Lycans Embrace [Southern Supernatural Alphas] (Siren Publishing Ménage Amour)

by Sara Anderson

  Those monsters are now wandering in the woods. Should I stay or should I run? The thought of any wolves or vampires wandering around and finding Anna here had her heart pounding so hard her chest hurt, but the thought of running into one of them made her shake so bad her knees felt weak. I can’t stay here, but I can’t run either. Anna heard herself whimper and felt her body shaking. She tried taking deep breaths to calm her panic and think. I just want to go home. She closed her eyes and rocked in place as her body trembled.

  It felt like it had been hours since she’d last heard any talking, or maybe it had only been a few minutes. Didn’t time slow down when a person was stressed? She couldn’t stay here. She had to try to find her way back to the campsite.

  Anna nearly laughed. Not long ago her biggest stress was her boyfriend screwing her friend. Now she just wanted to survive the night. Slowly, listening for any sound and watching the shadows, she stood up. She glanced at the moon to see if it had moved, hoping to figure out how much time had passed that way.

  Anna felt like she was a moving target and thought she saw glowing eyes in the shadows. She whimpered as every little sound brought fresh rounds of chest pain as her heart pounded so hard she could feel it in her teeth. She gulped in her breaths, wondering if she was having a heart attack. No, I can’t be. It’s just stress. She rubbed her chest to try to ease the pain. She spun around when she heard something move, but there was nothing there but darkness. She imagined red-eyed vampires coming for her or huge fanged wolves stalking her. She pressed her fist to her mouth as she gulped in air. She knew she was hyperventilating, but she was powerless to stop it.

  An owl hooted and she bolted from the tree without any regard for which direction she ran. She just needed to get away. Thin branches stung her face as she ran through the forest, but she didn’t care. She ran faster and tripped over a root. With a cry of pain and fear, she landed on the hard forest floor. Dazed, she lay for just a moment before she rose and ran blindly once again.

  Anna glanced behind her, but she only saw darkness and trees. She turned around just in time to see a low hanging branch a split second before she ran full force into the unyielding wood. Stunned, she fell backward and pain shot up her arm when she landed. “Oww!” She cradled her throbbing arm until she heard a dry branch snap in the darkness. They’re coming for me! Her mind screamed in mindless panic, and she ignored the dizziness and pain as she got up.

  Anna heard heavy footfalls behind her and the howling of wolves. There was no doubt now that something was chasing her. She whimpered, too terrified to even scream as she ran. It felt like the world was tilting as she tried to make her way in the dark forest.

  Anna forced out a burst of speed only to trip over a tree root hiding in the dark. She got to her feet, ran a few more steps, and fell again. Her entire body now hurt, but she couldn’t stop. They’ll kill me. I have to keep going. Faster. Run faster. Sobbing in fear, she got to her feet and stumbled but recovered. Something warm and solid wrapped around her waist, and she screamed as she flailed her arms and feet as she fell. She expected her body to hit the hard ground, but her body twisted in midair. Her landing was soft, and a man grunted underneath her.

  Anna lay still for a moment, stunned by the landing before she started kicking her feet. She felt her body trembling as she tried to break free from the iron grip that held her and she incoherently begged her captor to let her up.

  “Easy,” a deep masculine voice said. “I’ve got you, girl. You’re okay now. Calm down.” His lips brushed her ear as he whispered, “You’re fine.”

  Someone was stroking her hair and holding her against a warm, muscular body.

  Anna’s struggles lessened as fatigue wore her body down. With a shuddering breath, she cried, “Let me go, please.” Anna weakly struggled, but she was no match for the man holding her.

  “After a moment. Let me make sure you didn’t injure yourself. Do you think you can be calm now?”

  Anna recognized the voice. It was the wolf, Marcus, from the clearing. Everything he’d just done to the vampires flashed in her memory. She’d seen him rip the vampires apart, and they were a lot bigger than she was. At five-foot-four and one hundred and nine pounds, she was no match for Marcus. She felt herself begin to shiver violently. “Yes.”

  “Good girl. Let’s get you up. It’s okay. Calm down,” Marcus said in a soothing voice.

