Taken by the Berserkers: A Menage Shifter Romance

by Lee Savino

  I gulped. “Maddox told me that was certain death.”

  “A lone wolf is a dead wolf,” Ragnvald agreed. “But it will be justice deserved for attacking what is mine. As the pack comes under my control, any who threaten you, or seek to claim what is not theirs to claim, will answer to me.”

  “And me,” Maddox growled.

  “Honor will return to the pack. The warriors will fall in line, under threat of banishment,” Ragnvald said. “Until that day, we’ll be careful to watch over you, little witch.”

  “I didn’t run at first,” I told him, ignoring the intense looks they both were giving me. “I thought it was Maddox.”

  ‘My wolf is darker. True black.”

  “It’s not your fault, Sabine. I will lay down the rules. The stronger I am the more I can enforce them. As Alpha my control should be the best, and extend to the weaker members.”

  “If that is but one member of the pack, what of the others?” I had a horrible thought. “My sisters are with those men.”

  “Your sisters are safe.” Ragnvald soothed. “We do not keep them near the pack. Only the strongest members guard them.”

  “Besides, your sisters do not cycle with the moon as you do. When the heat is on you, your scent is a siren call,” Maddox said.

  I flushed.

  Ragnvald cleared his throat. “Muriel and Fleur are not in any danger. I give you my word. Which reminds me,” Ragnvald reached into his pouch, and handed me a floral crown made of vines braided together, one link of blue flowers and one with white. My twin sisters often made them for market. Muriel picked the vines, and Fleur did the weaving with her clever fingers.

  “Thank you,” I choked out. I brought the braid to my mouth and turned away, missing the twins so much I was dizzy. I felt relief that my sisters were safe, and amazement that fate would bring us to such a place, but no hate for my captors. Remembering the heat at my heels as the Berserker wolf attacked me, I searched for the hate, the censure, but it wasn’t there. Not anymore.

  That thought sent me reeling, and after I laid the braid down with my things, I covered my burning eyes.

  “Sabine?”

  My shoulders hunched even as gentle hands touched my hair.

  “You need never hide from us, Sabine.”

  I gasped in pain as the knot in my chest unravelled, my tears coming unbidden as if all the fear I’d been carrying could be washed away. Strong arms lifted and carried me to the bed, where Ragnvald held and rocked me, Maddox stroked my arm while I cried.

  “You’re so strong. You don’t need to be strong right now. Let us carry you a little while.”

  Covering my mouth so what I felt would not pour out, I untangled myself from their hold and sat on the bed. They hovered, stroking my back and hair.

  “You take care of us,” Ragnvald continued. “Can we take care of you? Can you trust us that far?”

  “I can’t. I made a vow, never to give in to a man.” I stared hard at the ground. “I want you more than I thought possible. And I wish I didn’t.” My hands fluttered uselessly. “It tears me in two. I hate myself for it.” I drew in a ragged breath, fighting for calm. “I wish I was made of stone.”

  “If you were you would not be who you are,” Ragnvald murmured. “You would not be able to heal us.”

  I bit my lip. Love was weakness. If I gave in to it, I’d be tied to them forever. There would be no more Sabine without Maddox or Ragnvald. I couldn’t risk it.

  Maddox knelt before me. “Do you know how the Berserkers came to be?”

  I blinked at the change of subject. “The witch turned them into warriors for the king.”

  “That’s how it was for most of the pack, but not all. Not me.” He held my hands and rested them in my lap as he told the story. “In my old country, Ériu, I was a prince set to be king. But I was proud. I believed my power came from ruling with a firm hand.

  “One winter’s night, an old woman came begging to my door, but instead of mercy, I sent her away. Three nights she came and asked for help. Three nights I spurned her request, thinking that indulging my serfs would make me look weak. The third night she shed her guise, and revealed herself to be a sorceress. Because I had not shown her mercy, she showed none to me. She cursed me with the tainted magic that left me a slavering beast. I became an outcast among my own people. If I could speak to my younger, proud self, I would tell him ‘Kindness and mercy does not make a person weak.’”

