Zurlo, Michele - Riley [Daughters of Circe 3] (Siren Publishing Ménage Amour)

by Michele Zurlo

  “Thanks. I should feel bad about missing work, but I don’t.”

  He sipped and shrugged. “You don’t need to work. I have plenty of money to support us all.” He cocked his head to the side, listening. Riley wondered what sounds his wolf hearing picked up. Frowning, he rose and headed to the coffee pot. “I thought Teigh would have vanished by now.”

  Riley frowned, both because she didn’t understand why he thought Teigh would vanish and because he seemed to be continuing a conversation where she’d missed the first part.

  “Why would Teigh vanish?” Nobody simply walked away after sharing what they’d shared. “You don’t walk away from people you love for no reason.”

  Soren refilled his mug and watched curlicues of steam rise from the surface. “The Shadow Man isn’t known for sticking around for very long. He appears when he has something to say, and then he disappears after he says it.”

  Riley formed a guess as to what bothered Soren. She stepped closer, closing the distance between them. Tentatively, she touched his shoulder. He tensed, and she backed off.

  “Are you upset about what happened this morning?”

  Again, his head cocked to the side. Though he didn’t look at her, his gaze didn’t focus on anything else. Finally, he shook his head. “Relationships such as these are not uncommon among wolves, though I can’t say I’ve ever felt an attraction to another man before.” He shook his head. “Doesn’t matter. Somehow, he’s part of me. Of us.”

  When he didn’t continue, Riley sighed and set her cup down on the counter. Something bothered him. Since he didn’t seem inclined to talk about it, she knew she must be part of the problem. “Soren, please tell me what’s wrong. This is all new to me, too. I’ve never done anything like this before, and I’m not sure how I feel about it.”

  Soren perked up. He parked his hands on the edges of the counter behind Riley, effectively caging her with his massive body. “Not sure how you feel? Riley, you accepted the love of a man who kidnapped you and tried to sacrifice your sister. Then you had a dream encounter with a man I’m pretty sure I love, too, but haven’t met. When you woke up this morning, a third man claimed you. They both seem to think you’re this mystical witch-goddess person they’ve loved for thousands of years. I’m confused as all hell, but I know what I feel. How can you not be the same?”

  His eyes bore into her with a fierce wildness she hadn’t seen since the night he locked Torrey in his dungeon prison. At the time, she hadn’t known of his actions, and the look had scared her until he switched gears, returning to the calm, steady man she thought she loved. The remembrance startled her. She gave herself a mental shake. Torrey had killed Soren’s demons. Perhaps he wasn’t as accepting of loving another man as he led her to believe. She resolved to be patient and understanding, two qualities she had in abundance.

  Slowly, as if in a dream, she lifted her hand and caressed his cheek. “These past few days have seen me make some of the most impulsive, reckless decisions ever. I don’t doubt my feelings for you or Teigh or Caiden. However, as you pointed out, you don’t have a history of being trustworthy, and I really don’t know Teigh or Caiden. They both called me by a name that isn’t mine. I feel love for each of you, but I’m also very confused and unsure. Under the circumstances, I think that’s okay.”

  Soren lowered his head, stopping with his lips inches from hers. Heavy breaths ravaged his chest and the counter creaked behind her. She hoped he didn’t squeeze it until it broke. He closed his eyes, but she saw the wealth of pain he tried to hide.

  “Sharing us isn’t going to be easy for you.” Somehow, she had to break through to find out what ate at him like this. She traced his jaw, trying to ease the tension there.

  His eyes popped open. “Sharing you is surprisingly easy, Riley. I love all of you and it just seems right for each of you to love the other. It enhances our relationship. I’m more than okay with this.”

  “Then what’s wrong?”

  He pushed away and turned his back on her. “Nothing’s wrong. I just need some time to adjust, some time to get this all straight in my head.”

  “Your memories will return once our daughters perform the ceremony to restore us to the men we used to be.”

  Riley peeked past Soren. Teigh filled the doorway. Though he was both thinner and shorter than Soren, Teigh had a substantial body and an incredibly sexy build. He radiated confidence and security, and the strength in his eyes warmed her heart. She ached to feel his arms around her, offering what Soren withheld.

