by Marla Monroe
“Ah, a good girl who turned bad when she started flexing her wings to fly.” Beau nodded and chuckled. “You were the kind of girl we tried to corrupt as teenagers and young adults.”
The front door opened, and Gaston strode in with two other men right behind him. They were big men, though not quite as big as Beau and Gaston. She wondered why they were there. Had he learned something to tell them what was going on?
“We’ve got a very serious problem,” he said with a stoic expression so serious it scared Shayla.
“What have you discovered, frère?” Beau asked.
“Demons.”
Chapter Ten
“Demons?” Beau asked to be sure he’d heard his brother correctly.
“Yes. They are the reason the guards wondered off to fall asleep and why the two females attacked Shayla. The guards were made to leave our mate vulnerable so that the females could get into the house to attack her. They were supposed to kill her and leave her for us to find,” Gaston told them.
“Fuck!” Beau spat out in outrage. They never even knew the hell spawn had been nearby.
“You’re saying that a demon was inside the house?” Shayla asked with wide eyes.
“Non, not inside the house, but close enough he could influence the guards,” Gaston said with a growl in his voice.
“Why would they want to kill me? I mean, that was what the outcome was going to be, right?”
“Yes, that was their plan, but I’m not sure exactly why. It could have been to cause us to go insane at losing you so we destroyed our own pride. It could have been directed entirely at you, cher. I just don’t know, but if I had to guess, I’d say it wasn’t just you, but the three of us as a mated triad. We all share the mark of royalty and are joining. It threatens them in some way. I just don’t know how yet,” Gaston told them.
“It’s just a birthmark,” she said.
Beau wrapped his arms around her shoulders. “Non, boo. Legends say that when three of royal blood are joined, there will be a shifting of power. No one really knows what that means, though.” He had his theories, but until they knew more, he wasn’t about to risk their mate running away over what he thought to be true.
“So what did the women say about attacking me?” Shayla asked, changing the subject.
“They didn’t remember doing it. All they remembered was getting a terrible headache and going to lie down. The next thing they knew, they were bloody and beaten deep in the swamp. They had no idea how they’d gotten attacked or how they’d gotten where they were,” Gaston told them.
“And you believe them?”
“Yes. There was no scent of a lie or deceit. As shifters, we can smell a lie as easily as smelling fear. They both have distinctive scents,” Gaston told her.
“Why would a demon have sent two females instead of just influencing the guards to kill me?” she asked.
“I think it was to make it look normal and not like something that would point toward magic or the interference of a demon or other being. If the guards had attacked and killed you, we would have looked for another reason outside of them just wanting you gone. Before we placed you under their protection, we made sure they held no malice toward you. They couldn’t lie to us, so we would have known something wasn’t right if they had been the ones to attack you.”
Beau nodded. “If the females had succeeded in killing you, they would have probably gone home, cleaned up, and continued as if nothing had happened. We would have scented the females and questioned them, and they would have continued on with their story that they resented a human female becoming our mate. The demon’s influence would have made them believe that so we wouldn’t smell a lie on them. The demon wouldn’t care if we had them killed as punishment. All it cared about was getting what he wanted—you dead.”
Beau tightened his hold on her, sick to his stomach at what had almost worked. If Shayla hadn’t been able to defend herself, she would be dead. Just the thought of losing her already sent his cat into a fit. He had no doubt that both he and his brother would go insane at her loss. Somehow, they had to prevent that from ever happening. It would destroy their pride. More than likely he and Gaston would do the deed themselves in their grief.
“What can we do? There has to be a way to stop him from repeating it again. I have no control over when or if my hands shift into claws, so I can’t be sure I can protect myself. And if the demon can influence anyone, what will stop him from influencing one of you to kill me, or me you, for that matter?”
