A growl echoed against the sound of the spray as Nick thrust deeper and harder, moving with Eli as they both filled her.
“Fuck me!” she ground through clenched teeth. Oh…oh my GOD!”
Pleasure and pain exploded, radiating through her lower body like a nuclear rocket. Heat like she never felt before roared into a climax that shook her to her core.
She clung to Nick’s shoulders, her nails gripping his flesh as her mind jumbled and she fought for breath.
Nick’s chest rumbled with a wild growl, and his cock swelled. Fangs descended as hot jets burst, jerking in pulses. With the last of his climax, he bit into Mikki’s flesh.
Pain seared through her shoulder, but it washed away on a wave of pleasure, even as Eli gripped her hips. His fingers dug into her soft flesh from behind, and with a snarl, he pulled out of her ass to wrap his hand around his shaft.
He came hard, guttural jerks spurting onto her tight hole. His fangs pierced his gums, and with the last of his orgasm, he bit down on her shoulder blade, the mark a perfect counter to Nick’s.
Mikki slumped forward, her face pressed to Nick’s warm chest. The spray from rain head kicked up tiny waves in the tub, the water lapping at their entwined limbs as both men healed the wounds on either side of her shoulder.
“You’re ours, Mikki,” he began. “You still have a choice, of course. Our marks claim you, but they aren’t permanent. Not yet.”
She sat up, wincing from the rough sex and the marks on her shoulder. Nick slipped from her body as she swung her legs from his hips.
“What do you mean by not permanent? You said a triad is a bonding between the alpha, the omega and the alpha female of the pack. Was that a lie?” Fear crept in, nearly choking her.”
“It is. A triad is a forever thing. For a lifetime…but a claiming is much more than just a mating ritual. You are the one with the choice. You can turn us down,” Nick replied.
“You mean I can back out even though you marked me? I mean, I have the puncture wounds to prove it.”
They nodded in unison.
“The marks on your shoulder would fade, and you would forget us. Completely,” Nick added
Eli shrugged, regrettably. “As if we never met.”
Mikki chewed her lip. That was so not an option.
“Look, I already said I was yours. Plural. As in belonging to you both, as you both belong to me.” She reiterated it a bunch of ways just to make sure she was clear. “Otherwise, I never have done, well…this.” She shrugged, gesturing to their three naked and spent bodies in the water.
“Mikki,” Eli began. “Look at your arms. You don’t yet bare our mark.”
She lifted her forearms from the water and turned them to the tender underside. Her heart sank. They were as smooth as they were before she even knew Eli and Nick.
“But I thought—” her voice cracked.
Nick pulled her into his arms and smoothed her wet hair. “You can’t be ours, yet. You need to do one more thing.”
She pulled back, knowing her face was both skeptical and anxious. “I was kidding before about the dark side. I’m not doing anything kinkier than what we just did, and there’s no way in hell we are adding a fourth person to this playground.”
“No way, honey.” Eli shook his head “Sharing you with this big ape is one thing, but anyone else? I’d rip their arms off and then beat them to death with the stumps.”
Nick nodded. “And that goes double for the big ape.”
“What is it I have to do, then? From now on, you two need to stop with the cagey bullshit and tell me the stuff I need to know.”
“You have to shift,” Nick answered. “You never completed that vital step in every shifter’s life. It’s not only a rite of passage, but it opens up the rest of our world and abilities to you.”
Eli nodded as well. “Until you do, our marking you, our claiming you…it’s only superficially complete.”
“Wait. What about the fact I’m not a wolf? How will this work if I’m a different species…or two…or ten?”
“God, I love how quick you are.” Eli grinned.
“There’s wolf inside you somewhere. Even if it’s not dominant. But in all honesty, it doesn’t matter. A dual-nature and a willingness of body and spirit is all that’s required,” Nick replied matter-of-factly.
“Body and spirit,” she raised an eyebrow. “What about heart?”
“That goes without say. You said you fell for both of us head over heels. Neither Eli nor I would be here if we didn’t feel exactly the same way about you.”
Mikki reached to turn off the rain head. “I’m getting pruned sitting here. Can we continue this conversation without the marinade?”
“Are you having second thoughts?” Nick asked, reaching to help her stand.
“No. I don’t do buyer’s remorse. Especially when I get a two for one deal as amazing as this.” She chuckled. “If making this triad or whatever permanent means I have to shift, then I want to get to it as quickly as possible. My only fear is it’s too late. I feel my cat and my other animals, but maybe I’m past it.”
Eli tweaked her nose. “Shifters don’t have expiration dates stamped on their heels, love. It’s never too late, especially when the circumstances are as right as these.”
“Good, she said, holding Nick’s hand as she stepped out of the tub.
