The Hawk, the Wolf, and the Dom [Shape-Shifter Clinic 6] (Siren Publishing Ménage Everlasting)

by Cara Adams

  Dr. Oscar Thorne, who owned the clinic and whose vision it had been to establish such a facility, was finally free of the endless harassment of his cousin George, who kept saying the property was his. George had been caught in the act of planting a bomb in the clinic and would be in jail for quite some time. The problem was, no one knew why George hated the property going to Oscar. Oscar’s staff and friends and the Alpha’s security team had investigated every avenue they could think of yet no logical reason had ever been found.

  Attorney Sierra Bond and her legal team had checked for things like mineral rights on the property in case there might be a seam of gold or a well of oil underground, but nothing had been revealed in any of their investigations. Sierra’d even looked into the possibility of air rights, but that was a dead end, too.

  The Alpha was loath to be defeated, and he’d asked Karen to talk to everyone associated with the clinic and search again for clues to George’s attitude. Maybe something linking back into his childhood, some place on site or obsession there.

  Privately, Karen thought George was crazy and it was all going to be a total waste of time. But she liked talking to people, the Alpha was her boss, and she had nothing else planned for the rest of her Saturday, so she might as well spend the afternoon talking to Quinn, Rainer, and Wynter.

  After her shower, her body still happily buzzing with endorphins from the whipping and the two stupendous orgasms Dom Augustus had given her, Karen climbed into her tiny compact car and headed out of town. It was still sunny and warm, but summer was fast coming to an end. Soon the leaves would be bright with fall color. Karen thought about that. Was it something to do with the seasons, perhaps? Had George wanted Oscar off the property before winter for some reason? She shrugged. The man was mad. Looking for a logical reason to his behavior was likely just a gigantic waste of time.

  Quinn had given Karen clear directions to his farm, and it was just as well because nothing was signposted. There wasn’t even a mailbox at the end of the dirt track she had to turn down to get to his farm. At first she shrugged. Many shape-shifters liked to remain very much in the background. A lot of humans didn’t know such things as werewolves existed. They thought they were just a fantasy from movies and books, and many shape-shifters were happy if humans never found out the truth. But then she remembered Quinn was a human.

  That’s interesting. Likely he’s just a very private person, though.

  From the turnoff to the old farmhouse was about three miles as the track wandered this way and that among the trees. After the first mile Karen realized the entry was damn clever. The driveway was going back on itself and crossing the land sideways. Someone could walk a much more direct route from the gate to the house than this road was taking. Or a wolf could run it, making sure they reached safety long before a person in a car, who had to drive very slowly because the track was rough with rocks and potholes, ever arrived. Quinn might not be a shape-shifter himself, but he was every bit as devious as one and that made her wonder if he’d had connections to the shape-shifter community before he ever met Wynter.

  By the time her little car bumped over the last of the ruts in the road and arrived outside the old farmhouse, Rainer was sitting on the porch swing waiting for her. She looked back over her shoulder and saw a cloud of dust gradually dissipating in the breeze. Yep, just another early warning system. Quinn had some nifty but very innocent security in place here. Which means he has a secret. So what is his secret?

  “Hey, Karen. Would you like to look around a bit before we go inside to talk?” asked Rainer.

  “Sure.”

  “I guess you know Quinn has eleven dogs, four cats, two horses, a goat, rabbits, chickens, and fish as well.”

  “I couldn’t have listed them like that, but I know he has quite a menagerie,” Karen replied as half a dozen dogs raced across the grass toward them.

  Rainer kept talking and walked her out to the barn, then to the field with the horses. Farther off was a lake which had recently been extended as one end of it still had rather raw-looking earth scraped up and piled to the side, whereas the other three sides were grass almost all the way to the water.

  Rainer waved at the lake, saying, “We had to lengthen and deepen it for Wynter. It was okay, but we wanted her to be able to swim more freely. She likes to get down to ten feet to play, and she can do that now.”

  “Wow, ten feet. That’s deep for a little lake.”

