Callie & The Cats

The Wolf’s Mate Book 3: Callie & The Cats by R.E. Butler

Copyright 2012 R.E. Butler

Smashwords Edition

The Wolf’s Mate Book 3: Callie & The Cats Copyright © 2012 by R.E. Butler Smashwords Edition, License Notes This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to Smashwords.com and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author. **Cover Design by Kameko Gay. Photographers: Stocktrek (image “The Moon”) and Photo 24 (image “Snowy Road”)** This ebook is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are the product of the author’s imagination and not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events or locations is coincidental. Disclaimer: The material in this book is for mature audiences only and contains graphic sexual content and is intended for those over the age of 18 only. ***** Because sometimes starting over turns out to be the best thing you could do for your life...Callie is for those of you that have left and found happiness. For K.G., my incredibly talented and faithful reader, friend, and designer. For B.L., my personal cheerleader and email addiction enabler. For my husband, because I love him dearly. For my new author pals, especially Karen, thanks for the inspiration and advice. And for my fans that have asked about Callie, I hope you like the wolf she became.

Table of Contents Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3 Chapter 4 Chapter 5 Chapter 6 Chapter 7 Chapter 8 Chapter 9 Chapter 10 Chapter 11 Chapter 12 Chapter 13 Chapter 14 Chapter 15 Chapter 16 Chapter 17 Chapter 18 Chapter 19 Chapter 20 Chapter 21 Chapter 22 Chapter 23 Chapter 24 Chapter 25 From the Author and Other Works

Sneak Peak of The Wolf's Mate Book 4: Michael & Shyne

Chapter 1 **Ethan** “I’ll have a cub with you Ethan, but that’s as far as things will go,” Melania sniffed at him. She was lovely, like any other mountain lion female; all sharp angles and thin, willowy frame like a supermodel. But she was also cold and detached like any other mountain lion female. In their culture, it was the males that craved affection, that wanted marriage and children and a home, not the females. The females would bear a cub with a male whether they liked him or not, drop the baby off on the doorstep and not look at it again. It was an oddly upside down world compared to what he knew of human relationships, where the females were often the ones that wanted for love and affection and the males didn’t have the desire for it. But lions couldn’t be with human females, it was too risky. The lion females, while they didn’t want to be in relationships with the males, held their kind in esteem and would drive any human females far away through fear and intimidation, and violence if necessary. “I don’t just want to have a child with you, Melania.” He sighed, running his hand through his hair. He needed a haircut. It was starting to dust the collar of his shirt and his father frowned on that on the force. Her golden eyes showed no emotion at all as she looked at him once more, “It is what it is, Ethan. You ask too much. You want to fuck, that’s fine. You want a cub, that’s fine, too. But a relationship, a marriage? It’s impossible. You’re worse than your father. You and that brother of yours.” With a rustle of the pages, Melania Travers turned back to her magazine at the desk in the police station, where he, his two brothers, two uncles, and his father made up the entire police force of King, Pennsylvania. The tiny town, barely on any map, was nestled in the mountains in the northern part of the state, and currently covered in snow that wouldn’t disappear until April. It was the perfect place in his mind, except for the one glaring missing piece of his life: a wife.

He turned and walked out of the station into the blistering wind of the beginning of January. Today he’d woken up with an itch he couldn’t scratch, an aching in his bones as if he were on the verge of something big. Over breakfast this morning, in the small home he shared with his twin Eryx and their younger brother Alek, Eryx had shared that he too was feeling strange, as if a change were coming. “Weather,” snorted Alek. Younger than his brothers by only two years, 24 year old Alek wasn’t the romantic that his older brothers were, but he still wanted more than what they’d been relegated to with the mountain lion females. Even if he refused to admit it. Eryx leaned over the table and stuck his finger in his brother’s bowl of Fruit Loops and Alek growled and jerked his bowl away. “Don’t dismiss our feelings, little brother.” “Fine, fine. You guys sit around and pant after the females and try to get them to see the light for a relationship. I’m sure it will work as well for you as it did for Dad.” Before they could make him sorry for bringing up their father’s situation, he scooted out of the kitchen with his bowl of cereal. “He’s not wrong.” Ethan scrubbed his fingers along his unshaven jaw. “Why were our kind made like this? Why do we yearn for relationships and enduring love and our females want nothing of the sort?” “I ask myself that question at least as much as you do. We are made as we are, brother. I don’t relish leading the life our father does, but we seem to have no choice.” “There is a choice.” Ethan leaned on the back two legs of the kitchen chair and drummed his fingers on the table. Eryx stood up and refilled his travel mug. As usual, his twin was ready to go well before their 8 a.m. start time. “Push the thought from your mind, brother. Would you really try to seduce a human woman and watch her be driven away by the females? No human woman can stand up to the females and they know it. Cody had that human for a while and she nearly lost her eye because of it. I wish it could be different.” He walked out of the kitchen and left Ethan to brood, “So do I.” ** Eryx **