Reaching for the towels, she tossed one each to the guys before wrapping herself in the thick terry.
“So, you two are the shifting experts in the room. Where and when can we do this? The sooner the better.”
Nick and Eli exchanged a look.
“How do you feel about heading back to the mountains?”
Epilogue
The snow glistened in the glow of the firepit. Nick threw another log into the flames, and the impact sent red embers and sparks flying into the darkness.
“You cold, love?” Eli asked, carrying extra wood for the pile.
Mikki should her head. “Nope. Shifters don’t feel the cold like humans.” She caught Nick’s eye, and the two shared a private smile.
“Then why are you shivering?” Eli pressed. “I need to know… I mean, we need to know… that you’re one hundred percent into doing this, because once you shift, you’re ours. Marked and claimed. Even the elders can’t argue the point.”
Nick snorted, wiping soot from his hands. “Not that they would. If they even considered arguing the point, they’d lose me, they’d lose EJ, and then where would they be? Bloodlines aside, they’d be up shit’s creek financially. For them this is a huge win-win.”
“Wow, you two really know how to romance a girl on the eve of something this momentous. And to think I told Carmela she couldn’t be a maid-of-honor because shifters don’t have weddings. I should have let her do her stuff and plan a polygamist wedding or whatever. At least then I’d have mementos and not just memories.”
Nick kissed the side of her head. “Trust me, this will be something you will never forget. Still, if you want to do the whole white wedding thing, I’m sure we can arrange something.”
“Really?” She looked between them. “Which of you would be on the license?”
“It would be a shifter ceremony, love,” Nick replied. “One of our elders would officiate, but legally, it wouldn’t actually count unless we flipped a coin for whose name was listed as your lawful husband.”
She thought about it. “Nope. We don’t need a piece of paper. If the marks we bare are all that’s required for shifters to recognize us as a true triad, then I’m good.”
Eli slid in beside her on the hewn log bench, slipping his arm around her shoulders. “Baby, you are more than good. And I have a near-permanent hard-on to prove it.”
“Ugh. Really kill the romance there, Romeo.” Nick laughed. “To be honest, I think a white wedding done shifter-style would be nice. It would certainly be a first, and our situation is definitely a first.”
Eli nodded. “We are unique.”
“How so?” Mikki looked at them, skeptical. “Alphas and omegas have been around forever. Marcus even said so.”
“Alphas and omegas, yes…but technically we are both alphas,” Nick gestured between him and Eli. “Unique.”
“And,” Eli continued. “We decided to continue running the pack that way. As alphas. A unit. Both of us together…with you.” He kissed the side of her hair.
Mikki’s lips curled up, ironically. “Torn between two alphas. That might have started as a joke with a really cheesy song attached, but it isn’t now.”
“But you’re not torn,” Nick countered. “Not anymore.”
Eli shook his head. “Never again.”
Mikki nestled in beneath Eli’s shoulder. There was no need to pinch herself anymore. This was very real. “You know,” she looked at them, thinking. “We never settled what to do about my landlord. Our triple tryst sidetracked the problem completely.”
“You don’t need worry about that.” Eli squeezed her shoulder. “Not now. Not ever.”
The bookshop had been hers since her father passed away. She was more than capable of dealing with the new landlord, especially now the guys were in her corner. What she didn’t need was Eli and Nick taking over the fight.
“I…suppose so.” She hesitated.
“You’re chewing your lip.” Nick tossed another log on the fire. “What’s wrong?”
“Nothing really.” She hunched into her jacket. “I’m probably being stupid, but I’ve handled the bookshop since my dad died. Jordan likes the history of it, but he doesn’t want anything to do with running the place.” She shrugged. “I guess I didn’t expect to take a back seat.”
“Back seat?” Nick turned, surprised. “Mikki, you’re still in charge. You can run the bookshop any way you choose, until you decide otherwise. The place is yours. Even more so, now.”
She blinked, not quite understanding. How could it be more hers?
Eli spared a quick grin before getting to his feet. “We wanted to surprise you,” he spread his hands, “but since you look confused, I think we’d better explain. You are the new landlord.”
Her brows knotted at that. “Eli, I saw the envelope in your hand the day we met, and what about the letter I received via snail mail before I met either of you?”
“Mikki,” Nick chimed in. “The Red Oak pack bought the property in your name. The building and the shop are yours to do with as you see fit. Marcus told you it was his intention for us to cross paths. He’s a crafty old wolf. How manages is still a mystery, but I’m glad, nonetheless.”
“Crafty?” Eli chuckled. “Let’s just say I’m glad he’s on our side.”
“I don’t know what to say.” Would they ever stop surprising her?
