A Lion, A Tiger and Her Bear...Oh My!: A Howls Romance (The Mates of Bear Paw River Book 4)

by Everleigh Clark

  “Okay. Let her go.”

  Sam whimpered as the handcuffs dug even deeper into her wrists as she pulled her arms farther behind her. It hurt like a mother, but this was good. She had this in the bag. Her whimpers brought another smile from Gabriel and a choked sigh from Noah. Hey there, sweet male. Just hold on a few more minutes. She sent the thought out to him, and Noah shuddered, his eyes wide.

  I can hear you, he said in her mind. I thought…

  Yeah, well, you guys thought wrong. Angry Pussy, ya hear me?

  Another low growl as Trae closed his eyes and nodded almost imperceptibly. We can talk later about this, but first, what’s your plan?

  Do you trust me? she asked as Gabriel pushed Traeger down to the ground and kicked him in the chest.

  Ungh. Yeah. But I think I can still take him if you guys can get out of here.

  Not gonna happen. Besides, I have a better idea. Both males cocked their heads. When I give you the sign, you shift.

  How will I know the sign?

  You’ll know. She grunted and sat up straighter. Oh shit. This was going to hurt. “Hey, jerk, I thought we had a connection. You mean to tell me after that awesome lunch date—before you tranqued me—you didn’t feel something from me?”

  Gabriel cocked his head. “What do you mean?”

  “Oh, come on.” She rolled her eyes and wobbled up onto her feet. “Does a girl have to spell it out for you? I was playing hard to get.” She tried to sway her hips. A bit hard since her hands were cuffed behind her back and she was still more juiced up than her cousin after getting his wisdom teeth removed, but hey. You had to flirt with what ya had. Besides, the effects were wearing off. High metabolism or Mom’s antidote was still in her system.

  Gabriel’s eyes widened as he took a step toward her. “You said you weren’t interested. I thought you didn’t like me.” His eyes filled with tears. “That hurt my feelings.”

  “For God’s sake, man up. If you want to be with me, sometimes you gotta eat the wheat, drink the shot, swallow the worm, make sense?”

  He furrowed his brow.

  “Listen, I’m not going to try to change your anything, but sometimes a girl wants a guy who at least tries to sweep her off her feet. Who doesn’t try to kill her best friends.”

  “Best friends?”

  “Shit, yeah. They’re like my brothers. Can’t you see that? Trae and I fight like cats and... bears. If I want to hook up with something, possibly mate...it’s going to be with someone more human. Someone not all prissy and prancey and grumpy like a feline shifter. You know me. I am not into all that rubbing and purring on-again-off-again shit.”

  “That makes sense. I’m so sorry I dragged you into all this. Please forgive me.”

  “I’m going to kiss you now.” She leaned into him, and Gabriel released an anguished sigh as he melted toward her.

  She snapped her body back, twirled in a circle into an awkward roundhouse and kicked the gun out of his hands. “Sorry, I meant kick.”

  Chapter Nine

  Noah

  When Sam kicked out, the gun went flying, and Gabriel’s eyes went wide. Neither Noah nor Traeger needed her, There’s your sign, boys, flung through their heads as she fell to the ground. She shrieked when her shoulder dislocated, and Noah employed every ounce of his energy to sweep Gabriel’s legs out from under him then rolled over to protect Sam. He’d use his body to cover hers any more damage from the asshole. But he didn’t get a chance to save her. Sam curled her body into a tight ball and yanked her arms under her body and up the front of her legs with a howl of pain that sounded more wolf like than bear. Once her cuffed hands were in front of her, she changed. Her snout lengthened, the dark fur sprouted along her arms and face, and as Traeger’s half-shifted lion leapt in the mix, her bear followed. Hell was about to break out, and Noah would do whatever he could to help. Dizzy, he watched the battle unfold around him as if in slow motion. Trae leapt forward to attack Gabriel. Gabriel batted him away with a single punch. What the hell? Gabriel was only half shifter and had never shown any signs of shifting. And he was also in human form. Gabriel roared, his eyes black as night as he kicked at Traeger again, delivering a punishing blow to his snout. From his peripheral vision he saw the dark blur of fur as Sam—now fully bear—wrenched her hands from the broken cuffs and released a savage roar. She jumped into the fray and knocked Gabriel away from Traeger who was still struggling to stand up. Oh shit. Another syringe was embedded in Trae’s bloody flank! Had Gabriel dosed Trae with more of the poison? Sam stood her ground, rumbling at the angry psycho, standing between Trae and Noah, and him.

