by Ellis Leigh
“He’ll be okay.” I wasn’t sure whether I was trying to convince him or me. My words didn’t seem to work on either of us, though.
“He’d goddamned well better be.”
And so we went back to what we’d been doing—staring at the images and video from outside. Cade fed me a few pieces of chicken and I nibbled on a cookie, but I couldn’t really eat. My stomach was in knots as I worried about my stallions. All of them.
“C’mere, Waverley.”
I looked up to find Cade sitting with his arms open, waiting for me. Probably needing my comfort as much as I needed his. I didn’t hesitate. I hopped right over onto his lap and curled up against his chest. Sighing as his warmth enveloped me. “I wish this were over.”
“Soon, my woman. It’ll be over soon. We’re frustrating this human, which is a good thing. He’ll try something more direct, and then we’ll have him. Tonight, more than likely.”
I hoped he was right.
Hours passed that way—me on Cade’s lap, both of us staring at camera feeds from across the farm. I saw each of my men on those screens as the hours passed—knew they were alive and okay, at least for a fleeting moment, as the night wore on. Those glimpses gave me hope, soothed me for the briefest of instants before I lost sight of my stallions again.
After an immeasurable amount of time, Cade groaned and shifted beneath me. “Your heat is growing stronger again.”
I shrugged, too tired to care. Too worried to bother. “It’s fine.”
Cade dropped a hand high up on my thigh and squeezed, his fingers practically teasing my pussy. “If it becomes not fine, let me know. I can multitask to keep you comfortable. Or we can call one of the guys back here to take over in front of the video board while I sate your needs.”
Those words pulled the first smile from me in hours. So considerate, this man. “Thanks. I appreciate it.”
He kissed the top of my head, a sweet move that warmed me more than my heat did. “You’re our girl. We take care of you.”
Yeah, they did. All of them. To their detriment, it seemed.
Suddenly, something flashed on one of the screens. A shape—one I knew well—racing across the back of the barn. “Cade…it’s Matthew.”
Cade stiffened, leaning closer to the screen in question. It was definitely Matthew, and he was running fast, his image almost blurring as it moved from screen to screen.
Cade pressed a button on the control panel and leaned close to the microphone sitting on the counter. “Back of the barn, heading for the driveway. I’ve got Matthew in a full sprint.”
“Fuck.” That sounded like Liam’s voice coming through the speakers. “I’m on my way.”
“Too far,” Dalton said, his voice staticky. “I’m closer. You got eyes on what he’s running toward?”
“Negative.” Cade adjusted the screens, moving the feeds to try to get a better view in front of Matthew. “Come on, fucker. Show yourself.”
I watched as Matthew shifted on the fly, as his big, beautiful horse appeared almost out of nowhere and galloped for the front of the barn. My heart pounded, and I could barely breathe, knowing this was it. Chance was definitely on Hidden E property, and Matthew was chasing him…on his own. He’d ignored Liam’s and Cade’s directives to stay with a partner, not to go out alone, and the backup he needed didn’t appear to be nearby.
This could be trouble.
“Who’s closest?” I asked, looking at every screen and trying to judge where every stallion was, my heart racing harder with every second that passed. Too long. Everything was suddenly taking too long. “Damn it, Matthew needs help. Who can get to him?”
“I’m closest,” Cade said as he hopped to his feet, nearly knocking me over. “You stay here.”
Oh, hell no. I would not be left behind when my stallions—my mates—needed me. I was about to chase after Cade, who’d already run up the stairs, when a low rumble caught my attention. The sound of an engine. Coming from the security feed.
I stared at the screens in confusion as some sort of light lit up one screen.
As Matthew in horse form veered and seemed to slip on the gravel drive.
As a large tractor—the one the guys used to haul hay into the barn from the back pastures—shot forward from its lean-to.
I stood there helpless, watching as the tractor slammed into my Matthew. As my dominant mate seemed to bend almost in half in a way his big equine body wasn’t mean to and went flying offscreen.
As my world came to a crashing halt.