Eryx didn’t doubt that Ethan wanted a wife and family as much as he did, but it wouldn’t ever happen. Their own mother didn’t treat them any differently than a stranger on the street. There were times when he would sit in the cruiser in the park during the summer and watch the human mothers with their children, and wish he’d had something like that for a childhood. His father had given them everything he could in the way of nurture and affection, but it was one-sided. A true family, he was certain, had two parents. One picking up the slack for the other, one strong where the other lacked. A partnership. But more than his own wanting for female affection as a child, was that he wished he wasn’t dooming any of his future children to the same motherless fate. When he walked into the station, his face must have been a picture because his father asked him immediately what was wrong. The strong hand on his shoulder was as reassuring as anything else he’d ever known and it was enough to make his eyes sting. Of the two, Ethan was the most tenderhearted, but Eryx was not without his emotions. He just needed an outlet. He needed a woman that would let him show her love and affection, a woman that would want his attention and comfort. “You look for all the world like someone tried to poke your eye out. What’s wrong, son?” He steeled himself thoroughly before meeting his father’s intense gaze. “I just, I just wish it were different, Dad.” The soft smile, the gentle crinkle at the corner of his eyes, nearly undid him, but it was the words that cut deeply and, unfortunately, gave him hope. “Maybe it will be different for the two of you. I feel a change coming, deep down in the marrow of my bones.” Fantastic. Now all three of them were feeling twitchy, but as far as the eye could see, there were only human females that were too fragile and weak to be with them or to stand up to the mountain lion females, and the mountain lion females themselves who were unwilling to be more than incubators and booty calls. As quickly as he could, he clocked in and went out on foot patrol. He needed the icy wind in his lungs to chase away the sorrow that had lodged there. The dull ache in

his chest refused to go away, however, and eventually he made two circuits around their small downtown before heading to the cruiser to make the rounds. It would be a long, cruel winter.

Chapter 2 **Callie** “I have to go, Cades, I can’t be the reason things are so strained between you and Jason.” Callie looked over the two large suitcases open on her bed and then went into the closet to make sure she had gotten everything. Her best friend, alpha werewolf of their pack, strike that – her old pack – sat on her bed with tears in her eyes and pouted. Last week, her husband Jason, alpha male of the Tressel pack, thought that Cadence was being too lax with the females of the pack and demanded that she put them all in their place with some pack discipline. The long and short of it was that she harangued the females within an inch of their lives until they were all but pissing themselves in fear, but kept Callie out of it, and Jason said that made Cadence weak. He wanted her to include Callie in the discipline, bring her under her thumb of guidance and rule, and she didn’t want to. Cadence was the most fiercely protective friend a gal could hope for. She was a ruthless alpha female even though she was only a half wolf and couldn’t shift. When Jason insisted she bring Callie to heel, she refused. And for the first time, Jason made her submit to him in public and it had broken Callie's heart. And strained Cadence and Jason's relationship severely. Callie knew he felt bad. She knew that he hated that he’d had to do that, but he couldn’t appear weak to his own people by letting his mate get away with disobeying a direct order. What he didn’t know, but Callie did, was that Cadence was pregnant, very early, just two weeks, but still...it would hurt him to know he’d potentially put her and the baby in harm’s way by putting her down. You didn’t bring a wolf to heel with a gentle nudge, you did it by force and she had growled and fought him the whole time. Callie wouldn’t wish that on her worst enemy, let alone her best friend. “I’ve already cut ties with the pack. Jason gave me his blessing. It has to be this way, Cades. You can’t defy your husband for my sake and I have to, damn it, I have to stand on my own two feet for a change.” Her whole life she never stood alone. As a

child, Cadence was her defender and stood up for Callie at every turn. Even when Callie joined the pack at 16 when she came into her abilities, then she was under the leadership of the alpha, which at the time had been Jason’s father Peter until he was injured in a hunting accident and Jason took over. From that point on, Jason had abused his position of power in the pack to get her to spy on her best friend for him, because he had a wicked case of unrequited love for her. And whenever she tried to go against him, he asserted his power over her and brought her to her knees. Now was as good a time as any to start fresh. Callie left in honor; she was rogue but she could join another pack if she wanted to. At the moment, all she wanted to do was get to know herself all over again and find the bitchy werewolf that she believed was hovering somewhere under the surface. She was secretly terrified to walk away from everything, but this wasn’t home for her anymore. She put on her brave face as she finished zipping up the two suitcases and rechecked the bathroom to make sure she had everything. Her whole life was in two suitcases and a box in her car. Her apartment was a studio and came furnished. The only things that were hers were her clothes and toiletries and a handful of DVDs, books, and knickknacks. Everything was paid for and turned off. All her mail was stopped. She quit her job as a teller at the credit union. Calliope Marie Hunter, low ranked werewolf of the Tressel Pack, was no more. Callie Hunter, rogue wolf, was ready for anything. Outside in front of her ancient Ford Taurus, she hugged her best friend, for possibly the last time. “Tell Jason about the baby, Cades, sooner rather than later. Let him feel guilty for being such a dick and then forgive him for everything, for me.” Sniffling, her best friend turned emerald green eyes to her that were shining with tears. “I don’t want you to go, Callie. Please stay.” “I can’t. I’m rogue now. And you can’t be yourself with me, because the person you are now isn’t the same as who you were before you became alpha. You’re trying to hold onto that person, but it’s time to let her go and embrace who you are now. And I need to find myself, too. Somewhere out there is a place for me. I’ll be fine. You’ve taught me a lot about courage and love, Cades. I couldn’t ask for a better friend than you. I love you.”

