by Ruby Madden
And Emma Sorenson had no scent. Therefore, she could have no mate.
Or at least that’s what they’d thought all these years.
Emma shook her head and refused to answer Abigail’s questions. She couldn’t tell her sister what was going on even if she was tired of all the running. She was more tired of being a burden to her sister. Her first memory was of Abigail standing over her snarling at another cat when the cat had turned on Emma as they were playing. She’d been protecting her. Again. As always. Emma’s fists clenched. She wasn’t a two-month-old kitten who needed protection any more.
And there was no way Ryland Blackwood was her mate. Or, more accurately, she could never be Ryland Blackwood’s mate. She had no scent and a mate could not imprint on a mate without a scent. It went against all the rules of being a shifter. Ryland was attracted to her and had kissed her because she wore Abigail’s clothes. Carried Abigail’s scent. Just as she had for years.
Abigail’s hand reached across and squeezed hers and she relished the comfort of her twin. And for a little while, she stopped thinking of the what-ifs and even the what-were-they-going-to-dos.
~*~
The man watched the bus stop from his stolen car. A dark haired woman waved at the driver as she stopped off onto the curb, the strap of a beat-old backpack slung over one shoulder. She had more meat on her bones than he liked on a female. Except for her ass. He’d always been an ass man and hers was big and jiggly. Now that he did like. He watched until she turned the corner and disappeared out of sight. She’d taken the same route for the last week. Didn’t that lame ass human of a father teach his girls anything about staying safe? Not that it would have mattered. He was under orders from the Panthera to find the two Sorenson women. In the Jacobson pride, one did what the Panthera wanted or disappeared in the middle of the night. He shuddered. The Panthera liked to keep real lions and anyone who crossed him was thrown into a pit where he kept the man-eating beasts and was immediately torn to pieces. The Panthera didn’t play fair. Any shifter who had dared to disobey him was drugged and bound and tossed in like a nicely wrapped chew toy for the big cats.
He started the engine. He didn’t need to follow her. He knew where she was headed. The only survival instinct he’d observed so far was the two women never left their apartment together and he didn’t think it was because they worked different shifts. He assumed it was so no one would know there were two of them. The boss’s reach was far and wide and the underbelly of the shifter world knew the lion was on the lookout for twin cat shifters. He’d spend another day or two watching and observing before reporting to the Panthera that he’d found the bitches.
He remembered last time when he had acted too soon. The weak-assed human and the twins had gotten away. But not their mother. The cat had put up a good fight but was no match for the hyenas and jackals he’d hired. But he’d taken care of the male in the last town.
Watching the sway of the cat as she walked down the sidewalk, he licked his lips. He hoped the boss would give them to him after he impregnated them. They thought the old man was just after the one, the one with no scent. But the Panthera wanted them both.
~*~
Three days later, Henry Jacobson snarled as the insistent ringing of his phone interrupted what was proving to be an exciting fuck. He didn’t have those often any more. His second-in-command had done well providing him with this woman. He’d managed to secure one who had a little meat on her bones. Her rejection by human males had made it easier for his guard to entice her back to the compound.
“Stay,” he ordered, reaching around her to grab his phone from the nightstand. He slid his digit across the screen and his already hardened cock jumped when he saw the number. “Do you have them?”
“Not yet. I do know where they are.”
“Then why the hell don’t you have them?”
The man hesitated. He hated breaking bad news to the Panthera. Thankfully, this time he was hundreds of miles away. “I’ve run into a slight situation.”
Or two, he silently added. The two grizzlies were not going to let their mate and her sister go without a fight. But he’d figure out a way. Now, it wasn’t just about doing a good job for the lion king. Now, it was a matter of life-and-death—their lives or his death.
“Their father is gone, unless you lied to me.”
“No, no sir. I took care of him.”
