by Talya Bosco
Paul put his hand on Devon's arm. “You both have made us proud to be your parents, proud to call you ours.”
Mathew mirrored Paul's stance with his own hand on Jared. “Your love for Larissa is strong, as is your devotion to each other. It will be an honor to have the pack led by three such as you.”
Chapter Twelve
Larissa looked out across the fire pit at her two men talking to their fathers, and she felt a rush of love and pride for them. And shame for herself. They'd been willing to give up everything they knew for her. And she'd been willing to give them up without a fight.
Thank God it hadn't come to that.
“Do you think you can ever forgive us?” Michelle and Susan stood in front of her looking guilty.
“Did you have to go through this as well?”
The two women sat down as Susan answered her. “Yes, we did. And like you, Devon, and Jared, none of us knew the true reasons behind the tests. Even though our men aren't intended to be leaders, all males are tested in similar ways before they are allowed to take a mate.”
“Only our tests didn't all come in the span of a couple of days.”
“What are the rest of the tests? Won't there be a problem if I didn't pass all of them?”
“Not at all,” Susan assured her. “The tests really aren't for us, anyway. They're really for them.”
“Why, though? I still don't understand.”
Michelle looked in the fire for a few moments before answering. “In case you didn't pick up on it earlier, we don't have one pack leader, or even two. The three of them—Denise, Paul, and Mathew—share that responsibility equally.
“In many ways, Denise is the glue that holds us all together, the one who makes sure we grow up secure in who and what we are. Paul and Mathew are more of authoritarian figures. Years ago, their role would have been to protect and truly rule the pack, but all things change. Now they keep peace within the pack and keep us from being discovered by outsiders.
“You know the story of the first triad of alphas from reading my books?”
Larissa nodded her head.
“The three of them saved the pack from destruction. After that, it was recognized that with two alpha males leading, the pack would never be without a leader or thrown into such chaos again.”
“No one's sure when habit became the biological drive it is now, but for the most part, our men are driven to find one mate who two of them can protect together.”
“But that still doesn't explain the testing.”
Michelle shrugged. “Early on, the alpha males were based solely on physical strength, which a thousand years ago was probably acceptable, but as the pack came into contact with more outsiders, it was acknowledged that something else was needed. The pack had always been very matriarchal in a lot of ways, so the decision was made to test the alpha female, and at the same time test her potential mates.
“Somehow that evolved into the testing we now have today.”
“But I'm not part of your pack. I can't shift into wolf form. How am I an acceptable alpha female?”
Susan explained, “It isn't a matter of being able to shift. It's a matter of being able to rule. To do what is needed to be done to take care of the community.
“Hell, a quarter of the people in the pack have married in; they can't shift. But it's not important. What's important is they are now family.”
“I don't know; I've never considered myself an alpha anything.”
“Trust me, you have the qualities needed, or Denise never would have picked you. And you further demonstrated her right, not only the way you responded to the tests but the way you jumped to defend—and defy—Jared and Devon.”
“So everything you wrote about the pack, Michelle? It's all true?”
“Pretty much.”
“Including the facts about mated males?”
Michelle smiled. “You mean the guaranteed fidelity and the loving you till they die? The protecting you almost to the point of suffocating you? Those kinds of things? Yeah, all true.”
“But doesn't writing it all down just create a risk of unnecessary exposure? Why would the alphas let you write about the pack?”
“It wasn't really a risk, if you think about it. People are willing to believe almost anything about authors—after all, it can't all be in our imagination, right? Every single erotic author has to have done the things she writes about, the paranormal authors have to have some inside knowledge. This is just an example of that. If anyone stumbled across this area, they'd either think I set it up for research purposes, or that I had bought into my own mythology and was slightly off my rocker. It actually is probably the best cover there is. As to why we even started it, well, that's not my story to tell.”
“It's mine.” Devon's voice startled her, coming from the shadows behind her. He and Jared slowly approached the three women.
“Why don't we take a walk?” Devon asked, holding his hand out to her. Larissa placed hers in his without any hesitation at all and eagerly joined them down another path she hadn't seen before.
The light of the full moon flittered through the leaves on the trees, giving them ample light to see where they were going.
“It was my mother. My biological mother.” Devon's response was so long in coming, she'd almost forgotten the question.
“My mother wasn't part of our pack. She met my father when they were in college, and they fell in love. She meant the world to him, but he was afraid to tell her the truth; he was afraid she'd reject him and what he was.
“He thought he could hide what he was, but it was too much a part of him. When he finally told her about the pack, she was already pregnant with me.”
Devon ran his fingers through his hair. “Being in love, she was willing to give living here a shot, but according to Jared's mother, she was never truly happy. She loved my father, but she could never completely accept what he was. They even tried living in the city, but that didn't help. Whatever it is that makes us, well, us, was too much for her.
