Twice Mated

by Penelope Wylde

  That could prove hazardous to a sleepwalker or someone a little tipsy, but when you had wings maybe it wasn’t such a problem. Stepping closer to the ledge, the ceiling abruptly opened into a semicircle to reveal thousands of stars sparkling in a wash of midnight blue.

  She blinked several times. No way could this be real! Tempted to pinch herself, she folded her arms across her chest. Eyes closed, she let the events of the night wash over her. Standing here, it all seemed like faraway memories that couldn’t touch her. If only the last year could be erased. A year without her magic hurt. But a year of living with the men who were supposed to be her mates was the real torture. Without her magic she refused to mate. They understood and loved her anyway, but there were times she wanted to kick her own ass. But how could she mate with Grayson and Zane when she wasn’t whole? They would give her all of them when she couldn’t give all of herself to them.

  Harlow turned and walked back to the bedchamber, the train of her sheet in tow. Stacked on a chair by the bed, she found her clothing folded and her boots set to the side. A new sweater replaced the ripped one and a note sat atop in Grayson’s writing and ended with Zane’s signature at the bottom that simply read Wait for us in smooth black ink.

  Those two never did anything without the other. Her presence in their life served as proof of that. Both worked hard to make her feel loved and protected.

  She’d done a royal job of screwing all of that up tonight. How did she repay their kindness and love? Hades on fire, what kind of mate material did that make her? She put them in the middle of death’s path with her actions. Wasn’t that the opposite of what a mate did?

  She closed her eyes and bit at her lip to stave off a wash of curses better left tucked away in the back of her mind. Several deep breaths later she unclenched her hands and made quick work of slipping back into her jeans and sweater but left the boots off for now.

  Both Grayson and Zane wanted forever with her. After tonight, they probably thought they’d made it out lucky.

  Lightly she ran her fingertips over each bite mark on either side of her neck. She didn’t know why they’d bitten her. Within a couple of days, the partial claim they had on her would fade into nothing. She understood how their bonds worked. After that, they could return to their lives and be free of her insane life. They hadn’t asked for this.

  Before they could leave though, she owed them an explanation and a thank you for saving her life. For however long it may last.

  The magical laws that bound them to their mates were a mystery for the most part to her people, but they’d explained them to her in great detail. Werewolves claimed with their bite and hot, sticky, kinky all-nighter sex that you felt for days. So, the mated females of her men’s pack said. From the smiles on their faces, she had no reason not to believe them. That had her heart kicking up a notch and soft heat skimming along her chest.

  Without both, she wasn’t fully claimed.

  Harlow rubbed her temples. When they’d arrived wherever they were someone had worked on her. A Healer, that she knew. Most of what the healer had said went unheard as she slipped in and out of consciousness, but a few words whispered along the back of her mind. If they didn’t fully claim her soon, the three powers that warred inside her— witch, werewolf and dragon— would build until eventually she’d go crazy or it would rip her to shreds.

  Neither option sounded fun, but her options were limited. Hell, she didn’t even know she had dragon in her except for the blood she used in her spell.

  When mating became a forced subject, they had no business getting mated no matter how much she loved them and wanted them in her life. Doing it to only save her wasn’t love and she would not settle for anything else. Despite what the healer had said there had to be another answer.

  Determination pushed aside the inkling of fear that wanted to take root in the pit of her stomach. Someone had answers and she wouldn’t find them sitting around in a sheet with fantasies of a happy family life or woulda shouldas. She couldn’t shake the feeling that Xierrah knew more about her father than he let on.

  Her father’s death a little while before she lost her powers to the Silver Circle burned a hole in her gut. She rubbed at the spot between her eyes. Maybe, with the help of the dragons, all that could change and something good could come out of her losing her magic.

  Inklings of words from the healer broke through the fog. Harlow closed her eyes and focused when the low hum in her head turned into a steady pounding again. At least she didn’t glow anymore.

