex
Chapter 44 – Kyle
Chapter 45 - Alex
Chapter 46 – Matt
Chapter 47 - Alex
Chapter 48 - Ronin
Chapter 49 – Alex
