by Morgan Fox
Rounding to face his brother, Ryken said dryly, “You know why. I was watching her, protecting her.”
He shook his head, knowing that wasn’t it. His calm façade fading quickly, he said again, “No, brother, that’s not the truth and you damn well know it.” Luken gripped the shirt Ryken wore, twisting the fabric in his hands. “Now, fucking tell me why you smell like her.” Luken leaned in and filled his lungs with Tabitha’s intoxicating scent. Ryken was covered in her fragrance.
No, please not that…anything but that, Luken groaned inwardly.
Ryken swallowed hard, and the lines around his eyes and mouth grew deeper, more defined. He confessed, “Because, brother, like you, I’ve sampled her and—” The slam of Luken’s fist against the side of his face stopped the last of his words from departing his lips.
With a quick shove from his brother, Ryken fell to the ground, and as he held the side of his face, he glared up at Luken. “Did that make you feel better?”
Luken hovered over his brother, a skulking ball of fury. He kicked his heavy black boot against Ryken’s ribs, slamming into him with enough force to crack a rib. Even though it wouldn’t do much to a werewolf, it made him feel better.
“You stupid son of a bitch!” he wailed, as his fist moved to strike Ryken’s face again, but this time his brother blocked the assault and shoved him back against the wall with the heels of his feet.
Rising to stand, Ryken breathed hard, eyes filled with regret and anger. “What the hell’s gotten into you?” he said, growling. “You’re acting like a lunatic. I’m your brother for fuck’s sake.”
Claws lengthening, teeth bared, Luken snarled, “My brother would never have done what you did. You never should have touched Tabitha. She was off-limits to you.”
Stiffening, Ryken bit out, “But not to you, right, brother?”
Jaw flexing under the compression of muscles, he feigned ignorance. “What are you talking about?”
Ryken shook his head and eyed his brother knowingly. “You fucking hypocrite. You give me orders you yourself hadn’t even obeyed. I know you slept with her last night. I knew it the moment I stepped into her room. I heard you fucking her. I hated that you had made love to her, hated it because I had already laid claim to her.” Eyes narrowed with an impassioned glare, he snarled, “She was mine, Luken, not yours.”
Taking a solid step back, brow furrowed, Luken barked, “What the hell are you talking about?”
Fists balled at his side, mouth pressed into a tight scowl, he growled. “She’s my mate, Luken.”
Panic and denial gripped his heart. What his brother said couldn’t be true. It had to be a lie, but he had never known his brother to lie to him before, especially over a woman. “What are you talking about? That’s impossible. She can’t be your mate.”
Arching his brow, Ryken went on the defensive. “Oh, really? Think even a wolf as self-centered as I’ve been my entire life isn’t capable of mating with a woman as beautiful and strong-willed as Tabitha?”
Shaking his head, he corrected, “No, that’s not what I meant.”
Ryken folded his arms over his chest and leaned against the wall at his back. “Then by all means, explain yourself.”
He quickly retorted, “I only meant it’s not possible she’s your mate because she belongs to me. I tasted her last night, and I confirmed that she’s my mate.”
Disbelief oozed from Ryken’s eyes, and his lips slightly parted. The brothers stared at each other for a good long while. Neither moved, spoke, not even to blink their eyes, and then they felt her like a warm, welcoming burst of air upon their skin. Simultaneously they turned to gaze upon her horrified face.
* * * *
Tabitha stared from one tension-filled face to the other, her heart pounding like the chugging of the train engine, as her mind wrapped around the conversation she had overheard. Surely, she misunderstood. There was no way that she had slept with both brothers in the same night because they believed her to be some kind of pawn between them. Mate? She was no one’s mate unless she decided.
Had she made a mistake allowing both Ryken and Luken to make love to her? In the same night?
What do you think, slut? Her conscience was now screaming at her. Oh God, what have I done?
Her mind raced back to the moment Ryken had come to her. The power of his presence felt right—perfect. His body caressing hers brought so much welcoming satisfaction and peace inside her soul. The connection between them was instant, the fiery passion that sparked between them so natural.
