by Charlie Hart
Gage returns first. His dark hair is brushed back off his forehead and blue eyes are piercing when they land on me. He’s wearing jeans now, and a flannel shirt that he leaves undone, exposing the incredible ladder of abs that I had a hard time not staring at on our walk here. Well, that among other things.
I’m not sure what the most shocking thing that’s happened tonight is. But visually, I know what the best thing was - seeing Gage, Cody and Huck naked.
I’ve never been with a man ... never even seen a man completely naked. Now, in one fell swoop, I saw three. And they aren’t just men. They’re bears, or werebears. Whatever they are, they’re gorgeous.
And it’s weird, because I don’t know them, but I feel safe in their presence - protected.
I still haven’t wrapped my head around the whole bear shifter thing, but I know they don’t mean me any harm. And coming here was a lot better than taking my chances alone in the woods. But if my father - or at least the man I thought was my father - knew where I was, he’d be livid. I spent my life completely sheltered. My father homeschooled me, taught me to hunt and fish, to clean and cook. Our life was simple, far from town, far from people - it was our own.
He said the world was a scary place. Dangerous for a girl like me.
Like me.
I always thought he meant it in the basic sense. Now I am wondering what he was trying to keep me from.
Cody, now dressed, enters the room carrying a blanket. “Here,” he says. “Come over to the fire and warm up.” He guides me to the couch in front of the blazing fire.
It’s the middle of July, but the storm has sent a chill over the land. Cody sits beside me and places the blanket over my shoulders, his big, strong hands, sending a current of warmth over me, causing my body to move closer to his.
I look into his eyes, wondering if he feels it too. My draw to him. His eyes are rich, chocolate brown, and I think of his thick fur, when he came to save me in the woods. He and his friends came out of nowhere, and I owe them my life.
“You okay?” he asks gently. “You’re shaking, Ruby.”
The other man, Huck, sits down on the other side of me, giving Cody a smirk. His eyes are as green as the pine trees covering this mountain.
“No surprise. She’s had a hell of a night.” Huck squeezes my knee. “What were you doing out in the woods, alone, anyway?”
Gage sits on the floor, in front of the fireplace, watching me closely. All of them are - and I realize I have their undivided attention. An unfamiliar sense of belonging settles over me. Something I’ve never felt in all my years with my father.
“I was looking for someone,” I tell them, rubbing my arm where the man in the woods grabbed me. There is a faint outline of where his fingers touched my skin, but it isn’t fingerprints he left behind, it’s a circle, some sort of Celtic knot.
“Who?” Gage asks, eyes narrowed.
“Carolyn Gillen. She lives on 1 Kodiak Lane.”
The men share a look, shaking their heads.
“What?” I ask. “Do you know her?”
“No, but there isn’t anyone who lives there,” Huck says. “That cabin has been abandoned since as long as I can remember.”
“Why are you here for her?” Gage asks.
“She’s my mother,” I say, blinking back tears, the chance of finding her feeling like a lost cause.
“Hey, it’s okay, Ruby,” Cody says, wiping my tears away with his thumb. He’s a stranger, yet I find myself nestling against him, comforted by his quiet strength.
“We can go into town tomorrow and ask around,” Gage says, pacing in front of the fireplace. It’s as if there is a battle raging inside of him, his fists clench and unclench.
“You okay, man?” Huck asks, brow raised.
“It’s just fucked up, that guy in the woods. What did he want with our girl?”
Our girl? My chest tightens trying to understand the meaning of the words.
Cody and Huck flash him a look, one I can’t decipher, and it’s clear these three know a lot about one another. It’s as if they’re having a silent conversation about me.
“Cool it, Gage,” Huck finally says, voice controlled, yet full of tension that wasn’t there a moment before.
“Like hell I will.” Gage points a finger at him. “You know you feel it too.”
“Just because you feel something, doesn’t mean you act on it,” Cody interjects.
“Feel what?” I ask, looking around the room at these men who are my saviors.
