by Dace Everan
Cole’s Mates
Colette Mills takes one night to fulfill her curiosities. One night that turns her world into a living hell. Captured, tortured, and finally escaped she now has to relearn how to take life on, not only as a damaged woman but a werewolf to boot.
Rendell Juniper doesn’t see a damaged woman. He sees strength and his mate. But he feels the longing for his long-time lover Jaron Stokes pulling him just as strongly. It is time to take his mates. It is time, Cole claims her mates!
Genre: Contemporary, Ménage a Trois/Quatre, Paranormal, Vampires/Werewolves
Length: 42,729 words
COLE’S MATES
Dace Everan
MENAGE AMOUR
Siren Publishing, Inc.
www.SirenPublishing.com
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A SIREN PUBLISHING BOOK
IMPRINT: Ménage Amour
COLE’S MATES
Copyright © 2013 by Dace Everan
E-book ISBN: 978-1-62740-983-4
First E-book Publication: December 2013
Cover design by Harris Channing
All art and logo copyright © 2013 by Siren Publishing, Inc.
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED: This literary work may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, including electronic or photographic reproduction, in whole or in part, without express written permission.
All characters and events in this book are fictitious. Any resemblance to actual persons living or dead is strictly coincidental.
PUBLISHER
Siren Publishing, Inc.
www.SirenPublishing.com
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DEDICATION
Thank you to my readers and the great staff at Siren! You all rock! A special shout out to my honey bunchers. XOXO
Table of Contents
Title Page
Copyright Page
Dedication
Prologue
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Eighteen
About the Author
COLE’S MATES
DACE EVERAN
Copyright © 2013
Prologue
Lane narrowed his blue eyes, protecting them from the frigid winds. Snow blistered all around him. His head turned to the left and he listened. He was sure he heard something. What the hell? He perched lower and lifted one side of his toque listening, differentiating between the howling winds and whispering through the dense trees. A wolf howled in the distance. His primal instincts kicked in. He lifted his nose to the air and took a deep whiff. The scent of female filled his nostrils and he listened more intently.
There it was! A woman, softly whimpering, somewhere out here in this cold.
He headed south. The snow crunched beneath his boots, and then he saw her. A fricken’ woman hugging a tree, forehead pressed against the bark. The black shawl wrapped around her bony shoulders was not what one should be wearing in this weather.
“Help me…please help me…not supposed to be here,” she continued to repeat. “No more, can’t do no more. Please no more…begging you,” she cried. Her fingers were an icy blue. The shawl covered a ratty-looking shirt that had rips in it. Long, sheer pants covered her skinny legs and satin slippers covered her feet.
Lane crouched down next to her and she must have seen him because the scream that exploded from her certainly scared any wildlife in the area. Her blue eyes went wild and she gripped the tree closer and screamed harder.
Lane shushed her, tried to ease her. A cold chill reared down his spine as she released a horrific scream. He reached out and her screams intensified. He halted, and within seconds she lost her voice and consciousness.
* * * *
Lane sipped his coffee, the fire crackled, and he glanced over his shoulder as the door opened and the cold wind blew in. He gave a nod of greeting to Theo as he stomped in, his big frame filling the doorway.
“Heard some ruckus out there tonight,” he greeted Lane, gripping his fur cap, slamming the door, eyes widening at the woman lying on his couch. “Okay, that would be the ruckus I heard,” he mumbled, stripping out of his winter gear, a questioning look going from Lane to the woman lying on their couch.
Lane nodded. He’d expected surprise from his lover. “Was out checking my snares and heard her. What the hell is she doing way out here?” he asked. No one ever came out this far. It was the reason they had claimed the area of the mountain. They yearned for complete solitude as even a small town could get too loud for him and Theo.
Theo shook his head. “Caught sight of some climbers, rich ones, lots of baggage.” He shrugged, crossing to the couch, inspecting the woman. “Tiny nose,” he commented.
Lane nodded. She was a pretty little thing from what he had seen. Long black hair framed a pale angelic face. He’d discovered the dark circles on her face were bruises healing. His inner wolf clawed to come out and hunt the people who had done this to her. “Healthy lungs,” he offered back. A wave of sadness filled him. Poor woman had been through hell and he was complaining about having to listen to her scream as he cleaned her up. Not only sadness, but shame filled him.
Theo nodded, looking her over. “You washed her up?”
Lane nodded. It was a night he would prefer not to ever relive. “Rough night…screamed the entire time. Headache the size of the heavens,” he explained, rubbing hi
s temples, not only from the headache but from the horrors he had just witnessed.
