by Morgan Fox
Scrambling to her feet, she shifted directions, aiming for a darker, more secluded area. Trees that stretched towards the sky littered the horizon. Thick, heavy brush covered the ground—a perfect place where she could find a spot to hide.
As she ran for her life, Tabitha reached deep inside herself, digging at the last of her reserve. Thoughts of her life raced in her mind, remembering how hard she fought to achieve everything in her life. Things didn’t come easy for her. She worked her tail off in college, paying her own way because her parents couldn’t afford to. Then she secured a job that basically started in the basement. Years of struggle and she finally climbed her way out from the bottom, discovering a true sense of accomplishment. Now, her life might be over before she even had a chance to share her success with someone she loved and cared about. Why had she waited so long to be happy? Why did it take a monster chasing her down to make her see just how much of her life she ignored?
Staring death in the face gave her a newfound perspective. Had she had a chance to do it all over again, maybe she would do things differently. Maybe she would do more than work her ass off. Maybe she would find time to go out with friends and enjoy herself. Maybe she wouldn’t blame her parents for the choices she believed they had forced her to make.
Life was funny. Too bad there was nothing funny about being chased by a monster.
Tabitha ducked behind a tree and scrambled on her hands and knees, crawling underneath a thick coverage of brush. Her heart raced as she stared out along the ground, ears on alert. Waiting for the first sign of Ryken, she closed her eyes and prayed that she would wake up and discover this was all just a bad dream. None of this could be real. Monsters didn’t really exist. They were all part of her imagination. Too many hours spent watching supernatural television shows.
The snapping of a twig in front of her held her attention. Her breath froze in her chest as she looked out, eyes focused and ready. Fingers plunged into the ground, digging in for traction.
Screeching, she kicked with all her might as something strong gripped hold of her ankles, yanking her out from under the thick foliage. Flipping her effortlessly, Ryken dove on top of her. His naked body pinned her down onto the hard ground. She twisted and bucked, but her actions were futile.
“Stop,” Ryken warned, and his eyes continued to glow disturbingly silver.
She stilled as the tone of his voice commanded her to do. Her heart pounded so loud that she was deaf to all other sounds around her. Then, she realized it was not her heart she heard thundering in her ears, but Ryken’s.
“I told you not to run from me,” he rasped, his breath on her face.
“What are you?” she asked, voice trembling.
Ryken’s eyes rounded with annoyance. “Damn, woman. Did you listen to anything I said? I’m a werewolf, and so are you. What just happened to me will happen to you within the week. I didn’t want to scare you, but you left me with little choice.”
Shaking her head, she told him, “No, that can’t be true. Werewolves don’t exist.”
He glared at her, brows high on his forehead. “Really? Then you should explain that to Brie because she’s marrying my alpha.”
Swallowing back the fear choking her, she couldn’t believe what he was telling her. This had to be a lie. “What are you talking about?” She wiggled in his grasp, fighting to free herself from his strengthening hold. “Brie would never get mixed up in this.”
His grip on her wrists tightened. She knew she must be pissing him off. Something she should really refrain from doing.
“Brie is marrying one of us. She knows we exist, has for some time now.”
“Really?” she barked with disbelief in her voice. “Then why didn’t she tell me?”
“I don’t know, maybe because she knew you’d react like this.” He eased off of her. Her heated gaze fell to his naked body, lingering over the part of him that always reacted to her.
She quickly rose to her feet, swaying from side to side like a drunken sailor.
“Maybe you should sit down,” he suggested.
“I don’t want to sit down.”
Her legs wobbled underneath the weight of her body, but he was quick to catch her.
“Maybe you should lie down,” he suggested again.
Eyeing him with the deep heat of hatred, she snapped sharply, “Last time I laid down, you shoved your cock in my ass, so forgive me if I say, no thank you.”
“Actually you were on your hands and knees if you remember correctly.”
She frowned at him.
“You’re never going to forgive me, are you?”