“I love you too, Callie.” She kissed Cadence on the lips once and hugged her tightly, and managed to hold back the gut wrenching heartbreak so she didn’t make her feel worse than she did already. When she was several miles outside of town, she pulled over to the side of the road and cried, saying goodbye to the only life she’d ever known. So where does a 24-year-old rogue werewolf female with no job and no family to speak of go to start over? No clue. She only knew for sure that she didn’t want to stop in any towns with wolf packs, so she asked Peter to help her by scouting out a map of surrounding states and marking the pack territories. Wolf packs lived more towards the Midwest and south, so she opted to go north east, skirting along the border of Ohio and crossing into West Virginia and then up into Pennsylvania. She had enough money to last her a few months until she found a job, and planned to take her time meandering through West Virginia and southern Pennsylvania, stopping at small hotels and B&Bs along the way, waiting for a town or an area to catch her eye. A week into her trip, and nothing had. So far, the only thing she’d accomplished in her plan to find herself was to figure out that she really hated driving in January. If she’d been smarter, she might have waited until the weather turned, but the truth was that come the January full moon, Jason was going to want Cades to be alpha for all the females and Callie didn’t want to be the reason they weren’t happy. Of course if Callie had been really smart, she would have bought a plane ticket somewhere warm to start over. Like Hawaii. She hit the tiny town of King, Pennsylvania with a quaint clapboard sign announcing “Welcome” at the city limits, and followed the signs towards a bed and breakfast. It was dark and sleeting, and she was very thankful she was going to be stopping for the night. Her knuckles were white on the steering wheel as her car crested the top of a hill and started over, spying the stop sign at the bottom of the road that dead-ended into a two lane road. The car eased over the hill slowly enough, but picked up speed and she gingerly pressed her booted foot to the brake and it didn’t slow down. Panic laced through her and she pressed harder, then pressed her foot into the floor. Nothing happened except that the car picked up speed and raced towards the

stop sign. She prayed that there were no cars coming and closed her eyes when her car lurched past the stop sign and blazed across the two lane road. When her eyes opened for a split second as the car crashed past the small barrier hiding whatever lay beyond the road, she saw nothing but trees and darkness. The car tipped nose downward, flipped, and crashed hard, and the last thing she remembered as her forehead cracked against the steering wheel and the windows shattered around her, was thinking that she should have stopped earlier and waited out the storm.

Chapter 3 **Ethan** Normally he didn’t patrol with Eryx, but they’d both been feeling so out of sorts and twitchy at the station that night that their father had sent them out together. They usually worked mornings, but once a week they took an evening shift to give their uncles a break. He thought approaching Melania yesterday would have made him feel better but it hadn’t. He had been under the impression that he was just starting to want a cub, and he’d known without a doubt that she was going to say no to anything except straight sex or a no-strings-attached cub, but it hadn’t eased the ache in his heart. “Maybe we’re coming into a heat of our own?” He glanced at Eryx as he drove. His brother was more serious than him, quiet and brooding, but he took love and relationships as seriously as he did. Not that it mattered in the long run. “We’d be the first,” he snorted, not taking his eyes off the treacherous roads. It had been cloudy but dry all day, and come nightfall, the sky had decided to pour sleet and with the temperatures dropping fast, the roads turned icy and dangerous in a matter of hours. Just when he was about to say something snarky to his brother, a car streaked past the stop sign on Perry Avenue, crashed through the small protective barrier, and dropped down the embankment with an enormous crash. Eryx drove up to the scene as Ethan called for the rescue squad. They got out of the patrol car with flashlights and stood on the edge of the road in the middle of the broken barrier and stared down the hillside at the car that had miraculously landed right side up. “You first,” Eryx said with a shove to his shoulder and Ethan scanned the flashlight back and forth in front of him as he picked his way down the slick snow covered hill. He’d grabbed their medical kit, but had no real illusions that the human or humans inside the car were alive. As the car came into view, it was clear it had rolled.