Outside the storm was wild, and I was alone, and they came to my rescue in my hour of need. I owe them my life. It makes me feel connected to them in a deep, unknown way.
“This,” Gage says, stalking toward me, pulling me to stand. He is over a foot taller than me, his body strength and power, and when he leans down, his hand on the base of my neck, drawing my mouth to his, warmth spreads to every area of my body.
Oh.
He kisses me, our lips meeting and my shoulders falling. The kiss cementing my bond with him, a stranger, a man who seems to know exactly what I need.
Our lips part and his tongue finds mine, I whimper under his hold. His chest presses against mine, and I lean in, needing more - needing everything I have never had. My body burns. Aches. A flame so intense I know I can’t pull back even if I wanted to.
But I don’t.
I want this. Even if I don’t really know what this is.
Gage’s hands are on me, running over my shoulder, down my arms.
“Ouch,” I grimace, pulling back, pressing a hand to my forearm. The place where the man grabbed me throbs with a heartbeat of its own.
“Fuck,” Huck growls out, standing. “You scared her, Gage.”
“No,” I say, shaking my head adamantly as I show them my arm. “That man did something to me.”
Cody and Huck stand, moving closer to examine it.
“Shit,” Cody says. “What is it?”
“Does it hurt?” Gage asks, gently holding my arm, frowning as he runs his thumb over it.
“A bit,” I tell him.
“We’ll go see Hazel in the morning,” Huck says. “If anyone will know what it is, she will.”
“Who’s Hazel?” I ask him, a touch of jealousy creeping into my voice. It’s strange, but I feel a claim on these men. Sure, it’s insane, but there’s some voice in my head that screams mine, when I lock eyes with them.
Huck holds my gaze when he tells me, “She’s a witch—”
“Wait. There are witches?”
Cody chuckles. “Sweetheart, there are more creatures in these woods than any fairy tale you’ve ever read.”
I shake my head, trying to wrap my mind around everything that’s happened tonight. “This is so crazy. But...” I glance around at all three men. “I’m glad I’m here with you.”
“So,” Gage asks, pulling me back into his arms, his eyes searching mine. “It wasn’t the kiss that had you pulling away?”
My heart flutters, my body awake in a brand new way. I shake my head. “No,” I tell him. “It was perfect.”
Chapter Four
Huck
It’s impossible to not be pissed with Gage. I love the guy, but he always thinks about his needs first. Why should he get to kiss Ruby when Cody and I want to as well? But pulling her into my arms and giving her what my bear demands would just scare her off. And considering the way my animal is pacing inside me, I’m pretty sure the woman is our mate. The last thing we need to do right now is something stupid that will have her running.
“I’m gonna get a bandage to wrap that,” I tell Ruby, stepping away from her and Gage’s eye-fuck situation. Cody says he is going to heat us up some food and Ruby offers to help.
In the bathroom, I close the door and I lean against the wall, trying to catch my breath. This is what we’ve been waiting our entire lives for.
Our mate.
And here she is. In our cabin.
My cock twitches, so damn eager for Ruby. She i
s more gorgeous than any woman I’ve ever seen. I can’t help it, I pull my thick cock from my jeans and stroke myself, so fucking horny for that raven-haired beauty. Crass, maybe, but holy hell, I’m damn near ready to cream my fucking jeans if I don’t take care of this stiff one.
I fist my cock, pumping myself hard and fast, totally into it, imagining my girl on her knees for me. When I’m getting nice and close, the door pushes open, and in walks Ruby Rose.
“Oh!” Her eyes widen, taking in the scene of me jacking off. “I’m so sorry,” she says, licking her lips, her eyes roaming down. I expect for her to high tail it out of here, to run the hell away, to scream that I’m a fucking horndog.
But she doesn’t. She closes the bathroom door and stands still.
“Fuck, Ruby,” I say, my cock too damn stiff to shove back into my jeans. “I wasn’t expecting company.”
“Do you want me to go?”
