These people, she knew, didn’t know her from Adam. So, it wouldn’t help her to go around as if she had been blatantly intimate with two men it was apparent they respected. Within moments, a few women – completely straight faced – had provided clothing for the two men and both Aiden and Logan were dressed.
Then, in human form, they turned to address the crowd.
Thus beginning one of the most mind-boggling and perception-altering days that Seline had ever experienced.
She was introduced as a human “friend”, which seemed to garner some skepticism from everyone present. However, it was clear that Logan and Aiden hosted some kind of authority that overturned any feelings of unease their brethren might have had over her presence. It took them about twenty minutes, but they managed to calm everyone into going back to their business as usual.
And what business it was.
Some women roasted meat over open fires while others chased their half-naked children through the brush. However, it was clear from the way these people dressed – some in suits and polished shoes and others in jeans and hoodies – that they were men and women from all walks of life.
Aiden explained to her that the den was a place that they could all gather periodically – a safe location where one could connect with one’s family and those they called their den mates. For the most part, all shifters lived outside of the den. They led multi-faceted lives with high rise apartments, spouses and children, all the while having the secret haven of the den to return to if they needed to get back to their roots.
Children, they told her, were made familiar with their heritage and history – raised as much in the world outside as they returned to the secret haven in the forest. Their kind, it seemed, were growing in number rather than shrinking, so it was important to keep their existence a secret until the world was ready.
“When, exactly, that will be, no one knows.” Aiden admitted with an ironic smile. “Maybe not in our lifetime, or that of our children, but someday.”
“You have to understand,” Logan growled gruffly, “Most people don’t react as…calmly as you did upon catching one of us mid-transformation.”
Seline could only imagine. People could be greedy, skeptical and cruel. If the general population got wind that an entire community of shape-shifters existed in the Kentucky wilderness, the media would have a field day.
But it only got more intriguing.
Seline listened with wide eyes as Aiden revealed that their den wasn’t, by fair, the only one in existence. There were at least one hundred, he promised, scattered all over North America, and many beyond that – the members of which his den mates had never encountered. They were secretive and very careful when they met up, and Seline needed no one to tell her why.
They, together, Logan told her, comprised the leadership of this particular den. He told her how Aiden and he had met during their childhood and had been fast friends ever since; how he tended to be the muscle in difficult situations while Aiden provided the brains behind solving inter-den conflicts and even petty squabbles among their members. Separate, they wouldn’t be as successful as they were.
But together? Together they were a force to be reckoned with.
“A human.”
Aiden and Logan’s tales were interrupted by a low tenor near them. Seline glanced over to see a dark-eyed male with raven-hued locks working on whittling an image from a small block of wood. His fingers were lithe and dexterous, his smile quick, and when he looked at Seline, she blushed.
It was as if he could see every experience she’d had for the past twenty four hours.
“Ian.” With a low chuckle, Logan reached across to clasp arms with the man. “Don’t act like you’ve never brought one back.”
“That was once.” The dark eyed male grinned. “And we all know how well that worked out.” His eyes turned back to Seline, and he perused her from head to foot. “This one…she seemed different though. A lot calmer, for one. I suppose you two were smart for marking her before you brought her back. Might have had some troubles, otherwise.”
“Marked?” The word escaped Seline before she could prevent it and immediately, she looked herself over in an attempt to find the marks Ian had spoken of. Hickeys? Scratches?
Her troubles only made the tall shifter snicker lowly. “That’s not what I meant, honey. Scent marking. The kind that comes from an...intimate encounter.” He twirled his whittling knife expertly in a hand as she flushed. “These boys haven’t been apart since they were suckling at the same teat. I suppose it makes sense they’d fixate on the same woman.”
Standing, he winked at her playfully. “Just make sure they don’t run you too wild.” Aiden groaned at this proclamation, before eying Ian in warning.
“Don’t you have something more important to do? Like jumping in a lake?”
Ian merely chuckled, waving as he sauntered off. “Soften them up a little for me, will you, sweets?”
Seline liked him. She couldn’t help it. It was obvious that he was closer with Logan and irked Aiden somewhat, but the shifter’s smiles were infections and she could appreciate his sense of humor.
She spent the rest of the day making her way around the encampment. Logan and Aiden introduced her to several of the other shifters, some male and some female. Seline didn’t think she’d ever be able to remember all the names – it was hard enough to force her brain to keep functioning every time she watched a roughhousing child transform into a fuzzy bear cub mid-motion.
The den ran like a well-oiled machine, people coming and going as they pleased. More than a few of them sought out either Aiden or Logan to offer their greetings or have conversations in hushed voices. For these occurrences, Seline stood to the side respectfully, trying to slow her racing heart as she came to terms with what was happening.
She, a small town smutty writer with absolutely nothing outstanding to offer, had been chosen as the preferred mate of not only one, but two Alpha-male shifters. And now, as she was pulled deeper and deeper into their world, she was beginning to realize that this wasn’t something she could merely walk away from.
