Masquerade

by Dahlia Rose

  “I love you, baby.” Alex cupped her cheek and looked into her eyes. “We both love you so damn much.”

  “I love the both of you, too.” She never knew such feelings could exist until they came into her life.

  They began their slow movements in tandem and she felt sensations ricochet through her. When Alex withdrew Dominic plunged in and they built a rhythm where she was pinned between them unable to move but was experiencing everything. Their guttural cries matched hers until the intensity they had built overflowed. Tempest was sent catapulting into a breathtaking orgasm. She felt Dominic’s release shake through his body and then Alex followed with a harsh cry. They filled her with their hot seed before they all collapsed in a pile of contented, relaxed bodies.

  “We should get up,” Dominic mumbled after several minutes. “We’ve got work to do.”

  “I want to nap,” Tempest murmured and yawned.

  “You nap, darling. We’ll go out in a few minutes.” Alex yawned.

  A few minutes turned into an hour and a half nap before they went back outside. That night, she watched as RV after RV came through the newly hung gates and took the curved path to where they would be staying. Alex and Dominic were out there in the darkness directing everyone where to go. She wondered how the Acadia pack could stand living in RVs in cramped quarters, and wondered why Vernon didn’t direct them to build homes on the pack lands to give them some kind of comfortable life. He was the only one who had a little home—the one the previous Alpha, Jack, had lived in.

  Was he that cruel? Did it keep them under his thumb or did he just not care? Her first impression of him that first time she went to Acadia was that he didn’t trust her guys, but he otherwise seemed okay. But now after what Alex and Dominic had told her, she wasn’t so sure. The last RV that came through the gates was huge and she assumed it was Vernon’s. Behind it, a small vehicle followed and broke away from the caravan and came up the driveway to the house. She furrowed her brows, wondering who could possibly be coming up to the house. Her guys never told her that anyone would be staying in the house. The car stopped and she held her hands up to her eyes against the glare of the headlights. She didn’t know it was Vernon until he was standing two steps down from her and she immediately stepped back.

  “Hello, Tempest,” he said casually and came up on the porch. He wiped his hands down his blue jean shirt and tucked it into his pants.

  “Hi, um…Vernon. What are you doing up here? Alex and Dominic are down there helping set up,” she replied.

  “Are they?” He leaned casually against the fence. “I was coming up here to personally thank them for letting us intrude.” Vernon gave a slow smile that made her very uncomfortable. “I guess I’ll have to thank you instead. I can certainly do that any way you want.”

  Oh, yuck. She hid her grimace behind a forced smile. “You don’t have to thank me in the least. We’re glad to help.”

  “Tell me, do you really like being shared like a bone?” Vernon asked. “You should choose a mate worthy of you, one that can stand alone.”

  “Whom I choose is none of your business. They are both mine.” Tempest raised her head defiantly. “Don’t presume to know what you don’t understand.”

  “Hmm, seems to me you’re protesting a bit much,” Vernon said. “I can smell them on you, smell the sex. Makes me hard just thinking about you taking on both of them. The things we could do to each other.”

  She heard the sound of running on the white gravel that Dominic had used for landscaping the garden area in front of the house. She was relieved when she saw Dominic and Alex round the corner and assess Vernon with wary eyes.

  “I thought you’d be with the rest of your pack,” Alex said slowly.

  Vernon laughed. “Sorry, boys. I thought you two were up here and I wanted to say thanks again. I found the lovely Tempest and stopped for a chat.”

  Dominic stepped forward. “You know fucking well where we—”

  Alex cut him off. “She’s ours, Vernon. Let’s not cause tension between us.”

  Vernon held up his hands. “Oh, I know that, boys. Come on, me with her? Y’all know I got my pick of any woman in the pack. Dominic, you need to control that temper, boy, it might get you in trouble.”

  “Bring it,” Dominic snarled.

  Vernon laughed as he went back to his car and got in. Tempest watched him reverse his way down the driveway before making the turn to join his pack.