  “Come spring, likely it’ll be even deeper what with snow melt and all. That’s why we left the dirt there. The lake’ll fill to the other side, instead of spreading out. So it’ll go deeper, not wider.”

  “Good plan.” Karen hadn’t even thought about the needs of a great white shark. Well, she knew Wynter had to swim every day, but she’d never considered the logistics. While she was watching the lake, a couple of the dogs ran down to the shore and splashed around at the edges of it. “It looks like they appreciate it, too.”

  “The horses like to swim on hot days as well,” said Rainer.

  They turned and began walking back to the house. Rainer took them in the back door, into a huge country kitchen.

  Quinn was pulling a tray of muffins out of the oven as they arrived. The smell of berries, chocolate, and yeasty fresh muffins filled the air. “Oh, my God, what a divine scent.”

  “Let’s just hope they taste even half that nice,” said Quinn.

  Wynter hurried into the room and bustled around collecting the coffeepot, mugs, and plates, and then they all sat at the table, sipping hot coffee and eating muffins. Karen had a chocolate one and a blueberry one. It must have been all the calories she’d burned off in the dungeon, but one mouthful of them and she was suddenly starving.

  Finally she licked her fingers and remembered why she was there. “The Alpha has asked me to talk to everyone associated with the clinic and search again for clues as to why George was so determined to get the property for himself. Maybe it’s something linking back into his childhood, some place on the site or obsession with something there. Just as I drove here I wondered if it might even be something to do with the seasons. Something that’s relevant in winter but not in summer. We’re really looking more for brainstorming ideas than anything else, because every sensible, logical angle has already been explored.”

  Karen took a notepad and pen out of her purse. She wasn’t convinced she’d need them, but perhaps some idea would be shaken free from someone’s brain that she could follow up.

  “When Adam Roth threw that container of spiders at Ellie and the spiders got loose, I reckon we walked over every inch of the land looking for the little critters and I didn’t see anything new or different or amazing, or that might be saleable even,” said Quinn.

  “That’s right. I don’t think the wall will provide any clues either. All the shape-shifters patrolled that wall inside and out when there was trouble. They must have run around every inch of it dozens of times,” added Rainer.

  “What about the trees, plants, shrubs, flowers?” asked Karen.

  “People on watch climbed quite a few of the trees,” said Quinn slowly. “But I don’t know if anyone actually went looking with a botanical guidebook to see if there were some very valuable plants hidden among the garden.”

  “Excellent. That’s one thought no one’s checked yet. Well, at least as far as I know, no one’s checked it yet. So that’s a good idea,” said Karen, smiling at them.

  Quinn went on. “Danny and I’ve renovated quite a lot of the building, so I think if there’d been a secret room or something we’d have found it. Besides, Oscar said his grandparents weren’t that kind of people. They didn’t hide things and have secrets. They were very open about everything.”

  “But a plant could be different. It might be they didn’t even know it was rare,” argued Wynter.

  “What about the lake, Wynter. You’ve swum there, I guess?”

  “It’s quite small, and I’ve been over every inch of it. There are rocks at the bottom in one pl
ace, but mostly it’s just a very ordinary small lake. Ours here is much nicer and bigger,” she replied.

  Karen nodded, picking up the crumbs of muffin on her plate and eating them. At least her time here hadn’t been totally wasted. She’d enjoyed visiting with Wynter and her men, the muffins had been delicious, and there was the faint hope of a new line to check in the garden. The Alpha would likely know a botanist or someone who could look at the plants and see if there were any special ones among them. Karen was just about to leave, when a delicious man walked into the room and headed straight for the muffin tray.

  He gave her a piercing look from under brown eyebrows. His eyes were a very dark brown, an interesting contrast to his hair which was mottled brown, with lighter and darker strands in it, as though parts of it had been bleached by the sun.

  The newcomer was about to leave the room again, without speaking, when Quinn said very gently, “Toby, please stay. We’ve been trying to think of reasons why George might want to keep the clinic property for himself. The only idea we’ve come up with that’s new is that perhaps one of the trees is rare or something like that. Join us and share your thoughts, please.”