I chuckle. “What, you wanna stay?”
She swallows, her shirt soaked through from the rain and thunderstorm. Her sweet nipples hard little buttons I’m dying to pluck. “I’ve never. I mean. Earlier in the woods, I saw you guys when you were naked, but it was my first time ever seeing ... seeing a ...” she stammers, then finally she stops trying to find the words and instead steps forward, closer to me. She lifts her chin, our eyes meeting. And fuck, my cock grows too damn hard for my own good.
“I’m so fucking close to coming,” I tell her.
“Show me,” she whispers, those heart-shaped lips of her so damn plump. Still swollen from Gage’s kiss.
I don’t need my girl to ask me twice. I jack my shaft off the way it needs, groaning as I come. Her eyes fixed on my thick length and damn, it turns me on in ways I never anticipated. I’ve been waiting for our mate, but a girl so damn curious is a fucking treat.
When I finish, I grab a towel to clean up, but she takes it from my hand.
“Can I?” she asks.
My body practically seizes. I want her to touch me. To fuck me. To love me. I want her now, and I want her forever.
“I would never say no to you,” I tell her as she gingerly takes my still hard cock in her hand and wipes the cum from the shaft.
“I’ve never seen or touched a man’s...”
“Cock,” I offer. “A man’s cock.”
She nods, then a small smile spreads across her innocent face. “A bear-shifter’s cock, at that.”
I laugh, pulling her to me. I kiss her then, a tenderness wrapping around us that is new to me. I’m a cocky ass most days, never had a reason to be soft. But with Ruby Rose’s lips pressed so gently against my own, I want to caress her, protect her, keep her safe.
When we pull back, her eyes are bright. She presses her fingertips to her lips, and I shove my cock back in my jeans just as Cody shouts from the hallway.
“You get lost down there, Ruby?”
“One sec,” I call out, reaching for the first aid kit. “I’m just wrapping this wound.”
A few minutes later, she has a bandage around her mark, and I give her another kiss. “You’re something else, Ruby Rose.”
Her eyes twinkle. “I thought you said I was your guys’ girl?”
“Yeah,” I say, my voice gruff. “You are, sweetheart.”
She gives me a small smile before she leaves for the kitchen and I let her go, needing to clear my head. This is it. She is ours. But I don’t think she fully comprehends what that means.
Needing fresh air, I step out onto the covered front porch. The wind howls and the storm rages on, but Gage is already out here, a beer in hand. A second later, Cody steps outside, handing me a beer too.
“Where is Ruby Rose?” I ask.
“She kicked me out,” Cody says with a smile. “She wanted to make dinner. Said the kitchen was a pigsty and it needed a woman’s touch.”
A silence falls over us, and we look out at the night sky, the moon is full, and the stars are hiding behind the storm clouds.
“Hey, uh, I’m sorry about that in there,” Gage says, running a hand over his beard. “It was fucked up to kiss her like that when I know we all want to.”
My eyebrows lift, knowing I’m a bigger fucking douche than everyone already thinks.
“What?” Gage asks. “No sarcastic comment about how I’m an asshole?”
I shrug, my hand on my neck, rubbing away the tension - it doesn’t work. “Thing is, I kind of kissed her too.”
Cody stiffens. “What do you mean, kind of?”
I explain to them what happened in the bathroom and Gage whistles low. “Shit, we’re in deep.”
“You’re not mad?”
Cody rests a hand on my shoulder. “We’ve been waiting for our girl to arrive our whole lives. And it’s mating season on the mountain right now. And our mate just showed up. I feel it. Don’t you?”
I nod. “She’s ours,” I tell him. “And, damn isn’t she perfect?”
“Yeah, she is. But...” Gage’s eyes turn darker than I’ve ever seen. “We have to protect her from whoever, whatever is out to get her. That mark, it isn’t natural. She was drawn here for a reason and it’s our duty - our fucking destiny - to make sure nothing happens.”