  Think Harlow. The room had been spinning in loops. That much she remembered. Her stomach still felt uneasy. The old lady had placed her hands somewhere on her a few seconds before a liquid had been forced down her throat.

  That wasn’t all. Her eyes sprang open. “Of course.” The healer chanted something over her in the same language as the spell Harlow had performed back at her cabin. Maybe the healer could shed some light on why the dragon’s blood potion had failed earlier.

  And why in holy Hades could she talk to dragons now?

  “You look beautiful with such marvel and wonder in your eyes. Or is that mischief and plotting giving you that pretty blush? Should I be worried, baby girl?” Grayson’s husky voice played with her senses and stroked along her sweet spot. It was currently buried beneath a mountain of guilt, but the man had a set of vocals on him that made her body sing for his caresses and hot no matter what he said. How he did it with a mere inflection of his tone? Not a clue, but she loved it all the same.

  Heat fused their gazes together as she turned to him, and the fire he stroked to life every time they were close caught momentum as it always did a second before he stepped from the shadows. Shimmering blue met her eye. Despite trying to work up some level of anger only love surfaced, and gratitude. He drifted closer and she matched him step for step.

  “Tell me. What’s wrong?” Grayson skimmed knuckles down her cheek.

  She huffed. Everything fell under that category.

  Listing it all wouldn’t help unless he found a way to help turn off her emotions. Life needed a freaking on-off switch. And a pause button.

  She stiffened her spine and let out a deep sigh that ruffled the hair framing her face.

  “You should know no harm will find you while we’re here. Unless you’re counting Zane and me. Then yes, you should be very afraid. We plan to use every wicked trick in the book on you until you tell us everything that happened tonight.” Grayson cocked a brow and continued, unaware of her warring emotions his words stirred up. He moved into her, looming over her protectively. In a lowered voice that was almost a whisper close to her ear, his hand pressed to the back of her head to draw her closer. She followed his lead. If only for one more moment with him, sure he would leave.

  “God, you feel so damn good in my arms. We thought we lost you tonight. We felt when you slipped away from us. Your pain was ours.”

  “How? We’re not even mated?”

  “Somethings have a magic of their own, baby. We belong together and no one will have a say otherwise. The drive back from Hope Ridge was the fucking longest eighty miles I’ve ever driven.” Thick with fear, his voice cracked and his arm tightened a little more.

  She tilted her head back and kept her eyes open as he lowered his lips to hers leisurely. If she thought denying him would be hard, it would be totally impossible with him looking down at her with so much love in his eyes. As if she would break, he brushed a soft kiss over hers, his fingers working into her thick hair.

  Tears threatened to show at the tenderness her enforcer showered her with, but she forced solid steel into her weak resolve. No one said it would be easy to disconnect her heart and let her men go. Oh, goddesses look away, woman. Why could she never listen to her own advice! Instead, she parted her lips in anticipation as Grayson peered down at her with the beautiful blue eyes framed in thick black lashes. Wickedness gleamed back at her. She would miss them when they faded back to red or even his natural color of brown.
>
  Damn, were those her knees trembling? She placed her hands on his chest to steady herself and felt the strong beat of his heart.

  Do it, woman, she mentally slapped herself. Or else they could get hurt in a way there wouldn’t be any coming back from.

  Breathy, she forced herself to speak. “Grayson, this can’t...” A sudden bow of his head and a sweep of his tongue along her lower lip and nothing else mattered. Energy she’d never felt before zinged to life inside her. Before she could stop herself, Harlow wound her arms around his neck, carried forward by an invisible force exposed in the golden shadows of the room that wrapped them within a protective cocoon.

  Drifting closer still, their bodies melded together as if they were made for the other. Pressed together from hips to shoulders, her nipples stiffened behind the confines of her bra and for a moment, she wished she’d never found her clothing or left the warm confines of the bed.

  Her tongue darted out and slid over his in a sensual tease.

  Harlow nearly melted on contact. Fierce, possessive need took hold within her as Grayson fisted her hair and pulled her mouth fully over his. Did he feel the pull too? The uncontrollable need to possess?

