by Flora Dare
Matt looked at her and said, "So, why so afraid to shift?"
Jena took a moment, finally saying, "It's not that I'm afraid, I just don't like doing it when I'm upset. Or not completely in control. It's dangerous."
Jack said, "Dangerous for you?"
Jena wiggled and finally decided to tell them.
She said, "He grabbed me in an alley. I was walking home from hanging out with friends, after school." Matt squeezed her knee gently and Jena continued, "It was a common cut through. We'd stopped considering it anything but ours. It was clean and bright, but it was still an isolated alley. It was tucked out of the way and most people forgot it even existed."
"Except teenagers."
"Except cocky teenagers who had never had anything really bad happen to them. Who never had to develop any defensive instincts. The whole world was in front of me and I was already a tenacious beast. So when I felt an odd jangle as I stepped into the alley, I ignored it." Jena paused taking a deep breath. She never talked about it. But their quiet eyes and stillness roused none of her normal fears. "I was at the midway point, I still don't know where he came from. But he grabbed me and flung me against the wall. My ears rang from hitting the wall. My face was crushed into the brick. He was big, taller than me. He grabbed both my wrists in one hand, pressing it into the wall over my head. I was pinned, trapped. Every move I made, he just pressed into me, harder and harder, my breath was being pressed out of me."
She dropped her head into her hands, she couldn't look at them for this. She let the warmth she felt emanating off them carry her through the rest. "He took one of my hands and thrust it into the front of his pants and rubbed his erection against it. Then he bit the back of my neck. That snapped me out of my paralysis and let the fear and rage take over. And I shifted."
Jack rested a soft hand against her lower back. It was warm and gentle. He said, "And he had an armful of angry wolverine."
She grimaced and said, "Worse, a pantsful."
Jack said, "Oh, ow."
"Indeed," said the other man.
"I was just in a panic to get away. I didn't mean to, but I cut his femoral artery."
"You know it wasn't your fault. It was his."
"He attacked you."
"I know, it's still a heavy burden to watch a life slip away because of what you did. He died crying for his mother. Whatever was wrong with him, in the end, he was a scared little boy who just wanted his mommy."
Silence settled between the three of them.
Matt broke the silence and said, "So you don't shift."
"I shift, just...only when I can be calm, if I can help it. And not around people. Plus, men always want me to be some fluffy bunny and get all weirded out by my form. Especially when they realize I'm the slip of a girl that stopped the Oceanside Strangler."
Matt and Jack sat up straight and Jack said, "Holy shit, I've heard that story. That was you?"
Matt glared at him, reaching around Jena to punch him in the arm. "What my idiot friend here is saying, is that you're a freaking hero. You stopped a very dangerous man."
Jena shook her head and said, "Do you know how hard it is to get a date in high school as it is when you're a scary shifter? Let alone when you literally killed the last guy who touched you. Teenagers are dicks. It only took one insecure asshole to make my last year of high school misery." She leaned back, letting their shoulders touch hers. Needing the comfort of touch, but too scared to let herself relax into them. They could just as easily hurt her as her assailant had. "Besides, after I met his mom, I didn't want to be a hero anymore."
"His mom?"
"Yeah, after they identified him and ran his DNA against CODIS, they realized what he was. What he'd done. She was packing to leave town, people in small towns are cruel. She told me she was sorry - her face...she was utterly destroyed. Devastated."
"Because her son was a serial rapist and murderer."
"I know, but it was still a hard and brutal thing. I didn't want to be part of it anymore. Every day people stared at me. Pulled their children away from me. I was marked by him. Leaving for college to a massive city was perfect for me. I could get lost, nobody cared who I was." The men leaned slightly into her, just letting comfort flow between them. "I've never told anyone all of it. Each time I start they react. Badly."
They each took a hand, Jack raised one to his lips and dropped a kiss on her knuckles. He said, "Thank you for trusting us with this." He dropped more kisses on each knuckle and Jena's breath caught. "Will you keep trusting us?"