I’m used to Gage’s intensity, and I get the anger in his voice now. I feel the same way - like there’s danger just lurking around the corner. A threat that has the hairs on the back of my neck standing on end.
“We have to tell her,” I say, knowing it’s the only way to protect her. “Not about the mark, not until we know more - no need to scare her. But she needs to know she’s our mate.”
“Your what?” Ruby Rose asks from behind me. The wind is howling so loud I never even heard her open the door.
Chapter Five
Ruby
Their mate. What does that mean? Whatever it is, I can see the seriousness of it in their expressions.
The three men usher me back inside, saying it’s way too cold for me to be outside. I’m still only halfway dry and my jeans are clinging to me uncomfortably.
Well, everything feels a touch uncomfortable right now. I’ve never had so many emotions flooding my body all at once. Each cell of my skin is tingling with desire. My heart is twisting with fear over my father’s impending wrath. And yet my soul is telling me that I am right where I belong.
Why or how I belong here, with these men, I don’t know, but I feel so safe in this messy cabin. Not to mention wanted.
My face flushes with heat as I remember Gage’s lips against my own... Huck's cock in my hand. It’s all so much, so fast. But this entire day has felt like a page out of someone else’s life. Leading up to this point, my entire life was a lie. Right now I’m not going to consider what my father might think of my actions.
I’m only thinking about what I want. How I feel. What I need.
Selfish, maybe. But after nineteen years of living in the shelter of a secret, I’m ready to break free.
So when I walk inside the cabin with Huck, Gage, and Cody, I turn to them with an open heart.
“What did you mean, I’m yours?” I ask.
We’re standing in the kitchen. A piping hot pot of chili on the stove. But I’m not at all hungry. Seems the men aren’t either, at least for food. Because their intense gazes tell me they’re hungry for something else - me.
“We mean you are meant for us,” Gage says, taking a step toward me.
Cody clears his throat, and a small smile plays on his lips. “Well, they know that. I still am just relying on instinct.”
I shake my head in confusion. “Why is it different for you?”
He bites his bottom lip and shrugs. “They’ve kissed you, so they know.”
“And a kiss will tell you if I’m your mate?” It all seems so crazy. And if I hadn’t had the night I’ve had, I’d doubt their words. But there’s no deception in them. Just lust, desire, truth, need, and something more - a promise that whatever this is won’t end tonight.
“Yes,” Cody says.
“So, wait,”
I say, rubbing my temples. “If I’m Gage’s...mate—”
“You are,” Gage says, adamantly.
“And I’m Huck’s mate too...” I shake my head. “That means you can mate with more than one person?” The idea of mating is both new and yet erotic. The idea of being with three men is something so out of left field... yet so pure, so right. It’s only been an hour since I arrived at their cabin, yet already I feel like I fit here.
That I belong here.
That I’m not just theirs, but they’re mine.
“The Kodiaks of Diablo Falls can… must,” Huck explains, those gorgeous green eyes of his fixed on me. “There was some kind of spell cast on the water at the falls centuries ago. We only mate in packs.”
“How do you know the three of you will be mated together?” I ask, leaning into Gage when he wraps an arm around my waist.
“We’ve had a bond since we were cubs,” Gage tells me, desire flashing in his gaze. “We’ve been waiting for you.”
I suck in a breath. “For me?”
“Yes,” Gage says, his lips twitching up. Lips that I want on mine again.
My body trembles as I take in what this means. The air around us is so hot, so thick. My heart is telling me that this is right. Even if it seems crazy. Everything about today has been topsy-turvy. But everything back at my father’s house felt wrong. Felt suffocating. Felt like I was missing a part of myself.
But everything here feels right.
“Cody,” I say. “Can I...” What do I say? Can I kiss you? Can I see if you’re my mate too?” I clear my throat. “Can I talk to you...” I bite my lower lip. “Alone?”
Cody shares a look with the men again as if deciding something. Then he nods and takes my hand, his other palm on the small of my back. “We can talk in your room.”
“My room?” I ask.
