by Eve Langlais
She’s just what we need to keep us in line.
Chapter Eleven
Once outside, Dana found herself caught between John and Nathan, a place she didn’t want to flee. Although she did want to strip in an attempt to cool down. With an alpha on one side and a man who could have been alpha had but ended up beta on the other, they formed an impressive wall of male flesh. As they strode with her through the vastly changed compound, their bodies brushed hers—a hard thigh against her hip, a hand to guide in the middle of her back or on her waist, the occasional whisper in her ear that tickled. Talk about a smorgasbord of sensations. Within an hour, her body aroused, her nerves shot, she seesawed between an urge to scream and ripping off her clothes in an open invitation to claim her. Her mind leaned toward the second scenario, which wetted her panties even further.
She controlled herself—barely. She tried to focus on what they showed her, from the solar panels and wind turbines that provided all their electrical needs to the composting and garden areas. But while she noted all the eco-friendly changes and increased number of homes, she just couldn’t concentrate. Every so often familiar faces would come up to say hello, and she’d snap out of her self-imposed torture to exchange hellos and hugs. But all too soon, they’d pass on, and she’d return to her coiled state of sexual readiness. After a while, even her state of mind couldn’t hide the fact that she noticed more new faces than old. Needing distraction, she asked Nathan about it.
“Is it me, or is there a lot of new blood here now?”
“You’d be correct,” Nathan replied, stopping to sit on a bench in a common park area. John sat beside him, and Dana eyed the few inches left between them and knew she wouldn’t fit—although she did, for one hot moment, wonder how it would feel to squash herself between them, naked of course.
She took a step back, and as if realizing her dilemma, Nathan snagged her around the waist and settled her on his lap, where her bottom rubbed against a hardness that left no doubt about his happiness about having her sitting on him. Dana glanced over to John, uncomfortable at this familiar and intimate gesture in front of another man who interested her, but John met her worried look with a gentle smile and nod.
Dana relaxed at his acceptance and barely noticed another brick coming down in her wall of resistance toward the whole multi-mate thing.
“The new people are the Lycan council’s doing. They noticed an increase in birth defects and mental instability. They blamed it on too much pack inbreeding. They requested packs join an exchange program.”
“And the packs went for it?” That surprised her. Packs tended to live isolated lives. While ruled by a Lycan council, who dealt with keeping them out of the public eye and disputes between packs, outside of that, packs ruled themselves.
“At first, there was some chafing, mostly by the alphas and the old-timers. The young ones, though, saw it as an opportunity for change and jumped on it.”
“I’m surprised your dad allowed it.” After her dad, Nathan’s dad was the biggest prick she’d ever met.
“He didn’t. After you left, things went downhill in the pack,” Nathan started. “My dad went from bully to complete asshole. I escaped a lot of his abuse and excesses going to college, but when I returned for visits, I couldn’t ignore how everyone was living in a state of fear. We ended up losing some of the good families during that time. They snuck out and went to the council for pack reassignment. This went on for a few years, with my dad getting more and more paranoid. He was convinced the humans were on to us and would end up killing us all.”
“Why the hell would he think that?” It sounded bad of her, but humans of this generation were oblivious.
“He had reason for his madness. Males from the pack were disappearing.”
That got her attention. “What? They ran away?”
“Nope. Some we found, torn to pieces. Others ended up resurfacing as part of rogue packs.”
“I thought rogue packs were rare.” Anybody who refused to follow council law was declared rogue and hunted to the death. The council protected the Lycans ruthlessly, and any wolves who didn’t toe the line were destroyed for the greater good of the packs.
“They used to be rare, but not anymore. The Lycan council has been looking into it, and while we know the number of rogues has increased, we have yet to figure out the reason why. Some of those who defected were married, and seemingly happy.”
“Has anyone talked to them?” Dana’s brow creased.