“You don’t have to say anything. You can put Carmela in charge of the shop. Give her your apartment. Whatever you want. You decide.” Nick winked. “Consider this our wedding present.”
Mikki’s heart swelled. Who would have thought in a week her world could turn upside-down, yet leave her happier than she’d been in a lifetime?
The sun crested, casting a pink glow to the sky and its rays crept along the snow, illuminating everything in a golden glow.
Eli held his hand out for Mikki to get up from her perch. “Showtime, love.”
Nick banked the fire, protecting it from the wind. “You got this, babe. Just concentrate. Call to your inner animal. Once your shift begins, we’ll be right beside you.”
She nodded. “Will we be able to communicate?”
“Shifters have full human thought and cognitive abilities while in their animal form.” Eli took her hand, leading her away from the cabin and the firepit.
“Wait, talking animals?” She stopped, mid-step. “You two did nothing but growl and snarl when you were ripping each other apart the other day.”
“We don’t talk, Dr. Doolittle,” Nick laughed, brushing splinters from his gloves as he caught up with them. “Remember the Vulcan mind meld?
Eli rolled his eyes.
“Hey, her words not mine, dude.”
“What about it the Vulcan mind meld?” she asked, ignoring Eli.
“It’s how we communicate in animal form.”
“You mean telepathy? I can hear your thoughts.” She looked between them, stunned.
They both nodded.
Anticipation coursed through her veins, and this time she squealed out loud. “Point the way, boys. Tell me what to do. I can’t wait to see what goes on inside your gorgeous heads.”
Eli snorted. “Oh, boy. I think we created a monster, or at least a whole heap of future domestic arguments.”
“Ignore him. Close your eyes and call to your dominant animal,” Nick said. “Whichever one is closest to the surface.
Mikki’s lids slid shut. She quieted her mind until the only thing she sensed was her heartbeat and the feel of oxygen in her lungs.
The air around her warmed, and her mind closed so nothing penetrated. Not the guys, not the wind, not the cold dawn.
Electric jolts skittered across her skin in a pulsing cadence, and her knees buckled, but not from weakness.
Her back arched to near breaking, and a moment of panic threatened to break the energy tempo until she drove the fear out, leaving no room for anything but the feel of her animal pacing below the surface.
Heat sluiced through her body, searing muscle and sinew. Her eyesight changed, nearly sending her into vertigo until her vision adjusted to multi-dimensional.
She swung her head to look for the guys, and as she did she caught three shadows against the snow. Two wolves and one majestic cat.
Eli and Nick were right. She was feline dominant, and that feline was a cougar!
With a loud chuff, she pawed the snow, reveling in the feel of lethal claws against the ice. The marks on her shoulder burned below her fur as if searing into her soul.
The feeling spread, circling her heart, marking her flesh with the same inherent swirls and ornate triangle the guys carried in their skin.
The wolves howled, and she felt them in her mind. They were there with her, melded, lives and souls enmeshed. She saw their present and their future. Their children. Their life.
It was done. She was their alpha female and their mate, completing their triad.
“You’re ours now, Mikki,” Eli brushed her flank with his nose, and Nick followed, dipping his large head to her brow. “Forever.”
Her lips pulled back over her teeth and a cougar scream ripped from her chest. The wolves howled in reply, and the three ran side by side for the mountain summit.
About the Author
Hi everyone! I’m Marianne Morea. I was born and raised in New York, and there’s nothing like the city that never sleeps to inspire sexy stories and romantic suspense. I began my career after college as a budding journalist, and later earned a master’s in fine art, from The School of Visual Arts in Manhattan, but it’s my lifelong love affair with words and books that finally led me to do what I love most. Write. I live in New York with my hubby and our three children, three dogs and one cat. I’m always interested in chatting with readers, so sign up for my newsletter and check out my Facebook page, Twitter and Instagram!
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BOOKS BY MARIANNE MOREA
The Cursed by Blood Saga
Hunter’s Blood
Fever Play
Twice Cursed
Blood Legacy
Lion’s Den
Power Play
Collateral Blood
Condemned
Of Blood and Magic
The Red Veil Diaries
Choose Me
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br /> Tempt Me
Tease Me
Taste Me
Bewitch Me
Howls Romance
Her Fairytale Wolf
The Wolf’s Dream Mate
Her Winter Wolves
The Alpha’s Chase
MT World Exclusives
Sass Master
Lucky Sass
Sass in the City
The Blessed
My Soul to Keep
Single Books
Dragon Master
The Legend Series (Teen)
Hollow’s End
Time Turner
Spook Rock
CIA Rogue Operative
Dangerous Law
Torn Between Two Alphas: Howls Romance Page 16