The windows were shattered, the light from his Magnum picking up the broken pieces like diamonds on the snow. “Fuck me.” Eryx said quietly. He agreed completely. The closer they drew to the car, fighting through several feet of snow at the bottom of the hillside, the more edgy he felt, as if there were something horribly wrong about the whole scenario. Not just the potential loss of life, but another thing entirely. Sleet whipped inside the car from the broken windows, and the blood covered head of the poor human was slumped to the side. He could see the lightly tanned skin of the human’s neck, striped with blood. Delicate and small, it was clear this was a woman. Eryx shined his light inside the car and they both reached their hands to the neck of the woman at the same time. The instant they touched her skin, a sizzle of warmth shot through him and he looked at his brother and saw Eryx had the same startled look. “Eryx?” He whispered, his throat suddenly dry. “I feel it, too. Tell me she’s alive, Ethan. Please.” Eryx made room for Ethan’s EMT expertise, and he pressed his fingers into the side of her neck for her pulse and found it surprisingly strong. “She’s alive.” He assured his brother, and Eryx let out a breath he’d been holding and clicked the radio on his collar, barking for the ETA on the rescue. The crackle of the night operator’s voice over the radio sounded harsh in the quiet stillness of the valley, “10 minutes, boys.” Ethan smoothed the hair gently from the side of her face that was resting on her right shoulder. A gash just above her hairline over her left ear must have happened when she hit her head on the door, and leaning inside, he could see a cut on her forehead that was bruising quickly but had stopped bleeding, probably from the steering wheel. “Can we, should we get her out?” Eryx asked, shifting nervously on his feet. Ethan tested the door after unlocking it and it was damaged enough it wouldn’t budge without considerable force. “If we force the door open, we might hurt her more. It’s best to wait for the squad.”

“So we do nothing while our mate lays there bleeding?” Eryx growled and Ethan felt the same raw protectiveness for this stranger who was immediately imbedded in his heart. He began to unbutton his coat. “Not nothing, we can at least keep her warm. Give me your coat.” They didn’t really need the coats. Cats ran warmer than humans, so giving her the wool coats they were both wearing didn’t hurt them any, and they’d both risk frostbite for their mate anyway. Mate. He let the word roll around in his mind, loving the way it sounded. Mountain lions didn’t have mates, but the woman in the car was theirs. He was certain of it. They kept silent as the squad used the Jaws of Life to cut the car apart, but they were both worried. He could feel his brother’s concern because it was a mirror of his own. It took a half hour to get the door off, and he had to stop both himself and Eryx from rushing to her side. The locals knew they were lions, but they didn’t go parading around with fangs and claws. And he knew if he touched her even once more that he would never want to let her go, and she was injured enough to need medical attention. Although he desperately wanted to take care of her himself, it was in her best interest to let the professionals handle things. **Eryx** “If he touches her again, I’ll rip his head off,” Eryx growled under his breath as the EMT from the fire station in the next town looked over their mate on the stretcher. “He’s supposed to touch her; he has to make sure she’s okay. Calm yourself.” Ethan whispered, but Eryx picked up the same tension in his brother’s voice that he had in his own. They were helpless, while their fragile human mate was being tended over by more humans, and not nearly fast enough in his opinion. “Hey! Get her in the squad already!” He said loudly, and EMT Edward Batten looked up and narrowed his eyes. “I don’t tell you how to do your job, Fallon, you don’t tell me either.”

Ethan put a restraining hand on his shoulder but it did nothing to ease the fear that was lodged deep in his belly. They’d both agreed that the odd feelings they’d had over the last few days were clearly because of this woman. According to her ID, which he’d confiscated along with her purse from the floor of the front seat, she was 24-yearold Calliope Marie Hunter from Allen, Kentucky, wherever the hell that was. What she was doing in King he didn’t know, and he didn’t care. She was here, she was theirs, and that was all there was to it. The crew was working by floodlights and when they’d pulled her out of the car with a neck brace on, they’d both sucked in a breath at her beautiful face. Her hair was honey brown, what wasn’t covered in dried blood anyway, and she had the lushest mouth he’d ever seen, even with her lips cut and bruised. Positively aching to hold her and take care of her, it had taken every ounce of willpower he possessed to let the EMTs do their jobs. It was a great relief to see the ambulance take off for the nearest hospital, which was 27 minutes away. “Boys?” Their father spoke from behind them and they both turned in unison. The story spilled from their lips in hushed voices and he nodded, finally. “That does explain your feelings; it’s not abnormal for supernaturals to get a sixth sense about mates. For our kind, the males will sometimes feel that mate connection to another female, but she’s not a lion, so I’m not sure why you’d feel that way about her. You know what will happen if you keep her. You risk her life. Again.” Without missing a beat, Ethan said what Eryx was going to say, “We’ll go, then. Wherever she wants.” “You’d walk from the pride?” Their father asked in surprise. “You would have, if our mother wanted you to.” Eryx said, feeling in the depths of his soul more connected to that sweet girl in the back of the ambulance than he’d ever felt connected to anyone outside of his family before. “True.” Their father sighed. “You have to be careful not to freak her out. She may not have any idea what it means to be a mate, and that both of you believe her to be yours together, may prove an obstacle that will take some time to overcome. Get to the hospital. I’ll be at the station after this is all cleaned up.” Grateful to be released, Ethan popped the trunk to see if she had any bags and grabbed the two suitcases. There was a box in the back seat but they couldn't get to it

