by Jane Jamison
“Calem, you fool, don’t you see she’s using you to get to us.” Nick clenched his fists, a sure sign that his inner beast was clawing to get free.
“That’s not true. Me and Dina are going to mate.”
Aw, shit. The poor guy really believes what she’s told him.
“If that’s so, then why’s she coming on to us? You saw her, man. She wasn’t fighting us away. At least not until she knew what we really wanted.” Eric planted his feet as Calem had done. “Think about it, man. Why else would Dina want to hurt Livi?”
Where he’d wondered about Dina’s intelligence, he didn’t have to give a second thought to Calem’s. From the moment he was born, the big guy’s brain had never worked at full steam and it wasn’t going any faster now. Calem frowned and he could almost see the wheels and cogs in his thick head trying to get free of the mental cobwebs. If he hadn’t already known that Calem’s go-to animal was a bear, he could’ve guessed simply by the size of the man.
“Don’t listen to them, Calem. You know your Dina loves you. You’re my big bad bear of a man.”
He’d hated leading her on, but seeing her do it to Calem was too hard to handle. He’d led her on to save Livi, and not for his own selfish desires as Dina was doing. “Stop it. He deserves to know the truth.”
“Eric’s right, man.” Tony waved his hand toward the onlookers. “Everyone in here knows how much she’s wanted us. She has no intention of becoming your mate.”
The hurt in the big guy’s eyes was enough to make Eric wince. The ferocity in Calem seemed to disappear as he turned to her. “Is that true, Dina? Do you want them instead of me?”
Dina stumbled over her words, fighting against a losing battle. “No, uh, I mean, Calem, you and me are meant to be. See? It even rhymes.”
“Knock it off, bitch.” Old Man Smucker waved his cane in the air then stuck it against Calem’s broad chest. “She’s playing you for a sucker, you idiot. Grow a pair and give her the heave-ho.”
Eric couldn’t bear to see Calem like that. Sure, he was a pain in the side, but he wasn’t a bad guy. At least not when Dina wasn’t pushing him into doing her dirty work for her. “Tell us what happened to Livi, Calem.”
“No, Calem. Keep your stupid mouth shut.” Dina was smart enough to realize that tactic wouldn’t work. “Come on, Baby Bear. Let’s go to my place and have some fun.”
Calem worked Dina’s fingers out of his shirt. “You used me. I don’t like that.”
“Calem. Baby Bear, listen—”
“No!”
Dina let out a yelp as Calem picked her up and carried her to the front door. He plopped her down on her feet. “You need to leave.”
“But, Baby Bear—”
Mitsy pushed the door wide. “You’d better do as he says, Dina. If you don’t, I’ll toss you out on your ear myself.”
Dina threw back her hair and lifted her chin. “You can all go fuck yourselves.” Yet she was out the door before the crowd lifted their voices in growls and snarls.
Eric, along with his brothers, faced Calem. “Tell us where she is.”
“I didn’t do nothing to her.”
“That’s good, but you do know where she is, don’t you?”
“Not exactly. Not now.”
“Which means you did at one time.” He took in a deep breath. Dealing with Calem was like dealing with a petulant six-year-old kid who didn’t want to confess to breaking his mother’s favorite lamp. “Okay, tell us what you do know.”
“Dina said she gave her a map to find the white wolf.”
He ignored the collective groan from the crowd. Why would Livi believe anything Dina said? But that question would have to wait until later. “And then what?”
“She said once Livi was at the right place, I should change into a white wolf and let her chase me into the woods.”
The plan was simple enough and it chilled Eric to the bone. “So you led her far enough into the woods to get her lost. Is that right?”
“Uh-huh.”
He had to keep telling himself that Calem was almost as much of a victim to Dina’s scheming as Livi was. The fury he felt for Dina and Calem was only overpowered by his need to maintain control and find out where she was.
“Can you tell us where you led her to?”
“Nope.” Calem’s long face quirked into a shy smile. “I, um, kind of got lost myself.”