“Then what? I want those women now.” He didn’t give the man a chance to answer. In a fit of rage, the Panthera slung his phone across the room. The thought of having the Sorenson twins in his bed, cowering before him, obeying his every command, drove his lust into a frenzy. He knew that hunger would not be satisfied by simply fucking the woman kneeling on his king-sized bed. He opened the drawer of his nightstand and took out his favorite toy—a black leather whip.
~*~
“Shit, bro. What are we going to do?”
Ryland Ryker watched as the cat shifter turned the corner at the end of the block and walked briskly down the sidewalk. For over a week, they had followed her home after work. What they didn’t know was it had been Abigail they’d followed. Emma wasn’t scheduled to work until the weekend.
“Well, it’s obvious now that we both want her.” Ryland spoke as they exited the truck and made their way to the apartment building. If you could call it that.
He remembered the kiss they’d shared in the hallway and the one in the storage room at the bar. It was if the connection had finally sprung into place for him. Oh, his animal hadn’t been thrilled at the prospect of sharing a mate, but he’d felt it would be manageable even though at times he’d wanted to pound his brother to the ground. After the kiss in the stairwell, he knew he could never share her. The animal was constantly trying to claw its way out of his chest and challenge the other bear. She. Was. His.
If this was going to work, he needed to get control of his animal—and himself—before he hurt the two people he loved most in the world—his mate and his twin.
They took the stairs to her apartment two at a time. They’d agreed the first order of business was to move her out of the building. Not only was it a dump, but the neighborhood was dangerous. They had taken turns watching the building at night. Being close by in case she needed them. Now they had to convince her moving was in her best interest. Since Ryker had a house, it made sense that they would live there. Ryland already had a room of his own, a second master suite really.
Would she take turns sleeping in each of their beds? Or would they need to build a bed large enough to accommodate all three? He’d be lonely as hell the nights she wouldn’t be in his bed and knew Ryker would feel the same way.
He stood at the apartment door, watching the wood bow under the pressure of a simple knock. One good punch and it would splinter beneath his hand. This was no place for his mate.
When there was no immediate response, he knocked again. This time he heard feet scuffling followed by low pitched talking. Who was she talking to?
“Emma.” He knocked again, his bear worried. The talking ceased immediately. “Open the door, baby.”
Emma and Abigail froze at the sound of the Ryland’s voice. They really hadn’t expected the bears to make their move yet. And she did mean bears. From the amount of testosterone filling the air outside their apartment, there was no doubt in either girl’s mind that Ryker was with Ryland. They had followed Abigail to and from the diner for the last week or so. Luckily, Emma didn’t have to work again until this weekend. It would have been a nightmare trying to keep their secret with both of the girls coming and going.
“You’re going to have to face them sometime. We can’t keep pretending.” Emma whispered.
“Then we’ll leave.” Abby grabbed the duffle bag they kept packed and stored by the door. They never knew when they’d have to leave in a hurry.
“We can’t do that either.” Emma tugged the duffle bag out of Abby’s hands, feeling like the older sister. She didn’t know wh
at was making Abigail so skittish. What she wouldn’t give to be able to claim Ryland as her mate.
Or even Ryker. She felt a slight tingle down there. Was it cheating if she was attracted to the exact replica of her mate? She motioned for Abby to go hide in the bedroom. Neither bear had been close enough to scent Abby yet. Emma was sure when they did, their jig was up. Abigail’s scent would overwhelm them and send their bears into a mating frenzy.
Her sister gave her a you-better-get-rid-of-them-fast look that spoke volumes. Yeah, like she wanted two big bears sniffing around. The plan was for them to sniff around Abby, not Emma.
But Abby was too chicken to meet her mates.
Mate, her cat snarled at her. The cat had turned into a hateful bitch. Only one is her mate. Other. Ours.
Emma pulled the hem of the oversized t-shirt over her hips. Even though she could smell the two bears outside the hollowed panel of the front door, she looked through the security peephole anyway. Who wasn’t to say the bears hadn’t been coerced into coming here to force the sisters out of hiding?
