“That makes sense since you’re mountain lion shifters.”
“Except that we haven’t been near the north fence in animal form and we have a few calves missing ourselves.”
“So what kind of evidence did he find?”
“A pool of blood. Whatever killed those sheep didn’t stick around to eat them, just drag them on our property.”
“Are you sure it wasn’t your vampire?”
Paige stood at that insult. “I found them, alright, but they were already dead.”
Annabelle leaned over the podium. “I’ve yet to remember any vampire that could be trusted. Word is that you turned a human on your ranch.”
Paige dropped back to her seat. “I’m not sure where you heard that rumor from, but what are we here to discuss? I’m quite sure it’s not me.”
“Well, it seems someone is going to the trouble of making Shadow Creek look suspect.”
“I’ve given that some thought,” Brendan said. “But I’m really surprised about all of this. I’ve never had any trouble with Jonathan outside of suspecting his sheep were grazing on our property. Someone had to have tampered with our fence, but Clayton won’t be put off for long. If he sanctions a hunt, we’ll be expected to cooperate in the form of turning up a dead mountain lion.”
“Unless you can find your missing calves also dead, then Clayton might look elsewhere.”
Nate stood. “If anyone here is responsible for the death of those sheep, speak up now.”
A burly man choked out, “Well, it’s not us werebears. We don’t like lamb near as well as trout, or an occasional deer.”
“That damn Jonathan was over to Silver Creek to throw his weight around. That’s one human that is a real nuisance,” Nate added.
“He needs to go,” one shifter said.
“It’s too late for that now,” Brendan said. “If he disappears or winds up dead now, we’ll be the first ones they blame.”
“It’s apparent someone is trying to make Shadow Creek look bad, but why? What would Jonathan hope to gain by making you look bad?” Annabelle asked.
“I’m at a loss, but Chase and I plan to be on the prowl tonight.”
“I’ll be happy to help you,” Nate said. “If Jonathan is involved, I’ll be first in line to rip his throat out.”
“What did he really do at your ranch last night?” Katlyn asked.
Nate sat down. “That bastard grabbed my son is what, and held a gun to his head.”
Gasps were heard all around. “Why didn’t you kill him?” a burly man asked.
“Why didn’t you say that earlier?” Katlyn said. “Poor Maxwell.”
“He’s got some nerve threatening a cripple,” the burly man went on to say.
“He’s not a cripple,” Katlyn said. “I might be just a human, but even I want to rip the man limb from limb.”
“For the time being, we’d better play along,” Annabelle said. “If it comes to hunting mountain lions, Brendan, you’ll just have to kill one to present it to Clayton.”
Brendan fell silent and Katlyn felt that it was something that he just didn’t want to do, like he felt a certain kinship with mountain lions even though they weren’t half human.
“Is that why you really called us here today?” Chase asked. “Or is there something bigger going on?”
Annabelle took a sip from her beer mug and said, “What do you know about the Shifter Patrol?”
“That they’re a vigilante group in the east.”
Annabelle motioned to a man who began to pass out a paper to the shifters. “Well, word has it that they’re pushing west.”
Katlyn’s heart thumped loudly. “Are they part of the government or sanctioned by them?”
“That’s the thing. Nobody knows for sure, but if they show up here, we’re not going to stand by and see our numbers reduced. We need to band together and push them back.”
“How close do you think they are now?” Chase asked.
“I can’t be positive. They might be here in weeks or days and nobody seems to have enough nerve to stand up to them.”
“Perhaps someone needs to talk to the press and tell the public what the patrol is really doing,” Katlyn suggested.
“If only that could happen.”
Brendan shook his head at Katlyn, silencing her.
“They don’t care enough about shifters,” Annabelle said. “We’ve been under fire for years now. We’re just not sure what has escalated the violence.”
Katlyn wasn’t sure either, but she’d witnessed it firsthand. She had to go public somehow, but right now might not be the best time. Right now the ranch was under fire.
“The werewolves are prepared to fight,” Nate said. “How about the werebears, Cody?”
“We’re ready when you are.”