  Another set of hands pulled Anna up. Her heart felt like it would beat out of her chest. She wrapped her arms tightly around her body and stood rigidly as Marcus got to his feet next to her.

  More of the men that turned into wolves surrounded her. She had no idea how many there were since the shadows from the trees obscured her view. She squeezed her eyes shut, too frightened to watch the wolves descending on her. Her heart was racing so fast, she wondered if it would stop. Her breath hiccupped in and out of her as she imagined the wolves tearing her apart.

  “Hey, calm down, girl,” Marcus said and placed a hand on her back. “Open your eyes. No one is going to hurt you.”

  Anna slowly opened them and glanced around without looking at Marcus. She didn’t want him to know she knew what he was so she could get out of this alive. She saw a lot of shadows around, but no wolves. There were men standing around her, some wore clothes, others not. She closed her eyes tightly again. She didn’t want to see the end coming if they decided to kill her.

  A howl shattered the silence, and her control broke. Anna opened her eyes, and her gaze darted around. Shadows and light mixed, sending her into fight or flight mode, and she bolted once again like a frightened deer into the gloomy forest.

  “Fuck,” Marcus yelled. “Goddamn it, Eric. Knock it off.”

  Anna felt her breath sobbing in and out of her as she fled. Tears ran down her face as she blindly raced away. A body jumped in front of her, so she dodged it only to have another land in front of her in the other direction. More howling made Anna scream and come to a skidding stop before trying to change direction. Men dropped in front of her, forming a circle. She spun around, sobbing incoherently as she looked for any break to escape through.

  “Get back! You’re scaring the girl,” Marcus’s booming voice rang with command. “Troy, knock off the theatrics. She’s not impressed.”

  “Fuck,” a voice from the darkness replied. “I wasn’t trying to scare her. I’m lycan—I howl and shit.”

  Anna backed away from the one Marcus called Troy. She felt like a cornered rabbit and a bunch of hungry wolves had just found their snack. Her eyes roamed the circle of werewolves, hoping they’d show her mercy. “Please let me go.” Anna could not believe she was able to stand with how badly her legs were shaking. This was like a nightmare she couldn’t wake up from. Wasn’t fear the worst thing you could show a wolf—or werewolf, in this case. They’d kill her for sure now.

  A huge man with dark, shoulder-length hair came out of the darkness. She recognized the voice as Marcus’s. His body was made of muscle, and his strong face was handsome. Up close, there wasn’t anything sinister looking about Marcus, he was strikingly handsome in fact, but she’d witnessed him turn into a wolf and tear into men twice her size. “Easy,” Marcus said while pushing some of the smaller guys out of his way. “I’m sorry my pack scared you. My name is Marcus. What’s your name? What are you doing out here so late at night?”

  Anna backed away until she pressed against a tree. Trapped, she let her gaze sweep the area for a way to run. She pressed herself further into the tree as Marcus kept coming closer to her. The shadows moved ominously, telling her that there were more of the men that turned into wolves hiding in the darkness. Her only hope was to answer Marcus’s questions and pray they let her go. “Anna,” she whispered in a shaking voice. Her control over her emotions fled. It had been a shit day, and now it was getting worse by the second. Tears ran down her face as she added, “I’m lost. I got in a fight with the people I was camping with, and then I couldn’t find my way back.”

  “Okay.” Marcu
s took another step closer, slowly, as if she were a frightened kitten he was trying to capture. “Where is your campground at?”

  “Shaw’s Sinking Creek.” Anna saw movement again, and her focus moved from Marcus to the shadow behind him. “I’m sorry for bothering you. I didn’t mean to. I’m just trying to get home. I left my cell phone behind, and I just need to get home. Please don’t hurt me.” She spoke so fast with such a barely controlled blubbering she wasn’t sure Marcus understood a word of what she said.

  Anna tensed as she readied herself to bolt again. She knew it was pointless. Still, her body urged her to run before Marcus attacked her. She felt like a buffet for a bunch of starving wolves. She was not going to be their little morsel to hold them over for dinner, and she tensed her muscles preparing to dart away again. She was determined not to go down without a fight. Without warning, Marcus leaped and wrapped his arms around her. Anna let out a scream and kicked her legs, hoping her heavy hiking boots would connect with something sensitive on Marcus’s body and he’d let her go.

