by Jane Jamison
Myler was already leading them through the crowd toward the nearest alleyway between two buildings. “Where are we going?”
“I know a quiet spot where we can watch everything without you getting pushed around.”
“But I’m fine.” Did she want to be on the sidelines? Or in the thick of things? Still, it was nice of him to be concerned.
Tonk led the way into the alley with his brothers trailing behind him. He turned to her then bent to pick her up.
“What are you doing?” The large men had made her feel small before, but being lifted as though she weighed nothing made her feel petite.
“Making sure you have a good place to see things.” Tonk kept her stable as he placed her on top of a closed Dumpster. “Don’t worry about falling. We’ll catch you.”
She didn’t worry in the least as Tonk took the rear and Myler and Samuel took their places on the other side of the container. There was a gap between the Dumpster and the wall, but she’d have to be a lot smaller to fit in that space.
Maybe she was on the outskirts looking at the festivities, but her vantage point gave her the ability to see much more than she had in the middle of the group. “You’re right. This is great.” She pointed down the street. “I can see three wolves right there in the street. Holy hell, where do these people get their costumes? Or are they pets? Is that it? Do people around here have wolves and big cats as pets? Either way, they’re freaking awesome!”
If they were wearing costumes, then their costumes were too good. Too realistic. The familiar twist of fear hit her.
They’re not real. Remember that. They are not real. There are people inside those cat costumes.
“Keep watching,” advised Myler. “You’ll see better sights than some mangy mutts.”
Mutts? Didn’t he like dogs? Or just people dressed up as canines? But she was too preoccupied with everything she was watching to ask. Hopefully, they’d have a lot more time to get to know each other.
Glancing down, she studied the men while they watched everyone else. They were definitely brothers. Their faces were alike, their coloring, too. And, obviously, they were close. So close that they could look at each other and seem to know what the other was thinking. She smiled, thrilled to be having the best time of her life. Or were even better times ahead?
A sound next to the Dumpster jerked her attention away from the men. She peered into the gap between the container and the wall. Although it was dark, she could still make a dark figure crouched in the small space.
She sucked in a breath when an amber gaze met hers. As she was about to tell the men, the figure inched higher, revealing a young boy’s face. He put a finger to his lips.
Who am I to ruin a kid’s fun?
She nodded, letting him know she wouldn’t say anything. One glance at the men confirmed that they were still watching the crowd. Samuel looked her way for a short time, smiled, then returned his focus to the festival-goers.
“What are you doing?” she mouthed to the boy.
He frowned as though he hadn’t understood her.
“Are you all right?” she asked, again not speaking, instead merely mouthing the words.
The boy smiled. But soon the sweet smile changed, turning into something that seemed almost evil.
She sucked in a breath, started to turn to the men, then froze when fur began to skim over the boy’s face.
You have got to be kidding me.
Chapter Three
Fur continued to cover the boy’s face and body as he stood up. He wore only a pair of shorts that were being stretched to the limit. She could hear the fabric tearing.
“Um, guys…” she murmured. Fear inched its way into her.
The child stood up, and his body was barely thin enough to fit in the narrow space. Yet his body was changing. She could hear the sound of bones cracking as his body twisted and changed.
Holy crap. This cannot be happening.
“Guys?” She didn’t know if they heard her or not, and she wasn’t about to tear her attention away from the boy.
He’s shifting. Oh, my God, he’s shifting.
In what had to be less than a minute, the boy had transformed into a small dog. Or was he a coyote?
At last she found her full voice. “Guys!”
“What’s wrong?” asked Myler.
She could sense the men’s gazes on her, but she still wouldn’t turn to face them. “There’s this kid. He changed. He turned into a—oh, shit!”
She fell backward as the dog, coyote, or whatever the hell it was, jumped out of the gap and landed on top of the Dumpster next to her. Unable to move, she stared as he hunkered down and growled.
