“Stay here and protect Meg,” he said to his pride, and stepped down to meet the Nephilim.
Brody appeared in front of him, the demon’s own power adding to the charge in the air. Roars shook the air further as Landon and Elliot bellowed behind him.
“Stand back please, Caleb. This is why Aiden sent me here.”
Caleb found himself stumbling away from Brody, but not because he’d intended to, he’d somehow been pushed away by the air itself.
“You don’t want to come any closer, Nephilim,” Brody said. He spread his legs and raised his shoulders.
Caleb turned toward a roar of pain to find Landon and Elliot frozen in their tracks as they strained to get closer to their mate.
“So the little pussycats have a pet demon,” Nicholas said. “You don’t know what I’ve become, demon. If you go now, I might not hunt you to the ends of the Earth to kill you after I’ve had my fill of the lovely Meg.”
Caleb felt the shift threaten to take him as his cat’s rage flowed through him. “Brody, let us help you.” He shivered with frustration at the restraints Brody had somehow placed on him.
The smaller man ignored both Caleb’s request and the roars of his furious mate’s. He stood his ground and held his hands out in front of his body, his palms facing upwards. Caleb gasped as a spark of fire ignited above Brody’s hands and grew into a ball of fire the size of a bale of hay in seconds.
In the next instant, Nicholas was screaming as the fire engulfed him. The fire appeared to have a sticky, lava-like consistency as Nicholas vainly pulled it from his body and shook it from his hands. He looked at Brody, his expression wrathful, before he vanished. His screams lingered for several seconds after he’d disappeared.
Brody took a deep breath before turning to face Caleb. “He isn’t dead, but I’ve hurt him. He’ll need to heal before he returns for Meg.” He had his head down, his eyes submissively on the ground. “I’m sorry for disobeying, Alpha. I was afraid he’d kill you.”
Caleb could see Brody’s shoulders rise as he flinched for the blow he expected Caleb to deliver. Caleb walked forward and clasped a hand firmly on Brody’s shoulder. “Thank you for ignoring me and protecting us all.” Caleb smiled when Brody finally raised his eyes to meet his. “We need to find out what else you can do so we can utilize you more effectively next time.”
Brody was then lifted from the ground and surrounded by two angry bears. “Like hell we will,” Landon said.
Caleb gave them some privacy and went to find his own mate to hold. She had some explaining to do. Brody didn’t take it upon himself to disobey Caleb and leave Meg unprotected.
When Caleb wrenched open the door to the kitchen, his mother stumbled outside, her hand holding firm to the door handle. He caught her before she fell and held her until she had her balance. “Were you trying to prevent Nicholas entering or Meg leaving?”
“Both actually,” Cynthia said. She walked past Caleb and kissed him on the cheek as she passed. “I need to see your father.” She kissed Lachlan and Prescott similarly as she went to her mate.
Meg wrapped her arms around his waist as soon as he entered the kitchen. Lexie wrapped her arms around his leg. “I’m sorry, Caleb. But Brody…”
“Was wasted just standing in here with you,” Caleb said, finishing Meg’s sentence. “He’s the only one who knows what sort of powers Nick has and can fight him. I was wrong to leave him out of the fight. Thank you, Meg.”
Caleb lifted Meg up by her ass and growled as she wrapped her arms and legs around him. He buried his face in her neck and breathed her scent into his lungs, soothing man and beast.
“We’re going to have to find out how quickly Nicholas can heal,” Lachlan said, “and prepare for his return.” Lachlan untangled Lexie from Caleb’s leg and picked her up, wiping the tears from her face.
“I don’t know what Brody threw at him, but it was not simply fire,” Prescott said. He came to stand behind Meg and pressed himself against her back. “I need you, Meg.”
Meg turned her head to kiss Prescott, her growl rumbled through Caleb and filled his cock instantly. They all needed Meg. But it would have to wait until they’d finally talked to Brody about what they could expect from Nicholas and what other powers their demon possessed.
Caleb had sorely underestimated both of their powers and he wouldn’t make that mistake again. If Brody had done as he’d ordered, Meg could very well be following them into death having lost all of her mates. He wouldn’t risk her life again through ignorance. He’d fully utilize the gift that Aiden had sent them and keep them all alive until the vampire arrived to help them.