  She didn’t bother to hide the longing that gripped her soul. “What about me?”

  He studied Soren, looking the man up and down before tearing his gaze away. It wandered around the room before landing on Riley. His expression gentled. “Once your powers are restored, you’ll become Circe, daughter of the sun, once again. Having watched our daughters struggle with this for millennia, I think not knowing who you are or who you used to be is better than knowing. Knowledge brings pain. I would rather you not suffer.”

  Soren cocked his head to the side, an affectation Riley was realizing she did not miss. Then he straightened and regarded Teigh. “What powers does she have? Why aren’t they inside her now? The Daughters of Circe always reek of power, yet Riley doesn’t. I can smell something, but it isn’t the same. It’s less like power and more like pheromones.”

  A soft chuckle escaped from Teigh. “You haven’t changed a bit, Soren. Always ready for sex. I think that’s why she made you a werewolf. That way you could interact with humans, and there would be no need to deny yourself. She knew you couldn’t go very long without sex. Three thousand years of abstinence might have made you insane. It’s also why she made you forget. You would have been loyal to us no matter what, and we needed you to create a wolf population to perpetuate the passing of this power along the bloodlines.”

  Riley gaped at Teigh’s pronouncement. She understood the reasoning behind having Soren father the world’s werewolf population, though she didn’t necessarily care for the idea of him having other lovers. Still, it was water under the bridge. She hadn’t exactly been celibate. “You haven’t had sex in three thousand years? What about Caiden? What about me? Am I reincarnated like Torrey and Desiree, or is this my first go-round?”

  A shadow passed over Teigh’s face, and his eyes darkened. He plopped down on a chair that suddenly seemed too small and dainty to hold the men in her life. “Soren, how about some breakfast? I haven’t had a meal in so long I’ve forgotten what food tastes like. Having a growling stomach is new for me.” He lifted his eyes and met Riley’s gaze. “Circe, how about you pour some of that delicious-smelling coffee and come sit by me? We can check out Soren’s ass while he cooks.”

  Soren moved to do Teigh’s bidding, which surprised Riley. While she knew he didn’t mind cooking or helping out with domestic chores, she also knew he didn’t take kindly to orders, even ones phrased nicely like Teigh’s. The underlying authority and irreverence in his voice would activate Soren’s need to be the alpha, and he would resist fulfilling any request. Or at least he used to be that way.

  Something still wasn’t right, but Riley knew there was no way Soren would continue their talk in front of Teigh. She poured another mug of coffee and set in on the table in front of Teigh.

  He leaned in and inhaled the steam, his nostrils flexing for maximum aroma enjoyment. His thick dreadlocks brushed the table and obscured his face. “I remember the first time I smelled this stuff. I wished so badly to taste it. This is a dream come true.”

  Riley watched him sip. His dreamy, expectant expression soured. She bit her lip to keep from laughing. “How about some sugar?”

  Teigh nodded. “It’s bitter. Do you use sugar?”

  “Yes. Soren likes it black, but I can’t drink it that way.” She handed him the sugar bowl and a spoon. “Teigh, I’d like an answer to my question. How is it you and Caiden can remember Soren and me, yet we can’t remember you?”

  The sour expression ret
urned. “You only had so much magic to go around. You gave enough for our daughters to be reincarnated two at a time. Their souls stayed with Caiden in between lifetimes. Soren got a big chunk. That’s how he shape-shifts, and it’s why he can absorb a witch’s power. Caiden got the smallest amount. He can only exist as a soul. Once in a while, he can possess a human. He’s the one who helps the girls as they grow into young women and search out their mates. He also helps keep their spirits up while they wait to be reincarnated. I exist in both worlds, but I can’t materialize in either for very long.”

  As he spoke, he spooned sugar into his mug. Four teaspoons later, he seemed satisfied with the flavor. Riley exhaled impatiently. “What about me?”

  He shrugged. “You only said we would find each other eventually. You had a limited ability to know the future. You gave us assurances that it would all work out, and that was enough for us all. If you walked the Earth before this lifetime, then I did not know it. I know you didn’t find Soren before now because your union triggered your renewed connections to Caiden and myself.”