The rest of the day was spent deep in thought. Even as Aiden and Logan continued to regale her with stories about their den and adventures, Seline’s mind was awhirl with all she’d seen.
What on earth was she going to do?
She’d be lying if she said she wasn’t attracted to them, but mating…that sounded like something long term. Something permanent. She still had only the slightest inkling of how their society worked. Even on the very small chance that she agreed to their terms, how could she insert herself into their den…into their environment, as she was now?
Celine the romance writer, utterly jaded about the world of romance and commitment? By the time evening rolled around, she was beginning to think that there must have been some kind of mistake. Both Aiden and Logan had chosen, quite probably, the worst person to uphold a tradition of secrecy and protect and entire population from prying human eyes.
She might let something slip…she might be followed…the list was endless.
“And here’s our part of the den.”
She was broken from her thoughts by Logan’s deep voice rumbling through her. She realized that, after being shown around the rest of the small settlement, the two shifters had finally led her into one of the shallow underground dwellings that encircled it.
Seline was surprised to see that the little caves were far from primitive. Inside, they’d been lined with wood and tile and resembled quaint little southwestern pueblos. Inside the low dwelling were two beds, one on each side of the thirty food square room. There was a makeshift kitchen, complete with small refrigerator and gas stove, along with three bookshelves filled to bursting with an assortment of reading material.
It was like every other “man cave” she’d ever been invited into, she realized, right down to the big screen TV and the stereo system plunked down in the middle of it. “You have electricity out here?” The question lef
t her in an awe-filled tone and Aiden chuckled.
“Of course. We had the entire settlement wired years ago. We may not be completely human but we’re not archaic.” He shuddered. “God, no.” Strolling across the room, the blonde-haired man settled on one of the beds to stare up at her, his expression on of anxious anticipation. For a moment, Seline thought the two men meant to bed her again and heat bloomed in the core of her – until Aiden began to speak once more.
Chapter Four: Decisions
“Seline…I’m sure you’ve realized by now that we’ve tried to give you the crash course in what we are and the way things work here. But…we haven’t explained to you exactly what it would mean for you to be our mate.”
The young woman looked from Logan, hovering over her, back to the gray-eyed man sitting across the room. Her stomach was suddenly alive with nervousness. “Forever, right? It means that I’d be yours…both of yours. Forever.”
For a moment, neither of them said anything.
Then, Logan took her arm carefully, drawing her over to Aiden’s bed where she sat heavily. Once he was seated against her other side, she firmly between both him and Aiden, he looked down at her, his expression soft. “Seline…Trust us, we realize how odd this is…how sudden. In this day and age you don’t just meet random men and then decide that they’re it. This isn’t some kind of…arranged marriage horse shit. You are perfectly free to make your own choices. Tell us that you want to go back to McKinley this instant and we’ll take you without hesitation.”
“But you should know this.” Aiden’s low tenor sent shivers down her spine. “Among our kind, the pull towards one’s mate has never led us astray. We felt something, the moment we saw you, Seline, and we knew. If you’ll allow us, we’ll give you a lifetime to know us in every way possible. You’ll never want for anything. And if you want children…” He trailed off, as if the very idea were enough for him to lose himself in a haze of pleasure.
“We’ll give you cubs. Lots of them.” Logan chimed in gruffly..
Seline didn’t know what to say. How could she? She was far outside her realm of expertise. Cubs? Children? She barely knew Aiden and Logan, and as their forty eight hours drew to a close, she now had to make the decision of a lifetime.
Did she go back to the life she’d once known – where she muddled through daily working to make ends meet and begrudging every man she met without the balls to speak to her? Or did she take a chance with the two men who had shown her another side of existence? That fantasy and reality, indeed, intermingled, and that things you thought quite familiar could, indeed, be larger than life.
“What if…” She ventured slowly, “What if I can’t decide now? What if I need more time?”
“We can give you that.” Aiden acquiesced softly. “We will wait for you, Seline.”
“But we can’t do it in McKinley.” Logan added, bringing her attention back to him. “We can’t stay in town…any town, for too long. We’re not as established as our den mates – and as the boars of our den, we can least afford exposure. We’ll wait for you here.” He nodded at the purse slung over her arm. “I programmed our numbers into your phone while you were sleeping. When you make your decision, call us.”
It should be easy, really. The Seline of ten years ago would have jumped at this ridiculously lucky opportunity; but age had made her wiser and more wary. Though she’d like to believe that Aiden and Logan would be there when she needed them, and that everything would work out, Seline had decided she didn’t believe in happily-ever-afters a long time ago.
“Of-of course.” She managed, glancing down at her purse.
Reaching out, Logan touched her face gently, stroking down over her cheek in an intimate manner that made her flush slightly. “We can wait a long…long time, Seline.”
The young woman nodded slowly before looking over the small dwelling in which the two males lived once more. If she took in specific details, she realized that she might, perhaps, know each man in turn better than she’d thought. The volumes of Shakespeare on the bookshelves no doubt belonged to Aiden. He seemed the type to adore Medieval literature. The mechanical manuals and tool guides were Logan’s. He was good with his hands – exactly how good, she knew from experience.