  Dominic grabbed her shoulder. “What did he say?”

  Looking into his eyes and then at Alex she knew it was best not to repeat what Vernon said. It would only cause problems and ruin her Halloween party. He had made their relationship sound dirty, tried to make their love filthy, but she wasn’t going to let that bother her.

  Tempest forced another smile. “Just like he said, he said thank you.”

  “I don’t think you’re telling us the truth.” Alex gave a low growl and then took a deep breath. “But right now we’ve got bigger problems. We scented that rogue pack on some of the RVs. I think they may be tracking them, but we can’t tell how old the scent is. It could be from before when I was attacked.”

  “You know that this thing with Vernon is heading towards some kind of dust up,” Dominic said angrily.

  “I know, but right now he needs our help and that will keep him in line. When that’s over, we’re severing ties,” Alex answered.

  “But won’t you still have to report to him?” Tempest asked worriedly. “He could try to attack both of you since the plantation isn’t that far from his area.”

  “If we take care of the rogue wolves for him, we’re even,” Dominic said. “And if he tries anything, we’ll call him out and we’ll win.”

  “You don’t want to be in a pack,” Tempest reminded them.

  “To keep you safe, we’ll do what we have to,” Alex said and kissed her gently before saying, “Don’t worry, baby, it won’t come to that. Now, we’ll go back down there and make sure they’re settled and know the boundaries of our patience. Tomorrow we’ll have your party and then a few more days those damn rogues will be gone. Then Vernon and his pack will be out of our lives forever.”

  “Okay, that’s good.” She smiled up at her wolves. “Go finish that and then come to bed. You know I can’t sleep without you.”

  “Back in a flash, my love. Go get the bed warm for us.” Dominic flashed her that sexy smile that always made her heart skip a beat.

  She watched them walk away, and love filled her chest to the point of bursting. Vernon was disgusting and how did he ever think he could compare to the two who held her in their arms each night and each had a piece of her soul? The three of them as a whole knew more love than anyone realized. Dominic and Alex didn’t get jealous or covet what the other had. They shared her affection, one never asking for more than the other. They acted like brothers…or even better than brothers. Vernon tried to make what they shared dirty, but he was so wrong. He’d better mind his mouth, Tempest thought angrily. Because Alex and Dominic might have to teach him some manners and, heck, maybe she would too. She went upstairs to grab a shower and wait for them to come inside. She wouldn’t let Vernon ruin tomorrow night’s festivities. She had been waiting for this a long time. She would enjoy the night no matter what.

  Chapter Five

  Screams, echoing in the night, mixed with the laughter of children. Music played, while goblins danced with princesses and vampires flirted with fairies. Tempest looked around at her guests, a huge smile plastered on her face. Children bobbed for apples or jumped in the inflatable pumpkin bouncy house or found treats in the scavenger hunt stations she set up. There was punch and food galore and everyone in costume milled around either inside or outside where strings of lights and paper lanterns were hung.

  She looked around for her men who she actually convinced to get dressed up for the evening. She found Alex dressed as Wolverine and he winked at her. Dominic was standing close by with his eyes on her. He was dressed as his own ve
rsion of the Beast from Beauty and the Beast. His costume consisted of one of his tuxedos that he destroyed by ripping the arms out of the jacket. He wore it with an all black T-shirt and ruffled his hair. That was the extent of the entire costume. He looked devilishly handsome and she loved him all the more for trying.

  Unintentionally, her eyes met Vernon’s. He was dressed in a suit that had seen one too many needles and patchwork. He had his hair slicked back and he raised his cup of punch in her direction. Dominic followed her gaze and from where she was standing she could hear his snarl. God, she just wished the man would set his sights elsewhere and in his own pack. But she could see now why the women didn’t want him and only submitted to his advances because he was the Alpha. He lorded over the men and treated the women like his personal servants. It was far from the picture of unity he pretended the pack had. She pushed that aside and watched the children play.

  “You’re the most gorgeous bride of Frankenstein I’ve ever seen,” Alex said as he came up the steps.

