Defenders_Sons of Olympus_Reverse Harem Romance

by Helen J Perry

  In silence, Uncle Joe did as he’d said. The blade of the knife sank easily into the fish, and in a few seconds, he set the head aside.

  “Then you want to get rid of the tail. That one’s easy. You slice down where the tail meets the body. Done.” The knife came down, and Uncle Joe moved the tail aside. Only the meat of the fish remained—the gift.

  Lauren bit her bottom lip, far more flustered than she had any right to be. She didn’t even care for fish all that much, did she?

  Her soul corrected her. She did like it. She always had, even if she’d shied away from it before.

  “Once you’ve got your fish prepared, you’re going to want to get your knife behind the gill cover. That’s, uh, well, that’s the flap of skin protecting the gills, near where we cut the head. It’s usually a little stiff. You want to lift it away from the body and cut downward until you hit the backbone. You’re gonna run the knife along the rib cage and separate the meat from the ribs.”

  Effortlessly, Uncle Joe let the blade do the work.

  Lauren watched, only partially interested in the process. Her mind wandered, daydreaming about the men who’d left the fish for them. The providers. The hunters.

  The hunters.

  The Hunters. It fit them. A pack of trained dogs, an urge to provide, and a protective streak. The Hunters sought justice; they’d tracked down Odelia and her buddies to make them pay for their crimes. It all came together clearly making sense in Lauren’s mind. The men were hunters in every sense of the word.

  The distracting thoughts she entertained about the guys affected her physically. Her temperature rose and her face flushed. She hoped her uncle wouldn’t notice.

  “You’re going to continue this all the way down by the fish’s vent, and once you’re there, you pull the fillet back from the rib cage. Easy, right?” Uncle Joe separated the fillet from the rib cage and set it aside. “You repeat with the other side until you have two fillets. We’ll have more than enough to feed us for a few days with this amount of fish. It looks like your friend Kevin did a good job out there. Wonder what kind of lures he uses.”

  “I’ll let you know if I find out,” Lauren said. “Do you think the fish will be good?”

  “It’s fresh, that’s for sure.” Uncle Joe started on the second fish, dividing it into two fillets. When finished, he discarded the refuse and washed his hands. “You want to see how to debone ’em, too? It’s a little more nuanced than getting the meat off the bones. I think you’d be good at it—you’ve got a good eye for detail.”

  “All right. What do we need to do?”

  “We’ve got to get some needle-nosed pliers, for one,” Uncle Joe said. “Wait here for a second while I go grab some. It’s been a while since the last time I filleted a fish, but I’ve still got some food-prep-specific pliers hanging around somewhere.”

  He left the kitchen, presumably for his fishing box. While he did, Lauren stood by the counter and looked out the kitchen window across the backyard.

  If the Hunters knew where she lived, did that mean they’d spied on Lauren and her family? The back door was close, barely an arm’s distance away. With a simple turn of the knob, Lauren could be outside and across the lawn, and from there.

  From there, what?

  She shook her head, clearing away her wild thoughts of escape. She’d do well to stay in the house while she figured things out and saw what tomorrow brought with it. Not only did she know nothing about the guys, except their names, but she also had no way of knowing if the men meant her well.

  Gifts didn’t automatically make a good person. It could be a trap, Lauren told herself, even though her heart didn’t believe it.

  “Found them,” Uncle Joe said. He returned to the counter with two pairs of pliers in hand, handing one pair to Lauren. “Now, what we’re looking for are pin bones. What you can do is run your knife against the grain of the fish, and you’ll sometimes see them poking out. We need to go in with our pliers and pull them out. It can be easier if you skin the fish first, but in this case, I want to cook with it, so we’ll leave it on.”

  “Oh.” Lauren glanced down at the fillet. The tiny pin bones were little more than white pinpricks against pink flesh. She watched as Uncle Joe pulled the first one free, then nodded and set to work. They pulled the remaining bones in silence.

  For now, she’d wait and bide her time. It didn’t matter what the guys made her feel, or how many gifts they sent. Lauren decided on caution.