Theo nodded, glancing around. No extra snowsuit. She was in one of Lane’s shirts. His brow furrowed. “Where’s her stuff? If the snow lets up we can take her to the pass and hand her to the watchtower.”
Lane shook his head. “I don’t think she’s in any shape to go anywhere just yet. She has frostbite on her toes.” Lane lifted the blankets, cringing for what seemed the millionth time, to reveal massive frostbite. She would lose at least three toes on each. “Her hands are in okay shape. Should be able to salvage those.” He shook his head. The lacerations he was about to show, Theo would recognize, he was sure. “Someone tortured her…whip, flogger?” He shrugged. “You would recognize the marks better than I, Theo.”
Theo grunted, gently pulling the blanket back. Her legs had definitely taken a whipping. “You gave her something?” he asked, draping the blanket back on her and crossing to the little kitchen of their cabin.
Lane grunted. “Yeah, she was bleeding. Rambling, ‘No babies, kill me, no babies’? Fuck, I didn’t even know what the hell to do with that. Gave her a shot of morphine, finished cleaning her up, and did a thorough on her. Wished you were here for that. I feel fucking violated,” he grumbled. If anyone should feel violated, it should be her, not him. Never had he had to touch a woman like that. Never in his life had he seen such horrors. Not like this. Lane thought to himself.
Theo bent over, cupping Lane’s chin, lips whispering over his. “You did good, Lane. What did you find?” he asked, settling next to him. Lane leaned forward, lifting the towel off the coffee table, revealing an anal plug, a clit clip, and a fricken’ dildo.
Theo furrowed his brows, glancing at Lane. “You found these on her?” he whispered.
Lane snorted. “In her, on her. She was bleeding heavily. She kept on mumbling, ‘No babies, it hurts.’ I didn’t understand.” He released a strained breath. “I put her in the shower after her body warmed up and…as soon as I removed that thing”—he pointed at the dildo—“she just bled. And I don’t mean drip, drip. I mean she fricken’ gushed. Why in the hell, if it was hurting her, would she keep it in?”
Theo grunted, tossing the dildo back on the table. He knelt in front of the woman and touched her forehead. “She had no fever? Wasn’t feeling sick?”
Lane shook his head. He was no doctor. Shit, he’d never had to ever take care of anyone sick in his entire life. But he was sure she had no fever. “Nope, just kept on talking about no babies. She wouldn’t look at me. Has an odd accent. I think she’s from Canada?” They weren’t far from Canada, but what the hell was she doing down here?
Theo glanced at her. “Told you, you should have gone with me in the spring. It was a good show. You would have picked up if she was from the north,” he offered. He had been up there in the spring for a kink show. Theo had done a tour through British Columbia to Alberta and then he had to head back home for real work. He had looked into some land in Alberta. There were some pretty nice areas on the west side of that province.
Lane scoffed. “Look, we probably have an hour of rest before she wakes up. If she wakes up, after all the screaming she did. Shit, I wouldn’t be surprised if she slept for a few days. Should we wake her and give her some food?” Concern covered his face. He didn’t know what to do. Theo would, and Theo always knew how to handle any dilemma thrown at them.
Theo shook his head. “We’ll wait till morning. Keep an eye on her in the night. Move the cot out.” He rose to his feet, tugging on Lane’s dark hair. “Going to shower.”
Lane nodded. “Yeah, be out here watching her,” he replied, reclining back. His gaze fell on the paraphernalia on the coffee table and he cringed. He shifted forward and laid the towel over the bits and pieces, disgust filling him. He cringed. However, would anyone do something like that to a woman? To a shifter. She was shifter. He could smell it. Why was she not healing like he and Theo would if they were injured? His gaze dropped to her face. Was she aware of what she was? He’d heard of the ones that had been hidden from their roots. The ones that didn’t use their full capabilities. Morphing, feeding, and even mating. The select few whose parents had left their pack and struck out on their own. It was a lonely place and most didn’t survive long. Their children were unaware of who or what they really were. Was she one of these select few who was in remission? Unaware of her capabilities? You don’t use your morphing, it just doesn’t happen and you stay in a remission of sorts. His nose scrunched. He and Theo could help her reawaken, or in her case, awaken her wolf. Help her understand what she was and how to handle herself.
* * * *
Cole awoke in a sweat. She quivered, a whimper escaping her. She covered her mouth with her hand, shaking her head. She had to be quiet. They would know she was awake. Why would she not learn?