  “I can give you kindness and mercy, but…” A sob threatened to choke me.

  “That’s more than we deserve, after what we’ve done,” Maddox murmured. Raising a cloth, he dabbed at my tears. “Maybe that will be enough.”

  I cupped his face in my hands, my fingers brushing the scars and blue whorls marking the decades. He’d lost everything. If he hadn’t taken me, he’d have lost it again. There was no guile in his expression, just admiration, tenderness and something more.

  “I’m sorry the witch cursed you.”

  “I’m not. It brought me to you.” Turning his head, he kissed my palm. “And you are worth any pain.”

  I smiled, and his tongue turned teasing, nipping at my fingers.

  Ragnvald swept the hair from my neck and nuzzled the shoulder opposite to the one Maddox had marked. I whimpered as their touches brought forth my desire, an ocean of arousal sweeping me under.

  I spoke before I lost all good sense.

  “How can you say such a thing? Surely it would’ve been better to never have met me than to face decades of struggle and pain.”

  “Perhaps,” Maddox said. “But it was not to be.” His hands dropped to my ankles, sliding up my legs, pushing up my gown. “I’ve accepted my destiny, little witch. It is time you accepted yours.”

  “Enough talking,” Ragnvald spoke, but not to me. “We need to claim her. It is time.”

  Maddox came up on the bed and I pushed myself from Ragnvald’s lap to sit between them.

  “Claim me?” I turned my head to look at one, then the other.

  “It will give you our protection. Keep you safe when you face the pack again.”

  “But what--”

  “Shhh,” Maddox set a finger against my lips. “You want this. I watched you dance around the affections of the men in the village. You were tired of them and took none to your bed. Would you have us return you to them, to break your heat? Do not lie,” he added, with warning in his tone.

  “No. I don’t want them.”

  “Then you will stay,” Ragnvald said. “Because we will not allow you to leave.” He took one wrist and Maddox took the other, shackling me with rough hands and muscled arms as effectively as iron bonds.

  My blood hummed and the scent of my arousal was thick enough to choke on. They’d taken away my choice, and I felt free.

  “Now, brother, which of us should claim her first?” Ragnvald asked.

  “I’ll start, as I am the one who found and watched over her in the village, for moons and moons.” Maddox pulled me to face him, and cupped my cheek. “And what a fine hunt it was.” He kissed me and I kissed back, hungry, wanting. When he drew back he looked somber. “Today, in the woods, I could’ve lost you.”

  “No,” I whispered. “You were there. I knew you’d protect me.”

  He groaned. “Sabine. I do not deserve the trust in your eyes.”

  Pushing the tattooed warrior to his back, I reared up over him and I did what I’d wanted to do since I first saw his naked form framed in the wilderness. Setting my mouth on Maddox’s chest, I used my tongue to trace the lines and whorls of his tattoos. His muscles danced under my mouth as his breathing grew harsh. I flicked my tongue against one nipple.

  Maddox’s breath caught. “You will be the death of me.”

  “A good way to die,” Ragnvald said. He had his cock out and was slowly stroking its length as he watched us.

  Kissing down the broad plate of Maddox’s chest, I found the trail of dark hair leading between the hollow of his hips. He remained still
as if the ridges and plains of his abdomen were really carved from stone, but when my tongue ventured lower, he tensed as if in pain.

  I paused, raising my head.

  His rough hands cradled my head. “Don’t stop. Don’t ever stop.”

  I turned my head and kissed his palm.

  His hands were large, scarred, painted with bluish swirls under the coarse hair. They could lift a boulder, break iron bands, kill a man, but now they touched my temples and slid into my hair, drawing me back up over him and holding me still for his kiss.

  He took my mouth as if he breathed a century of pain into me, and I let him, opening my mouth, inviting. When the kiss ended he kept one hand fisted in my hair and pressed our foreheads together.

  “I’ve waited so long to touch you.” The words rasped out like they’d been stored deep inside him, where they would never see the light of day. “When I first saw you I didn’t think you were real.” He brushed away a few strands that had fallen out of my braid. “Hair like honey, skin like milk. You were at your stall in the market, surrounded by wreaths of herbs and flowers. I wanted to buy you, and hold you in the palm of my hand.”