  “It’s okay, Anna. Shhhh! Calm down. I’m not going to hurt you. I just don’t want you running in the dark. There are a lot of ways for you to get hurt out here this late at night. Come on.” Marcus stroked her arms while he spoke into her ear. “That’s it, girl. Calm down. You’re all right.”

  Anna took several deep breaths as she tried to calm down enough to talk. Finally, her panic eased. “Don’t hurt me, please. I didn’t see anything, I swear. I just want to go home.” She cried harder and wished she could wake up and realize she’d just had a terrible nightmare. “I won’t say anything, I swear it. Please.” Anna had the awful suspicion her death was imminent and they were going to kill her to keep her silent. She’d seen far too much. Why else would they chase her? That thought sent her into another panic attack. She clawed, screamed, kicked, and bucked in Marcus’s arms. In her mind, she didn’t have anything to lose. They were going to kill her anyway, so why make it easy on them.

  Marcus’s voice cut through her fear like a hot knife through butter. “Anna, listen to me. Calm down. You’re panicking and not being rational.”

  Anna felt herself calming as if Marcus had given her a drug. Euphoria spread through her limbs, making them feel heavy.

  “Good girl.” Marcus turned her so she stared into his eyes. They were dark brown, like the color of chocolate, and Anna noticed they glowed a bit. While the vampires’ eyes had a red hew, Marcus’s had a yellow glow. Earlier she would have thought that was strange, but she’d already maxed out the strange meter this evening when she watched werewolves and vampires fighting.

  “Now, you had a fight with your friends at the campground?”

  Anna nodded. “Yes,” she answered immediately and felt calmer than she thought possible, given her situation.

  “What are their names?” Marcus asked while staring intently into her eyes.

  “Brian and Erin. We got a big tent and hiked into to this remote campground. It was supposed to be fun, but—”

  A low whistle from the dark forest stopped her from telling this complete stranger how her boyfriend and friend had humiliated her by screwing in her tent. Why was she even telling him anything at all? She didn’t know him, and it was rude to tell strangers personal information.

  “Alpha, do you think she witnessed the attack at the campground?” a wolf named Tyler asked.

  Marcus shook his head at the one who was talking from the darkness. “No.” Marcus’s attention returned to Anna. “I want you to focus on my eyes. Do you see how the pattern changes?”

  Anna didn’t want to. She wanted to shut her eyes and pretend this was all a horrible dream, but her body complied with Marcus’s command. His eyes were glowing brighter, and she saw a pattern swirling in their chocolate brown depths.

  “You got lost and witnessed and animal fight. A member of the search party found you and led you to the sheriff’s department.”

  Anna felt the urge to believe everything Marcus told her. She even saw it in her mind. She didn’t come across werewolves, just regular wolves fighting and then she ran. A volunteer found her and led her away, but then the illusion vanished, and the real events came back to her.

  Anna stood frozen as if they’d restrained her, yet only Marcus’s gaze held her. The others that had been silent around them started to chatter.

  “Yerel,” Marcus called over his shoulder. “I know you’re exhausted, old friend, but could you please just look at her? She fell hard a few times.”

  “Yes, Alpha.” The silver-haired man from the fight came forward. “I am tired, but I have enough energy left to make sure she isn’t badly hurt.”

  Anna swallowed hard and wanted to run. The man’s eyes weren’t right. They were dark as he approached her.

  “She’s terrified,” Yerel said as he approached her.

  “I can imagine she is, healer,” Marcus said as he watched her. “Is she hurt?”

  Yerel placed his hands on her wrist that was injured. His touch was hot, not scalding hot, but noticeably hot. The heat sank into her flesh, and it felt like a soothing heating pad on injured flesh.

  Yerel’s eyes opened, and instead of the blackness she’d seen before, they were a deep blue. “She has some bruising and a sprain. While she will be sore, it is nothing that time and rest won’t cure.”

  The wolf Tyler walked up and put his arm around Yerel. “Come on, let’s get you home to rest.”