She looked into Jack's eyes, the green caught flecks of the torches and she was drawn in. She wanted them. She was scared, but she trusted them. With her secrets. With her body. Jena nodded at him, she didn't trust her voice.
Matt took a hold of her chin, turning it towards him, making her stare into his eyes. They were the piercing blue of the sky and she fell into them, nodding at him too. He leaned forward and kissed her softly. Until she softened against him.
Matt pulled her into his arms and leaned them back. Jack eased behind her, slipping a leg between hers. She moaned against Matt's mouth, the sensations were starting to overwhelm her. Matt loosened her bikini top while Jack slowly nibbled from her ear, down her neck and back. Jack made short work of the pulling the top off while Matt eased her breasts out.
Matt paused, to slide his hands down her back, to her ass, while Jack took hold of her breasts from behind. Jack slowly flicked her nipples until she was reduced to panting. Matt eased his head down, Jack presented her full breasts to him, and then Matt lowered his mouth to her now hard nipples. Jena squealed and couldn't help but buck against him.
Jack laughed in her ear and said, "Guess you're a little sensitive." Matt was grinding into her core and her back arched. The warm water flowed between them and the cold night air on her nipples made her feverish with desire. Jack said, "I can't wait to watch your face when you come." Jena blushed to her toes, and gasped as he took her mouth with his.
The twin sensations were enthralling. They lavished her breasts with attention, Matt circling his tongue around one nipple while Jack flicked the other with his thumb. Matt had her pulled hard against his cock, his thrusting against her matched Jack's tongue in her mouth.
She couldn't help herself, they overwhelmed her completely and her orgasm took her by surprise. She shuddered in their arms, going limp. She sighed and said, "Oh, my. I..."
Jack laughed and nibbled on her ear. She shivered as his low voice said, "Mmm. That is the first of many. Can you handle it?"
She growled at him, her inner beast was just getting started. Matt spun her suddenly and Jack took a hold of her breasts, lowering his mouth to them. The scrape of his scruff against her delicate skin shot lightning bolts of lust through her body. Her back was pressed into Matt's chest, Jack had both hands lifting her full breasts to his mouth. Matt slid his hands down her body, delving under her swimsuit, flicking against her clit.
Matt gently parted her and slid a single finger into her. Jena gasped as he penetrated her. He whispered in her ear, “I love how wet we’ve made you.”
Jack moved one of his arms down her back to her leg and lifted it, bending it slightly until her foot rested on his thigh. It opened her more fully to Matt’s exploring fingers, and he stroked up her nether lips, circled the hard nub of her clit and then penetrated her again with his fingers. She couldn’t help but to thrust against his fingers as she felt another orgasm building and she exploded against his hand, screaming out her pleasure.
She slumped against the men. Jena finally looked up and met Jack’s eyes. He had a very satisfied look on his face. He shifted her again, finally stripping her bikini bottoms off. He said, “I have to taste you.”
Jack lifted her legs out of the water and rested them on his shoulders, while Matt leaned her back to float in the water and rest against his chest. Matt drizzle the warm water over her nipples, letting the heat of the water contrast with the crisp air. Jack started tracing the same path M
att’s fingers took, with his tongue.
Jena didn’t think it was possible, but each thrust of his tongue brought her closer and closer to another climax, until her thighs were quavering and she was gasping. Matt nibbled on her ears and said, “Come.” The sensations overwhelmed her and she had no choice but to obey him.
Jack and Matt gently lowered Jena back into the water. She floated against them and fought to stay awake. Jack lifted her into his arms, cradling her against him. She tried to say something but he shushed her, and said, "Just close your eyes, we're fine. You're amazing." As she drifted away, she thought she heard Matt say, "And you're ours."
Chapter Five
Jena woke up in the shelter, wedged between the two men. It mirrored how she woke up on the plane. Her arms wrapped around Matt and her legs twined around Jack. It felt so completely right, in a way she'd never felt with anyone else. She reveled in how freeing it was to be able to be completely herself with the two men.