“No.”
Chapter Thirty-Six
It took me far too long to make my way up the stairs and out of the kitchen. It seemed to take even longer to run across the driveway to where Matthew—still in his stallion form—lay still and quiet. Every movement taking three times as long as it should have. Every sound muddled as if I were somehow under water. And all the while, I stared. Transfixed by the black beast sprawled across the dirt. Wishing and praying to every deity known to man that he’d move. That he’d show me just one sign of life.
My prayers were answered with a simple flick of a tail.
“Matthew.” I dropped to my knees beside him, one hand on his shoulder as I leaned over and buried my face in his mane. “Please be okay. Please. I can’t lose you. I can’t lose any of you.”
“Waverley.” Tripp settled in beside me, covering my hand with his and wrapping one big, strong arm around my shoulders. “He’ll be okay. He just needs a few minutes to heal.”
Because he was a shifter, and shifters were hard to kill. I knew this. I knew it, and yet…seeing him flying through the air had broken something inside of me. Days of fear and worry and stress had built up too high for me to hold back, and watching Matthew go down had toppled the tower. I wasn’t just worried anymore. I was angry.
Scratch that—I was fucking furious.
“You’ve got him?” I asked, my words harsh but flat. The heat inside me no longer based on lust but rage.
Tripp released my hand, moving his to check over Matthew’s muscled chest. “I do. I won’t let anything happen to him.”
Good. “Where is he?”
Liam walked up beside us, not seeming to need me to explain the he I meant. “Cade has him.”
“I want to see him.”
“I don’t think that’s a good idea.”
“I don’t care what you think right now.” I gave Matthew a kiss to his muzzle then rose to my feet, ignoring the stallion trying to stop me. Liam may have been the leader of the herd, but he wasn’t about to tell me what to do—not tonight. “Cade! Cade, get out here.”
Cade and Dalton appeared out of the shadows, both holding on to a very surly-looking Chance. Surly, filthy, and slightly bloody. They must have gotten a few hits in as they caught him. Good.
“You.” I pointed at the human in our midst, letting every ounce of my rage explode out of me. “You don’t deserve to breathe the same air as these men do.”
“This is what you left me for? These…freaks?” Chance spat on the ground, making a big production out of the move. “I’ve seen them change into horses. You think their unnaturalness is going to scare me off? Not happening, sweetheart. No messed-up human-horse hybrids are going to stop me from taking what’s mine.”
Oh, hell no. “I’m not yours. I never have been.”
“You’re wrong, but I’ll remind you as soon as I get you away from here.”
“I’m not going anywhere with you. Liam?”
My first stallion lover, the leader of our family herd, placed a hand on my shoulder. “Yes, sugar?”
I kept my eyes on Chance’s, kept my face as flat and emotionless as I could. Kept my mind focused on what was best for my herd. “I want him gone.”
Chance laughed. “Go ahead and call the cops—have me arrested. I’ll come back for you, Waverley. I’ll always come back for you.”
He would, too. I knew it—my stallions knew it—which meant calling the cops was out of the question. We would
have to handle things quietly and keep what happened on the Hidden E. And only on the Hidden E.
“I never said anything about the cops. That’s human law.” I took a step closer, fighting Liam’s hold on me. Needing to make one last point. “Human law might claim we’re the ones doing something wrong, but in shifter law, threatening a fated mate is a crime punishable by death. You’re on shifter property, and so you’ll follow our rules. You don’t get to leave this place. Not ever. My men here, my herd, will make sure of that.”
“You heard the lady,” Liam said, tugging me into his side as he lifted a chin at Cade and Dalton. “Get rid of the problem, but let me know if you need any help. I wouldn’t mind tearing into a piece of him.”
“We’ve got this,” Cade said, looking downright terrifying as he glared down at Chance.
Chance’s eyes grew wide, the realization of the situation he’d found himself in seeming to wash over him. “You won’t get away with this. Everyone knew Waverley and I were meant to be together. They all talked about how perfect we were for each other. If I go missing, the cops will come looking for her.”