Nathan’s eyes stared off into the distance, the sorrow in them all too clear. “We’ve caught several, one from this pack even.”
“And?” she pressed when he went silent.
“They’re mad,” John replied softly when Nathan didn’t.
“Mad at what?”
“Not mad as in angry,” John corrected. “I mean their minds are warped. Their reasoning skewed.”
“But how? Did they catch some sickness?”
Nathan shrugged. “That’s what the council wants to find out. It’s also why we increased the security around this place. Along with the electrical and barbed fence around the compound, we have motion sensors, cameras, and guards patrolling the perimeter in groups of two. Folks go out in groups after dusk or not at all.”
“That’s nuts.”
“Maybe,” Nathan replied with a sigh, “but since our new preventative measures, we’ve managed to halt the disappearances.”
She suddenly thought of Kody. “Hold on a second. You let Kody leave by himself. How do you know he’ll be safe?”
“Oddly enough, they only strike at night. Once nightfall hits, no one leaves the compound alone.”
Dana suddenly had a vivid image of her pockmarked abductor and shivered. “Those wolves who caught me, they were rogues, weren’t they?”
“Yes. The Lycan council received numerous reports about their misdemeanors and put out a decree for their elimination. They contacted me about taking care of the problem around the same time we got the report on your location.”
She ignored the first part to latch onto the second. “You were spying on me?” she asked.
“Searching for,” Nathan corrected. “It wasn’t the first time we’d gone to get you, only to end up empty-handed.”
Dana smiled smugly. “That’s because I was good at hiding.”
Nathan squeezed his arms around her. “I caught you in the end.”
“And thank God we arrived when we did,” John added.
The somber reminder killed her humor. “Did you kill all the bastards who took me?” She’d avoided thinking about that since her recovery but now had a burning need to know.
“Most. Don’t worry. They can’t get to you here.”
Nathan left unsaid, You’re safe with us, but she heard it in his voice and saw it in John’s eyes. Safety, just one more reason to stay. If I let them mark me, I wouldn’t have to worry about other wolves trying to claim me anymore. No more setting booby traps and looking over my shoulder. No more starting over. No more sleeping alone. That, more than anything, appealed to her. Another brick of resolve crumbled. In truth, the wall she’d erected around her emotions and reasons had a hole big enough to drive a truck full of wolves through, three in particular. I think I want to do this. No, I know I want to do this. She kept her decision to herself. Now, whilst discussing somber things, wasn’t the time. She’d wait until later, when she got Nathan alone. He should be the first she marked and claimed because, after all, she’d loved him the longest.
“Penny for your thoughts?” Nathan prodded.
Startled, she blurted out the first thing that came to mind, other than stripping him and seeing the joy on his face when she told him to take her. “So you never finished telling me what happened to your dad.”
Nathan sighed. “It’s not pretty. He kidnapped a human from town then tortured and killed him.”
“Why?”
“Who the hell knows.” He shrugged. “When the pack found out, I had no choice. I challenged him
for control of the pack.”
“You killed your father?” The news shocked her, mostly because of the devastation to Nathan. Hating one’s parent was one thing, having to end their life another.
Nathan’s eyes clouded over. “No, but I might as well have. I fought him and won. But because of what he’d done, I had to hand him over to the council as my first act as alpha. The council executed him for his crimes.”
“Oh, Nathan, I’m so sorry,” she exclaimed, and on impulse, she threw her arms around his neck. She hugged him tight, horrified at what he’d done but, at the same time, recognizing the need. When a wolf went bad, especially an alpha in a position of power, he needed removal. It just sucked the bad apple happened to be his father.
She turned her head sideways on Nathan’s shoulder and saw John watching them. For a moment guilt filled her. How could it not when she was plastered to one man she wanted while the other she longed for watched? But she saw no jealousy in John’s eyes, just a calm acceptance and approval.
Nathan might end up first, but you’ll be a close second. She found herself giddy at the thought of making both these men hers.