  I kept still, hovering over him as his hand skated down my bare form, between my breasts, over my belly, to cup me between the legs. Two of his fingers entered me. His touch rippled through my body, and in that moment, he owned me. He was a god and I was his priestess, a willing sacrifice, ready to throw myself on the pyre. His fingers moved inside me and I was no longer a woman, but a flame dancing to his desire.

  With a grin, Maddox kept up the motion of his fingers until pleasure rippled through me. It made my insides prickle, an itch that could only be soothed by a hard cock inside me.

  In one moment, Maddox lay licking his fingers clean, in the next, I was flat on my back, breathless, my arms pinned on either side of my head.

  “Maddox.” My hips started to move. “I want--”

  “No, Sabine,” Ragnvald said. “You do not make demands. You are ours and you do as we want.”

  I whimpered.

  “Relax. Just be.” Muscles taut, Maddox lowered himself until his cock brushed my entrance. I fought to push up and accept it into my body, but he kept me pinned while he held himself over me. Slowly, eyes on mine, he rolled his hips, teasing my folds with his iron cock.

  Finally, I stopped struggling and relaxed under the warrior. My hands, captured in his, spread in supplication. “Please.”

  He kissed me, hard, and as his tongue breached my mouth, his cock thrust inside me. I accepted him deep into my body, a total claiming.

  Rolling, he positioned me on top, where his cock filled me further still. Bouncing up and down, I turned into a wanton wild thing.

  He popped out and I whined when he held my by the hips, refusing to set me back down on his cock.

  “See to my warrior brother first.”

  My head bowed back as Ragnvald tugged on my hair, positioning me on all fours in front of Maddox. My cunt spasmed, howling silently with longing, and my body stayed lax and pliant for the Alpha as he moved me where he wanted me to go. The tight pain on my scalp made me gush, my body recognizing its master.

  With a hand on the back of my neck, Ragnvald forced my head down and speared me from behind, beating into my haunches as I gripped the pelts. Maddox smiled as he watched Ragnvald take me, stroking his still hard cock. The sight sent pleasure pulsing through me.

  Gripping my hair, Ragnvald pulled me up off the bed, to my knees. His teeth found my shoulder and bit down.

  I cried out. Pain sparked a brushfire of pleasure and sent my orgasm roaring through me. The Alpha shouted as my rippling cunt milked him. For all his rough play, his hands, as he guided me back down to the bed, were gentle.

  I blinked up at Maddox. I’d settled between his legs, my cheek almost on his thigh. His cock stood up like a standard. As soon as my body wasn’t jelly, I crawled over and engulfed it with my mouth. Sucking until my cheeks hollowed and moans vibrated through me, I made him cum with a shout, then sat back, satisfied. Seed trickled from my lips and spilled from my folds.

  Staring at the two men, I licked my lips slowly.

  “Again?”

  *

  The moon shone down on us and lit the way to morning. We rose and crested together on the pelts, again and again, as the two warriors broke my heat and the goddess’ spell upon me. My body moved between their bodies, one marked and the other pure, filled with the goddess’ own power. Waves of desire crashed through me, beating at my core, washing away all my walls and battlements. The roar of my orgasm overwhelmed me, bowed me back, but my lovers held me, kept my body safe while my thoughts seared through the sky like a shooting star.

  When I came down, they cradled and rocked me.

  *

  Upon waking midmorning, Ragnvald gave me a swift kiss and left to meet with the pack. Maddox stayed, whistling as he stacked wood near our fire. I waited until his back was turned, then crouched down with a wet cloth to wipe down my legs and the tender folds between my legs. I had a few bruises, I noted with satisfaction, and my sex was sore and puffy. The cool water felt good.

  A shadow fell over me, and I hastily rose and tossed the cloth away. “What’s this, Sabine? Still shy around your lovers?”

  “I am not your lover, wolf,” I straightened my gown.

  His astonished pause almost made me laugh. “What of last night?”

  “That was lust,” I told him haughtily.