She opened the door slowly, keeping the flimsy two dollar chain in place. “What do you want?”
“Aaah, Emma. Don’t ask a question like that unless you’re ready for the answer.” Ryland stared down at her, his eyes slumberous and dark. Their gazes held for an endless moment. “Let us in, sweetheart.”
Movement at his side assured her that Ryker was indeed with him.
She closed the door softly and removed the chain, opening the door wide to allow the two bears inside. She tried not to grimace as they filled the small space with their big bodies. The apartment was small and their size made it seem smaller.
Closing the door behind them, she leaned back against it, gripping the doorknob with all her might and waited for the bears to speak.
Ryker saw the fear in Emma’s blue eyes as she glanced between him and Ryalnd. He knew his brother wanted nothing more than to take her in his arms and tell her everything was going to be alright. He did too, but he wasn’t sure everything was going to be alright. They’d decided they were not going to give Emma a chance to say no tonight. They both needed to claim her. Then maybe their animals would settle the fuck down.
But now that the moment had come, he didn’t know if he could do it. After following her to the diner all week, his bear had clawed at him to make a move, to kiss their mate. It was this summer all over again when her scent had sent him into a frenzy. But tonight…
He dropped down onto the broken couch hard, his big body taking up most of the space. He rubbed the back of his neck, his bear pacing, unsure what was happening. He propped his elbows on his thighs and twisted his fingers in his hair. His lungs felt constricted and his heart was racing a mile a minute, but not in a good way. Nothing about this felt good. Nothing about claiming this woman felt right.
“What’s wrong?” A gentle hand touched his forearm. He hadn’t heard her move from the door.
He looked up at the concerned face of his mate and wondered the exact damn thing. Why did the thought of kissing her, making love to her feel so damn wrong?
“I don’t know, Emma. One minute I want to fuck the living daylights out of you and the next, I can’t bring myself to kiss you.”
Emma sucked in a lungful of air. He knew his language was crude and coarse, but he couldn’t help himself. He and his bear were responding on a primitive level. Find mate. Fuck mate.
If only it were that simple.
Ryland stood off to the side, watching the exchange. Ryker didn’t need his brother to tell him what he felt like doing right now. He could feel the waves of lust rolling off his brother from across the room.
Got to get a handle on this, he muttered to his bear. A bear that was suspiciously relaxed and downright docile at the moment. Not at all like he’d been when they’d first walked into the apartment. It had only happened when Emma had moved closer and Ryker had caught her scent.
“Okay, let’s do this.” He rose from the couch, which forced Emma to take a step backwards. He kept moving until he’d backed her across the room. Right in front of Ryland.
“Um, let’s do what exactly?” Emma licked her lips and Ryker felt nothing. It was as if he was dead from the waist down.
“We’re going to take you, Emma,” he growled in a low deep voice. It wasn’t coated with lust or desire, but anger. Anger that fate was leading him down an unknown path. Perhaps even an unwanted path.
“Hey, bro, back off.” Ryland’s hand pushed against Ryker’s chest. He met his brother’s gaze. His twin was concerned that he was angry and Ryker couldn’t blame him.
“We need to do this.” He stated the words again. For everyone’s benefit. Then took a deep breath. “You kiss her and I’ll…” His words ground to a halt. What exactly was he going to do?
“You’ll what?” Ryland smirked at his discomfort, but wasted no time turning Emma around and pulling her into his arms.
“I’ll do something else.” He waved his hands, unsure where he should put them. He felt as green as a horny teen with his first girl. Hell, he hadn’t been this nervous when he’d stolen his first kiss from Mary Lou Johnson in the sixth grade.
Ryland smiled, but Ryker could tell it was still filled with unease. He watched as his brother took their mate’s face in his hands and said, “It will be alright, baby, I promise.”