A feminine “There you are” had her straightening and hopping off Nathan’s lap. She flushed at the intimate position she’d gotten caught in. Lycans were open about such things, but she’d spent many years among the humans with their more prudish natures.
A voluptuous beauty strolled toward them, sex appeal oozing from her hourglass figure encased in skintight jeans and a skimpy tank top.
“John and Nathan, just the big, strong men I was looking for.”
Dana gnashed her teeth at the syrupy sweetness in her voice. Slut.
“What’s up, Melinda?” Nathan asked.
“I need to borrow you both for a little bit. My men are out of town, and I need some stuff moved.”
The redhead’s smile made Dana’s jaw tighten. Is this bitch seriously hitting on my men? In front of me?
“Can’t you find someone else to help you?” Nathan asked, getting up to stand behind Dana.
“It’ll just take a moment.”
Dana had heard enough. “I don’t think so.”
“Excuse me?” Melinda looked her up and down with a haughty sneer. “And who are you to speak for them?”
“I am their promised mate, and I say you won’t be borrowing them. If you need furniture moved, plumbing fixed, or anything else, open the Yellow Pages and find a professional.”
“You can’t speak to me like that,” Melinda snarled, narrowing her eyes and taking an aggressive step forward.
Dana growled back and let her wolf rise as she met the woman, toe to toe, glare for glare. “Consider this your last warning.”
“Bitch,” spat Melinda. “I’ll show you to speak to me like that.”
Melinda went to grab Dana’s hair, and Dana gave a low chuckle as she avoided the redhead’s flailing hands and, in a quick move, swept her feet from under her, sending the slut to the ground. Dana knelt on her chest.
“Submit,” Dana warned, cocking and pulling her fist back.
“Nathan, you’re not going to let this outsider talk to me like that, are you?”
“As my future wife, she can and will talk to you any way she likes. Especially if you’re going to act like a bitch in heat. Now I suggest you call your mates and tell them to come home if you’re that lonely,” Nathan ordered. “And if I hear of you harassing any of the other husbands in the compound, you’ll be asked to leave. We don’t condone cheating.”
Dana smirked as she got up off the redhead. Melinda’s face turned a blotchy red, and she staggered to her feet and stalked away.
Dana resisted an urge to stick her tongue out at her.
“Future mates, eh?” Nathan sounded pleased.
But now embarrassed over her very jealous reaction, Dana snapped, “Maybe. I haven’t completely decided. I like the way you both sat back and let her try to attack me. What happened to protecting me?” She placed her hands on her hips and glared at them.
Nathan grinned. “What, and miss you putting her in her place?”
“Please. Anybody with half a brain could see you’d kick her ass,” John added.
Finding herself somewhat mollified, Dana’s lips twitched. “True. I guess you’re forgiven for now.”
“So did you mean what you said, though? Have you decided?” Nathan eyed her anxiously, and she could see equal interest in John’s eyes.
“That’s for me to know and you to find out,” she challenged. Then she took off running.
Nathan’s heart stuttered at her declaration. Is she finally ready to let me claim her?
“You go after her. I’ll meet you back at the house,” John said. “Good luck.”
“Thanks, man.” Nathan gave his friend a respectful nod but didn’t linger. He had a feisty woman to catch. Mine. Nathan took off after Dana and had to work to keep up because she ran like the wind even on two legs. She gave no warning about her intention to shift. One moment, she sprinted. The next, clothing burst from her in tatters, and a golden wolf went bounding off into the woods that were a part of the compound.
Damn, she’s gotten fucking good at shifting. Considering she’d lived alone for the last twelve years, she’d mastered her wolf side better than those who’d lived with it a lifetime. Nathan followed suit, his clothes shredding as his muscles thickened and his bones reshaped. He landed on four paws, his senses even more acute, and continued to give chase.