Primal instincts had surged between them, rendering her free of her inhabitations. It had to be that. Under normal circumstances she never would have done any such thing.
They were twins, after all. They seduced her into desiring them. At least that’s what she was telling herself now. Her mind hazy with thoughts, voice trembling with anxiety, she asked, “What’s going on, guys? Please tell me I didn’t hear you both fighting over me. And why are you calling me your mate? What the hell does that mean?”
Luken was the first to step forward, his hand outstretched towards her. “Tabitha?”
Flinching, batting his hand away, she blurted out, “Don’t touch me. I don’t even know who you are. I can’t tell which one of you is Ryken and which one is Luken.” Her gaze became heavy as tears pooled in her eyes. Truth was she knew exactly which one was which. Instincts rang out loud and clear in her mind. She could smell the difference in them, had since the moment she’d met them. But how was that possible? One second she was so aware of who she was and the next moment she was a train wreck all over again. “I’m sick with what’s going on here. Please explain to me what’s happening. Tell me why you two are fighting. Why do you both keep calling me your mate? What’s going on?”
“Tabitha?”
Screaming, fists balled at her sides, she snapped, “Just tell me! Stop trying to avoid my questions and tell me what the fuck I want to know.”
The brothers stood side by side. Ryken reached into his pocket and pulled out the nylon band he used to tie his hair back. “I’m Ryken, but I seriously think you already knew that, and from now on I’ll keep my hair pulled back, so you’ll always be able to identify us.”
Her stomach dropped out of her body and straight to the floor. Ryken was right. She didn’t need the nylon band to tell them apart. She knew them as if they were part of her. Just like she knew it was Ryken who came to her last night pretending to be Luken.
Why hadn’t she been compelled to stop him? Why did things seem so strange and foreign where the three of them were concerned? Ryken’s confession for coming to her last night was still fresh in her mind.
He said he wanted her, desired her as she had him. But strangely, she had to hear the words from Ryken’s mouth again, had to hear the words part from his lips in front of Luken.
Locking gazes with Ryken, she swallowed, demanding, “And why was your hair down to begin with?”
He couldn’t meet her gaze, couldn’t stare at her as she spoke. Guilt was spread across his face. “You already know why, Tabitha. You were there, too,” he reminded her, looking away.
Fighting against the knot rising in her throat, she told him, “I don’t care, Ryken. Tell me again why your hair was down. Tell your brother what you told me when we were alone. I think he needs to understand, too.”
He glanced up, and his piercing gaze slammed into her. He said plainly, “Because I went to you with the intention of pretending to be my brother.”
Her jaw clenched tight. Teeth grinding together, she asked, “And why would you do that?”
For a long moment he simply gazed at her, eyes flickering with so much pain, regret, disappointment…in himself. She could feel it pulsing in his heart and mind as if she could read and feel his thoughts. Then his wall surged up, protecting his heart and mind. She knew instantly that the man who made her crazy with anger, frustrated her beyond measure had returned.
He muttered coldly, “Because I knew Luken had alre
ady broken through that frigid barrier of yours and I wanted the chance to fuck you, too. Is that what you wanted to hear, Tabitha? That I wanted you for myself, as well? That I wanted to deceitfully claim your body and fuck you?”
She gasped. No, that was not at all what she thought he might say, but then again, didn’t she expect him to rage out at her in anger? Wasn’t that what they did to each other? The heat of fire blazed from her eyes. If she thought touching him wouldn’t make her want him more, she would have clawed his eyes out.
“That’s enough, Ryken,” growled Luken.
She knew it all along, the passions behind each of their touches. She hadn’t only experienced the difference physically, but felt it in their emotions as each of them had made love to her. The connection between them was unique and exhilarating.
Strangely, she was not embarrassed about what had transpired between the three of them. She was angry because she allowed herself to become an instrument between the brothers. She had allowed them the opportunity to use her as simply a warm body to fuck. She was more than that. And she didn’t need them to prove it, but it didn’t change the emotions churning inside her belly.