  When Gabriel dove and picked up his gun again to level it on Trae and Sam, Noah had to act. He forced a partial shift, grunting in pain since the full shift wouldn’t take over. But this was their mate and his brother. He had to save them. His arm lengthened, his claws shot out and sharpened. He swept his claws across Gabriel’s thigh, and Gabriel fell with a shout. Sam’s bear and Trae’s partial lion circled in for the kill.

  “Stop!” Power surged around them as the angry voice of Bear Paw River’s Alpha echoed through the woods.

  Sam chuffed and dropped her large bear paw from its attack on Gabriel. Even Trae wasn’t immune to the influence, pausing to cock his head and snarl at Bo Alexander.

  “Knock it off, Traeger. We both know you haven’t accepted your position as Alpha yet, so I can use the Goddess’ power to push you to your knees if I want to,” the massive grizzly said. “But I won’t do that to you. Just stand down.”

  Trae gave another low rumble from his inhuman vocal chords then scowled at Bo, before making the final shift back to full human. Within seconds, their enemy was surrounded by a group of shifters who quickly bound him and gagged him.

  Ida Cooper knelt next to Noah and injected him with something cold. “This should help. Just relax.”

  “You should have let us kill him, asshole.” Trae’s face contorted with rage and fatigue as he stood in front of Bo.

  “We’ll decide his fate after he gives us the information we need.” Bo nodded as a truck pulled up. “Get him back to Bear Paw and into confinement,” he ordered two of his men then turned back to Trae. “I understand how hard this is for you.”

  “You have no fucking idea.” Trae’s eyes flashed.

  “Yeah, he does,” a low male voice answered from the truck.

  Barrett Jones, the lion shifter who’d disappeared the day Gabriel killed their mother. Rumor had it he was prisoner number one at the Lynchburg facility. Sam’s mother, Ida, had found him and pushed him—wheelchair and all—out of the prison before they blew it up. It was crazy thinking of someone as hardass and tough as Barrett being stuck in a wheelchair. But there he was in the front seat, still not moving, though his eyes said he was itching for a fight.

  Barrett nodded at Trae then Noah. “I told them what happened to you boys, and all about the stuff Gabriel did. But he still has a lot of knowledge: locations, science, all the stuff we need to help our fellow shifters.

  “Gabriel is a monster, and we need to put him down,” Traeger growled.

  “No, son. He was created by a monster, and he can help us save a lot of people.”

  “Fine. Just get him the hell out of my sight.” Trae gave one more scowl before walking toward Noah. “You okay, man?”

  “Yeah, just got my ass handed to me, but I’ll be fine. Check on our girl. I’m going to rest for a bit.”

  As the dark finally took over his vision, Noah knew they were safe. The threat was neutralized, and this time, he hadn’t screwed up. You didn’t screw up the first time, his tiger told him. Then all fell silent. Fatigue consumed Noah. And this time, he was okay with it. His mate and his brother had finished the job. They were all safe. Darkness felt damn good as he slipped into oblivion.

  ~.~

  Trae

  “Come on, wake up, asshole.” Trae lightly smacked Noah’s face again and frowned. If he didn’t come around, he didn’t know what he would do. Hi
s lion was even antsier since facing down Gabriel. “I can’t lose you, man.” Not his brother, he couldn’t lose him.

  “Try to calm your lion. He’s not helping, Traeger.” Sam’s mother, Ida, gently reproached, and he backed away from the bed.

  They had helped Sam and Trae get Noah back to their hotel room. Ida had utilized the antidote from Gabriel along with her own flower stuff to heal him and Sam. But Noah had been out for too long, and it was freaking Trae out. “I need you. Come back. I’m sorry,” he whispered.

  Sam took him into a big bear hug. “He’ll come back to us. Don’t worry.”

  “How do you know?”