  That night, she fried the fish with Uncle Joe and ate the tasty dinner at the family table, but now and then, she turned her gaze to the window. As her mind fixated on the mysterious men, Lauren wondered if the Hunters also thought about her.

  Bedtime couldn’t come soon enough; all Lauren wanted to do was hide away in her room without risk of being disturbed. Finally, she escaped to her room and turned on some music low enough that it wouldn’t keep others from sleeping, but it would mask any noise she might make.

  She had the time and the privacy required to turn her thoughts to remembering and wondering about the naked men who sat on a bed with her. About her first kiss and what might have been. What there could be in the future between them.

  How it would feel to kiss and take things further. Much further.

  What it might feel like to touch the men in the way Lauren wanted.

  Lauren imagined herself back there in the cabin among the dogs and blankets, but this time she’d bravely reach out to Jasper and Zander.

  What would it be like to hold Zander's cock? To suck it and fuck it with that metal in it? She'd seen it flaccid, what would it be like when erect? Greg's nipple rings looked interesting. She'd like to find out more about those too.

  As she thought about her men, she ran two fingers along her slit from the entrance to the tip of her clit.

  Lauren’s body ached for contact. She’d kept her desires hidden, but now, in her mind, she freed her fantasies. Her hand moved between her legs and slipped back and forth over her slippery aroused sex. All the while, she imagined she was in the hands of the strangers.

  After waiting so long and thinking about the men so much through the day, the release came soon. Lauren’s toes curled, her stomach contracted, she jerked forward. Heat ripped through her, in a blinding momentary loss of focus, loss of control.

  There for a moment, Lauren returned to the dwelling.

  To the mountain and the men.

  So needed and so good.

  What would it be like with them for real?

  With thoughts of the men and what might be, Lauren fell asleep.

  The next morning brought glorious sunshine streaming through the thin fabric at her bedroom window. Lauren awoke in her bed and stretched out, savoring the comfort of her mattress and the warmth of her sheets before she rose and showered. Today was the day to start landscaping work for old Mrs. Nohart.

  Of course, her job at the grocery store gave her a lot of hours but she'd attempted to fill all her waking hours with paid work and there was always extra money to be made in the summer.

  Lauren dressed, grabbed a quick breakfast of orange juice and toast in the kitchen, and headed out the door. Aunt Lori still slept, and Uncle Joe had gone to work. As she carefully closed the front door, something out of place caught Lauren’s eye.

  A brown leather pouch sat on the swinging porch bench. Lauren glanced from side to side, locked the door behind her, and went to investigate.

  The imperfect stitching of the attractive, handmade pouch added to its unique beauty. A beautiful wooden button secured the front flap. Lauren opened it. White silk lined the inside, but it was otherwise empty.

  More striking was its subtle scent. It smelled of leather, of course, and burning wood, and warm fur. It smelled altogether of the hut she’d bunked in that night.

  Heart skipping a beat, she re-buttoned it and slung it over her shoulder. In her heart, she knew one of those men had left this gift for her. No one else would leave something like this.


  A small, pleased smile stretched Lauren’s lips. She left the porch, glanced around one more time to make sure the Hunters weren’t waiting for her, then made her way to Mrs. Nohart’s house. No matter who wooed her, or what it meant to be wooed by them; she had a job to do. Lauren wouldn’t let Mrs. Nohart down.

  CHAPTER SEVEN

  Located on an expensive piece of real estate on the better side of Beaumont, Mrs. Nohart lived in an old, Antebellum-styled monument to how Beaumont had once been before modern times. The house was pretty…in an old-world kind of way.

  She crossed the property, noticing that the flower beds were freshly dug and the grass neatly mowed. That was odd, considering she’d arrived today to do the job. Maybe one of Mrs. Nohart’s children had stopped by to help out. With a property as large as hers, there was always plenty to do.