  Yerel sagged in Tyler’s arms. “Thank you. I am tired.”

  Marcus turned back around and faced Anna. “Now to get this pretty female home.”

  “So you’re going to alter her memory, Alpha?” one of the wolves asked.

  “Yes,” Marcus said as his dark gaze held hers captive. His finger stroked an uninjured part of her cheek. “She won’t remember any of this, and I’ll send an enforcer to take her back to safety.”

  “Fuck, Alpha that was close. I about shat when I scented a human during that fight.”

  Marcus never took his eyes off her as he replied, “Yes, Derek, that was close, but I knew we could easily catch our frightened kitten here.” Marcus looked around. “Tyler, I understand you were excited from our hunt and fight with the vampire coven, but next time, try not to scare a little harmless female any more than she already is. I had a feeling from the beginning she was just a lost camper.”

  “Yeah, Eric,” another voice added. “It’s bad enough what happened at the camp, did you have to scare her, too? She could know the other humans that those bloodsuckers killed.”

  “Fuck you, Allan. She’s not going to remember any of this. We got to her in time. And the cops don’t think the ones that survived knew the ones that died,” Eric said, defending himself.

  A blond man came forward and stared at her. Fine hair still covered his arms, reminding Anna that these men weren’t completely human. “God, Marcus, just look at her. She’s beautiful. I don’t think it is the scent of her fear that is driving me crazy either. I want her more than I have ever wanted another female.”

  Marcus leaned in. “I agree, Derek. I feel an urge to claim her, and it’s not just the fighting mixed with her scent of fear I find so alluring.”

  “If you do, I will be happy to be your second.” Derek ran his hand up her arm, sending a jolt of awareness to her core. “Can the pack beta share a mate with the Alpha?”

  Moonlight spilled onto Marcus and Derek, giving Anna a good view. Derek’s hair was shorter and lighter than Marcus’s was. She watched the downy tan hair recede back into his skin as he changed back completely to a human.

  Marcus leaned in closer to her and sniffed. “It has happened before, but most times the dominance struggle between the Alpha and beta are too strong. We don’t have that trouble, though. We’ve always shared well, Derek. Perhaps one day we will take a mate to share, but not tonight. She is not ours to claim, and she’s not broken any pack law that would put her under our authority. Fate sometimes brings us a mate, but this time fate is being c
ruel.”

  Anna, still rooted to the same spot, couldn’t move as Marcus’s lips pressed to her neck and he inhaled. She was still afraid but the mindless panic was gone. She was thinking clearer as Marcus held her. If he wanted her dead, he would have killed her already. It was obvious they had other desires, and none of them included her death. Arousal made a fire ignite in her gut, sending nectar to her folds that were becoming slick as Marcus pressed his nose closer to her, and inhaled slowly. Anna nearly moaned at the white-hot arousal that made her pussy ache. She felt his erection pressing against her abdomen, and if she could move at that moment, she’d be grinding her hips against him.

  If it was as big as it felt, Marcus had a seriously huge cock. She’d surely lost her mind because she wanted to wrap her arms around Marcus and maybe even kiss him. This was not normal behavior at all for her. Just a few moments ago, she’d been in a blind panic, but now she wanted these two werewolves to rip her clothes off. Perhaps it was a stress reaction on her part. Yes, that explained it, stress.

  “Her scent is pushing the boundaries of my control. I ache with the need to mate with her and bite her to seal our bond.” Marcus took another long inhalation and then stepped back. “Any other time I’d be happy to share her with you, Derek. I’d say her fertility is at or near its peak and she could bear us a youngling, but let’s control ourselves. Remember, she’s a human with no knowledge of lycans, and she’s done nothing wrong to violate pack law. She isn’t in danger and in need of our protection, so none of us have rights to her.”

  Someone in the darkness let out a disappointed groan. “What a shame, Alpha. She is beautiful, and I would love to have rights to claim her.”

  Derek moved closer and wrapped one of his arms around her. The electricity she felt between them nearly had her groaning, but in a much more erotic way. “No way, Mike. I scented her first. I’d have first rights to her.