* * * *
Meg sat on Prescott’s lap and held tight to each of her other mate’s hands. She was thankful they were all alive and would have gladly faced Caleb’s anger had he directed it her way. But he hadn’t. She had little experience with Alphas. Her leap had comprised of only four families of snow leopards, and the Alpha had really been one in name only. They’d pretty much run their own lives.
Caleb, on the other hand, was a powerful cat and a strong Alpha who garnered the respect and obedience of his entire pride. Be they bear, cat, or wolf, every member of the Pine Falls pride followed Caleb’s strong leadership. But today had shown Meg what a true Alpha was.
Caleb had admitted to his lapse in judgement and had immediately gone about rectifying it. He and his brothers were now grilling Brody on everything he could tell them about his kind and Nicholas’s.
Poor Brody had transported himself into the kitchen only seconds after her mates had entered it. He seemed mystified and overwhelmed by the attention he was receiving from the Damarin brothers. The two wolves who’d accompanied Landon had been joined by their brother Brayden and were highly amused by Brody’s discomfort.
“Back off.” Brody directed the words at Landon and Elliot, who had both stepped away from the wall they were leaning against when Brody rose from his chair. “I am quite capable of getting a cup of coffee for myself and I don’t intend to end up being the meat in a bear sandwich again.”
Lexie giggled and was led into the living room by Cynthia. “Why don’t we see what nice toys Brayden has brought from town for you, Lexie?”
Brayden had kindly brought them their purchases from the department store as they’d never had the chance to finish their shopping. Once Lexie had left the room and the Damarin brothers had finished growling, Brody began to explain his abilities.
“Nephilim and demons share the ability to manipulate the elements, but to varying degrees,” Brody said. “They are able to manipulate the air and their bodies to transport themselves, but can only travel much shorter distances than a demon can manage.”
“You said you needed to have been to the location before,” Caleb said, “which was why you drove here from your pack lands. Could you transport yourself to a room in Paris if you’d been there before?”
Brody tapped his lip as he contemplated his answer. “I’ve never tried. But I know my brother travels the world as easily as I travel between states. He took me to places all over the world. I can go to any of the places he’s already shown me. Our parents usually show us places all over the globe as reference points, so we never need to use planes. Jayce took me. Shall I try to go back to the Eiffel Tower?”
“No!” Landon and Elliot shouted. The identical twin bears both stared fixedly at Brody. Their dark eyes shone with fear.
Brody ignored them and kept his focus on Caleb. Meg watched the massive twins move silently across the room to stand behind Brody’s chair. She couldn’t blame them. She wouldn’t want any of her mates popping off to Paris.
“That’s not necessary,” Caleb said. “Can Nicholas travel such vast distances?”
“Definitely not. Even the most powerful Nephilim would only manage a journey of thirty miles or so at each step. He would have followed Meg’s scent trail here by car.”
“How fast will he heal from whatever that was you threw at him?” Prescott said. He
kissed his mark on Meg’s neck and she shivered involuntarily at the erotic sensation it elicited. Prescott’s penis stirred to life beneath her buttocks and her pussy leaked in response.
“I super-heated oxygen to such a degree that it coalesced into a plasma-like ball of burning molecules. He will need a few days at the very least to regrow his skin.”
“Hopefully Aiden will be here by then,” Lachlan said. “Can Nicholas make a similar ball of fire?”
“No. His manipulation is rudimentary. He could split the ground and make a hole. I can melt solid rock. He can make a whirlpool in a lake. I could turn a lake into steam and make it vanish.”
Brody told them this with the same matter-of-fact tone that you would tell someone that breathing was easy. Not an iota of boastfulness or egotism crept into his explanation. “I’m glad we get to keep you,” Meg said.
“Keep me?” Brody looked stunned. “I don’t have to go back to the wolves?” He looked at Caleb with hope shining from his deep green eyes.
“You go nowhere,” Elliot said. He picked Brody up out of the chair and stood him on the ground between him and his brother. “I’ll kill anyone who tries to take you away.”
“Why do you care what happens to me?” Brody swiveled his head to look at both brothers in turn. “Is this because I’m here to protect Meg?”