  The warm, claiming caress of his tongue along hers sent a burst of heat to skim along her nerves and left a lingering taste of bittersweet citrus in her mouth. Somewhere in the back of her mind she wondered about that.

  Her sex clenched and throbbed with need and everything fell to the wayside. His body, her need and the tight coil in her core demanded she satisfy the urge he created within her.

  His hand fell from the lengths of her hair and caressed down the slope of her back until he cupped her ass, each finger pressing into the plump flesh with a delicious grip.

  Hot girl cum wet her panties and a growl of appreciation rumbled up his chest as the scent hit the air.

  “Don’t even try to deny it, baby girl. There’s no way you’re slipping from our grasp now that we have you right where you belong.”

  She sucked back a gasp. Sometimes, when she got carried away, she forgot how their heightened senses picked up on every detail. Like how wet she grew for them, how fast they made her heart beat and how badly she needed them inside her, claiming.

  The steel length of his cock pressed against her lower midriff and nearly had her melting into a puddle of need at his feet. Both were dressed, but it didn’t matter. She could feel every engorged ridge of his confined shaft beneath the rough denim of his jeans.

  “You’re beautiful when you’re flushed and horny.” His voice dipped to a low hum and he teased her with a smile. He glanced the back of his knuckles across her overheated cheek and a familiar heat bloomed in her core to spread through her body like wildfire fueled with magic. Light surrounded them as a warm-colored glow lit her skin. Like she said, wildfire and magic.

  “What’s going on, Grayson? What’s happening to me? To us? And why am I glowing again?” Her gaze danced between her hands and him.

  “I don’t have all the answers for you, baby, but I do know we’ll take care of you. Your home is with me and with Zane. As long as you let us in, you’ll be safe.”

  Three thumps of her heart and not a vein in her body lacked the wave of lust that hit her.

  “And loved in every way your body can take us.”

  Before she could think, a deep moan slipped from her and that’s all the invitation he needed.

  Her breath catches. With one hand on her ass, he had her hauled up his body and her legs wrapped around his middle. They let the moment carry them, and she loved how her body molded with his from to V of her sex all the way to their lips, never breaking contact.

  A sudden pinch sparked a different kind of fire and spread out from her neck until it had her pulling back. What the hell? “Stop... Grayson.” She broke their kiss. Something wasn’t right.

  Grayson grew tense beneath her. “What’s wrong? Are you worried about Zane? He went to get some food. Should be back soon.”

  She pressed a hand to her throat. “That’s not it.” She swallowed hard. Was it his mark that burned or Zane’s? The heat grew and sizzled along the tender flesh of her neck until she couldn’t tell which side burned more.

  “ARGH. We shouldn’t. I’m so sorry.” Stupid! She was so stupid letting herself get carried away in her emotions. In the rush of lust, important details were shoved aside. They needed to clear their heads and find answers that would help them all out of the mess she’d created.

  Her mistakes had almost cost them their lives once already. She wasn’t about to force them to do something that could put them in harm’s way again. What if the chaos inside her spread to them when they tried to complete the mating? Then what?

  A spark of fear lit his eyes. “Ahh. I can see your beautiful mind working, but it’s not that easy, baby girl. You’re feeling our bond and wanting to complete the mating ritual. Nothing to be afraid of. It needs a little guidance because the dragon’s blood is fighting it and your magic. At least that’s what the healer conveyed. Fuck, I wish I could take the pain from you, give you firm answers but all I know right now is that we’re not leaving this room until we’re a family. Permitting you still want us.”

  Honestly, that scared her and excited her.

  Grayson nuzzled her neck and placed hot, possessive kisses along the slope of her shoulder and along her jaw. “I can smell your need for me. For us, baby girl.”

  She closed her eyes, tilted her head and let his words brush against her skin as he spoke. “Tell me how can we help?”

  Her thighs tightened around him.