“Nope. You are a son of a bitch who deserves to suffer. I hope you enjoyed fucking me, Ryken, because you’re never going to do it again. You or your damn brother,” she spat.
* * * *
“That’s a shame,” Ryken growled, closing the distance between them, pulling her up against his chest. His eyes warm, he knew the desires blazing inside him were being driven by the wolf.
He moved in towards her, her palms pressed flat against his chest. “Your eyes,” she whispered. “They’re silver.”
“It’s the wolf, Tabitha.” His deep voice rolled from his throat, laced with passions only she could invoke in him. “My wolf is very attracted to yours.” He nuzzled her neck, sniffing the scent of her hair.
She shivered against his chest. “I’m not a wolf, Ryken. You could still be fucking with me for all I know.”
He growled low in his throat. “Denial won’t change anything, Tabitha.”
He eased her head back to stare up at him. She told him, “No, but it will keep me from being hurt by you again.”
He stroked her cheek with the back of his knuckles. “Never again, Tabitha. Never again will you have to worry that I’m lying to you. I will never deceive you. Earning your trust is all I care about.”
He hesitated and then wrapped his hand around the back of her neck, kissing her, loving her mouth with heated intensity. She leaned into his touch, moaning into his mouth as he caressed and teased her lips.
Parting from the kiss, he confessed, “That and pleasuring your amazing body, baby. There are so many things I wish to do to you. So many things I need to experience with my mate.”
She stiffened in his arms. “Stop saying things like that to me, Ryken. I don’t understand why you keep calling me your mate. I ran away from Luken before I had the courage to ask him.”
Jealousy panged in his gut. “Were you with him again?”
Her eyes rounded in surprise. “No,” she quickly told him.
He swallowed back the rising need to keep her all to himself, but he knew it was ultimately her choice to decide if she wanted him or not. He wouldn’t push her, unless she left him with no other option.
“But you wanted to be with him. Do you have urges to be with him, Tabitha?”
She couldn’t meet his eyes. Her voice trembled as she admitted, “Yes.”
He nodded, jaw tightening.
Pushing past his own selfish emotions, he placed his finger under her chin and raised her timid face so he could stare into her eyes. Eyes he hoped he could gaze into for all eternity.
“Don’t ever be afraid to tell me how you truly feel. I want honesty between us always. I need a chance to earn your respect.”
Her eyes watered as she locked gazes with him. “Ryken, I don’t understand what’s happening to me.”
“The wolf is what’s happening to you, Tabitha,” he told her in a matter-of-fact tone.
She shook her head. “No, not that, I mean, I don’t understand why I want you both so bad.”
Ryken’s heart skittered to a stop. Had she said what he thought she said? “You want us both?” he breathed.
She nodded hesitantly. “Yes, the thought of being without you, either one of you…I can’t do it. It doesn’t seem right. I hurt when I think about leaving. My heart, my mind, everything hurts. I have desires, cravings that I’ve never experienced before. Whenever I let those th
oughts surface, it’s your face I see pleasuring me. Yours and Luken’s.” She placed her hands on the sides of her head. “God, I sound like such a slut.”
“No,” he said, kissing her mouth again. “You sound like a woman who’s found her mates.”
She stared at him curiously, eyes widening with anticipation. “Mating? You keep saying that to me. What are you talking about?”
* * * *
A figure stepped clear of the shadows, and she knew it was Luken before he even spoke. His voice eased over her like a warm blanket. “It’s when two wolves choose each other to bond with forever. It’s a connection that keeps a couple united. The feelings never go away. They only grow stronger.”
As Luken approached, she said, “So basically what you’re saying is I’m stuck with you?” She glanced from one to the other. “Both of you?”
Ryken took a large step back, making room for Luken to stand beside him. No longer crowding her, he acknowledged, “Not if you don’t want to be.”
Ryken looked as if he was holding his breath. She folded her arms across her chest and muttered, “I’m listening.”