  Beneath the shade of the covered porch, she found a reprieve from the sun; it would be hard working outdoors under the scorching sun. Lauren rang the bell. The heat that baked the shoulders of her t-shirt began to lift. She stood a little straighter as. Mrs. Nohart opened the door and looked out at her, confused. “Lauren?”

  “Hello, Mrs. Nohart. I’m here to start work on your yard. Where would you like me to begin?”

  “Oh. Oh dear.” The old lady sighed. “I asked Sally to call you, but I guess she didn’t.”

  She must’ve meant Sally Nohart, Mrs. Nohart’s granddaughter, a sophomore at the high school. Lauren only knew her by sight, not as a friend.

  “Sally came around to ask if I had any work for her this summer, and so I gave the job to her. I’m sorry, Lauren. I’d asked her to make sure she got in touch with you. The next time she’s over, she’ll get an earful. It isn’t right to let you walk all this way for nothing.”

  A constriction formed in Lauren’s throat. She avoided speaking and simply nodded. She’d been counting on this job.

  She needed funds to leave Beaumont and go to college, and there were precious few opportunities for a young woman with little by way of experience or qualifications. She had her job at the grocery store, but she wanted a second job and even a third to help her gain security and independence.

  As Odelia knew she worked at the grocery store Lauren didn’t want to go back there, but quitting work wasn't an option. Lauren feared Odelia would lurk in the aisles, seeking to cause trouble, as soon as she’d recovered from her injuries.

  “Do you want some lemonade?” Mrs. Nohart asked. “It’s the least I can do since you came out all this way.”

  “No, thank you.” Lauren swallowed and coughed to clear her throat, but when she spoke, her voice still sounded strained. “But thank you for the offer. I should go.”

  “I’m sorry, dear. If I hear anyone else is looking for a hand, I’ll call you.”

  “Thank you.”

  “You take care now. Goodbye.”

  The door closed. Lauren stared at it for a second, suppressing her crippling disappointment, before turning and heading back across the property. Summer was suddenly blown wide open.

  Disappointment and shock turned to anger as she reached the road and headed back toward town.

  Mrs. Nohart must’ve known giving away her job would be devastating. Lauren understood she wanted to look out for her own family, but she also could have reached out to her with the bad news instead of leaving it to her granddaughter.

  She had no right to expect Sally to deliver the crushing news, anyhow. The old lady had strung her along and yanked the rug out from under her at the last moment.

  Now that high school and college were over for the summer, most likely students had already filled all the flexible summer positions and part-time jobs in the area. Lauren suddenly had a parcel of spare time that she hadn't expected.

  She owed an explanation as to why she never showed up at Jade’s place the other night; Lauren still hadn’t sent more than the vaguest of text messages. It would be good to see her friend, celebrate their future summer together before Jade returned to college, and tell her about what happened after graduation. Lauren could imagine telling Jade about the Hunters, Jasper, Zander, and Greg. She'd love that story, and it would be great to talk to someone.

  Or, first, she might attempt to discover more about the dudes so she’d have something more substantial to tell.

  Changing her course, Lauren cut across town to head for the high school, navigating the familiar streets. From the football field, she headed into the woods, following an approximation of the path Odelia and her gang had taken. It seemed the easiest way to find the thick, dark section of the forest with the old, gnarled trees and the swirling fog.

  She kept her eye on the sun and stayed more or less on a straight path. Odelia and the gang hadn’t veered much—it should’ve been a direct line from the perimeter of the sports field to the place where Lauren had been shackled. As minutes turned into hours, she came up short.

  Lauren couldn’t find anything like where she’d been tied or where she’d awoken. The woods lacked ancient gnarled trees and swirling mist. There wasn’t a hint of rope anywhere. The hut had disappeared, too. Even the tree stump she’d woken up next to was gone. That part of the forest had completely vanished.

  Discouraged, she dropped to the ground and leaned against a young tree, folding her knees against her chest. So what? The Hunters were able to track her down and leave gifts, but she couldn’t find a trace of them when she wanted to talk?

  Or had the guys decided that they were done now they’d had some fun, and they weren’t interested in Lauren anymore?