“Long story short, when Dad died, she left the pack. She left me here with Jared's family because she didn't want to deny me that part of my life. We see each other regularly, but she doesn't like to hear anything about the pack or Missouri in general.
“Michelle thought that if we let the world know about us, people would be more willing to accept us. Even if it was in fiction.”
“That only works for the people who read her books.”
“Yeah, well, to her it was a start. She didn't want any other child growing up with the pain of being without a parent. She saw what it did to me, and she decided a long time ago that she'd do everything she could to prevent it. I guess she figured that if she could seduce women into realizing how great it would be to be mated to one, or two, of us, it would be easier for the males of the pack to find women.”
“Really?” Larissa bit her lip to keep from laughing at the pride that laced his voice. It was an interesting idea, even if a little crazy. But she had to admit Michelle was right. Having “met” them through books, it was a bit easier to accept them for what they were. If even half the things Michelle had written about them were true, the men really were perfect partners.
“Her words, not mine, woman.”
Jared spoke for the first time. “Men outnumber the women in the pack by almost three to one. My family is an anomaly, Mom having two girls and just me.”
“I'm sure she had more than she could handle with the two of you growing up.”
“Woman, you wound me.” Devon put his hand on his chest, feigning pain.
“Please. Like you two didn't drive her crazy on a regular basis?”
The men obviously had a destination in mind when they had started this trek, and Larissa saw it in the light of the moon. In front of them stood a small house, guesthouse really, very similar in design to their parents', but in a smaller, more intimate size.
“Confession time again,” Devon said.
Larissa was begi
nning to wonder if the lies would ever end, if all their confessions would ever be told. But she realized she was being unfair. They were trying to make up for it. And if they had been honest from the very beginning, she couldn't guarantee she'd be here with them.
“Yes?”
Jared tugged at her hand, pulling her up the steps. “We told you earlier that this land belonged to all of us. Well, this area here belongs to me and Devon. We built this house years ago, once we realized that we would share a mate. It's small, for now. But there is room for expansion and updating. It has two bedrooms. A large master bedroom and a smaller guest room.
“There are a couple of other areas for things like a home office or a craft room or something. Despite the small size, there's plenty of room for three people to each have at least one private spot.”
Devon opened the door, and they ushered her in. “We decided a long time ago that we were going to give the woman we love as many options as possible.
“Even as alphas we don't have to live down here full-time. But we do have to be here often, and there's no reason why we should bunk with the parents.”
Larissa looked around at the high ceilings and open floor plan in amazement. The place was absolutely beautiful. She could see the kitchen to the back of the house, and through to the outside beyond that. The front wall was made up of windows as well, and she could just imagine how it would look on a bright, sunshiny day.
A large staircase led upstairs to where she assumed the bedrooms and offices lay.
Devon waved his arm toward the sitting area and large stone fireplace that sat in the middle of the room. “We didn't show it to you earlier, well, because we didn't want to freak you out.”
“And if there is anything you don't like, we can change it.” Jared stroked her hair. “But we wanted you, our mate, to have a place to call her own from the very beginning.”
Once again Larissa found herself at a loss for what to say.
Apparently they didn't suffer from the same problem, because Devon turned to her and spoke before she could come up with anything intelligent to say.
“We've done a lot of explaining our position in this relationship, our reasoning, our feelings. You know a lot about us, not only from having been with us, but also from having read Michelle's books.
“But you don't know everything. My mother knew very little, and even as she grew to know more, it still wasn't enough for her. Everything was too different. Love doesn't solve everything, despite what the poets and romance authors lead you to believe.
“It's not going to be easy, but are you willing to give it a try? Will you consent to marry us? To stay with us? To be our mate?”
Larissa knew the last week of her life had been an emotional roller coaster, full of highs and lows that she would never be able to explain to anyone else.
But what she could say was all the highs were related to the two men in front of her. And she couldn't imagine a future without those kinds of highs again. A future without them. Whether that future was here or in Kansas City, it didn't matter to her. All that mattered was a future together, with them.
Instead of answering, however, she turned and walked to the main room, where she started to turn on every light she could find. From the small reading lamps beside the leather chairs, to the large chandelier that hung over the room. She even walked toward the kitchen and turned on the lights in there. By the time she was done, the room was lit up as bright as if it were noon outside.
She turned to see the men hadn't moved from where she had left them. Confusion marred both of their beautiful faces, and she wanted to go up to them to wipe it off. But instead, she continued what she started.
When she started to unbutton her shirt, their expressions lightened, and they quickly followed suit, naked before she even managed to get to her pants.
Devon watched the woman he loved as she first turned on the lights and then began to remove her clothing. His heart expanded with love and pride for his mate. She had come so far in such a short time; he wondered if she realized it.