He had to keep his patience. For Livi’s sake. Going off on Calem would only make the big lug shut down. “Can you tell us where you found Livi? Where Dina’s map took her?”
Calem’s face brightened. “Yup. The map took her up the side of the mountain to The Twisting Trees.”
He nodded, then patted Calem on the shoulder like he’d often done to Rico when he’d finished playing fetch. He pulled his hand away when his claws came out on instinct, ready to tear into the man’s flesh. “Okay. Good. Thanks for that.”
“Eric?”
“Yeah, Calem?”
“Dina never liked me, did she?”
This time he took the man’s shoulder without his claws coming out. The pat he gave the man was one of comfort and pity. “No, she didn’t. Not like you want her to. I’m sorry, Calem.”
Calem nodded, solemnly, only now really understanding how much she’d used him. “Dina’s bad. Real bad.”
“Yeah, she is.” He turned to his brothers. They were as ready as he was to find her. “Let’s go and get our mate.”
* * * *
Nick’s nerves were frayed. They’d found Livi’s campsite, but judging from the food still hanging in the trees, she hadn’t been there long. His brothers and he spread out, searching for tracks. He found a set of large wolf tracks, tracks that were too large for any wolf except that of a skinwalker, and whistled to his brothers.
“This way.”
They fell in line behind him as they pushed through the bushes and undergrowth of the forest. The longer they followed the tracks, the worse he felt.
Their mate had perseverance, that was sure. Not many people, especially humans, would’ve kept on trailing Calem that far.
If only they hadn’t run off from her at the ranch. Instead of chasing after what they had assumed was Dina, they could’ve stayed with Livi, explained what they were to her, and asked her to stay with them. Instead, they’d wound up miles away, having lost the trail, and returning to find the vet waiting for them. Livi had already been long gone by then.
He gnashed his teeth and picked up speed. Instead of running around the woods looking for her, they could be home in bed with her right now. Instead of running off on a fool’s errand—Dina had played them, too—they could’ve spent the night in bed with her instead of thinking that she’d gone home, probably angry at their dumping her again. They’d given her the night hoping that she’d cool off and be in a better mood for them to tell her that they wanted her for their mate.
How could they have known she’d get tricked into going into the woods? Dorrie had heard her moving around upstairs in her room, had assumed she was in for the night, but hadn’t seen her come out again and leave.
“Hurry, Nick.”
He growled at Tony. He was moving as fast as he could while following the tracks. They were all on edge. If they lost Livi, they wouldn’t have a reason to keep living.
He wasn’t sure how many miles they’d covered when the roar of a bear brought them to a panting stop. He lifted his nose, trying to pick up the bear’s scent, then shifted enough to bring out his sensitive hearing.
“It doesn’t mean that bear’s anywhere near her. Keep following the tracks,” whispered Eric.
He was right. They couldn’t go off half-cocked, chasing every animal noise they heard. Hopefully, the bear was a long way from wherever Livi was.
Another roar erupted not far from them. A scream followed right after.
“That’s her.”
Tony took off toward their left with Eric right behind him. Nick shoved the panic rising inside him away. If th
ey had any chance of helping her, they’d have to keep their cool. Bears were notoriously strong and ready to attack. A human, especially a woman, wouldn’t have a chance against a thousand-pound bear. If the bear was really a skinwalker taking a bear’s form, then it could be even bigger, stronger, and certainly smarter.
Ignoring the scratches the bushes gave him, Nick took the lead, his feet pounding the hard ground. Another roar had him turning back toward the left and then, all of a sudden, he was in the clearing.
“Shit.”
He’d half-hoped that the bear was a skinwalker or a were-bear. If so, they could’ve reasoned with him. But the bear prancing back and forth on its feet in front of Livi was a real bear.
Her face had lost most of its color and her body was stiff with terror. Yet he was relieved that she didn’t look injured. The bear hadn’t attacked her. Yet.
“Livi, we’re here.”