Beau wasn’t sure either. Gaston shook his head. “He can’t influence someone if they know to watch for it. In talking to the guards and the females, it seems that the demon first spoke to them in their thoughts, telling them what he wanted them to feel so that the girls slowly built up anger and indignation that we would choose a human over them. It was subtle and slowly worked its way around their thoughts until they got all worked up over it.”
“So by us knowing what could happen, we are not as susceptible to his influence,” Beau surmised.
“Exactly. If I start getting thoughts along the lines of not liking or wanting Shayla for some reason, I know it’s the demon trying to turn my thoughts to his wishes. Once I acknowledge that he’s interfering with my free will, he loses all his power over me. If I don’t, and slowly begin to agree with the thoughts he is planting in my head, he’ll gain a greater and greater control over me until I bend to his will.” Gaston sighed and rubbed a hand along the back of his neck before taking a seat next to Shayla.
Beau could see the weariness in his brother’s features and the way he stood. This was eating him up. He didn’t like to think that they couldn’t trust their own people.
“What if you talk to everyone and tell them what is going on and that they need to watch every thought to be sure it is really theirs or if the demon is trying to influence them? Will they listen to you and do that?” Shayla asked.
Gaston looked at him and lifted a brow. Beau knew he was asking what he thought about it, but he wasn’t sure he could believe that all of their pride members would be able to follow through or not. Many in their pride were weak already and easily influenced.
“We can tell the stronger of them, and they will pay attention and resist. The weaker ones will only obsess over it, making them perfect for the demon to approach,” Gaston finally said.
“So we should talk to the stronger ones and leave the others in the dark since they wouldn’t be able to fight anyway. At least they would also be easy to tell if they tried to attack. They don’t have the innate ability to fight to win,” Beau said in agreement. “I think that is our best bet for now. Until we can figure out how to stop him from targeting our people, we don’t have much choice.”
“Is there another group you can talk to and find out more about this demon to know why he’s trying to kill me?” Shayla asked.
Beau and Gaston exchanged looks. Beau shrugged. He knew what his brother was thinking. He had no idea if any of the other races would talk to them if they knew anything. Plus, if they asked someone and they knew about the legend, they’d realize that the three of them were real and that change was inevitable as long as all three of them were alive and mated. It could lead to even more of the preternatural world coming after them. Hell, for all he knew, they weren’t going to cause the change—they were just signs that the change was at hand. That was the problem with legends. They never gave one all the parts so one would know what to expect.
“Instead of learning something helpful, we could tip off others who might have a reason to want to avoid change, as well,” Gaston told her.
“This is so frustrating. We don’t know why the demon is after me. We don’t know what is going to happen if we mate…”
“When we mate,” Gaston said, interrupting her.
“And we don’t know if our mating really means anything or if it is just another sign for something else.” Shayla rubbed her face with both hands. “Is there anything we do know?”
Gaston stood up then bent over and picked Shayla up so fast her eyes went wide and she screamed in surprise. As his brother carried her toward the bedroom, her hands morphed into furry paws and claws once more.
“Um, Gaston. Be careful. She’s got claws again,” Beau said with a chuckle as he followed them out of the living room.
“I think we now know the trigger for your change, cher,” Gaston said with a broad smile as he carefully dropped her on the bed.
“What?” she asked then looked down at her paws. “Damn! I did it again.”
“When you feel threatened, they come out for protection,” Gaston pointed out. “Let me see your mouth. Open up for me.”
“What?”
Beau smiled and tapped a finger on her lips. “Open up so we can see your teeth, boo.”
She frowned at them but opened her mouth. He and Gaston looked, but her teeth remained the same. Odd. Beau would have thought her teeth would change, as well.
“Do you remember anything strange just before your hands changed the first time?” Gaston asked her.
“Um, I remember my hands felt funny. They itched and the skin felt tight over them. My arms just above my wrists tingled. My mouth was even tingling. I didn’t know why until I saw my hands,” she told them.
“Okay. When I startled you, did you feel the same things?” Gaston asked her.