  “You just gotta trust me,” she said with a calm shrug.

  Noah coughed and stirred a few minutes later, and both Traeger and Sam were beside his bed in a second. “Did we get him?” he asked

  “Yeah,” Sam said, with tears in her eyes. “We got the bastard. How are you doing?”

  Noah grinned and winced at a few of his bruises. “I’m alive, I’m good. You two okay?”

  “Yeah,” Trager said as he beamed at his brother. “We took down the asshole, and our woman kicked ass. All in all, a good day. Need anything?”

  “I’m good. Just…let me sleep a bit.”

  They smiled as he fell back to sleep. His brother was safe. The guilt over the past wasn’t fully gone, but it was better. And they had found their mate. He was right. Overall, it was a very good day.

  “So, now that sweet kitty is asleep,” Sam said, “I need you to do something with me. I’ve been waiting all day for you.”

  “Yeah?” His cock surged to life at the prospect of mating the curvy beauty in front of him. “I have whatever you need, baby.”

  “Good.” She sidled up to him and gave him a kiss full on the lips. “Help me get my shoulder back in place? It’s killing me, and Mom’s been a bit busy.”

  He laughed and held her against his chest. “Okay, baby. This is going to hurt. But I’ll make it all better when we’re done.

  Chapter Ten

  Sam

  “Wow!” The hugest tub she’d ever seen sat in the middle of the brightly lit bathroom. Several dozen candles lit up the whole room, like it was noon instead of 9:00 p.m.

  Noah came in behind her and smiled. “Want a soak?”

  She inhaled, and the scent of his musk filled her nostrils. It was almost as strong as when she’d had her mating heat last week. Holy crap, had it really only been a week since she’d met these guys? “Only if you’re planning on sharing with me.”

  Noah took a step forward and leaned down to give her a soft kiss on the lips. “I guess we should try to conserve water.”

  “And the gazillion candles?”

  “Fifty-seven, actually.” He grinned. “Okay, you got me. I was hoping to seduce you and have my way with you.”

  Stepping into the tub, she let the robe fall to the floor. “Come on in.”

  They sat down, on opposite sides of the tub, but Noah shimmied around behind her, and she sat on his lap. “I’m extra touchy feely right now. I like feeling your soft skin against mine. Especially when wet.”

  She shivered when he ran his fingers down her shoulder and side and over her belly button. Noah’s touch was soft yet driven. She reveled in the feel of him and the smell of his arousal, and leaned back against his sturdy chest. This was nice. The water was heated to the perfect temperature, hot, but not too hot, her ass planted on his lap, awful damn close to another part of him that was heating up. She moaned when his fingers trailed across her nipples, first one, then a light pinch, then the other. She closed her eyes, allowing Noah to explore her body, loving the way he felt against her. But there was still something missing. Someone.

  ~.~

  Traeger

  Traeger walked into the bathroom and saw the most beautiful sight. His female in the throes of ecstasy, leaning against his brother. If it were any other man, he would have killed him. It all finally made sense how perfectly they came together. Noah was the piece that softened Traeger enough to be with a woman, to mate her, claim her, take her as his own. By himself, he never would have made it work. Never had. He’d either pissed off the females he’d dominated, or they’d fallen in love and begged him to claim them forever. But it hadn’t been meant to be. Sam was the female for him. He inhaled the spicy scent coming from her and she shuddered as Noah played with her nipples. But he couldn’t claim her by himself. He’d always known he would form the next triad with Noah. Hell, even the elders had proclaimed it from the first few days of Noah’s arrival as a child. But they never found the right woman—the one who completed both and brought them together. Trae’s hard edges, Noah’s compassion, Trae’s need to fight, Noah’s need to bless. It was all coming together. If Sam agreed to be theirs. It wasn’t enough that she could hear them in her mind, that she was willing to battle with them against evil. No, she needed to say the words, to submit to Trae’s will, to accept Noah’s heart, bringing them all full circle. And she needed to say the words.

  “Pay a viewer’s fee or get out.” Sam laughed and met his gaze squarely.

  “Do you want me to leave?”

  “No.”

  “What do you want?”

  “For you to finish what you started eight days ago.” She licked her lips, and her heady arousal flared to life.