Her wide stare jerked toward them and then back to the bear. The bear craned its head around, then growled at them before spinning in a slow circle and coming back to Livi. She let out a little squeal, but stayed glued to the spot.
He motioned for his brothers to make room between them. They’d need the space if it came to a fight. “Listen, baby. Don’t run. Don’t move. No matter what happens, okay?”
She swallowed hard, her throat moving up and down. If he hadn’t had sensitive hearing, he wouldn’t have heard her whispered response.
“Please, help me.”
Chapter Ten
Livi wanted to laugh. Hysterically, uncontrollably, until she started crying.
Was every animal in the woods out to get her? First, she’d gotten lost following the white wolf, then she’d awakened with a snake on top of her. Now, she was facing down the angry snout of a huge brown bear.
If it weren’t for bad luck, she wouldn’t have any luck at all.
That was, until the Parker brothers showed up. She almost fainted with relief. But what could they do? They weren’t armed and she didn’t expect them to take on the bear empty-handed.
Yet when the men started jerking off their boots and clothing, she thought she must’ve gone crazy. She was hallucinating. Or dreaming again. That had to be it. Why else would they get naked while she was about to get torn in half by a wild animal?
The bear shook its body and snorted. Just a few more steps and he’d be right on top of her. She closed her eyes and said a quick prayer.
“Liv, look.”
She opened her eyes at Tony’s urging, then blinked and squinted. What she was seeing was impossible, lending more conviction to the I’m-going-crazy conclusion.
The Parker brothers’ bodies were blurred. Either her vision was going or something was happening to them. For the first time since the bear had lumbered into the clearing, she felt a different emotion than fear.
Wonderment filled her as her men, the men she loved, changed. Fur spread over their bodies, limbs twisted into odd angles while long, sharp fangs and claws burst out of their gums and fingers.
Within a minute, her men had transformed from sexy, hot human men to wolves. Huge, powerful wolves.
“Oh, my God.”
Nick shook his body, making his gray fur move in waves from his neck to his tail. He tilted his head at her then pulled back his gums to show his vicious fangs. Amber eyes met hers.
The white wolf beside him, the one that had once been Tony, crouched down, ready to throw his body on top of the animal. His eyes had remained the same green they’d always been, but the color had grown darker with more intensity in them.
Eric, in a wolf form that was slightly larger than his brothers’, was another pure white wolf. His blue eyes, just as Tony’s had done, had changed to a deeper, richer blue.
She wished she could reach her camera.
The bear roared at her whisper then spun around to face the wolves. Livi stumbled backward, her back hitting the same tree she’d slept under.
With growls and snarls, the wolves attacked the bear. The gray wolf lunged forward to snap at the bear’s hind leg. As though in a planned move, one of the white wolves darted in and out, drawing the bear’s attention as the other white wolf hurled its body on top of the bear’s back.
The beast let out a roar that sent the birds in the trees into flight and whirled around, trying to get free of the three sets of fangs and claws digging into his hide. Phlegm flew from its lips and nostrils as fear took over, driving it to do anything to rid itself of its attackers.
It shook its mighty body then reared up on its hind legs and growled a sound that rumbled out from deep inside its chest. The wolves kept attacking, driving forward to take a bite or rake a claw along the bear’s body, before dodging out of the way of its deadly paws.
She didn’t dare move, didn’t dare leave. Her men would need her if they came out of the battle alive.
The bear lifted onto its hind legs again, and just as the first white wolf hurled its body at it, the big animal lost its footing and fell backwards. Livi barely made it behind the trunk of the tree or she would’ve ended up crushed between the animal and the tree. The wolves jumped clear of the falling animal, formed a semi-circle and waited as it got back on its feet.
They could’ve attacked the underbelly of the beast, yet instead, they’d backed off. They were giving it a chance to get away.
The bear, realizing its chance, snarled, took one swipe of his paw that came nowhere near any of the wolves, then bounded out of the clearing. Its roar of pain and fury reverberated through the forest.