“I’ll do what needs to be done,” Brendan said, rising. “But right now we need to get back to the ranch and see what we turn up tonight.
“I’ll help,” Nate said.
Before they left, werewolves, werebears, and mountain lions agreed to scout tonight at Shadow Creek. Katlyn was nervous now. What if Brendan and Chase ran into trouble? With the patrol not far away now, it would only be a matter of time before they showed up, and it might very well be with guns blazing. Was Katlyn the only hope for the shifter population?
Chapter Twelve
When they came back to the ranch, Paige was dropped off and Brendan and Chase stopped back at her cabin, following her inside. She hadn’t gone more than a few steps when she felt hands on her, undoing the buttons of her shirt, tugging her jeans down over her hips until she was quite naked. She wanted to protest because there was so much that would be happening tonight, but she lost all reserve when hands found her breasts. Katlyn concentrated on the feel of Brendan squeezing her breasts with a glint in his eye as Chase rubbed his erection through his jeans on her ass. It felt rough through the material, but Katlyn didn’t mind so much, for now.
She reached out and worked the buttons of Brendan’s shirt, but he yanked it open enough so that she could run her hands up his smooth chest. Katlyn stared at Brendan’s cock that pressed against his jeans and she moved her hands to free it until it bounced upward. Her hand found him then and she rubbed the head, coating it with his pre-come as he groaned, “You drive me crazy, woman.”
Katlyn smiled at him, taking the same finger and sucking it into her mouth, working it in and out of her mouth in a suggestive movement. She went down to her knees as he took a hand behind her head, and guided her toward his cock until she buried it between her lips. She heard the sound of a zipper moved downward and Katlyn knew Chase wasn’t far away. From the corner of her eye, she saw Chase now standing next to Brendan and she grabbed his rod, working on it as she bobbed her head on Brendan’s cock. She moved, then, and began sucking Chase, taking him in deeper than she ever had a man before. She spent the next ten minutes, sucking, licking, switching positions and moving her lips slowly first over Chase and then Brendan. Each man tasted musky, yet different, and she loved how it felt to have such power over these two shifters as they groaned in encouragement.
She was picked up by Brendan and put on the counter top with her legs wide apart. He found her clit with his tongue in a seeking movement that sent a jolt of electricity to her befuddled brain. She arched her back, taking ahold of the handles of the cupboards to steady herself as she gave in to the sensations that rushed to her core. Katlyn’s legs were held apart now. Brendan had a firm grip on one leg while Chase had the other leg in his possession. His hot mouth found a sensitive nipple, which he sucked hard, flinching as she felt his fangs nick it. She could get used to being with these shifters who always knew what pleased her the most, and she cried out.
Chase found her mouth and kissed her savagely, bruising her lips. Brendan quit licking and allowed Chase to have his taste. When he took her clit into his mouth, she cried out as she exploded, leaving her breathless. Brendan took his place and rubbed the head of his cock on her clit until she begged him t
o take her, but even then he only allowed the head of his cock to enter her ... in his head went and out it came, over and over until she thought she would erupt with pleasure. Brendan moved and Chase began to do the same thing, his much thicker cock stretching her tender pussy, but he wouldn’t give her more than the head either. Why were they doing this? It was too much exquisite torture.
“I can’t take this anymore. Would someone please fuck me? I want you both inside me, all of you.”
There was something about the sight of two hung cowboys with their shirts open and jeans around their ankles with cowboy boots still on their feet that really got to Katlyn— and their fangs showing was an added bonus. She pushed them away and stomped off, frustrated, but didn’t get more than a foot before she was surrounded by both men, one in the front and one in the back. Chase picked her up, his hands coming under the back of her legs. Her legs were wide open in this position and Brendan entered her pussy with a hard thrust. Chase moved her forward each time to take each of Brendan’s thrusts, each of them harder than the last. She felt Chase’s erection on the back of her ass and she really wanted to know what it would feel like to be entered by Chase there, but she was too afraid to try, so she just enjoyed being surrounded by the both of them.