without ripping the front seat out, so they left it to be gathered later at the impound lot. Bags in tow, they lurched up the hill as fast as they could and drove to the hospital. The nurse at the desk told them she was with the doctor, and he’d come out to talk to them when he was finished. “Well, we talked before about what it would mean if one of us had a mate and the other didn’t. Clearly this isn’t a scenario we contemplated before.” Eryx said as they both paced the length of the empty waiting room. For their kind, the males sometimes felt a mate connection to a female, but because the female lions didn't want mates, the connection was one-sided. This was an entirely new scenario - a mate connection to a human. It gave him hope. “It’s better this way, though. We can both keep her safe until we can leave.” Ethan said as he shifted anxiously. Eryx sighed and ran his hand through his hair, something he did when he was particularly worried or upset. His stomach was in knots and hadn’t stopped feeling like it was stuffed full of lead. He didn’t dare wonder about her fragile human body and what could have happened to her with the force of that accident. No matter what, he’d take care of her for the rest of his life, gladly. “We could go to Indiana, to Uncle Rhett’s ranch. He could always use another pair of hands.” Ethan offered and Eryx stopped his pacing and looked at him, and then nodded. They’d need money, and small town deputies didn’t make much. A voice they recognized as Dr. Xavier Grace interrupted their discussion, “Were you guys waiting to hear about the Hunter girl?” “Doc, hey.” Ethan shook his extended hand and Eryx did, too. Doc Grace was the only werewolf around these parts and a friend of the family. “Yeah, how is she?” “Why did you even bother bringing her in?” He gave them a look as if they were idiots and Eryx had the urge to punch his teeth in. “Because she’s injured, she lost a ton of blood, what do you mean why did we bring her in?” He sputtered at the doctor, his fear taking hold. Did that mean she had died? The doc looked at them in confusion and then a dawning of awareness scattered through his features. “Oh, you guys don’t know? She’s perfectly fine. She woke up when they were cutting her clothes off in the ER, but they wouldn’t let her go until she

was completely checked out. If you guys had known what she is you could have saved the ambulance the drive out here. She’s not human; she’s a wolf, like me.” Ethan was the first to get his voice to work. “A wolf? Are you sure?” “Of course. I know my own kind. She’s rogue, but definitely all wolf. She doesn’t smell like a wolf to you?” They both shrugged and exchanged long looks. This was an interesting development. Doc Grace looked thoughtful, “Maybe because it was cold out, so her scent was masked, but she should smell like fall, like the woods. Maybe that’s just wolf to wolf, I never asked how I smell to you guys. She’s weak, and has some bruising and aches that haven’t healed yet, but the cuts are gone. You can go see her now, if you need to fill out a report or something?” Eryx snorted, “Something like that.” “Room 273. Good to see you both again. Tell your dad I said hello.” They didn’t bother answering him and turned to face each other. “This is incredible,” Eryx said, breaking the silence. “It means we can stay, though. She’ll definitely be able to handle the females.” “But if she doesn’t want to stay here?” Ethan shrugged. “I’m willing to do anything to make her happy, Eryx. Here, the other side of the world, wherever. If she’s rogue then that means she’s alone and she needs us.” He hoped that was true. “Let’s go see our Calliope.”

Chapter 4 **Callie** She didn’t even want to know how much this hospital bill was going to cost her. And where the hell was she, anyway? And who brought her here? And where was her damn purse? None of the nurses had answers for her, and once the doctor told them she was a wolf, they scattered like bunnies, and not the tasty sort. Helpful tip: when trying to blend into a town as a human, don’t get looked over by the local werewolf doctor. She had no ID, but they somehow knew who she was. And she had no clothes, because they’d cut off her favorite pair of jeans and the rest of her stuff, and wherever the hell her car was, her two suitcases were in the trunk so she had a stupid hospital gown on and nothing to wear instead. The doctor had offered to bring her scrubs and she’d accepted, but so far, no one had brought her any. That was 20 minutes ago. This just wasn’t how she’d planned to spend the night. Her body ached, but was thankfully healing. They’d cleaned her up in the ER and found her wounds healed. She didn’t know how long she was out for, but she didn’t remember anything after her brakes went out. Feeling sorry for herself, and wishing she could call Cadence for some commiserating, she reminded herself she was trying to stand on her own two feet and make a new life. She could get through this. She would wait for her things and then find a place to stay for the night and figure the world out after a good night’s sleep. The door opened and in walked two of the most handsome men she’d ever laid eyes on in her entire life. She stared at them while they grinned and walked towards the bed. She put her hand up to stop them from coming further and they both froze. “Who are you?” She demanded, gathering something like courage and closing her mouth so she didn’t look like a slack jawed idiot. The one on the right said, “I’m Ethan Fallon, this is my twin Eryx. We’re the ones that found you, Calliope. How are you feeling?”