“Fuck!” Samuel landed behind her, shaking the top of the Dumpster. “Get the fuck out of here, kid!”
Kid? Had he seen the boy change?
The boy-turned-animal growled again and flashed his fangs.
“Get!” shouted Tonk from the side.
“No. It’s okay. Don’t make him go.” Squatting down to get level with the shifter, she did her best to keep her voice calm. “It’s okay. No one’s going to hurt you.”
If only TJ were here. Should I take a picture? Will she believe me if I don’t?
She started to reach for her phone then stopped when the shifter growled again. “It’s okay. Really. We won’t hurt you. I only want to take a photo.”
“Julia, it’s a kid in a costume.”
“Are you serious, Myler? That’s not a costume. I saw him change.” She reached out her hand. Would he let her touch him? Did she really want to touch him? Would he bite her?
No sooner had she reached out than the shifter leapt. A growl came from behind her as Samuel wrapped an arm around her waist and lifted her off the Dumpster. As he did, he swung her away from the pouncing shifter.
A stab of pain ripped into her left hand. Yet the pain was forgotten as the shifter landed on the ground farther in the alleyway. He twisted around to let out another growl then disappeared into the shadows.
Samuel hugged her against his chest. With the ease of an Olympic athlete, he jumped off the Dumpster and landed on his feet. She barely felt the landing.
“Shit. She’s bleeding.” Tonk pulled her out of Samuel’s arms and placed her on an overturned box crate.
“I am?” It was difficult to take her attention away from the back of the alleyway. Yet even with the sun still out, the shadows made it difficult to see anything. At last, she looked down at her hand. Blood ran in a thin line from a two-inch scratch.
Myler took her hand and dabbed the end of his shirt against the scratch. “We’ll get you to the doc.”
“For a scratch? No.” She laughed, relief and excitement flooding out of her. “Guys, you saw him, right? You saw him change, didn’t you?”
Suddenly, they averted their gazes, looking at each other rather than at her. When they met her gaze again, she saw the lie in them.
“It was a dog, darlin’,” said Myler. Yet he looked away again when she gaped at him.
“Yeah. Just a dog.” Samuel knelt beside her. “But we should take care of that scratch.”
Irritation flared like a burst of red-hot fire. “It’s already stopped bleeding. But, damn it, it wasn’t just a dog. It was a boy. I saw him change into a dog. Or a coyote. Or whatever the hell it was.”
But not a cat. At least he didn’t change into a cat.
Tonk’s half-smile irritated her even more. “Come on, sugar. You know the shifter thing is fake, right?”
She pushed Myler’s hand away from hers. The scratch had already stopped bleeding. “I saw him change. He was a boy, and then he was a dog. I saw it.”
“What I saw was a dog.” Tonk’s tone was tense. “But who cares, anyway? It’s gone now.”
“Damn it. I know what I saw.” She turned to Samuel. “You called him ‘kid.’ Would you call a dog a ‘kid’? I don’t think so.”
Samuel’s usual confidence was gone. Instead, it took several minutes for him to fin
ally answer. “Okay, fine. It was a kid.”
“Then you know I’m telling the truth.” She motioned toward Myler and Tonk. “Tell them.”
Again, he took a while before answering. “It’s a trick, baby,” urged Samuel. “Some folks around here are really good at tricking people. What you saw was a kid pretending to be a dog.”
She felt her mouth drop open. They didn’t believe her. Or worse, they were lying to her, trying to hide the truth. “I know what I saw.” She could barely get the words out, frustration mixing with anger.
“Okay, darlin’, whatever you say,” agreed Myler.
“Don’t you dare placate me.”
“I’m not.” Myler leaned closer.
She drew in a breath and caught a pleasant scent. It reminded her of Samuel’s breath. Wanting more, she took in yet another breath. A calm feeling swept over her.
“It’s okay, darlin’. We can talk about this later. But for now, how about we take you back to our ranch and fix up that hand? We wouldn’t want the wound to get infected.”