Her body was pressed between the two of them and her pussy squeezed, contracting around Brendan’s hard shaft as she found her plateau just as he jerked his hot come into her. She felt barely conscious as Brendan pulled away and she was led to a chair. Chase sat down and smiled, saying, “It’s time you learn how to ride horseback, human.”
Katlyn sat on Chase’s raging hard-on and pivoted her hips so that she felt a hard ache deep inside and so much pleasure that she about lost her mind. Chase grabbed her hips and pulled her hard against him while Brendan’s arms came around from behind, finding her bouncing breasts. He kneaded and squeezed her breasts now, pinching her nipples slightly as Chase continued to thrust up and into her pussy. She screamed when she found her next release, waves of yet another orgasm crashing over her, but Chase was nowhere ready as the grip on her hips tightened until Katlyn murmured she just couldn’t do it anymore as her legs ached.
Brendan helped her off, and with wobbly legs she collapsed to the floor, now on her hands and knees. She turned slightly and gave Chase a come-hither look and he smiled, finding her tightness again. This time, he took his time and pulled himself almost all of the way out and eased back in slowly so that she felt every glorious inch of him. Brendan sat on the couch watching, taking a hold of his cock and rubbed it up and down, his head thrown back, a smile plastered on his face.
“Fuck me harder, please,” Katlyn begged. Chase responded by pounding her hard and it was all Katlyn could do not to topple over. Within minutes, he exploded inside her and she moaned in relief as her orgasm rippled over her. Chase pulled himself free and Katlyn crawled over to Brendan, gazing into his handsome face as his hand continued to work his cock. “Please, I want to taste your come.”
Brendan’s face raised and he smiled. “You don’t have to do that, Katlyn.”
“I know, but I want to.”
Chase, not one to be left out, spread Katlyn’s folds from behind and his finger worked its way inside her. As Katlyn’s lips surrounded Brendan’s cock, Chase’s finger moved inside her until she moaned as Brendan was deep inside her mouth. She bobbed her head in rhythm as a hand pumped his cock just below her mouth. Her pussy clenched and juiced when Chase hit the perfect rhythm, but she didn’t concentrate on her pleasure, only pleasing the man buried in her mouth. “So close,” Brendan said, which triggered Katlyn to suck Brendan even harder. When she felt the first spurt of his salty come, she sucked and swallowed it all down. When Brendan’s cock was free of her mouth, he leaned forward and kissed her tenderly. “Thank you, sweetheart. I really didn’t expect you to do that.”
“I know. There are so many things I’d like to do, but I’m just too afraid to try.”
Brendan smiled. “Chase and I are willing to take turns.”
“Not sure about willing, but it is what it is,” Chase said as he stood. “If it were up to me, I’d have you all to myself.”
Katlyn should have wondered when this would happen. How good of friends were they really?
“As would I, Chase, but that’s not part of the deal. Katlyn’s our mate, both of us, and that means we share her.”
Chase yanked up his pants. “I don’t need to be counseled, Brendan, but it wouldn’t be a horrible thing to spend time with her separately some of the time.”
“Not happening, but we’ll discuss this later. We need to focus on what’s going to happen tonight. We’ve never needed the werebears or werewolves to assist us before.”
“True, but this time it might work in our favor.”
“What kind of animal would kill sheep like that?” Katlyn asked.
“Beats me,” Chase said. “But certainly not one we’ve encountered before. If only that bastard Jonathan hadn’t caused so much trouble. I have a mind to sick Paige on him.”
“Don’t say that,” Katlyn said. “If he’s that annoying, how would he be if he’s part of the undead?”
“Paige is quite thorough. If she wants to kill someone, she does.”
“I don’t understand how either of you can look at her being a vampire as a good thing.”
Brendan took Katlyn into his arms, hugging her tightly before releasing her. “She’s not the monster you take her for. Most of the time, she has resolved to only attack animals, and only if her blood supplier runs short. But know this: if need be, Paige will protect this ranch at any cost.” When Katlyn remained silent, Brendan added, “I don’t know exactly why Paige did what she did, but there has to be a reason. I personally think she lacks companionship of her own kind. It’s not like Wyoming is overrun with vampires.”