  Soren threw a stack of pancakes on the table between them. He returned a moment later with plates, forks, and syrup. “You and Caiden have been together all this time?”

  Teigh contemplated Soren for a minute, that mysterious expression returning once again. Then he dropped his gaze to the stack of food. “I could appear in his spirit world, but we couldn’t do more than talk to one another. Neither of us wanted to lead an existence where we had to be unfaithful to you or Circe. You shoulder the lion’s share of the burden, Soren. That’s why you have the lion’s share of the power.”

  Connections formed for Riley. She began to understand the structure of their holding pattern, but she had no idea why it was necessary. “Can you still appear to Caiden?”

  Teigh shook his head. “My power has faded too much. We have until the next full moon to complete the ritual, or we’ll all be stuck this way. We’ll grow old and die, and we’ll never be reborn again. Nothing will hold our daughters’ souls together. Your powers will return to the sun, and we will all cease to exist.”

  Riley glanced at Soren who had yet to join them at the table. “And Soren will never meet Caiden.”

  He still didn’t look directly at her. His avoidance dropped a pebble of dread in her stomach. “Who is Desiree?”

  The question had been directed at Riley, but she didn’t answer. She watched Teigh’s face soften, and his eyes glazed over with love and pride. “Desiree is one of our two remaining daughters.”

  Soren turned a chair backward and straddled it. He stared at Teigh. Riley wanted to smack him for the way he seemed to have dismissed her existence. He had ceased looking directly at her, and she hated the wall he was forging between them.

  “Remaining? How many were there originally?”

  “Sixteen. Circe’s power is refueled by the sun. We don’t have access to the sun. As we ran out of power, their souls stopped returning to Caiden. Their life energy scattered to the four winds.” His voice dropped to nearly a whisper. Sorrow laced his words, but hope was there, too.

  Soren blinked, clearly shocked by Teigh’s news. Riley felt a distant sadness, but it wasn’t personal. She hadn’t known these daughters, and she hadn’t processed the whole idea that she was the reincarnated soul of Circe. The concept that Torrey was a Daughter of Circe still gave Riley pause. If she hadn’t seen Torrey use magic or shift into a wolf, then she wouldn’t have believed a word of it.

  “Wow. Sixteen kids. Ouch.” Riley’s attempt to break the tension elicited a smile from Teigh.

  “Over a period of several hundred years, babe. Every time one of them grew up, one of us would bring up the idea of having another.” He closed his hand over the fist in her lap she hadn’t realized she had formed.

  Across the table, Soren scowled and cleared his throat. “What happens now?”

  Riley wanted to stand up and yell at him. Maybe she’d throw the steaming stack of pancakes in his face. He had no call to behave this way.

  Teigh distributed the breakfast food and poured the syrup. “Now that we have our thirteen, we head up to see the girls, they do their thing, and everything goes back to being like it was.”

  Now Soren looked at her, and she desperately wished he would stop. The depth of his hostility radiated outward and scorched her heart. “So, she gets all the power and we have nothing? Will I still be a wolf?”

  The way he threw the word “she” at Riley instead of using her name snapped her temper. She shot to her feet so fast her chair banged to the floor. “Damn it, Soren. What the hell is wrong with you?”

  Teigh wrapped an arm around her shoulders, effectively pinning her arms to her sides. She glared up at him, but he merely flashed a reassuring smile. “It’s not ours, Soren. Think of it like a battery that’s almost out of juice. Once that’s gone, we all die. She’s the only one who can recharge it.”

  Soren’s lips pressed together. His muscles clenched so tight he looked like he might break. Finally, he turned and stalked from the room. A truck engine roared to life, and tires squealed as they left the driveway. Riley turned to Teigh and buried her face in his shirt. She wasn’t sure whether she was more hurt or angry, but she didn’t like either feeling.

  “He’s going to try to take it back.” Teigh’s hand soothed a path down her spine, but she wasn’t fooled into thinking he was unaffected.