Maybe the fated mate thing wasn't bullshit. Maybe this is what it felt like. She nuzzled into Matt and he dropped a sleepy kiss on her forehead, before he muttered, "Back to sleep."
She drifted off again feeling utterly secure and happy. When she re-awoke, the shelter was flooded with light and she was alone. She heard clanging at the campfire and muted voices. Jena smiled contentedly as she rolled out of bed and wandered out to the men. She blushed when she looked over at Don but he just grinned and handed her a cup of coffee. Matt and Jack both gave her kisses on the forehead, then went back over to Don.
She heard a snapping sound outside of camp, and Jena watched a massive Kodiak stroll into camp. Since the two men just waved at him and continued what they were doing, she was determined to remain blasé about it as well. However, she very carefully never let her back face him.
Finally the bear made his way over to her. He sat in front of her and she looked him over. He was massive and she just raised a single eyebrow at him. He might be big, but she wasn't about to let him scare her. After a few long moments, he finally shifted. She swallowed and looked up. He was almost as massive as a man as he was a bear and his tattooed face was as intimidating as it was distinctive.
He just looked her over, quietly observing her, finally smiling at her. Jack shouted over, "Hey, stop flirting, she's taken."
The new bear threw his head back and laughed. He ambled over to the fire and sat down between her men. They talked in hushed tones and Jena pretended to be busy. If she got too close, they went silent, so she finally retreated to the shelter. Something was happening and she didn't understand it.
She sat fuming at the exclusion until Matt finally poked his head in and said, "Hey, grub's on."
She arched an eyebrow and said, "Oh, am I supposed to grab a plate and retreat? Or can I eat with the big kids?" She didn't mean for her tone to be so sharp, but she hated how excluded she felt. The sharp realization that the 'real world' was starting to intrude hurt. The easy camaraderie with the two men seemed unlikely to survive life poking into the woods. Whatever threads had bound them were starting to unravel.
Her thoughts spiraled until Matt roughly pulled her into his arms and pressed his mouth against hers. It was a hard, claiming kiss that silenced the spiraling thoughts in her head and she melted into him. After a moment, he pulled her away from him and stared into her eyes.
He said, "I'm sorry. I can't tell you what is going on. But we're done talking about it. I need you, we need you with us."
She let him draw her out of the lean-to and to the fire, where Don was sitting with the Kodiak shifter, gesturing wildly with his hands and a grim look on his face. He looked up at her and stopped, letting a smile creep over his face. He waved to her, patted the log next to him and said, "Jena! Come keep me company. Those brutes have plenty of time with you." She blushed but went and sat with him.
He pushed the big bear shifter out of the way and said, "Don't mind this monster."
She looked at him, cocked her head and said, "So, what do I call you?"
The man just looked at her for a long time, chewing on a piece of bread. Finally he said, "I understand you met Jason."
She let the quiet linger between them for a long while, ignoring the other men who were frozen, waiting to see her response. Finally she cracked a smile and just said, "Yup."
The silence between them sat, companionably, until he finally laughed loudly, slapping his leg. He said, "She's a keeper, boys." He stood abruptly and towered over her. She was a wolverine, she wasn't about to let some bear intimidate her. She leaned towards him, but stayed sitting. She let her body tell him exactly what she was thinking. He bowed to her and turned away. As he walked away, he shifted and with a powerful sprint, disappeared from the camp.
She blinked in surprise and finally said dryly, "Easily intimidated, I see."
Don roared with laughter and said, "Don't mind that crotchety bear. He's got a lot on his plate right now, and he's been too long in the woods."
Jena said, "You aren't going to tell me who he is, are you? Or how the hell he found us?"
Jack settled his hand on her shoulder and said, "We can't, Jena. What you don't know, you can't betray."
She wanted to flick his hand off her, but she let her icy tones do the work as she said, "Ah, I see. I'm good enough to make you dinner, but not to trust." Jack pulled back and this time the silence was hard and oppressive.
It was Don that finally broke and said, "I know we don't really know each other, but will you believe me when I tell you it's not trust, but safety at stake? Jason works for some very bad people."