  The man hesitated, then nodded, coming across to the table and sitting at the end, not next to anyone else, but still with them. Karen wondered why he hadn’t sat beside her or Wynter, where there were spare chairs, then shrugged off her thoughts. Damn, he was beautiful, a truly luscious person to look at. Eye candy indeed. She could imagine that if he took off those jeans and that blue T-shirt his arms would prove to be ripped and his abs a washboard six-pack.

  He took a slow bite of his muffin, but Karen could tell he was thinking, not ignoring them. When he finally spoke it was in a deep bass voice that sent ripples running right down her spine with delight. Oh God, he could work on a telephone sex line any day with a voice like that.

  “I can’t think of any unusual plants there, but then I wasn’t looking for them. I don’t believe I have any ideas to offer you.”

  They all talked for a little longer, but Toby didn’t speak again and there were no new ideas for Karen to take with her. Finally she stood up. “Thank you for letting me come and talk with you. I’ll give the Alpha the idea about the plants. At least that’s one more thing to check out. Toby, nice to meet you.”

  Toby extended a hand, and hastily she dropped her notebook into her purse and shook his hand. It was warm and hard, but strong rather than rough. It fit perfectly with his deep voice and hypnotic gaze.

  Wynter walked her out to her car and waved her good-bye.

  Karen drove off with one thought in her mind. He’s mine. Toby is mine. I’m going to demand a ménage just like Rowan has, and like Wynter, Quinn, and Rainer have. Toby and Dom Augustus. I want them both and I’ll have them both.

  As she drove out of the gate, a huge brown hawk landed on it and stared at her. It had liquid, dark-brown eyes just like Toby’s. Now I’m imagining things. That’s totally impossible.

  Chapter Two

  Toby had known the moment Karen’s car entered the driveway. He’d watched from his favorite live oak as she’d meandered her way up to the old farmhouse, then he’d moved to a Norfolk Pine to watch as Rainer had shown her some of the property.

  Speaking of unusual trees, the half dozen Norfolk Pines on this land were unusual. Not rare and valuable though, but not particularly common. He might fly over to the clinic tomorrow and have a look at the garden again. The last time he was there it was to keep watch on a getaway vehicle, and it’d gotten away because he couldn’t make it too obvious he was following it. After all, a hawk swooping on a bright-yellow SUV at night was not exactly keeping a low profile, and his entire life was aimed at hiding his shape-shifter identity.

  His mother had never registered his birth—possibly because hers hadn’t been registered either and she had no Social Security identification—so they’d moved from town to town. She’d worked for tips as a waitress or barmaid, and when people had asked to see their paperwork they’d silently moved on. When she left him, shortly after his sixteenth birthday, he continued to live the same way, moving from town to town, state to state, heading south in winter and north in summer. At one stage he worked out he’d lived in forty different places in ten years.

  He’d been living on this property when Quinn bought it. The orchard of fruit trees was like finding a grocery store full of free food. There was also an old overgrown vegetable garden that still had plenty of edible things in it. Of course there was no power connected to the property anymore, but he made a fire in the old fireplace and roasted his vegetables or washed them in the lake and ate them raw. He’d even taken some of the bedding from an upstairs room out to the most distant barn and slept there in the hayloft. It was the perfect place for him to stay, as he could fly as much as he liked, yet move around in human form at will as well.

  Usually, for him, it was one shape or the other. As a child he’d lost count of the number of times he and his mother had left everything behind and flown away when she’d sensed danger. He still hadn’t accumulated more possessions than would fit in a large backpack, but he liked the idea of keeping his clothing long enough to need to wash it!

  And now, here he was watching a woman. A wolf no less! He knew she was a wolf. He’d met her twin brother and liked Rowan, not that they’d spoken to each other much. He still maintained his distance from people as much as possible. A lifetime of habits were too ingrained for him to change quickly, although he trusted Quinn. Quinn was the first person he’d really talked to since his mother had left him.