I shrugged. “They won’t find me, and even if they do, they won’t find you.”
Chance continued blathering and hollering as Cade and Dalton dragged him off into the night. I didn’t care what he had to say, though. All of my worry centered on Matthew. On making sure my entire herd was safe.
I turned my back on my past without a second thought to his fate. He’d earned whatever was about to happen to him. “How’s Matthew?”
Tripp looked up at me, smiling. “He’s fine, doll. Another minute and he’ll shift back to his human self and be the cranky old Dom you know and love.”
One could only hope.
It took longer than a minute, and the shift looked more painful than any I’d ever seen, but eventually, an exhausted-looking Matthew lay naked and panting in the dirt.
“How you doing, man?” Tripp asked, helping Matthew sit up.
“I feel like I was hit by a truck.” Matthew groaned, clinging to Tripp’s arm as he weaved a little. “Did I get him?”
I had to laugh at that one. My one-track-mind mate. “Yeah. You got him, you silly beast. Why didn’t you wait for the others?”
“I had to keep you safe.” Matthew looked up at me, a cut over his eyebrow dripping blood down his face. I wiped away the worst of it, holding his gaze. Inching closer to my brave, stupid mate.
Matthew grabbed my hand, flicking an irritated glance at the blood covering my thumb and forefinger. “That’s going to leave a mark, isn’t it?”
“Probably. Don’t worry, though—scars are hot.”
His lips turned up in the smallest, weakest grin I’d ever seen. Not that I was complaining.
“Yeah? Then I’ll have to acquire a few more. Anything to get you back into my bed.”
I leaned over to kiss just above the cut on his forehead. “Let’s keep the scars to a minimum. You don’t need them to get me into your bed—I’m a sure thing.”
“See? I knew you were our perfect mate.” He smiled, looking stronger with every second that passed. “You okay now, bunny?”
Silly stallion. “Why are you asking me that?” I said, cupping his face in my hands. “You’re the one who got hit by a tractor.”
Matthew grabbed me by the wrists, tugging me closer. “If you let me get inside that tight ass again, it’ll have been worth it.”
“Pretty sure it’s still Cade and Dalton’s night,” Liam said as he helped Matthew to his feet. Matthew wobbled a bit, but Tripp and Liam held him up. Helped him to the porch and inside the house, while Garrett and Quinn followed behind us. My herd mostly complete.
“I think they’ll understand that Matthew needs to be nursed back to health,” I said as the boys settled in at the kitchen table.
“Do you have a naughty nurse outfit?” Matthew asked, still looking too pale and obviously hurting. “Because I could go for that.”
“Right now, I think you need to go for some pain pills and sleep.”
He frowned. “Damn.”
We waited around for Cade and Dalton to join us, joking and laughing to help the time pass. No one mentioning what we all knew was going on outside. Every one of us completely focused on keeping Matthew as comfortable as we could. And when the last two stallions in our herd came stomping into the kitchen, looking even darker and wilder than they usually did, I knew things were done.
Chance was dead.
Our herd was finally safe.
“She’s all ours, boys,” Cade said, leaning a shoulder against the wall and giving me one hell of a sexy smirk. “Whatever should we do with her?”
I grinned, unable not to run to him. To wrap myself around him and whisper my thanks into his neck. Dalton cuddled in close too, both of them holding on to me. Soon enough, I had seven men in a group hug, all trying to touch me, to hang on to our connection. To feel. And I loved every single one of them.
“You’re all mine,” I said, unable not to shed a tear. “I get to keep you all.”
“Yeah, you do, sugar,” Liam said. “And more importantly, we get to keep you.”
They did. They really, really did.
Epilogue
Pregnancy agreed with me.
Tripp handed me another glass of sweet tea—decaffeinated because of the baby—and settled in behind me. Our weekends away at the lake had become a monthly tradition, one the rest of the stallions were slightly jealous of. Not that they had a reason to be—each one got plenty of time with me. Special time where I made sure they each felt like a king and got to enjoy my undivided attention. We also had a lot of herd time together—sometimes naked, sometimes not.