She shouldn’t go with them. Not when she doubted their word. But something inside her tugged at her, urging her to listen to them. Besides, once they were at the ranch, she could talk to them more and get them to admit that what she’d seen was real. “Okay. But I need to text my friend, TJ, and let her know first.”
Myler pulled her to her feet and slipped an arm around her shoulder. “Then text away, darlin’, because we’re headed home.”
* * * *
Tonk was about to go crazy.
So much for our fucking plans. Plans that we’ve talked about for fucking years. What happened to talking it over first? What happened to flipping a coin to see who would give her The Allure first?
He was certain both Samuel and Myler had given Julia their allure. He wasn’t sure what made him angrier. That they’d allured her or that they’d done it before he’d had a chance to do it. He’d held back, keeping his part of their promise, only to have his brothers throw him under the damn bus.
Still, he’d seen the flash of fear in her eyes. If they hadn’t allured her, her fear might have taken over.
But, damn it, he’d get his lick in, too, as soon as they got her back to the ranch. He took yet another long look to study her. She gazed out the window of the pickup, staying quiet except for the occasional murmur about how pretty the land was. He was pleased that she liked the sparseness of the plains, which were only broken by a group of trees every so often. Her delight at seeing the horses gave him even more pleasure. Although he sat in the rear of the pickup, he still caught her shining eyes whenever she turned around and grinned at him.
“So you three own the ranch together?” she asked.
“We sure do,” answered Myler. “Equal partners.”
“And you’ve never wanted to own your own ranches? Individually, I mean?” She tossed her questions in short bursts whenever she turned her attention away from the pastures skimming past them as Samuel drove down the two-lane road.
“Nope. We’re good together,” Samuel added. “I don’t work the ranch as much as they do, but the income I bring in from the saloon helps to keep things going during the lean times.”
“In other words, he’d rather sling drinks than shovel shit.” Tonk had meant to sound like he was joking, but his words still came out with an edge to them. He caught Samuel’s confused scowl in the rearview mirror. He hurried to make up for it. “Still, he’s right. The income from the bar helps out.”
“So did you guys grow up in Lonesome?”
“Born and bred. We’ll more than likely end up buried here, too.” Myler leaned closer, holding her seat from behind. His fingertips grazed over her shoulder.
As he’d known she would, she turned around, Myler’s touch and his allure pulling at her. Although Tonk wasn’t happy that his brothers had already given her a taste of the allure, he realized she might not have come along with them if they hadn’t. Especially after seeing the boy shift.
Damn kid.
Still, he couldn’t blame the boy. The Shifter Days Festival was a great time for kids to shift in front of strangers without getting into trouble. They’d shifted enough in their younger years, loving how the visitors had reacted. At least, they’d done so until their mother had given them hell for changing in the middle of town. She hadn’t cared a lick for Shifter Days and often said she’d rather get rid of the whole festival.
He wondered what she’d say now that they’d met their mate during Shifter Days. But he’d never know. She’d died years earlier after being broadsided by Old Man McClury, three six packs into his evening drunk.
“So you’d never even think of living anywhere else?” she asked.
“Why would we?” he answered, thrusting off the sadness of his mother’s death. “Once you’ve been here awhile, you’ll see what we mean. The land draws you in, and soon enough, it becomes a part of you.” He hadn’t meant to sound so flowery, but what he’d said was the truth.
As soon as Samuel turned the corner and took them down the gravel road leading toward the house, she leaned forward. “Is that it?”
“That’s it,” said Samuel, pride filling his tone.
“It’s nice. Really nice.”
Tonk hadn’t realized how much he’d wanted her to like their home. After all, it was the typical home for those parts. The two-story house wasn’t anything to put in a magazine, but it was functional and comfortable. They’d recently painted the exterior using white for the main color and black for the shutters. Myler had even gone so far as to paint part of the railings black. Tonk had razzed him about it at the time, but now he was glad his brother had been creative. The black added a special touch to the porch, setting off the white rockers.