  The thought distressed Lauren far more than it should have. The strangers meant next to nothing to her, but the kiss she’d shared haunted Lauren’s memory, and the way the men had made her feel whole for the first time in her life ate at her like an addiction.

  Hypersensitive and reading too much into everything, Lauren realized she was on what people might describe as an emotional rollercoaster. The peaks and troughs were coming together fast.

  Why couldn’t they meet where and when she wanted?

  Did it have to be on their whim, and not her own, that they’d meet?

  Lauren sank her heel into the dirt and grimaced. Was the summer ahead going to be all like this? What about her entire life? Promising paths leading to disappointments? False starts?

  She groaned out loud and let her head fall back against the tree. It looked like she had no option but to head back into town, cope with her disappointment, and go tell Jade.

  If she wanted to get out of Beaumont all together, she should look for more part-time work too. She’d been crazy to prioritize finding three mystery guys in a hut in the woods over finding work. It wasn’t like they could offer her a high-paying executive job, or pay for her bus ticket to Anywhere-But-Here.

  “Pull yourself together and get over yourself,” Lauren commanded, deciding it was time to give herself a stern talking to. “They're not here, you shouldn’t expect them to be here. If they lived here, you'd have seen them in Beaumont before. And really, you shouldn’t be here, either. You had a plan. Why aren’t you sticking to it?” And then she added with a smile, “And please stop talking to yourself, one day someone will hear.”

  Running her hands through her hair, pulling it back from her forehead, Lauren sighed.

  Up until yesterday, the future had been clear-cut and crisp. Save money, leave Beaumont, go to college. Do amazing things to change the world. Now it was muddied and confused. All for what—a kiss? A feeling?

  She wasn't even sure what she felt. An amazing connection with Jasper, a fascination to Zander's dick, and a vague attraction to Greg.

  She hadn't touched Greg or gotten close to him or seen his cock. Perhaps she’d be stuck on him too if she’d seen him in all his glory. She shuddered. She hoped she wasn’t so shallow. If anyone asked she absolutely deny her interest in the guys was due to having seen their dicks without touching them.

  There had to be another reason.

  Jasper had shown such affection.
It felt as if he knew her and loved her.

  Zander had been, well, familiar. He talked to her like she was an old friend. Like as if she were one of the four of them and he cared about them all.

  Greg had showed a different type of caring. He'd gone out to get water.

  It was weird that though they were all strangers to her, she sensed they viewed her as one of them.

  And they weren’t even human, as far as Lauren could tell. They looked like men, and in many ways acted like men. To describe them as magical beings and not of this world seemed credible enough at the time, but crazy in daylight.

  Lauren groaned. She had to be losing her mind. Seeing things that didn’t exist, assuming random objects were gifts from supernatural beings, casting aside her life for a fantasy…

  Yep. Insanity. She’d made it this far and had finally broke. What Odelia did to her the night before last must’ve ruined her.

  Great.

  About to pick herself up and work her way out of the forest, Lauren stopped instead, remaining still and quiet. She’d heard a noise, delicate and high-pitched and from an animal. The noise happened again, this time accompanied by the crunch of dried leaves. Lauren blinked, stood, and then made her way toward the sound.

  No more than six feet away, she found a puppy behind a dying bush.

  White and gray fur, still downy from youth, puffed out around the young creature and added the appearance of mass. It’s small, triangular ears were perky, and its long tail was straight and puffy. It laid among the dried leaves behind the bush and looked up at her, small, eyes boring into Lauren’s. Around its pupils, a ring of green radiated outward, matching Lauren’s heterochromatic eye.

  The creature rolled over to show off her belly curling its paws. Lauren sucked in a breath and dropped to her knees, instantly smitten.

  “Oh my god,” Lauren murmured. Heart in her throat, she stroked the soft fur of the pup’s stomach. Around the dog’s neck was a leather collar; it matched the pouch at her side, secured with a hauntingly familiar wood button. “You’re from the Hunters, aren’t you? You’re the same breed as those dogs I saw.”