I had somehow stumbled into a paradise of hot, sexy men who all loved me without reason. I was very, very blessed.
The sun beat down on my bikini-clad body, my belly warm and my soul happy. I loved my quiet time with Tripp. Loved the way he’d throw me around in the lake then settle in to read a book to me and the baby. Each stallion was convinced the child was his—Tripp, included—though we’d never know. We didn’t need to. Our herd would grow, and the child would belong to all of us. One big, happy family.
An impatient one, apparently. The sound of hoofbeats moving closer broke the quiet peacefulness of our retreat, making Tripp sigh.
“Time to go home, doll.”
“Or we could all stay right here.” I sat up with Tripp’s help, my hand falling immediately to my baby bump. I gave my men a big smile when they rounded the cabin and came racing up to where Tripp and I sat. “Good afternoon, boys. Y’all come to go skinny-dipping with me?”
Tripp laughed, reaching around to palm my belly. “You’re such a little vixen.”
“Guilty.” Pregnancy had made me needier than usual—for sweets, for affection, and for sex. Quinn liked to joke that I was wearing them out, but deep down, I think they all loved it. I’d started dropping in on them in the middle of the night, picking a bed to crawl into and waking up that stallion with my mouth on their cock or by straddling their shoulders and rubbing my pussy over their lips and chin. No one complained. In fact, they seemed to enjoy not knowing when I’d come for them. In the barn, at the kitchen table, in their rooms…wherever and whenever. I’d drop to my knees or crawl onto their laps and say please. They always appreciated my politeness enough to make me come at least three times.
Seriously…paradise.
Tripp pinched my nipple and slid his hand over my pussy to caress my clit through the thin fabric covering it, bringing me back to the here and now. To the fact that my entire herd had shifted and were all stalking across the grass toward us. Looking so damn hot and ready for me.
“What’s the game this time?” Tripp asked, leaning down to bite my neck as he teased me. “You want us all at once? A couple at a time? Or one-on-one?”
I couldn’t help but stare at my herd as they stopped in front of me. All that beautiful skin. All those hard cocks. All mine. I rode Tripp’s hand
a little harder, circling my hips as the rest of the men watched. Knowing whatever happened next truly was up to me.
“One-on-one, I think…” I pursed my lips and pointed. “Eeny-meeny-miney-moe, caught my stallions by their toes, they can holler, but I’ll never let go, eeny-meeny-miney-moe.” I landed on Matthew, who’d healed nicely even if he had added a few scars to his physique. I hadn’t been kidding the night Chance had hit him with the tractor—scars were hot. I liked licking his. “Your turn, Matthew.”
Though, really, it was my turn. It was always my turn. And as the rest of the herd raced off to splash around in the cool lake water, Matthew picked me up and carried me inside the cabin. Looking like a man who’d won the lottery.
I understood that look.
I was pretty sure I wore it every day as well.
Seven men, seven stallions, one herd. All mine.
My herd. My heart. My lovers.
Mine forever.
Want more?
Want more delectable dirtiness? Check out The Gathering Tales—four short stories, one amazing tale of love, lust, and mating. Keep reading for a sneak peek!
Thanks for reading this little romp through a stallion herd. I’ve wanted to write horse shifters forever, so this was a nice diversion from my usual wolves, witches, and vampires.
THE GATHERING TALES Sneak Peek
Meet Killian…
* * *
“This is mine now.”
She nodded against my chest, her breath still coming in pants. “I know. Hopefully, my Alpha will come to his senses and let me join you tonight instead of making us wait.”
I grinned as her eyes met mine, pulling my fingers from her pussy and bringing them to my lips. I licked and lapped the digits, loving the way her eyes widened. The renewed lust I saw growing there. “Doesn’t fucking matter what the oily fucker says. The only person whose opinion matters is you. As long as you accept me as your mate, you’ll be in my bed tonight and every night from this moment on.”