  “Why, thank you, Wolverine,” she said with a smile.

  “If Vernon doesn’t stop sending you those looks, I’ll rip his head off, if I can get to him before Dominic.” He said the words so mildly that if she didn’t know him she would have thought he was kidding. But he wasn’t. Alex was dead serious.

  “I almost wish this attack would happen sooner rather than later,” Tempest said. “He makes my skin crawl. I wish we could help his people.”

  “They made the choice to stay when he took over leadership. We can’t do anything for them unless we challenged him outright and we just want to be here with you, not part of a pack,” Alex said.

  She could feel within herself that that would not be the case. They would never fully be given peace. Tempest didn’t have to have a vision to know that just getting the Acadia pack off their land would not get them out of their lives. Each time Vernon’s gaze met hers she saw with a certainty that the man was plotting something.

  “Head’s up. We have party crashers.” Dominic came up the steps. Before she could ask he said, “Lorna and Bubba. I could smell them before I could even see them.”

  Tempest followed his gaze and saw Lorna aptly dressed as Marie Antoinette. Bubba was dressed as Prince Charming except that his suit was powder blue with ruffles. They made a sight and Tempest shook her head at Lorna’s tenacity. She was just about to rush down to where they stood and throw them out when a long howl filled the night. The party goers—who weren’t part of the pack—thought it was just another special effect, but she felt her wolves stiffen beside her and she knew trouble had arrived at their doorstep. Vernon shot a glance in their direction.

  A wolf came out of the darkness and knocked a man dressed like a clown to the ground. Screams began echoing in all directions and that’s when people realized this was no joke. More wolves came out of the darkness and their eyes glowed yellow in the night. People scattered and Bubba turned to run and left Lorna where she stood. For his actions, a dirty brown wolf came at him and began to tear at his clothes. “Lorna, help,” he yelled in fear. But she was already lifting her big frilly skirt, running in the other direction, leaving him to his fate.

  “What do we do?” Tempest asked urgently.

  “Get the women, children and humans that didn’t run off into the house. Tell them that it’s a pack of wolves that must have smelled the food and… Shit, tell them anything, but don’t let them look out the windows!” Alex dove off the patio and Dominic was close behind.

  “Get that wolf off Bubba,” she called to them.

  “I should let it eat his big powdered blue ass,” Dominic yelled back. He kicked the wolf off Bubba who was flailing around wildly and dragged him to his feet. “That’s what you get for going where you’re not invited. Get inside, idiot!”

  She turned off the music—which just happened to be blaring Thriller—with just a press of a button of the remote she had stashed in her costume’s small purse. From there, she ran down the steps and caught the first two small bodies that she came to. “Get into the house!” she yelled all the while watching Dominic and Alex stand with Vernon and the males of his pack. People began heading up the stairs to the wide open front doors.

  “What the fuck is happening? Did you use your witchy powers to call wolves in so we’d be eaten?” Lorna accused.

  “I should let you get eaten, you stupid twat. Don’t you see my men out there trying to protect your sorry asses?” Tempest snapped. “Get inside and you stay close by the door in case I need to kick you out. And if I catch you in any other part of my house, it will happen, trust me.”

  She handed the children to a woman whose face was familiar to her from the Acadia pack. She ran to the bouncy house and got those kids out as well. Even a few human friends were helping to get everyone inside. When everyone was inside she pulled the thick drapes on the four big windows that looked out to the patio. All the while, her guys and the Acadia pack stood in a semi-circle, a tense standoff between the rogue pack of wolves. She locked the door and looked out the window at what was going on in her front yard.

  “Tempest, what’s happening?” The worried voice belonged to the mayor of Cormina who was dressed like Count Dracula.

  “Don’t you see, Daddy? She’s using some kind of spell to get back at us,” Lorna cried out and tears trailed down her face. She pointed at Tempest. “Can’t y’all see she’s evil?”