“Yeah, yeah, I did. Except my arms didn’t tingle quite as much, and my mouth didn’t at all.”
“I think those are your signals for when your hands are going to change into paws. I think that first time you actually morphed your teeth into cat teeth, but this time you didn’t for some reason. Probably your mind caught up and realized it was just me and you knew I wouldn’t harm you so you didn’t need to change your teeth.” Gaston held up one arm so that Shayla could see as it slowly changed back.
“Wow. Why is this happening to me now? Why didn’t it happen when I was attacked years ago or when I was at the cemetery? Those would have both been ideal times to have had them.”
Beau frowned. “When where you attacked before? Who did it?”
“I don’t know who it was. The police never found out. It was as if he had never been there. I was walking home from a friend’s house only a block down and someone or something grabbed me and pulled me into the shadows between some bushes. He choked me and nearly killed me. He kept squeezing my throat until I finally lost consciousness, but I woke up in the emergency room. I’d left my friend’s house at nine that night, and they said that someone found me half in and half out of the bushes about ten thirty. Um, I was naked and had a lot of bruising all over me. My throat was swollen and bruised so badly they didn’t think I’d ever regain my normal voice again.” She stared at her hands while she told them about the incident.
“Had he raped you, Shalya?” Gaston asked in a soft voice.
“No. There were no signs that I’d been sexually assaulted, but I had bruises everywhere else. They figured he was interrupted and ran. There were no fingerprints anywhere on me even though I knew he hadn’t worn gloves. They kept saying that they were probably clear and I didn’t see them, but I know he didn’t. I felt his skin and how cold it was. It was greasy and slick. They tested my fingers and cut my nails to see if I’d gotten skin under them, but there was nothing. Not even anything foreign on my fingers.”
Gaston knelt at the side of the bed and pulled her into his arms. Looking over her shoulder, he stared at Beau. His brother seemed to believe that it had been a demon after her back then, as well. The question was why.
* * * *
Gaston wanted to scream and tear something to pieces with his claws and teeth. Why were demons after their mate? Even before they had met her, she’d been a target for some reason. They had to find out and figure out a way to keep her safe. He had thought of someone to contact but hesitated to do so. He hadn’t talked to the old dragon in almost thirty years. They had never gotten along, but if anyone would know what was going on, it would be Dagen. He was about the oldest creature he knew that was still around. Dagen had been alive during the Crusades and, because of that, was one of only a few of his kind left on Earth.
“I want to make love with you, cher. I want to rock you in my arms and whisper sweet nothings in your ear. Will you let us love you?” Gaston finally asked.
If he had to call on the old dragon, he wanted his mate’s scent on him and her peaceful aura surrounding him. Maybe with her on his side he could deal with the arrogant bastard and get what he needed to know without losing his temper. Dagen loved to pick at him and would do so mercilessly if he thought it was getting to someone.
“Love me? Do you love me, Gaston?” she asked him instead of answering him.
“I love you with all my soul, Shayla. Without you, my world would grow dim and dank. You fill it with light and color. I have always loved you, even before I knew you. I knew you were out there, and I couldn’t wait to find you. I want to share that love with you,” he said.
She looked over at Beau then back at him. “And sharing me with Beau is okay with you? You won’t be jealous that he is in my bed, too?”
“No. I will envy him when he has you in his arms and I don’t, but there will never be jealousy between us. You are all that matters, and keeping you safe as well as happy means much more to me than being the only one in your bed,” he said. “But understand. He is the only other male I will ever tolerate touching you. I will kill any other male who tries to take you from us or touch you. You are ours, Shayla. Forever.”
He waited for what seemed like an eternity before she slowly nodded her head. “Yes. I want you both to make love to me. Make me forget some of this for a little while. Just a little while.”