  Finally he’d overcome his reluctance and gone inside to find out more about the woman. He’d watched her and evaluated her, and was now prepared to get to know her a little. Not that he would be able to form a relationship with anyone unless a female hawk shape-shifter materialized into his life, which was unlikely.

  But he would go look at the clinic gardens in daylight. He’d spend tomorrow there. And maybe he’d even ask Quinn, or Rainer, or Wynter, about Karen. He’d like to know more about her.

  * * * *

  Gus lived at the BDSM club. It was not widely known that the Alpha of the wolf pack, Mr. Vukic, had a controlling interest in the club even though the manager was a wolf, as were quite a few of the staff. The top floor of the building held four extremely nice suites for special guests. Above that, on the roof, was the manager’s apartment, and another smaller apartment, which Gus used. He was happy there, as it held all he needed. However, it meant he had a huge problem if he didn’t get Karen out of his mind. How was he supposed to work as a Dom if he was fucking one of the subs? She’d made it quite clear she was going to keep attracting him, and he knew he’d succumb. He simply couldn’t function as a Dom with her on his mind all the time. It wasn’t feasible.

  Gus paced up and down the roof. His own apartment was much too small to pace in, but the roof itself was large. It was high enough up to have quite a good view out over the town, but it wasn’t the view that he was focused on right now. It was trying to balance his job, his career, his livelihood, with his aching need for a sexy werewolf.

  Would it be good enough if he simply kept to his old rule about never fucking a sub, except Karen? He’d spent years touching subs in a nonsexual way, treating them purely as submissives, not as sexual beings. Couldn’t he continue doing this? Or would he feel disloyal to Karen?

  Doctors and nurses touch people all the time, but not in a sexual way. Surely I can do the same? Yeah, but doctors and nurses are healing people, not trying to bring them to orgasm by releasing them from their fears and doubts, by heightening their arousal to the delights and freedoms that come with submission.

  Dammit.

  Gus paced some more. Up the length of the building, around the air conditioning and heating vents, and back down the other side. His gaze was on his feet, not on the vista over the top of the wall.

  If I leave here and go get another job, what can I do? Bartend maybe? Be a bouncer? Gus screwed up his no
se. The problem was, being a Dom was him, heart and soul. It wasn’t just his job. It was his true self, his inner being.

  He tried to see himself working an eight-hour shift as a bouncer or barman. He wouldn’t mind doing either job for a while, but he knew he’d soon become discontent and need to be back in the dungeon swinging his flogger, planning scenes for his subs.

  I’ll only take male customers. I’ve never had any problem with lusting after a man. I’m one hundred percent straight. If I only work with men, it’ll be fine.

  Relieved at having solved his dilemma, Gus went into his apartment to plan a scene for Karen. A scene that would have her begging him for release. Release that would only happen with his cock firmly housed deep in her cunt. Or maybe her ass. Hmm. He needed to think about that some more.

  * * * *

  Toby had spent most of the day sitting in one tree after another at Thorne House Clinic, watching the comings and goings of the patients and staff, and also staring at the plants in the gardens. Gardens was actually a very loose description. Likely grounds would be a more accurate term. Sure, there were some neatly planted garden beds, and “gardens” as in “plants surrounded by grass,” but really it was mostly shrubs and trees growing wherever they had seeded, with lots of grass as well.

  He was no botanist or horticulturalist, but he had a good eye for plants, and a lifetime of needing to know all about them for food and shelter had made him more aware of them than the average person, and he was quite sure there was nothing here he couldn’t recognize. Still, he was sure the Alpha would send an expert along to do a full survey and perhaps he’d be proven wrong, but he rather thought they needed to look elsewhere for George Thorne’s motive.

  Karen had mentioned the seasons. Was there something here that only flowered rarely or in a certain season? Again, no, he didn’t think so. But that had him thinking about Karen again. The lush curves of the wolf aroused his libido in a way no female, human or shape-shifter, ever had done before. He wanted her quite desperately, but had no idea how to spend time with her and still keep himself private.