  You’ve already done so much. Grayson and Zane were her greatest weakness. Could she let them be her greatest strength? From what she understood, they’d been forced to bite her to save her. More than any of that, both men held high positions within their pack and she was a witch. Their shared history turned bloody once and cost thousands of lives. What was to say it wouldn’t happen again if the Silver Circle wanted to twist tonight’s truth to their favor?

  Her brows pinched together. What a freaking mess. They’d taken more from her tonight—her job and now her home. Nothing survived the blaze left in their wake so the spellbook was toast and all her childhood memories were ash by now.

  “Your home is with us. Let us help you make new memories, Harlow.”

  She flinched and pulled back to look into his eyes. “That makes twice you’ve done that. How are you reading my thoughts?”

  “When we marked you, your emotions connected to ours. It’s not a complete bond yet where you’ll be able to read our thoughts, but if you settle your mind enough, you’ll feel us too.”

  That deserved some thought and time to mull over for a while. More than she had right now, though.

  He lowered her slowly to the floor but didn’t release her from his strong arms. “And I can see the hurt in your eyes. Any mate could read the pain. I know how much you lost tonight because of them, but if you let us, we’ll help you build a life full of happiness again.”

  She wanted that and he made it sound so easy. Maybe it was and she was over-thinking all of it as usual.

  “It will all be over soon. We’ll bury it under orgasm after orgasm until there’s no pain left. Just toe-curling pleasure. Your screams will be something entirely different after tonight. That’s a promise” He slid a finger beneath her chin. “Everything else, baby girl, will come one step at a time and we’ll figure this all out.”

  Liquid slipped from her channel. Could she come from words alone? She so wanted to try right now. Every syllable he uttered acted like a stroke to her achingly desperate clit. Her lips parted and Harlow took a deep breath to recover from the overload of emotions. “Tonight,” she took half a step back and cleared her throat, “Um, right before I drank the potion, I heard you or maybe it was Zane in wolf form outside the cabin. I almost didn’t go through with the spellwork.” She fingered the soft material of his shirt and let her gaze glide over the way it hugged his chest and arms. “But I had
to try.” She pulled her hands from him and let them fall to her sides as she looked into his eyes. “I hope you can forgive me. Maybe understand why I had to do it. I also owe Zane an apology and now—”

  “Shhh... you don’t owe me or Zane an apology. You should know anything you need we’re there to back you up.”

  She gave a half smile. “Is Zane mad?”

  “Not at you, but he will be sick to his stomach when I tell him what you just told me.”

  Her brows furrowed together in confusion.

  “Harlow, it wasn’t us outside your cabin. you’d already taken the potion and was passed out on the floor by the time we arrived.”

  “Then who was it? The Silver Circle?”

  “In a way, but let’s wait for Zane.”

  She nodded. “Good idea.”

  Grayson palmed her hands, replaced them on his chest and inclined his head in a way that told her he wanted something. “There’s something else you’re not telling me.” She gave him a mock look of innocence. “Fireballs and wood chippings ring a bell?” HA. So, he was after details about her extracurricular activities that landed her in hot water to begin with. She swallowed. A girl needed her secrets.

  “Hmm. Let’s see how fast you talk when we have you spread wide and ready for us.” His tone brooked no misunderstanding with the way he slowly pronounced his last words.

  She worked her mouth a couple of times. “That sounds like a threat.”

  “A loaded one with as many spankings as your perfectly plump ass can handle. And after tonight if you ever put yourself in danger again and don’t call in backup, it’s a fucking promise.”

  Remorse replaced a fraction of her resolve to remain tight-lipped. She’d hurt him and Zane. “No promises, but I like—” Low rumbled voices cut off her train of thought and she stopped mid-word. Turning around, she expected someone to be standing at the door. Hoping for Zane, she found no one. “Like getting into trouble...” she half mumbled over more voices. Male. No, wait. “Do you hear that?” She spun around again. It was a gargled voice like a lazy summer stream over river rocks but distinctly female from the pitch. She turned back to Grayson and stumbled slightly.