Hating the woman she was becoming, with urges she couldn’t control, she felt nauseous. Things had changed drastically for her over the last three weeks. The attack was morphing her into a person she didn’t recognize, making her more impetuous, hungrier for excitement. The impulse for physical contact intensified. She felt as if she didn’t have any restraint over herself anymore, and that was overwhelmingly frightening and fortifying. For the first time in her life she longed to live life, not avoid it. Was that because of the attack she survived or Ryken and Luken?
The questions that really affected her most surfaced. Did they even care for her? Did she matter to them at all, or was she just an easy lay? She honestly didn’t know, but there was something she found incredibly raw and powerful about them, and knowing that nothing could ever come of it, she felt the acidic bile rising up from the pit of her stomach, choking her.
If she had been honest with herself, she would have admitted in the beginning that it was not just sex with Luken—there was something so much more to it than just a physical connection. The carnal pleasures her body demanded magnified at an alarming rate the moment his lips touched hers and she was lost to him instantly.
Even though Ryken and Luken may not truly be kidnapping her, she still felt like she was imprisoned by them. She was a foolish woman to the core, one tied too closely to heightening instincts, as well as her heart.
Instincts she had never experienced before had given her permission to fuck a stranger and his brother.
This new primal behavior was nothing like her. She was changing, and she didn’t like who she was becoming. Where had her sense of modesty gone?
Trembling, anger flooded her body. First, they had taken her body, and now they fucked with her emotions. She was confused and tormented by thoughts that didn’t belong to her. Emotions whirled and clouded her mind.
Covering her mouth, she grabbed hold of her stomach. “Oh, God,” she gasped. “Last night was a mistake.”
Ryken’s jaw flexed with tension. He reached out for her, but stopped before getting too close. “I’m sorry, Tabitha. I was drunk. I know it’s not a good enough excuse, but it’s the truth. I never meant—”
Luken stepped forward, hands cupped to clasp her shoulders. She stepped away when she noticed his advancement. Did she deserve to be comforted? Why did she feel like she was the one who had been the most deceitful? Maybe the guilt she had seen in Ryken’s eyes had really been a reflection of her own.
“No, don’t come near me,” she warned Luken, clawing for control of her wavering emotions. Tears in her eyes, she spat, “This is entirely your fault. If you hadn’t charmed me, enticed me into bed, none of this would have happened. I can’t believe I let you seduce me.” She was no longer able to block the twisting sentiments filling her belly. “And here I thought your brother was the asshole. I’m such a fool.” She slammed her fist into his chest. “Is this the game you play? Pretend to be the same man so you can fuck the same woman?”
Uncontrollable sobs rocked her body, ashamed of what she allowed to happen. Mortified, she couldn’t control the burning hunger she had for these men. Confused more than she’d ever been, she spun away and ran from their sight.
She wasn’t sure why she ran, why she felt so humiliated. Maybe it was because a side of her she had never let come out finally had. Maybe it was also a little regret, or maybe it was the fact that she enjoyed sex with both brothers.
Secretly, she fantasized about being with them, the three of them together. Their bodies pleasuring hers in ways that would make her toes curl, her eyes roll into the back of her head, and her heart to stop beating from the multitude of orgasms they gave her.
She drew in an unsteady breath, realizing that the roller-coaster emotions that tainted her spirit had turned her into a sobbing mess, and there was nothing she could do but ride the sentimental ups and downs until she either fell off or accepted the changes flooding her mind. Unlike any other experience in her life, she felt a calling to be with these men and felt compelled by something instinctive to be close to them. She should be angry, furious with them, but she wasn’t. She was angry with herself for not admitting that she really wanted to be with them again. And now she was angry because she had just walked away, embarrassed of the needs her body demanded and yearned to experience once again.
What the hell did that say about her?
* * * *
Furious, Luken turned to meet Ryken’s gaze. “I hope you’re fucking happy. I hope you’re proud of what you’ve done.”
“I’m not,” Ryken quickly answered. “I never intended for this to happen. I wasn’t thinking about the morning after. I was only thinking about what I wanted and needed.” He swallowed. “I’m not exactly proud of the fact that I hurt her, if it makes any difference.”