Inside, the furniture was all hand-made by their grandparents, parents, or themselves. Maybe it wasn’t pretty or fancy, and tended toward tans and blacks, but he liked it. He hoped she’d like the inside as much as she seemed to like the exterior.
Samuel brought the pickup to a stop in the space between the house and the not-so-white barn. Suddenly, Tonk wished they had painted the barn, too.
“We’re home,” declared Samuel.
Wish I’d said that, thought Tonk.
But he wasn’t about to lose a chance at anything else. Shoving his bulk against the door, he piled out of the truck then stalked over to the passenger side. Before Julia could get out, he tugged the door open, then put his body between her and the door. She wasn’t getting out without touching him first.
“Um, hi,” she said, a small smile revealing her humor at his blocking her way.
“Um, hi, back.” He took hold of her and pulled her off the seat. She half fell, half jumped out. Landing on her feet, she pressed her body against his. Lust seared through him like a hot poker. Nothing and no one could stop him now.
Taking her face between his hands, he bent over and got as close as possible to hers without actually kissing her. Kissing would come next. “You’re ours. Know that.”
“What?”
Her breath struck his face, sending his mind reeling. Thankfully, he was still in enough control of his faculties to do what he wanted so badly to do.
“Tonk. No.”
He ignored Samuel’s warning. As if Samuel or Myler had any right to stop him.
Instead, he drew in a breath then exhaled slowly. Her eyes suddenly took on a new life. Her body tensed, her hands on his wrists gripped them harder. Her chest lifted as she instinctively inhaled, wanting more of his breath.
He stopped just short of giving her the full allure. Then wondered why he’d stopped when he had no doubt that she was their mate.
She’s mine. Ours. From this day on. Why not go ahead and—
Tonk’s lion snarled as Myler tugged him away from Julia and twisted him around to face him. “No, Tonk.”
With his back to their mate, Tonk let his fangs erupt, his mouth drawing back into a snarl. Amber filled his vision as a growl rumbled out of him.
<
br /> “Easy, brother.”
Myler didn’t shift, but he stood his ground, daring Tonk to attack him.
Tonk had two choices. Either he could shift, show himself to their mate, and tear Myler apart, or he could back off and save the fight for later.
He retracted his fangs when the third option came to him.
Or I can do this.
* * * *
Julia’s head spun. Tonk’s breath was so much like his brother’s, yet it was different, too. Realizing that she was thinking about three men’s breath was strange—she could still rationalize that—yet what she was doing wasn’t half as astounding as how it was affecting her. A pull, a lure, the attraction she felt rush into her body was overpowering. As it had been with the other two men, something intangible, but oh-so compelling took hold of her. She couldn’t have described it to save her life, but that, too, didn’t matter. Leaning against Tonk, she willed him to take her. Yet it was more than a physical need. She wanted him to take her mind and her heart even more than she wanted him to take her body.
Tonk enclosed her completely, his arms wrapping around her. She felt cocooned, a larva ready to break free and spread her wings once he allowed it. Lifting her face, she silently begged him for more.
His kiss came sweetly at first, yet she smiled against it, sensing his need was as great as her own. His tongue demanded entrance, and she gave it. As though she could have done anything else.
His hands were everywhere, caressing her breasts then sliding over her butt cheeks. Lifting her again, he sat her back down on the truck seat. For a moment, she was afraid he’d send her back to town.
She should’ve known better. She should’ve felt it in her gut.
He tore at his shirt, ripping it from his body. Hard steel-like flesh, so solid, yet so inviting filled her eyes. She couldn’t think, couldn’t respond as his gaze met hers. Should she watch his hands as they worked his belt buckle free then shoved his jeans to the ground? Or skim his body to catch every movement? He shifted from side to side, shucking his boots away. Yet as much as she wanted to see all the rest happen, she couldn’t bring herself to pull her gaze from his.