His cat growled with excitement as well as need. Their mate wanted them and even asked for them. Gaston slowly peeled his shirt over his head and unfastened his jeans but didn’t pull them off. Then he kicked off his shoes and crawled up on the bed so that he straddled her hips with one knee on either side of them.
The sight of her chest heaving with the effort of breathing thrilled him. Her excitement was catching, and the more he watched her, the more color suffused her cheeks. He liked that he could make her blush. A low growl erupted from him as he slowly lowered his body until he was crouching over her. He rubbed his face all along her cheek and neck on both sides. When she bared her neck for him, Gaston nearly lunged to bite her and make her theirs immediately. That had to wait, though.
He was aware that his brother was undressing behind him. Then the bed dipped on the other side, and Beau climbed slowly up next to their mate. He lay on his side with one hand propping his head up so he could watch.
Gaston tuned him out and focused all of his attention on the female under him. He wanted to taste every inch of her gorgeous body. His mouth watered at the thought, and his gums burned as his teeth emerged. He would have to be careful of her with his teeth out, but he didn’t want to suppress them.
“These clothes have to go, cher. I hope they are not your favorite,” he said just before he ripped her shirt from the neck down. “If they are, I’ll buy you more.”
“Gaston!” Shayla’s breathy voice saying his name tightened his dick to a near-painful hardness.
“What, t’chat? What would you have me do?” he asked in a voice gone husky with arousal.
He didn’t expect an answer, and he didn’t get one. Instead, he pulled it roughly the rest of the way off of her. Then he focused on her pants. Backing off of her body, he pulled her pants down with him. This left her exposed in just her underwear. He nearly came just looking at the picture before him. She lay there in a lacy, barely there bra and panty set of pale peach against porcelain white skin. In a word, she was ethereal in her beauty. It nearly hurt to look at her. His cat purred at the sight of her then lunged in an effort to get near her. Gaston struggled to hold the other back. He didn’t want to scare their mate, and seeing his panther so close to the surface very well might do that.
&nbs
p; “Beau, her bra,” he told his brother.
While Beau rid her of the sexy but annoying garment, Gaston slipped his fingers beneath the silky panties and slowly pulled them down as she lifted her hips to help him. When they were free of her feet, he lifted them to his face and inhaled, closing his eyes as he breathed in her heady scent.
“I’ll keep these so I can enjoy your scent whenever I’m away from you.” Slipping them into his jean’s pocket, he unfastened his pants and slid them down until his throbbing erection popped out, already stiff and leaking pre-cum.
“Please, Gaston. I need you.” Shayla’s husky voice had his dick jerking in agreement.
He stepped out of the jeans and eased closer to the edge of the bed. He loved seeing her eyes heavy with arousal, the way she worried her lower lip with her teeth then soothed it with just the tip of her tongue. He couldn’t wait to feel her hot mouth around his cock. His brother had sworn he’d only been able to hold on by thinking of disgusting things when she’d sucked his cock the first time they’d made love to her.
He wanted to tangle his hands in her hair and fuck his dick in and out of her mouth before shooting cum down her throat. She’d take it all then clean his shaft free of his seed. The idea had him growling. His cat didn’t want to waste his seed like that right now. Now, they mated, filling their mate with their life’s essence.
“Spread your legs for me, cher. I want to see your pretty pussy. I’m going to lick your cream until you scream,” he said.
Her soft whimper let him know she was more than happy to let him. When he positioned his shoulders between her thighs, he looked up and smiled to see his brother worshiping her breasts. An ache hit him. He wanted to suck and bite those wonderful globes, but he couldn’t do it all, as much as he wanted to. Beau would take care of that for him.
Gaston wasted no time. He buried his face between her legs, licking and sucking on her dripping pussy lips before spreading them with his thumbs to lap at her slit. The more he licked, the more she gave him of her delicious nectar. He couldn’t wait for her come on his face again. Then he would fill her cunt with his seed while his brother took her sweet ass. He was almost certain her ass had never been taken before.