He thanked the fact that they were finally alone. Maybe now he could plead his case with her or, even better, show her without words how he felt. He followed Dana through the woods, the exhilaration of the hunt making his blood pump. The towering trees shaded them from the sunlight, but enough filtered through the branches to lift the shadows.
The pack had managed to corral over two hundred acres in order to provide a safe running ground. Not the ideal solution for a species used to racing miles when the moon madness hit, but at least they needn’t fear casualties from the rogues. The forest ringed around the houses in the compound with a cleared strip between it and the electrified fence.
As he bounded over the fallen logs and stirred up the dead leaves, he thought over Dana’s claim she was his future mate. He’d prayed and hoped for this day, and now that it appeared on nigh, he didn’t want anything to fuck it up. So long as he was her first, he could handle the rest. And, besides, now that he’d readjusted himself to the mind-set of sharing, he could admit that the idea titillated him.
One step at a time. First I need to mark her then, along with my pack brothers, show her how it could be.
His enhanced sight saw Dana, in the distance ahead, burst free from the forest cover, and worried she might have forgotten his warning about the fence, he poured on the speed and shot out of the woods and stumbled in shock. He yelped as he lost his footing and rolled in a tangle of limbs. He landed muzzle-first on the ground.
Her laughter bathed him as he shifted back to his human form and glared up at her in mock anger. Who could retain any ire—or sense, for that matter—with her standing, glorious and beautiful, in all her naked glory in front of the fence?
“What happened to your modesty?” he grumbled. The Dana he remembered had a thing about nudity in front of others, even him.
She grinned at him saucily and planted her hands on her hips, drawing his eyes from her face to the body she proudly displayed. “If you’ve got it, flaunt it.”
And she did have it. Nathan drank in the sight of her breasts, full and perky with light rose-colored nipples that puckered as he watched. His cock rose as he further perused her from her indented waist to her flaring hips and the curls that hid her woman’s core which even while hidden, couldn’t mask the scent of her arousal.
“Dana.” He took a step forward, and the cocky woman disappeared for a moment, hidden behind the girl he remembered who chewed her lip in uncertainty. She whirled from him and gestured with her arms to the fence.
“Holy s
hit. You weren’t kidding about the fence. This must have cost a fortune to put in. How the hell did you get the local human government to agree?”
Nathan didn’t want to talk. He was more interested in the view of her heart-shaped ass and wondering how it would look bent over. She threw him a look over his shoulder as she waited for his answer.
“The mayor for the township is a dormant male from the pack. He pushed it through, claiming we needed it for protection from wildlife.”
The irony wasn’t lost on her. “That’s hilarious.”
When Dana kept studying the fence, instead of facing him, Nathan took the steps that separated them and folded her into his arms, drawing her back into his body. She stiffened at first then relaxed.
Nathan rubbed his face against the top of her head, breathing in her fragrance while his cock pushed hotly against her back. Her body trembled slightly.
“Is it stupid to be scared?” she whispered.
“Don’t be. I won’t let anyone hurt you ever again.”
“I wasn’t talking about rogues. I’m scared of the whole mating thing. Scared that I’ll tie myself to you, the others, and wake up and realize it was the wrong decision. That I’ll get hurt or end up miserable like my mom.”
“You don’t have to choose us all.”
“But the pack law—”
“Screw it. I lost you once over it. I won’t let it happen again.”
She turned in his arms and peered up at him. “You’d defy the council’s laws for me?”
“I would.” And he meant it. The blinders of youth were gone. He’d achieved everything he wanted, but without the woman he loved, it meant nothing. He was nothing.
“And if I choose to mate with others and obey the law?” she asked tentatively, staring at a spot on his bare chest.
“Then I’ll share you. I ask only one thing, though.”
“What?”
“Mark me first. Let me be the first to claim you.”
Dana peered up at him and smiled. “I think that could be arranged, although you do realize that it’s not the order of marriage that decides the dominant male in the relationship?”