“Shh, it’s okay, little one. You’re safe,” whispered a husky voice. Cole didn’t know this voice. Another stranger, a new member to whatever sick club she had been stolen into. She went still, breath held. They would leave her alone if she didn’t respond. They only wanted the fighters, the ones that struggled and screamed and tried to run.
“Open your eyes, little one…I need to see if you’re okay.”
Cole shook her head, cringing. She shouldn’t have done that. He was going to hurt her now. They always played nice, talked calm, and tried to soothe her. Her stomach churned, and then the bad things would happen. The horrible, painful, shame-filling acts that they would do to her, make her do.
“Come on, little one, no one here is going to hurt you,” assured the husky voice.
She shook her head, defeat filling her. She would never win. They had her and she would never escape. How many times she had dreamed of returning home, returning to that fateful day and not going to the city, but staying home where she would be safe. Her life force was slowly drained from her, and that blank numb place slowly filled her. Maybe this time they would kill her? Use her too hard like the one time. She slowly opened her eyes to face the hell she had brought on herself and choked. This wasn’t the Lord. This man with long blond hair smiled, and his eyes. His eyes lit with a life force that made her tear up. Concern and friendliness filled these eyes.
“That’s it, little one, you’re safe here. Lane found you and brought you here. We need to know your name.”
Cole shook her head. Her hand covered her mouth more fiercely, her eyes widening. It was a trick! Had to be. The new ones were always nice, smiling, but the eyes. His eyes told her something else altogether. Could she trust him? Oh goodness, her hands trembled and her stomach knotted. Hot tears rolled down her face, she sniffled, her nose tickled by the woodsy scent that filled her nostrils. Clean woodsy, not the urine, the sex, the blood she had spent…Her mind screamed. How long had she smelled that putrid stench of dirtiness on her?
Theo shushed her, leaning back. “Lane, will you bring me some water please?”
Cole looked up and saw the man who had made her bath. She cringed, curling up into a ball. She remembered his big hands on her, touching her. She shook her head as it filled with confusion. He had whispered to her, stayed calm, and touched her softly. She sobbed at the whirlwind of confusion, shame, and hurt that filled her. He had been kind to her. Why? Where these her new owners? Where they just making her better for their use? She curled into a tighter ball, whimpering at the burn in her feet.
“That’s Lane. He found you in the woods. You were freezing…He brought you back here and cleaned you up.”
Cole cringed, eyes closing. He had seen her shame, pitied her. He had to have. Who wouldn’t pity the used up woman? He had touched her, had seen all the blood. He had removed…She looked at him, her hand leaving her mouth. She gagged, unable to stop the fluid from spurting from her mouth.
Theo quickly grabbed the bucket Lane had at least thought to put in front of her.
Cole heaved and heaved till she had no more to empty into the bucket. Theo whispered to her, told her to relax, rubbe
d her back, and tried to calm her. Lane handed over the glass of water. “Here, hon, drink. Your throat must be parched,” he coaxed.
Cole shook her head, eyes darting frantically between the two men. She scooted back into the couch, trying to get away from the two of them. Were they trying to make her all better for their own selfish sexual needs? They had to. No man was this nice for no reason. Not the men she had been taken to.
Theo looked over his shoulder at Lane. “How’d you get her to bathe?” he asked. This woman was terrified. He hadn’t ever seen a woman so scared. How had his man managed to handle bathing her? It wasn’t in Lane to handle something like that. It would have torn him apart to have to do that.
Lane shrugged. “I made her.” He knelt down in front of Cole. “I’m going to hold your hands and Theo’s going to give you a drink…Can you be a good girl and drink for Theo?” he purred, taking hold of her shaking hands.
Cole bit her lips closed, shaking her head. Terror filled her eyes and she trembled uncontrollably. This was it. He would pull her off the couch and shove her to the hard floor and the terror would start again.
Lane easily held her hands in one of his. “It’s okay, hon, just water, nothing else,” he assured, glancing at Theo. “See, even Theo will take a drink.” Theo did so, nodding to her, assuring it was no more than water.
Cole looked at the two, her gaze darting around the cabin. What where they doing? Why was he testing the water? Where was she? Why was she not in the cave? Where were the others?
“You’re at our hunting cabin,” Lane explained, taking the water from Theo. “Theo and I come up here every winter. It’s our getaway from the chaos of the world,” he clarified, holding the glass to her lips. He tilted the glass and slowly she drank. “That’s a good girl…Snow’s falling heavy now. We will have to wait to take you to the watchtower.” He pulled the glass away and gave her a moment to just look.