Landon moaned and Elliot sighed. They both looked longingly at Brody before turning to Caleb. “Do demons have anything similar to what the shifters call a mate?” Caleb said.
“Not that I know of,” Brody said. He inhaled sharply and looked at Landon then Elliot. “I’d never encountered a bear shifter before, so didn’t recognize their scent. You don’t smell delicious just because you’re bears, do you?”
“No, little mate,” Landon said. “I’m sorry if our behavior has scared you.”
“We haven’t had time to explain it to you properly, baby,” Elliot said. He slowly reached for one of Brody’s hands and Meg found herself holding her breath as she waited for Brody’s reaction.
Brody met Elliot halfway and placed his smaller hand into Elliot’s. “Can we please go somewhere private so they can explain it now, Caleb?” Body said softly.
“I think we can spare you for an hour or two,” Caleb said, “but Brody needs to stay here with Meg until Nicholas is well and truly dead.”
“I agree,” Elliot said, “and we need to stay with our mate until such time as he is free to come and live with us.”
“My room is yours,” Lachlan said. “I’ll move everything I need into the master bedroom before you get back.” The three of them had disappeared before Lachlan had even finished speaking.
“I hope they didn’t go back to the bathroom,” Meg said. “It seems to be his go-to place.”
“He can go someplace else if he has,” Prescott said. “I need a shower after hanging from a cliff and I need my mate to help wash my back.”
Meg couldn’t help the girly squeal that erupted from her as Prescott tickled her and then threw her over his shoulder as he left the kitchen at a run. Her ribs still ached a little, but she was nearly fully healed from her ordeal with Nicholas. Mating had seemed to speed the process up even more than her innate shifter genetics.
“We have a house full of people,” Meg said by way of a protest. Prescott had her on her feet in the bathroom, which she was pleased to find empty of demons and bears, and her clothes shredded at her feet before he answered her.
“You’re mated to the pride Alpha. He can send them all away.” Prescott kissed her and she tore his T-shirt off him. She was desperate to feel his skin. She ran her hands down his smooth chest and stomach to the top of his sweatpants, the muscles flexed and bunched at her touch. He growled into their kiss as she reached into his pants to hold his hard length in her hands.
“I love you touching me, baby. Nothing has ever felt as good as your hands on me.”
She smiled at him. She knew something that might feel better than her hands on him. She lowered herself to her knees and pulled his sweats down as she went. His cock was hard, the head shiny with moisture. She kissed the head and licked her lips, tasting him. She was growling as she wrapped her mouth around the head of his cock. Mine.
* * * *
Lachlan thanked his parents for the third time and waved to Lexie as they drove off with her. They were taking her home to their adjoining ranch for a riding lesson. They still had smaller saddles from when he and his brothers had learned to ride and promised to bring the right-sized saddle back with them so Lexie could continue her lessons at her new home.
Caleb had dispatched the Walsh brothers to patrol and Lachlan had checked in with his deputies on duty, Cameron and Ben Harvey, to make sure Nicholas had not shown up in town. The brothers, both cougars, had reassured him that all was quiet in Pine Falls, and Lachlan was now ready to find his mate.
Caleb ran past him as he headed for the stairs. Seems they all needed to reconnect with their mate after the confrontation in town with Nicholas. Lachlan had smelled her arousal earlier in the kitchen and had nearly snatched her from Prescott and run off with her there and then. Only their need to learn everything they could about Nephilim and demons had stopped him.
He ran into Caleb as he suddenly halted at the entrance to their bathroom. “That’s one sexy sight,” Caleb said. “You look like a vision, baby.”
Lachlan peered over Caleb’s shoulder to see Prescott leaning against the bathroom wall gently thrusting his cock into Meg’s mouth. Her parted lips were pink and kiss-swollen, her small hands were wrapped around the length of Prescott’s shaft that failed to fit into her mouth. Lachlan reached down and gripped the base of his cock to stop himself from coming. Meg was the sexiest woman he’d ever seen. The scent of her arousal was heady. He needed to taste her.
Caleb stripped off his clothes on the way to their large shower. Lachlan stripped and lowered himself on one knee to kneel behind Meg. “We all need you, my mate,” he said. He kissed his mark and wrapped his hands around her to tease and pinch her nipples. Meg moaned, but remained focused on Prescott.