Two days ago, hell, last night, she would have insisted they leave the lights off and make love under only the light of the moon. She never would have allowed them, and anyone who might pass by, to see her naked body in its entirety like this.
No matter how confident and self-assured she was, this would have been beyond her. For her to be doing this for him and Jared made his love grow just that much deeper, a feat he hadn't thought possible until this moment.
It was then that he realized that the love he had for this woman wasn't a static thing. It would always change with the mood, the situation, the way things were going in life. But he also realized that it would always be there, that it was up to them to nurture it, share it, make sure that it was always strong enough to see them through.
Maybe that had been his parents' problem. Maybe despite their love, they hadn't been willing to go the extra mile for each other. Oh, they'd tried, but had they tried hard enough? Perhaps they'd been too selfish to truly give of themselves. He made a silent vow to his partner and his lover that he'd never let that happen to them. He'd give them all he had and then some.
Losing the feeling he was experiencing right now was never going to be an option.
“Devon, bro, you okay?” Jared was looking at him in concern.
Larissa faced the two of them, her hand lying on Devon's arm.
He looked at them both and swallowed hard. He wanted to tell them everything he was feeling, but he knew he'd never find the words to express it. Instead, he kept it simple.
“Yeah. I'm great. I love you, Jared, Larissa, and I will always do my best by both of you.”
Larissa smiled. “Well, then, I need some of that best right now. I ache for the two of you like you wouldn't believe.”
Devon had the urge to pick her up and take her to their bed, make love to her properly, but he wanted, needed, to honor her gift to them. So instead, he placed her hand in his and allowed her to drag him and Jared to the soft rug in front of the fireplace.
Jared leaned over and grabbed a long match to light the already laid-out fire. It was warm out, but who cared?
When she knelt in front of them, he remembered the need for protection. “Wait, condoms.”
“Not necessary,” she said, shaking her head. “I'm on the Pill.”
“But—”
“Are you clean?”
“Yes. Of course.”
She turned to Jared. “And you?”
“Definitely.”
“And so am I. I don't know if I'm ready for kids, but the Pill will take care of that. Unless werewolf sperm does something to it?”
“No. It should work.”
She smiled up at both of them. “Fine. You have just asked me to spend my life with you, I think we can dispense with the extra protection, don't you?” She didn't wait for an answer; instead, she reached for each of them, grabbing their cocks in her hands and squeezing gently.
Devon threw his head back at the sensation, and Jared moaned as she caressed the two of them at the same time.
“I love looking at the two of you. The same equipment, but so different in so many ways.”
Larissa stroked her lovers, reveling in their differences. The way Jared's skin moved more easily across his erection, and the tightness of Devon's, the greater amount of hair on Devon and the darker tone of Jared's skin.
She leaned forward and took Devon into her mouth. Her wild man, the one who seemed so lighthearted, but whose emotions ran so deep, it made her heart hurt. She suckled him, gently sucking him deep into her mouth, swallowing down the precum that leaked out of his tip.
As slowly as she had taken him into her mouth, she released him, feeling each ridge, each bump, each centimeter of his cock as she squeezed it between her lips.
She turned her attention to Jared, then, still keeping hold of Devon's cock as she had Jared's. For Jared, she darted her tongue out to lick that drop of seed from his tip, and she let
it run down her tongue to the back of her throat, savoring his essence all the while.
She allowed herself a few seconds of selfish play, enjoying his extra skin as she moved it back and forth, eliciting a groan that thrilled her to the core. When she took him completely into her mouth and moaned around him, she felt his balance give for a moment before he steadied himself.
She used her hand to stroke Devon much the same way she stroked Jared with her lips, enjoying the twinges of excitement that ran through his cock at her touch. When she finally released them, she was sure they were both close to the edge.
Before she could say a word, Jared dropped to his knees in front of her and Devon walked behind her. Jared pulled her head in for a kiss, and she forgot everything but the taste of his mouth as he teased and played with her. She didn't know how the man could express such feelings with only a kiss, but he left her in no doubt that he loved her and wanted her, now and forever.
When he pulled back, she searched his face, but all she found was love.
Dimly she was aware of Devon having knelt behind her. When he placed his hands on her shoulders and began to massage her, the moan that escaped her throat was unpreventable.
Devon continued to rub and squeeze her shoulders and the back of her neck, massaging away the tension of the day. When he started to lay gentle kisses on her nape, the relaxing touch become much more exciting as tiny sparks shot through her body.
Jared held a hand in his, making his presence known by kissing, nibbling, and sucking each individual finger. He worked his way up her hand and arm to her shoulder, where he began to nip at her skin.
She remembered his sharp white teeth when he changed form, and the thought of him being so gentle with her when he had such power sent shivers up and down her spine.
She squeezed the hand he still had entwined with hers. It reminded her of the first time they'd been together, and the memory warmed her completely.