Logan would be the one to plop down in front of the TV and absorb himself in Harley restoration shows while Aiden sat quietly by, his nose buried in a book. They were dark and light, two sides of the same coin, and together, they were the perfect man.
So, why was she walking away?
**
They left her at her doorstep late that evening. Seline lived in a modest little townhouse a few blocks away from a major shopping center, and even as they knew she could come to no harm in such a small town as McKineley, both shifters stared after her long after she’d left.
“Do you think she’ll run?” Logan grunted the question from the passenger side of the Mercedes to mask the apprehension he felt. They’d had their mate within their grasp and they were just letting her go. It was, Aiden reminded him, the right thing to do. Was it what he wanted to do?
Fuck no.
“It’s possible.” Aiden answered him softly, watching as the kitchen light in Seline’s house turned on. “But whatever she does, our secret is safe.”
Before they’d left the den, they’d sworn Seline to secrecy about their existence. Had she been lying – telling the slightest untruth, they would have been able to tell by her scent. But Seline had been utterly, completely honest – at least about keeping them from the prying eyes of other humans.
About wanting to stay with them…to be theirs…she’d lied to herself all day long.
Logan knew she wanted to be with them. She was merely afraid. He bristled when he thought of how many men must have disappointed her for her to be so wary. Yes, they’d only met her forty eight hours ago and yes there was a long way to go insofar as building a solid relationship, but in his heart, in his soul, Logan knew that Seline was the one.
“We have to give her space, Logan.” Aiden uttered the words as much for himself as for his constant companion. “She’ll come back to us.”
The taller shifter frowned deeply, wanting nothing more than to sweep into Seline’s home and burn away all her doubts with his eager mouth and hands. “I wish I were as sure as you are, Aiden.”
Chapter Five: Ultimate Choice
Two months later
Seline stared down at her desk. Before her, was a letter.
Aimee and the publishing company had sent her an invite to move to sunny California to continue working. One of her recent books had broken the regional best-selling chart for the quarter.
It was what she’d always wanted – a way out of McKinley.
So why didn’t she jump at the chance?
The letter had sat, open, on her desk for over a week. Every time she passed it, she was tempted by images of sandy beaches and warm sun. She’d been waiting for an opportunity like this her entire life.
But it would mean leaving Aiden and Logan behind.
As much as she tried to tell herself that what had happened between her and the two men was just a fluke – that their intensity and conviction was merely a by-product of their fantastical genes, she couldn’t forget them.
She’d tried. Oh, had she tried.
About a week after her salacious and eye-opening weekend, she’d gone out with Sophie in a specific attempt to find a man who whet her appetite just as much as one of her mysterious suitors…to no avail. It was like Logan and Aiden had ruined her for any normal man. Pickings in McKinley were slim as it was, but now, she didn’t even want to look.
She knew exactly where the men she wanted were – and it seemed as if every day they drifted further from her reach.
She had a decision to make.
It had been eight weeks since she’d even spoken to them. If she was going to take this job- to move to California and change her life forever – she would have to call them and tell them no. No to a lifetime of being
pampered and adored by two of the most mouth-watering men she’d ever laid eyes on. No to a life of fantasy, mystery and intrigue.
And yes to sunny California.
Sitting at her desk, Seline stared down at the phone in her hand. Aiden’s number flashed across the screen. All it would take was one phone call – just one.
Yet, she couldn’t press the button.
With an agitated sigh, Seline tossed her phone onto the couch behind her. This was ridiculous. Shifters or not, they were just men! Men that she barely knew! Standing, she stalked across the living room and into the kitchen, her mind on the concoction of a stiff drink to calm her nerves.
Before she could reach the fridge, however, her doorbell rang.
She bit back a groan, reluctantly turning to slink to the door. She didn’t want to deal with any salesmen or religious purveyors today. All she wanted was to be alone while she contemplated the suddenly very complicated state of her life.
She yanked open the door, ready to rebuff her visitor – only to have the words die on her lips.
Logan and Aiden stood on her doorstep, looking like veritable Greek Gods. Aiden wore a gray sweater that matched his eyes exactly along with dark slacks and polished dress shoes. His golden locks had been cropped short and smoothed back from his forehead, giving him a businesslike appearance. Logan wore dark wash jeans and a deep red sweater that only accentuated the messy spill of dark hair about his collar. He clutched a bouquet of two dozen red roses, his expression a queer mixture of nervousness and anticipation.
“Hello, Seline.” Aiden spoke first, his mellow tenor washing over her like liquid butterscotch.
“H-hi.” She could barely choke out the words, looking from one man to the other even as desire slammed through her body. She thought she might have forgotten their proper features, as it had been so long since she’d seen them, but if she were honest with herself, she had to admit: she’d seen their faces every time she closed her eyes.
BBW ROMANCE: Forbidden Desires [BBW Menage Collection] (New Adult Shifter Romance Short Stories, Stepbrother Menage Threesome) Page 7