“Good, it doesn’t, but maybe you’ve actually developed a conscience, you fucking idiot.” Luken’s hand dove into the tangles of his golden hair.
“Maybe I have,” he murmured. The deep baritone of his voice was filled with remorse.
Luken punched the wall at his side. Frustration seethed from his every pore. Damn his brother for fucking this up. Damn him for feeling she belonged to him, too.
This couldn’t be happening. He had waited his entire life for the one woman who would be his and here he might have to share her with his twin brother. The knowledge of their fated threesome bonding was a bitter pill to swallow, but at the rate they were going neither of them would have her, and that was the worst part of all.
“Luken?” Ryken called out.
He turned to face his brother, pain etched in his face and heart. It was killing him to look at his brother, killing him that this was the path they had been forced to follow. “What?” he spat.
Clearing his throat, Ryken asked, “Do you think Tabitha’s aware she’s one of us?”
* * * *
Tabitha’s blood-curdling scream rocked him to the core. Ryken’s chest jerked and tightened as his mind instantly seethed with fear. Both he and Luken ran in the direction Tabitha had disappeared. Rounding the corner to the adjoining train car, Ryken’s eyes narrowed at the sight. Two massive men held her. One gripped her legs while the other restrained her upper body, a steel blade pressed dangerously against her throat. She was helpless against their hold. They were three times her size, and judging from their yellow, tarnished eyes, they were also infected lycans.
Still in human form, Ryken and Luken stood shoulder to shoulder, their bodies fueled with the possessive need to save their mate.
“I suggest you let her go, asshole,” Ryken said, growling as the beast inside him clawed to break through his hold.
Wild red and yellow eyes beamed in their direction. A rotten-toothed giant smiled menacingly. “I don’t think so.” The vile man, holding Tabitha’s upper body snickered in respo
nse.
“It’s best if you do as he asks,” Luken chimed in, inclining his head in Ryken’s direction. “He can be a real prick otherwise.”
Funny, Ryken growled telepathically.
Get ready, Luken warned Ryken. We need to make our move now or they’re going to jump from the train and we’ll never be able to track them.
I know, on three…
One…
“Oh, I’m fucking scared, wolf boy,” the other giant said, snarling as his eyes began to glow with a deeper reddish hue, his body slowly enlarging and shifting as he held Tabitha. Two…
“Wolf boy?” Luken’s eyes narrowed, staring down the two giant shitheads morphing into their were-bodies. “I’ll show you wolf boy, you stupid fucking freaks!”
Now!
Ryken and Luken leapt toward the two infected shifters faster than the blink of an eye. Partially transforming into the beasts that lay impatiently inside them, Ryken and Luken’s bodies expanded, chests bursting with muscles, claws lengthening, and teeth elongating, fierce and ready. The villainous men dropped Tabitha to the ground instantly. Relief slammed into Ryken’s chest as she scurried out of the way, ducking to hide behind a row of seats that had been ripped from the floor and tossed on its side.
Claws and teeth sharpened like razors. Ryken and Luken sliced at the men, snarling. The weight of their bodies bore down on the two uninvited guests.
Ryken’s knee came up, connecting with the rotten-toothed giant’s midsection. Grunting, the man turned, grabbed hold of Ryken, and slammed his face effortlessly against the wall of the train car. The giant’s super strength was heart-stopping, and the impact of Luken landing on top of him, nearly did just that. Ryken wheezed as the air was wrenched form his lungs. He had not even seen Luken being tossed like a rag doll, but he sure as hell felt the weight of his brother pounding down on him. Shaking off the dizzying whirl in his head, Ryken scrabbled to his feet, hauling Luken up alongside him. They leaped up and rammed their bodies into the giants once more, sending the men off balance. Without a moment of hesitation, Ryken’s knife-like claws caught the shorter man in the jugular, partially severing his head from his body. Tabitha screamed. Her fearful cry crawled along his skin like a slithering snake.