They wore the black uniforms and shining badges of sheriffs’ deputies. They were identical twins, except that Ethan’s eyes were darker than Eryx’s. One of them was gorgeous enough, but seeing two of them together was like trying to stare at the sun. The whole inside of her body threatened to melt. “It’s Callie, and I’m fine. You don’t happen to know where my stuff is, do you?” “The car is at the impound lot but we grabbed your suitcases and put them in our car. What do you need?” Eryx, on the left, supplied the answer. She made a gesture to her hospital gown. “Something not hospital issued.” They both smiled. Geez, they were hot. She shoved her lustful thoughts aside as Ethan said, “I’ll go grab your things. The doc said you’re stuck here until they discharge and they don’t do that until after lunch, and it’s only 7:30. I’ll be back.” He looked at his brother and some sort of twin telepathy must have passed through them because Eryx nodded and Ethan left. “Mind if I sit down?” Eryx asked as he sat in the chair next to the bed. “I guess not.” He laid her purse on the edge of the bed. “I grabbed it from the car when they were cutting you out of it.” She felt her mouth fall open again. “Did you say they cut me out of my car?” His brow furrowed, “Yes. Your car crashed through the guardrail and rolled down the embankment. If you weren’t a supe, you’d be dead for sure.” “Supe?” He smiled, “A supernatural creature.” Must be a local term. Great, so wolf doc had felt the need to tell everyone in town that she was a wolf. Awesome. She closed her eyes and laid back. She so didn’t need any complications like this. She didn’t bother looking in her purse. The only thing of value was her wallet, and she was sure that it was safe, since they knew her information. She tried not to think about the hunky man sitting next to her, watching patiently like he had all the time in the world and she was the most fascinating thing he’d ever seen. She tried very hard not to think about his short cut, dark brown hair and stubbled chin, the silvery gray eyes, or the curve of his mouth. She tried damn, damn hard not to wonder what he looked

like peeled out of that uniform and where he kept his handcuffs. Clearly, she wasn’t doing a good job of it. Clearly. He cleared his throat and she opened her eyes and looked at him. “Are you hungry or thirsty? I can get you something.” She opened and closed her mouth a few times. “Why are you here?” “Hmm?” “I mean, Ethan went to get my things, but that doesn’t explain why you’re sitting in my room.” “Well, Callie, you’re from out of town, you were in an accident that took out a guardrail, and your car is totaled. At the very least, we’re being hospitable.” There was something about his phrasing, the tone in his voice and the look in his eyes that said there was more going on here than typical small town hospitality. Unfortunately, she was at a disadvantage without her car. She clamped her mouth shut and turned away from the alluring Eryx Fallon. Sexy name. Sexy man. And a twin, no less. She wondered how much they shared. Oh hell, woman, get your head out of the gutter! She heard a very faint, very inhuman growl and her eyes flashed open as the door swung wide and an orderly came in. She looked at Eryx in surprise and thanked the orderly for the scrubs as he scurried out of the door as fast as his chunky human legs could take him. When the door shut, she said, “What the hell are you?” He blinked and took a deep breath, like he was calming some beast and then he said, “I’m sorry, I didn’t recognize him. My brother and I are mountain lions.” Fan-fucking-tastic. She landed in cat central? Sure, she was trying to avoid other wolf packs, but she wasn’t looking to go litter-box. She groaned internally and was about to tell him that she wanted him to leave so she could clean up and put the scrubs on, when the door opened and he didn’t growl, because equally yummy Ethan walked in with both of her suitcases. She half-smiled and said, “Thank you, Ethan. Now both of you, out.” “What’s wrong?” He looked pointedly at Eryx.

Eryx looked chagrined, “I think I frightened her when I growled at an orderly. I am sorry, Callie. You can surely understand how hard it can be to control some of our natural reactions.” “I’m not frightened. I’m glad you brought my things, and whatever, but I don’t need a babysitter, so go.” She folded her arms and waited for the delicious men to disappear, which they did after exchanging that quiet twin looking thing again. With a sigh of relief, she got up and hauled the larger of the two suitcases up onto the bed and opened it. In the bathroom, she gasped at her reflection. She had a fading bruise on her forehead and her eyes were blood shot and had dark circles under them. Her aches were nearly gone, but she still felt like she went ten rounds. She didn’t care what the doctor said, she was cleaning up and she was out of here. Period. Using the sink and one of those plastic throw up trays, she managed to wash the blood from her hair using a tiny bar of hospital-issued soap. Until she could get to a real shower, at least she didn’t have blood matting her hair. She cleaned her body as best as she could, and then applied enough makeup to cover the dark circles and bruises, and dressed in a sweater and jeans. She expected an argument from the nursing staff, but they didn’t seem to want her around anymore than she wanted to be around. When she asked for someone to call her a cab, the woman behind the desk pointed her finger and Callie turned to see Eryx and Ethan apparently waiting for her. “We’ll take you wherever you need to go, Callie.” Ethan offered. “Um, no thanks. I just need a cab.” Eryx grabbed her suitcases and walked out of the hospital. “Hey!” “It’s not really up for discussion, Callie. We’re going to take you to the impound lot so you can get your things from your car, and then we’ll take you to our place and you can rest up.” Ethan said. “No.” She growled. “No?” He looked amused. “You can take me to the lot, that’s fine, but I don’t want to go to your place.”