  “Take what back?” Even as she asked the question, the answer presented itself. He wanted her power, a power she didn’t yet possess. She closed her eyes against the truth. “Crap. His demons are back. How is that possible? Torrey killed them.”

  A short, humorless laugh hissed from Teigh’s mouth. “There are hundreds of them. They overwhelmed us, Circe. It was a sneak attack. You woke screaming, having had a vision in your sleep. They killed our girls before we even knew they were on the island.”

  The image of fire and people running in terror caused Riley to close her eyes. That wasn’t how it happened. It had been quiet. She had slept while her daughters and their lovers were murdered. Were there grandchildren? Horror washed through her body, and she shivered. That question would remain unasked.

  “Where was this island? Why did I make Caiden a spirit and Soren a wolf and you…I don’t know what you are.” Riley shivered, and his arms tightened around her. She breathed in his reassuring masculine scent.

  “You did the best you could, baby. It was night and you only had so much power to use. You had to corral our daughters’ souls and tie them to Caiden. Soren went out to watch over their lovers after you disguised them as shape-shifters. You wanted me to be able to liaise between them, to keep everyone together.”

  But he had lost Soren. Too many reincarnations and too much time had passed. Riley didn’t question how her mind was able to fill in these blanks. “All these years, and you never lost faith.”

  He eased her face away from his chest and wiped the wetness from her cheeks. His somber eyes easily penetrated her soul. “Never.”

  Though she expected the kiss, she couldn’t have predicted the way the sweetness would explode into hungry passion. She needed this affirmation of their love even though she didn’t completely remember their relationship. It seemed like she knew more now than she did a few hours ago.

  “It’s the sex.”

  Riley opened her eyes and blinked at Teigh. His lips lingered an inch from hers and she wanted them back. “What?”

  “Your memories are beginning to return. So are your powers.” He grinned as she rose to her tiptoes to try to achieve her mission.

  “Why? I thought we had to wait for the ritual.”

  Teigh shook his head. “The transfer began the moment you first made love with Soren. Each time he’s with you, more and more shifts to you. I gave you most of what I have already. Caiden has also transferred a bit to you.”

  “Then why is this ceremony-ritual thingy so important?” Riley was more than willing to use the rhythm method. Her men were damn g
ood lovers.

  “You’ll need back what the girls have in order to bring Caiden home and defeat those demons.” He gripped her shoulders. “Circe, those are the souls of the men who attacked us. You cursed them and damned them to this existence. Only the most powerful beings can hear them. Soren came by more power than you gave him when he stole it from some of our witch descendants. It was self-defense, but he wasn’t meant to be this powerful. That’s how he can hear them.”

  She nodded solemnly. “We can’t let them destroy our family twice.”

  He sealed his forehead to hers. The thick locks of hair springing from his head blocked the existence of the rest of the world. “No, baby. We can’t.”

  Chapter 6

  Riley prowled the rooms in her two-bedroom ranch rental taking stock of exactly what she would leave behind. She harbored no illusions she would have the chance to return to this little house.

  It had come furnished, which meant a lot. It meant she didn’t have to sleep in a sleeping bag until she could purchase a sofa-sleeper. When she had run from her life the first time, she had packed everything into a compact car and hauled a trailer that held her big things. The trailer had been stolen the first night she splurged on a hotel.

  Calling her father for money was out of the question. After the way he’d treated Torrey, she could no longer stand to look at him. Shade had offered money time and again, but she insisted on making her own way.

  Every time she saw or spoke to Torrey, her sister asked Riley to come live with them. She would be with family, and she would be able to see her nieces any time she wanted. Shade even built a guest house with the expectation that Riley would live there.

  Pack mentality had taken over her sister’s way of thinking. Riley understood Torrey’s instinctual need to keep her family and loved ones close. She couldn’t protect Riley from several thousand miles away.

  For her part, Riley loved her sister. She loved visiting and talking on the phone. However, being around wolves for too long gave her the creeps. For almost two weeks, she had lived in the midst of a huge pack. Every time Soren had taken her out of the house, even for a simple walk, hostile stares had penetrated the layers of fall clothing and left her chilled.