Livi edged around the side of the tree. The three wolves didn’t appear to be harmed. She couldn’t see any blood and they weren’t limping.
Wolves. And yet they weren’t really wolves.
These were the Parker brothers. She’d seen them change. If she didn’t believe her own eyes, she couldn’t believe anything.
“Change back.”
If she’d gone crazy, then she was talking to wolves that would attack her and tear her apart. If she was sane and what she’d seen was actually real, then she had to see them change again. Had to see it again to believe it.
The wolves’ bodies blurred just as the men’s bodies had done. Fur gave way to smooth human skin while fangs and claws vanished. They rose, pushing their hands off the ground to come to a standing position.
Once more, they were the men she’d grown to love.
Tony took a step toward her, and without thinking, she reacted, backing behind the tree for safety. The shock and pain on his face was all too clear.
“It’s us, Liv.”
She could see that it was. And yet her mind was having a difficult time understanding everything she’d seen. “I don’t believe it. I must’ve gone crazy spending the night in the woods.”
Eric strode toward her, but when she lifted her hands to ward him off, he stopped. “Livi, it’s still us.”
“Calm down, Eric.” Nick took his turn. “This isn’t the way we wanted to tell her about us.”
The fear that had controlled her earlier resurfaced as a mix of anger and confusion. “When were you going to tell me? Before we had sex? Oh, wait a minute.” She shot them all a look. “Too late for that, huh?”
“Liv, we know we should have, but—” Tony ran a hand through his hair. “Maybe it was wrong of us, but we wanted you to get to know us as men before we threw the truth of what we are at you.”
The action made his cock bob up and down, distracting her for a moment. “You should’ve told me.”
“And you would’ve understood? Is that what you’re telling us?”
Tony put a hand on Eric’s arm, warning him to stay calm. “Liv, baby, we know this is hard to take, but you’ve got to try.”
She shook her head, as much out of confusion as anger. “Do I? I can’t get my head around any of this. First the white wolf—” She glared at Eric, then Tony. “First one of you shows up and I get the photo. Then Dina trashes my room—”
“She did what?” Nick gaped at her.
“Why didn’t you tell us?”
“Seriously? You’re going to rag on me for not mentioning that when you had a secret that blows mine out of the water?”
“Look, Livi, this is what we are.” Eric crossed his arms, his expression intense and firm. “Tony and I are called skinwalkers. We can change into any animal we’ve seen in real life. We both change into a white wolf unless we think to do otherwise.”
“Holy shit. So it was you, or both of you, that I’ve seen?”
“Yes.”
“And you, Nick? Can you be a white wolf, too? Have I seen you before?”
“No. I’m not a skinwalker. I’m a werewolf .”
“I don’t get the difference.” She was astounded that she was having the conversation in the first place. And yet, the more they talked, the more she wanted to know. And the easier it was to believe them.
“A skinwalker is like a shapeshifter in that he can shift into an animal. A skinwalker can choose the form they want to take. They can change into birds, or bears”—his gaze dropped to the dead snake—“even snakes. I can only change into a gray wolf.”
Her head spun as she tried to keep it straight.
“Liv, there’s more we need to tell you.” Tony looked to his brothers, who both nodded their agreement.
“I’m not sure I can handle much more, but go on.”
“We love you.” Tony laughed. “I know that’s abrupt, but I don’t know how else to say it, except to come right out with it. Yeah, we love you.”
She’d wanted to hear them say the words. Had dreamed about it almost every night since their time at the pond. But now that she knew what they were, did she want them to say they loved her?
Her first impulse was to go with her heart. To tell them that she felt the same way. Yet a part of her, the part that was struggling to understand, couldn’t let her say the words.
They exchanged another telling look before Tony continued. “We know this is a lot to take in, but if you understand nothing else, know that. We love you and we want you to become our mate.”
“Your mate? As in becoming your wife? Or what? The alpha female of the pack?”