“Can we love you together, Meg?” Caleb said.
Prescott roared, his muscles straining as he came. Meg swallowed convulsively and then gasped as she released Prescott’s cock, licking her fingers clean of the semen that had overflowed her mouth.
“Your mouth is heaven, baby,” Prescott said. He bent and picked Meg from the floor, and held her against him.
“I love you, Prescott. Don’t nearly die again.”
“I don’t intend to,” Prescott said. “Caleb nearly killed me with his suggestion, baby. What’s your answer?” He walked under the warm spray of the shower, taking Meg with him.
“You don’t have to if you’re not ready, honey,” Lachlan said. He reached for the body wash and squirted some onto him palm. His cock twitched as his hands slid over Meg’s back and ass, the body wash making her skin feel even softer. “I love your skin, Meg. You’re so soft.”
“I want to feel you all inside me,” Meg said. She gasped as Lachlan ran a soapy finger over the tight bud of her anus.
“Can I be inside of your ass, my love?” He grasped the base of his cock again with his other hand as she moaned and nodded her head. “You are one sexy woman, Meg.” Her eyes fluttered closed and she pushed back onto his fingers as he massaged her opening and pushed them inside her.
“Please, I need you now,” Meg said. Her words were soft, and she panted as she pushed his fingers deeper into her ass. “Lachlan, I need you inside me.”
“We’ve got you, Meg,” Caleb said. He held out his arms for Meg and Prescott handed her to him. Lachlan’s fingers slipped free and Meg cried out in protest.
Prescott dried himself and went to lie on the edge of the bed, his feet on the ground. Caleb had Meg pressed to the wall, her arms and legs were wrapped tight around him as he stroked deeply into her. They were both moaning into each other’s mouths, lost to their mutual passion.
Lachlan stroked his cock
, his pre-cum coating his hand as he watched his mate writhe in pleasure. “Caleb.” Lachlan managed to grind the words out between gritted teeth. He was clamping down all his muscles to hold off his release. Lachlan retrieved a bottle of lube from the bedside drawer, quickly popped the cap, and coated his shaft with the cool liquid.
Caleb walked to the bed and lifted Meg from him. He lowered her onto Prescott’s erection and climbed onto the bed. “I need to feel that heavenly mouth, baby.”
Meg broke her kiss with Prescott and took as much of Caleb’s cock as she could into her mouth. “I love the way you all taste,” Meg said, she moaned, and swiped her tongue across the head of Caleb’s cock. “You all taste good, but all slightly different.”
Lachlan stepped between Prescott’s knees and kissed his way down Meg’s smooth back. “Just a little cold, Meg.” Caleb threw him a pillow and Lachlan knelt on it as he caressed Meg’s perfect ass. She and Prescott continued to move.
As soon as she was stretched again, he withdrew his fingers and clasped her hip with one hand to stop her moving. “I’ll go slowly, Meg. But you need to tell me if it hurts.” He aligned his cock with her anus and slowly pushed inside.
The muscles squeezed him tight, the bite of pain to his throbbing cock nearly made him come. “Push out as I push in, honey.” She followed his instruction and he slowly slid fully inside his mate’s velvety channel.
Lachlan started to move and Prescott took up the alternate rhythm, each of them filling Meg in turn. She moaned around Caleb’s cock and he roared as her moan released his climax.
“I’m coming,” Meg said, as Caleb’s cock slid from her lips.
The pulsing of her pussy and ass was too much and Lachlan followed her, shooting his cum into Meg’s clenching heat. Prescott followed with a roar, and they continued to rock gently into Meg until her pussy finally relaxed and her moans quieted.
Lachlan’s cat surged to life and he licked his mark in warning before biting her. She shuddered as pleasure rolled through her again and she bit into Prescott’s mark with a small growl. Her snow leopard was like a domestic cat compared to Prescott’s cougar, all of their cougars really, but Lachlan couldn’t love her more. She was his everything. He released her neck and licked over her mark. Kissing down her spine, she arched her back toward him as he reluctantly pulled from her body.
Fighting Heaven for Love [Pine Falls 2] (Siren Publishing Menage Amour) Page 10