“You don’t have to pick either one of us Tabitha,” Ryken informed her. “The connection you feel will never go away. You will always know we’re out there, ready and willing to satisfy your every need.” His voice grew raspy and deeper. “But you will never be able to fully ignore the instincts flaming inside your body, clawing at the back of your mind. Instincts that beg you to accept the connection and the men before you as your mates.”
“You can pretend to ignore it, but you can never deny it,” Luken added.
“And what does that mean?”
Ryken’s gaze grew darker as he shared with her, “It means you can’t ignore what’s right in front of you. You will never be able to forget us and the pleasures we’ve given you. You will never be able to truly live without us. Whatever you do in this life, our faces, our touch, our passions will always haunt you.”
“Well, that’s just fucked up,” she muttered, hands flying to her hips.
Luken covered his mouth, hiding his laughter.
“There is nothing funny about this. I’ve pretty much lived a normal life until you two showed up.”
“No, actually that’s not true,” Luken’s voice rumbled.
Ryken was the next to speak, his voice just as deep and thundering as Luken’s. “Your life was forever changed the day you were bitten by a werewolf. Your life was forever changed for the better when Luken and I showed up.”
Brow furrowed, she glared at Ryken and said, “Damn, you are a cocky son of a bitch.”
He shrugged and said, “I’m only stating the truth.”
“And how exactly did you make my life better? You kidnapped me, got me practically captured by the goon squad, and now you’ve given me the best news of all…I’m a freaking werewolf with two werewolf lovers. How fucking sweet is that,” she muttered with a heightened level of annoyance and extreme mockery.
“Sarcasm will get you everything with me, ya know?” Ryken teased.
“Oh, shut up,” she snapped through gritted teeth, hands fisted at her sides. “You drive me crazy you know that?”
He was on her the next second, holding her against him.
“I’ll always drive you crazy, baby.” She stared up at him, as the heat from his touch seared her skin. “And that’s just one of the things you like most about me. My wild side inflames you, makes you hot, makes your pussy wet for my cock.”
“Ryken, don’t,” she pleaded, twisting her body in his hands. He wouldn’t release her.
He held his mouth above her ear and whispered, “Don’t what, Tabitha? Don’t tell you that I want you so much my chest hurts? Don’t tell you that I can still taste your sweet pussy on my lips, teasing my tongue? That my cock aches to be inside you once again, pleasuring you till you come?” He groaned. “Oh, Tabitha. You don’t have any idea what you do to me.”
Her legs went weak, and had he not been holding her, she would have dropped like a lead weight to the ground. “You shouldn’t say these things to me, Ryken. It’s not normal what I’m feeling for you…both of you.”
Suddenly, she was turned, her back against Ryken’s chest. She faced Luken, his fierce arms locked around her like a vise. “There is nothing normal about wanting something as badly as I want you, Tabitha. Ryken and I will never desire another woman like we desire you. To us, this is so much more than the simple act of fucking. The connection we have with you…it—” His eyes cast downward as he pressed his lips into a tight scowl.
“What? Tell me,” she begged.
His eyes locked with hers, as he explained, “You are our forever. No other woman will ever touch our souls as you have. We will never accept another woman in our lives because the only woman we want is you. We mate for life, Tabitha, and we live a very long time.”
“This is crazy. We’ve just met.”
“When it’s meant to be it doesn’t take much more than a conversation, a touch, or even a kiss to know you’ve met the one who is meant for you.” Luken released a heavy sigh.
Nuzzling against her cheek, Ryken asked, “Will you give us a chance to prove to you what we mean? Will you forgive me and allow us to start anew?” He kissed her ear. His breath dipped inside and sent shivers tingling up and down her spine. “Tabitha, I know I sound like a broken record, but please give me a chance to show you that I can be the man you want. The man you desire. The man you can trust.”