He gave her a “we’ll see about that” look, and held the door open for her. At the lot, her poor, poor car was cut in half as if some huge clawed thing had tried to rip it in pieces. She gathered the papers from the glove box and the small overnight bag that held the majority of her toiletries that had gone from the front seat to wedged under the back seat, and finally the box that held everything else. After she argued to be taken to a hotel, they finally agreed to take her to the B&B she was planning to stay at in the first place, Charming Bed & Breakfast, run by Tom and Dana Charming. Charming. Eryx, who had been brooding and quiet for the drive, took her bags into the reception area and walked out. Ethan said nothing after she thanked them both again for their help. She felt oddly alone and sad that they were angry at her, but on the other hand, she wasn’t planning to stick around so playing with the kitties was off the menu. Delicious or not. She’d only been on her own for a week. She wasn’t going to get waylaid in her plans to search out a place for herself in the world just because two hot sides of man-beef happened to have taken a liking to her. Tom swiped her credit card and said he’d take her things up, and Dana said they had just served brunch in their dining room and she could help herself. She grabbed a plate of cut fruit and a cheese Danish and plucked the newspaper from the stand and sat down at a small, two person table. She read the same paragraph four times before she allowed herself to admit that she was damn drawn to the two men. How weird. If they were wolves she would have thought they were her mates because the attraction was instantaneous, but dogs and cats didn’t mix, right? And of course, she didn't want to get snared in a relationship; her life was barebones right now. She'd only been free of the pack for a handful of days. She still needed to find herself, have some time to be free and independent. For the first time, she wasn't under anyone’s thumb but her own and it felt good. “Miss Hunter, I’m dreadfully sorry, but I can’t accept your credit card.” Tom’s voice was thin and unhappy and she stared blankly up at him. Swallowing the bite of out-of-season strawberry she said, “You already accepted my card. I signed the receipt.”

He looked uncomfortable, “Yes, well, the machine is down and it didn’t go through. I can’t offer you a room unless you have cash. Do you…have enough for the night?” She shook her head in disbelief. “I could write you a check.” “Not from out of state.” “Okay, are any banks open?” “It’s Saturday.” “ATMs?” What the hell was going on here? “Not outside of the banks, no, miss.” “So you’re going to put me on the street because the machine is down? What happened to small town hospitality?” She growled, standing up so fast the chair clattered behind her. He jerked backwards like she was going to claw his throat out, which she wouldn’t have done over a credit card snafu, promise. She let the growl ebb into a deep sigh. She so didn't need this. Rubbing at her temple, she said, "Where are my things?" Tom cleared his throat and gestured outside. "Seriously? What a gentleman," she snapped and stormed out of the building, shrugging into her coat. As the door shut behind her, she lifted her eyes and saw Eryx and Ethan standing smugly in front of their cop car. “You two!” She snarled and stalked towards them. “What did you do?” “We are offering you a no-strings-attached room for as long as you need it at our home. We have a spare bedroom; I make a mean grilled steak. Let us help you.” Ethan offered with a smile that would have melted her shoes from her feet if she hadn’t been so pissed. She looked at the two of them and didn’t see her bags. She was betting they’d put them in the cruiser. Well, she was not going to be played. The salt on the sidewalk crunched under her hiking boots as she strode to the car. With a warning growl, she glared at them, "I just want my bags and then I’m gone.” “You’re not going anywhere except home with us.” Eryx said matter-of-factly.

The first thought that crossed her mind was that they were trying to hurt her. But there was no mistaking the identical looks in their eyes. She’d seen that look pass between Cadence and Jason. They were being possessive and unreasonable as if she was their mate! But that was impossible. It had to be. She shoved the warmth and hope that skated through her away and reminded herself that she was not looking for anything permanent. She hadn’t even let her wings loose let alone stretched them. And she sure wasn’t going to come between two brothers while they fought over her. Not just no, but hell no. She gathered her anger at her situation, and for the first time in her life, she got in someone’s face. She stomped over to them. “I’m not some random tourist begging for a quick bang, okay? I’m stranded and you just took my options from me. This is my life. You just don’t fuck with someone’s life!” Eryx jerked her into the length of his body by the back of her neck and her brain stuttered to a stop. His voice was dangerously low and her wolf whined in her head. “We said nothing about a quick bang, Callie. We simply want to ensure you are safe. Come with us. We mean you no harm, I swear.” When her brain started firing again, she shoved away from him. “Don’t touch me, Eryx.” He put his hands up. “I’m sorry. Please, don’t make any more of a scene than you already have.” “I made a scene? You had them deny my credit card! You took my things. You stranded me on purpose, and after all that I’ve been through, that’s just, it’s wrong.” She wanted to make them feel guilty so they would let her walk away, but her statements had the opposite effect. Or, rather, no effect at all. Ethan made a gesture to the car. “Callie, please.” They had her by the scruff that was for damn sure. If she walked, she’d leave without her things and her whole life was in them. “Why are you doing this to me?” Her voice sounded like it had deflated completely. Apparently she could only be bitchy for short bursts. “Because we want to make sure that you are safe while you get your life straightened out.” Ethan said quietly.