  The shock fled, leaving a wicked smirk. I backed away as he stalked me.

  “Was it lust when you tackled me when I tried to leave the bed? Lust when you screamed my name and made me promise to remain inside you forever? You marked me.” He turned and showed me raw scratches on his back.

  “I’m sorry--”

  “I’m not.” He stilled. “Do you regret what we did, Sabine?”

  “No, no,” I said impatiently. “I enjoyed it. I allowed it.”

  Maddox crowded closer, frowning. “That’s not what I asked.”

  I snatched up a pelt and clutched it to my front. “While the sun is high I’m going to air these.”

  Maddox tugged the fur before I could rush away. “Sabine. Tell me what’s wrong.”

  “Nothing’s wrong. You’re just making last night into something more than it is.” I called up my annoyance. “Now leave me be.”

  He let me go, but a harsh order made me halt. “Remember the rules, Sabine. No lying.”

  “I am not lying. Last night, I wanted you, you wanted me, and we enjoyed ourselves.”

  “And?”

  “And...nothing .What is there left to say? You took my body--” I blushed, “many times. I am grateful. The heat settles after the full moon, but when I abstain, the desire never fully goes away.”

  “And now? Is the desire gone?”

  I paused. The moon lust was gone, but now a warmer, softer feeling pulsed through me. “The estrous has ended. I am replete.”

  His voice dropped to a deep rumble I felt in the cradle of my hips. “Do you remember at the beginning? We vowed we would claim you.”

  “I remember. As I said, you took nothing I wasn’t willing to give.”

  “That’s not how claiming works.”

  “How does it work then, wolf?”

  A broad grin. “I would tell you. But it will be more fun to show you.”

  I all but threw my hands up in the air. “Fine.”

  Maddox went on chuckling. “I’ll tell Ragnvald you don’t believe you belong to us when he returns.”

  “I don’t belong to you.”

  His grin only got wider. “Oh yes,” he said. “This is going to be fun.”

  *

  But when Ragnvald returned, they spoke only of the well being of the pack. I listened with interest.

  “Gunnr’s warrior brothers took him on a long scouting mission. They’ll watch the border. The beast will be happy to take out its frustration on any unwelcome intruders, and if it does break free, they’ll be
far from any temptation.”

  “What is a warrior brother?” I asked.

  “Warriors in the pack who share a closer bond. We’re all tied together, as you guessed, but some closer than others. As Alpha, I can sense anyone in the pack, pull strength from the many to aid the few.”

  “How does the brother bond form?”

  “Pack magic does what it will,” Ragnvald shrugged.

  “I know how ours formed,” Maddox said. “I saved Ragnvald’s life, and he saved mine. The bond between us grew stronger after that.”

  “Did the beast weaken it?”

  “Only because I let it,” Ragnvald said. “If I slipped into madness, I didn’t want to drag Maddox down with me. So I let the beast gnaw and fray it.”

  “I would that you hadn’t,” Maddox said quietly. “I might have helped you for longer, if our bond had remained strong.” Silence stretched between them, full of untold pain.

  “Can it be repaired?” I kept my voice brisk.

  “It can,” Maddox answered in a happier tone. “It already has been. The bond allows two dominant wolves to work together, rather than fighting. It’s how we can lead the pack as equals, and share a woman.”

  “Not just share her. Mate with her,” Ragnvald said. Before he could say more, I interrupted.

  “Looks like rain is coming. Can you take me to the stream before it falls? I’d like to gather more soapwort before a frost.”

  Amused, the Alpha agreed. I ignored Maddox’s chuckling.

  *

  That afternoon, a heavy rain kept us inside. I busied myself organizing my herbs, while Maddox honed a blade and Ragnvald stared at the fire, the intensity of his gaze telling me he was deep in his head. Probably repairing the pack bond even though he looked like he was doing nothing at all.

  The memory of our lovemaking lingered. The men had their own way of not letting me forget it--a brush of a hand, a gentle tug of my hair as I moved past them to the fire, a million little touches that sent my body humming. They’d bound me again, this time without a chain. They’d shackled my thoughts to them, and even if they let me go, I would never be the same again.