Chapter Nine
Whatever was happening to her was beyond her control. She was now bound to Ryken and Luken as if they had somehow become a vital extension of her body and without them, she would cease to exist. Tormented by the arousal swamping through her veins and mind, she closed her eyes and sobbed. These strange urges she was experiencing didn’t belong to her. She didn’t understand why all of these things were happening to her. Why did she feel so helpless against Ryken and Luken? So powerless to do or feel anything except their passion—raw, primal desires that caused her blood to pump fierce and wild throughout her veins. Their physical closeness alone fired through her body, making her feel as if she couldn’t function for a moment without Ryken or Luken impacting her life.
Even as the heavy sobs rocked her body, she could no longer deny the bonding she felt forming between them since their first encounter. A primitive power and instinct surrounded her. But the changes happening to her didn’t feel right, didn’t come from the person she knew herself to be. This was not the life she would have chosen for herself. A normal life was what she wanted—one that consisted of a steady job, a house, a husband, and a family. A simple life as a human being, not a Goddamn werewolf.
“Don’t be scared, Tabitha.” Luken’s voice rolled over her in a hypnotic haze, breaking her free of the fear that rippled inside her. He brushed the fallen tear from her cheek. “We want you…all of you…not just your body. This connection thriving between us, the one I know you feel is so much more than just sex.”
Ryken’s hands slid around her waist, climbing up her stomach and ribs, inflaming her skin. Masculine fingers closed possessively over one nipple, teasing, sampling, measuring the responsiveness of her body. She was very responsive. Arousal consumed her, tearing through her senses and every cell in her body. She choked back a sob as his fingers plucked at her sensitive nipple.
“Oh,” she gasped.
The corners of Ryken’s mouth lifted into a knowing smile. “You desire me,” he mused, his voice a husky rumble. “I know you do. I can smell your mouthwatering cunt, and I want so much to taste your sweet pussy again.” Cocking an eyebrow, he turned her to face him and wrapped one arm around her waist, holding her against him by the small of her back. “Do you enjoy my touch, Tabitha?” He nuzzled his whiskered face against her cheek, erotically abrading her skin. “Do you like the feel of my skin on yours, the way my hands caress your beautiful body?”
She quivered as he whispered words in her ear that made her heart race
faster. Her breath snagged in her chest the moment he nibbled on her ear. The warmth of his touch sent shivers tingling up and down her spine.
“Kiss me, Tabitha. Give me permission to love you.” The husky growl in Ryken’s voice had her toes curling inside her shoes.
What did she have to lose by giving into his wishes? Tabitha believed she had everything she wanted. But if that were true then why did she feel so lost and miserable? Why did the thought of being without these men frighten her more than the knowledge of losing her independence or better yet becoming a werewolf—a fact she had yet to accept fully.
Her chest tightened as she swallowed the nerves choking her. She said softly, “Promise me something, both of you.”
“Anything, just ask,” Ryken quickly responded.
Swallowing hard again, she whispered, “Promise me you won’t hurt me. Promise that I’m not just some piece of ass you’re tricking into fucking in the woods…or on a train.”
“Tabitha—” Ryken and Luken both called out to her, moving forward, surrounding her with their large, imposing bodies.
Raising her hands up to both of them, she protested, “Wait. I need to know that I mean more to you than that. I’m not asking for love— in fact it’s better if we don’t ever go there—but to know that I’m not just a notch on your bedpost. I don’t care if it’s a lie. I still need to hear you tell me it’s not.”
Ryken and Luken both eliminated the distance, closing in around her. Their large physical size didn’t frighten her. In fact, it did just the opposite. She felt safe standing between them, collecting the warmth of their bodies like she was a prized treasure. She could smell their need for her. She thought she had picked up on it before, but now standing so close to them she was sure that was what she sensed. Strange as it was, her senses were becoming more acute.
Luken twined his fingers into her hair, pressing his lips to the soft strands. “We’ve told you already, Tabitha. No one will ever be a part of us as you are. You belong with us. The only woman meant to be our one and true mate.”