  “Lorna, for the love of God, shut up!” Her father snapped. “God knows why you couldn’t have had your mother’s brains and common sense. You’re just plain spoiled and it’s not a quality that’s endearing in an older woman.”

  “Daddy!” Lorna gasped.

  “Go sit down and take that big goofy lug with you.” The mayor turned his attention to Tempest. “Is there anything we can do?”

  “No, Alex and Dominic can handle it and the other guys with him are accustomed to wolf attacks.” Tempest kept thinking on her feet. “We invited them and their families because they are friends of my guys. They told us about wolf attacks on a few other small towns they’ve been tracking for the EPA. They can throw off the natural order of the bayou if they are allowed to stay and breed.”

  The mayor nodded. “Well, that’s good. Good that you had these men here to protect your guests. The children are scared. I’ll start some games and hand out some of these treats you have here.”

  “Thank you, Phil.” Tempest managed to smile.

  He patted her on her shoulder. “Regardless of what you may think, there are many in this town who would like to apologize for the life and the lies that your family was thrown into.” He gave his daughter a hard look. “The gossip of a child can seem innocent until adults learn that the child had spite in her from the very beginning. There are some who would like to make amends and offer their hand in friendship even though we don’t deserve it.”

  “I understand, Phil, but a lot of really bad things have been done to me and my family over the years.” Tempest sighed. “How about slow steps?”

  He smiled. “Yes, that works just fine, dear.”

  A yelp from outside made her part the curtains slightly and look through the window to what was going on. Vernon hadn’t taken the form of his wolf, but all the others had and so had Dominic and Alex. When the first rogue wolf jumped towards them it was Alex who responded with a snarl. He took the wolf down and used his massive body to pin the animal before snapping its neck with his huge jaws. The others attacked and soon it was a full-on battle. She noticed that Vernon kept a discreet distance, hoping to look like he was in the fray but doing nothing. It made anger rise up inside her knowing that he was such a coward that he let others fight his battle even though he was the Alpha.

  Two wolves were on Dominic’s back while another circled Alex. The other wolves from Acadia were in battles of their own. When she saw Lorna creeping toward the window Tempest gave her a deadly look. She shrunk back with an evil glare of her own and sat on Bubba’s lap. He promptly got up and she almost s
lid to the floor. He, of course, made a beeline to the ice chest where the beer was being kept and pulled out two before sitting back down. She heard soft chuckles when people noticed how much Bubba truly cared for Lorna. She actually felt sorry for the woman when pink rose up in her cheeks.

  Everyone kept the kids entertained, and before you know it silence reigned and when she heard a knock on the door she gasped and everyone looked at the barrier. It literally was as if they expected the big bad wolf to be the one behind the door. It was one of her wolves instead. Dominic strode in and looked around the crowded living room.

  “Is everything okay out there?” Tempest asked.

  “Yeah, we had to put down some of them and a few stragglers got away. The pack was larger than what was expected.” Dominic kissed her forehead. “Vernon and his people are getting rid of the…well, they are taking care of the situation.”

  “That’s very good to hear,” the mayor said. “But I think after everything, we should all go home. This party had a very exciting ending.”

  Everyone laughed and stood up and soon she was saying goodbye to some of the residents of Cormina and the Acadia women took their children back to their RVs. You knew the women that Vernon preferred. They were the ones without kids, who looked longingly at the mothers with their children. She watched from the front yard as people drove away, but ignored the glare Lorna was giving her. The silence was comforting and she took a deep breath. Even though the festivities ended early, she thought her party had been a success.

  Lights came on in some of the RVs in the area where they were parked. She liked the people of the Acadia pack, but couldn’t wait to see the back of Vernon’s car. Knowing he would be back in his own territory would give her a sense of relief. Her shoes echoed against the gravel as she turned back to the house. Dominic and Alex were heading around the back of the plantation to make sure everything was secure. She took one step up to the porch and then everything happened in the blink of an eye. She barely saw the blur before she was grabbed around the waist and lifted off her feet. Tempest began to struggle and cruel hands fisted in her hair.