Jena said, "I see."
"No, you really don't. That's okay, these stupid cubs explained nothing and just expect a smart, stubborn woman to give in. It's like they've never met anything but stupid bunnies."
She smiled at him and said, "It's possibly I'm a little stubborn."
Don said, "The reason we aren't going to tell you much is that with Jason on the loose, we can't risk him getting his hands on you."
"Do you think that's a real possibility?" She kept her voice calm but she couldn't help but flick her eyes around the campsite.
"He's long gone. We lucked out, he assumed that the boys turned on him because of a woman."
"Not because you have something planned."
"And that's all we should say. You can't give away what you don't know."
She kept her eyes on Don, taking in his sincerity and finally nodding sharply.
"I'm not happy about it, but I think I get it."
It was an easy day, they all just lounged and chatted, until it started to get dark. Matt brought Jena a hot cocoa that she gingerly sipped.
"Yikes, it's spicy!"
"Yeah, it's a special brew."
She sipped it as Don hobbled into the tent. She didn't see the gaze he threw back to the men, or him shaking his head.
Jack frowned at Matt then settled next to Jena. She felt warm and happy snuggled between them and slowly sipped at her drink. She was starting to get a little sleepy. She wanted to go to bed, but she had more on her mind than a good night's sleep. She pressed her lips against Jack's neck and give him a quick nip. He smiled down at her and brushed his lips against her forehead.
Jena reached out and stroked Matt's leg. It'd been a long time since she tried to tell any man she was interested in more than snuggling and she felt tentative reaching out to them. Matt slipped his hand under her shirt and stroked Jena's back. He said, "Finish up your drink." She didn't understand why Jack tensed when he said that. Maybe the men weren't so good at sharing as she thought. But she tipped the mug up and drained it. Matt took the cup out of her hands and set it on the ground.
Jack swung her into his arms and carried her to the shelter, Matt trailing behind them. Jena felt a strange lassitude flow through her and Jack settled her on their bedding. She tried to pull him down on top of her, and was surprised when he resisted. He settled next to her and pulled her against him.
"I just want to feel you aga
inst me, for a moment." Jena thought he sounded almost sad.
Then Matt lay down as well, and the men lightly stroked her until she fell asleep.
Chapter Six
Jena woke up suddenly, shivering from the cold. She knew she was alone. Completely. They were gone - all gone. She could feel it, smell it in the air. She crawled out of the bedding and slipped into her clothes.
She stepped out of the crude shelter, her eyes looking out over the site, wanting to be wrong more than anything. Gone. Somehow she'd slept through whatever had happened. But everything was gone, even the remnants of the plane crash. The only thing that remained was her bags neatly piled by the fire pit and the stockpot.
She saw the note propped up on the stockpot and walked over to it slowly. Reluctance made it feel like she was walking through honey, but she finally grasped the note and opened it. It was brief and to the point.
"A rescue chopper will get you by lunchtime."
The note was unsigned. A harsh pain shot through Jena's gut. She crumpled the note and threw it away from her in a rage. She wanted to shift and run into the woods. To just shed everything and be free. To let the rescue chopper come to an abandoned site.
She threw her head back and screamed, trying to release some of the pain that was ravaging her. They left her. They didn't even say goodbye. They just turned their backs on her, like everyone else had. The pain wrapped itself around her, tighter and tighter, until all she could do was crumple to the ground howling in rage.
She hated herself, she should have never trusted her fickle feelings. Proximity after surviving the crash, danger, all potent, creating false emotions and bonds. They didn't love her. She wept as she realized that even though it wasn't real, couldn't be real, she was shattering from the inside out.
She wasn't sure how much time had passed when she finally sat up, pulled a water bottle off her bag and rinsed the sharp chemical taste out of her mouth. That 'special' hot cocoa must have been drugged. Jena shook her head, no wonder they hadn't wanted to make love, to just hold her. At least taking her while she was drugged was beyond the pale for them. She shook her head, she just felt so incredibly stupid.