As much as Ryland still didn’t relish the idea of sharing her with his brother, they all needed to move forward. Including Emma. Her beautiful face was racked with concern. Even with her mouthwatering curves, she looked so small and helpless pressed between them. Damn, they were going to have to be careful with her or they’d break her in two. His cock hardened at the thought of having her and the fact that he’d have to share her with his brother faded into the background. He needed to be inside her. Any way he could have her.
“Calm down, Emma.” Her heart was racing a mile a minute. “We’ll take this slow, okay?” He let go of her face and pulled her into his arms, his embrace light and nonthreatening. “We wouldn’t hurt you for the world. You are our heart.”
Thanks to the paper thin door of the bedroom and her shifter hearing, Abigail heard the entire conversation taking place in the living room. She ran her fingers through her hair, struggling to decide what to do. What would be best? They just needed to fool the bears for a few more days. She was certain she could convince Emma to go to the next town and wait for their father. After that, she didn’t know what the hell they were going to do. She was so tired of running.
So stay, her cat murmured in her ear. Oh, how she longed to listen to her animal and sister and stay in Atlanta. Stay with the Blackwood bears. The possibility of them suffering, even dying was the only thing holding her back. Just because they were grizzlies didn’t mean they would survive an attack from the Panthera.
And Abigail knew the Panthera would attack. He wanted Emma too badly to give up now.
She paced the tiny room, cursing as she hit the edge of the bed with her knee. Stay. Go. Stay. Go.
Her cat suddenly sat up, snarling. Abigail felt the hairs on the back of her neck stand up. Felt the tingle of power as it ran down her arms. It was the same as when she was going to shift. What the heck? The animal inside her was suddenly demanding that she open the bedroom door and claim her mate.
Ryker watched as Ryland kissed Emma. His bear had settled down without a grumble. Or without any indication it was aroused and wanted to join in. But this was their mate, too. He’d felt the mating heat before. For almost three freaking damn months he’d been out of his mind with lust. He’d searched every damn inch of this town looking for the cat—the woman—who had made his bear so damn twitchy. And horny. He stepped closer and drew in a lungful of air. Orange blossoms. It smelled sweet and it did make his bear stir, just a little bit. But it didn’t bring on the gut-wrenching, almost depilating lust it had on the site this summer. Or in the storage room or as he’d followed his mate to and from wor
k the last few days.
Yeah, the woman in his brother’s arms held the same tantalizing smell as before, the same fragrance that had been calling to his bear all summer long. But it was… different.
Or was it? Or was he just reluctant to start sharing his mate with his brother?
It was not about them. It was about her, he reminded himself. The pleasure and well-being of a mate came before anything else. Even his own doubts.
Stepping closer, he pressed himself against the soft cushion of her hips and his manhood flared. Why wouldn’t it? She smelled damn good and felt even better. Stroking his hands up her sides, he groaned and lowered his head to taste the flesh of her shoulder. The oversized shirt had fallen to the side, leaving her skin exposed.
He licked it, making her groan into his brother’s mouth. He cupped the heavy weight of her breasts, squeezing tightly. Letting go, he trailed his hands down her torso, relishing the feel of her rounded belly. His fingertips found the waistband of her jeans. Another moan.
Knowing something wasn’t right Emma forced herself to emerge from the sexual fog the twins had put her in. Ryland was devouring her mouth while Ryker—shit, what was Ryker doing? His hand had found its way inside the front of her pants and was slowly moving toward her pussy. The heat behind her disappeared. Her front was still toasty warm with Ryland’s hard body pressed against her curves, but her back now felt the loss of the other heat source.
Ryland broke away from her mouth, glancing over her shoulder. “Ryker?” His voice was hoarse with the same desire thrumming through her body.
She twisted in his arms to see what he was looking at and her hip bumped against the hard ridge of his cock as she turned.
Ryker stood behind them, his hands clenched at his sides. Tension radiated from him, but it was the expression on his face that made her breath catch in the back of her throat. He had the look of a tortured man.
“I can’t—” he took a step back, distancing himself from the embracing couple.
A sharp thump sounded in the bedroom.