  “I can’t just mate with you.” He pierced her with his serious gaze. “I want all of you, forever, for me, for Noah, for our pride, our triad.”

  “What are you waiting for?” Bold words and eyes flashed up at him.

  “For you to say the words, little girl.”

  “I was afraid before, but I’m not anymore. My only fear now is losing you—both of you. When I heard you each right before…” She visibly shook, but Noah stroked her back and held her firmly against his chest. “Before we took down Gabriel, I knew we had something special, but I didn’t understand it was all three of us. Now I do. I’m sorry I kept pushing away, from us.”

  “Do you know what happens next if you agree to it?”

  She nodded.

  Traeger leapt forward and kneeled by the tub to take her chin in his hands. “Little girl, you need to say the words out loud, so there’s no confusion.”

  The flash lit up her eyes, and the strong female about to surge into action was there in front of him. But he wouldn’t back down from this. It was too important.

  “Hey, Sammy girl,” Noah smoothly cut in and stroked her cheek. “He’s not trying to be a dick about this. It’s a big decision to be our mates, to form our triad.”

  “I get it.” She turned back to Traeger. “If I agree to be your mate, you both claim me in your mating ritual for your pride. Then we’re bound to each other for eternity—or until I kill you if you piss me off by being a jackass.” She smirked.

  Noah chuckled, and the corner of Trae’s lips tilted upward. “Yeah. Forever, baby, and you’re just going to have to work on your patience. because I am going to piss you off a lot.”

  “But that’s where I come in.” Noah trailed kisses along her neck and jaw, and she melted against him. “As Alpha, he’s supposed to be an ass occasionally. As beta, I help us with the emotional stability.”

  “Talking and shit,” Trae added.

  “And me?”

  “You’re the one female strong enough to butt heads with me,”

  “And soft enough to joke around with me.” Noah added.

  She cocked her head for a moment then took Noah’s hand and reached for Trae’s. “I want this—you—more than anything in my entire life. Claim me, both of you.”

  A low rumble of approval came from Trae’s throat as he tore off his clothes.

  “Please, Alpha?” She grinned.

  “What am I going to do with you and your impetuous bear behavior?”

  She reached up and pulled him into the tub with her and Noah. “Whatever you want. You are the king, after all.”

  That was all the confirmation he needed. He kneeled, pressed Sa
m back against Noah. and nodded at his brother.

  Noah brushed his fingers over her belly, down her thighs, and between her legs as Sam closed her eyes with a huge sigh. Water sloshed as Noah’s hands splashed in and out while he stroked Sam.

  Sam groaned and lifted her pelvis while Trae leaned over to take one of her beautiful nipples into his mouth, sucking, licking, loving how expressive she was. Between the warm water and the heat coming off their mate’s body, he was about to be fried. Her chest dipped under the surface, and he kept his eyes open as he submerged his face to follow her gorgeous tits. When he’d had his fill of tasting her upper body, he worked his way down her chest, her tummy, to the juncture between her thighs, deep underwater. He growled at Noah’s fingers in his way, and Noah quickly removed them. Sam wiggled and shimmied as his beta set to work pleasuring her upper body.

  Even underwater, Trae felt like he could pass out from the abundance of her feminine musk. It permeated the whole bath and set his lion on edge, ready to pounce and claim her right then. But he would do this right. Make sure they gave her the most pleasure ever, send her soaring to new heights. Then and only then, would they claim her. He opened his mouth and licked the seam of her pussy.

  “Oh Goddess.” she squealed as he licked her from front to back, leaving no part of her untouched by his tongue.

  “You like that, baby?” He came up long enough to take a quick breath and grin at her.

  “Goddess, yeah, do it again.” Her voice was choppy, and her face tinged with scarlet as she humped the water beneath him.

  Before he could answer her, she was shoving his head back down under the water. She’d pay for that later, but he set to work on making his mate explode with passion. He sucked the tiny nub into his mouth and laved his tongue back and forth. Her pelvis started rocking hard, and damn if she wasn’t trying to drown him, because she was holding his head down under the water. He took his mouth away from her clit, then surfaced and lifted her legs into the air.