“No, but now your ranch will now be the home to two. Even if Tessa is able to survive the next few days, will she be a danger to every shifter in the area, or me?”
“I don’t know,” Brendan admitted. “But for tonight, let’s focus on one problem, not a wide array of them.”
Katlyn knew they were right and went into the bathroom to clean up. She could still taste Brendan on her tongue and would much rather focus on what just transpired between the three of them, than Paige and what she had done. Katlyn just knew that she’d never trust the woman, no matter what she did to save Tessa.
* * *
Hours later, Katlyn paced as Angus looked on. “Would you calm down, Katlyn? They’ll be fine out there tonight.”
She wished that she could believe that, but it didn’t help that the patrol was always in the back of her mind. She had been amazed earlier when she saw Brendan and Chase shift into mountain lion form. Their muscles rippled under their human skin until their animal-like haunches broke free. It didn’t look pleasant or pain-free at all. Once they were in mountain lion form, there was something very sexy about it in a weird kind of way. It made her time with them all the more memorable. She now felt protected by both Brendan and Chase and was proud to call herself their mate.
* * *
Brendan sniffed the night air, catching scent of the werebears and werewolves not far off. His large paws struck the ground and it was the best feeling in the world. If only tonight they were on a real hunt, not one searching for the real culprits of the sheep killings.
Chase came up along side him, snarling a greeting as only a mountain lion could. The moon was full overhead and it offered them the light they needed, not that they couldn’t see in the dark.
Flapping his ears, Brendan heard the sound of a wailing calf in the distance, making his way toward it with Chase pulling up the rear. They stopped, taking a drink in a stream before proceeding. A wolf howled in the distance and he wasn’t sure if it was one of the werewolves from Nate’s pack, but he stalked his way to find out for sure. The werewolves were wise enough to know not to let their presence be known, unless ready to attack. Mountain lions were stalkers; their p
rey never knew what hit them until it was too late.
When a few deer pranced past, it was all Brendan could do not to want to chase them down just for fun. In reality, a sheep was so much easier to catch, but that was off their dinner plate for a while now. In the past, he’d admit that they took a sheep here and there from his neighbors, but that was before Jonathan’s father had died.
Brendan made his way toward where he heard the howls and he growled out, greeting two wolves. When they yipped back in response, he knew they were werewolves. A black bear lumbered into the clearing toward them, snarling that he heard something near the stream. The werewolves howled out that the alpha had already headed in that direction.
Chase growled low at the sound of a whiny howl in the distance, and they made their way in that direction. In the bushes, there were two men, one with a bat, bashing something on the ground near their feet.
“Make it look good,” one man said. “Just like the other sheep. I don’t know how on earth Clayton never found my dead sheep on Shadow Creek’s property.”
“They should have, Jonathan. I swear someone must have moved them. Brendan or Chase might have found them even.”
“Shhh, don’t say my name out loud. I have a feeling we might not be the only ones out here tonight.”
A wolf howled and jumped out of the bushes at them, snapping his jaws. He lunged at the man who held the bat and he swung it at the werewolf, narrowly missing him. The other man waved a shotgun. “Hold still so I can kill that damn wolf.”
Brendan and Chase entered the fray, nearly struck as a shotgun went off. The werewolf then found his mark and grabbed ahold of the man’s leg until he was kicked away. Brendan tried to jump on the man’s back who was holding the shotgun, but he missed his mark, and the gun fired, striking the werewolf in the chest. The wolf staggered for a few moments and the shifters froze as he slumped to the ground.
Before Brendan was able to respond, the men had scattered, and the mutilated body of a sheep was found. The hair raised on the back of Brendan’s neck at the realization of what had happened. Jonathan was trying to set them up and now had killed a werewolf—. Nate, the alpha who had put his life on the line for them.
Katlyn (M/F/M red-hot menage shifter romance) Standalone (Shadow Creek Shifters Book 1) Page 11