The nuts and bolts of things for her was that she didn’t want to fight. She walked away from the pack because of all the in-fighting between the females. Even though she never tried to rank-fight, she had grown up a punching bag as much as Cadence. The two of them had commiserated over many black eyes and bruised bodies. But Cades had a warrior’s spirit and Callie didn’t. She trained to fight, to better herself and make up for her inability to shift as a half-breed. A terrific alpha, she was the model of what Callie wanted to be some day. A protector. But a protector of her own family. As a lone wolf, she could marry a human and have half-breed children that would be human, because human and wolf matings didn’t produce wolves. She would be the one that would stand beside her husband and keep their children safe. What she definitely didn’t want was to come into another were-group as an outsider and fight for position. Even as a wolf in a wolf pack she didn’t fit in right, she couldn’t imagine how she’d go about being the only wolf in a cat group. These twins were dangerous. Not just because she was drawn to them, not just because they were cats, but because their voices made things low in her belly clench and their eyes spoke of love and affection so fast it made her head spin. Determined to leave as soon as possible, she knew the best defense was to put on a strong front and ignore everything they did for her. She would walk away before they got any ideas and she’d be on to her next stop, wherever that was going to be, immediately. Eryx opened the door for her, sensing her resignation. They tried to engage her in conversation, but she sat stonily in the backseat alone and stared out the window. Their small three-bedroom home sat nestled in woods that just begged to be hunted. Eryx took her things into one of the bedrooms and she followed, sitting angrily on the bed. He left her alone, and she sat there like a lump trying to figure out what to do. The problem was that she couldn’t really think past how gorgeous they were and how much she wanted to be with them. A very large part of her wanted to go out into the kitchen where she knew they were talking quietly together, and grab hold of both of them. But then her sane, logical side popped up and reminded her that she wasn’t looking for a quickie. And she definitely wasn't looking for something serious. She was trying to start fresh. A relationship, not to mention such odd feelings for two men at the same time, meant that she would have to choose between the brothers and get stuck

here in this small town that was a lot like Allen. No telling how lion hierarchy worked, but she didn’t want to be the punching bag for any female lions; she just didn’t have the strength anymore. It’s why she wanted to go human. Humans didn’t have hierarchy. The car accident had thrown a serious wrench into her plans.

Chapter 5 **Ethan** He paced outside of the bedroom where Callie was finally sleeping. It was well past 3 a.m., and after barely eating anything for dinner, she locked herself in the bedroom for the rest of the night, seething and unhappy. Several hours later, she listened to phone messages on her cell and then cried for a long time. Both he and Eryx had wanted to go in and comfort her, but everything about her demeanor right now told them to stay away. His lion and his human nature were both clamoring in his skull to hold her and brush the tears from her cheeks, but going into her room would have only served to make her angrier. Since they were the reason she was there in the first place. “Are you sure it was wise to not let her stay at Tom’s?” He whispered to his brother as they leaned against the wall outside of the bedroom, both too hyped up to sleep with her in the house. They had kicked Alek out and he had reluctantly gone to live with their father for an indeterminate amount of time. Eryx scrubbed his hands through his hair with a soft growl of frustration. “I’m not sure about anything. There is war in her eyes, Ethan. She wants us, but she refuses to acknowledge it.” “What did the doc say about being rogue when you called him earlier?” “Uh, he said that there were a lot of reasons to go rogue, but usually there was a problem within the pack that the wolf wanted to escape. He said it was really rare for females to leave on their own and that it probably had something to do with an unwanted mating.” “Sounds like the wolves try to pair their kind up.” He looked wistfully at the door. She just rolled over. He could hear the sheets sliding across her clothes and he wondered what she was wearing.

“Do you think it’s because we’re cats? That she thinks we don’t go together?” Eryx reached out his fingertips and touched the door, like he could feel her on the other side of it. “I don’t think it matters that we’re two different kinds of beasts. And she’s rogue anyways, there’s no pack to tell her what to do. She can do what she wants.” He sighed and closed his eyes, leaning his head back on the wall. She was so angry with them. It was like she was a caged beast snarling at her captors. “One of us should stay home with her today, so she’s not alone. Maybe when she’s hungry, she’ll come out of the room and a little of that ice around her heart will thaw.” “It should be you. I think I scared her at the hospital, and then later at Tom’s.” Regret was heavy in his words. “If you want. I’m going to try to get some sleep on the couch so I can hear her if she gets up. You should go to bed.” “Nah,” he scrubbed his face with both hands, “I’m going to shower and go in. I’ll be better off patrolling than sitting around with my thumb up my ass.” In a few minutes, the shower was going in Eryx’s bathroom, and Ethan walked to the couch and sat down. It seemed ironic on some level that he and his brother would connect with a female from another were-group, and one that seemed very intent on walking away as soon as possible. He replayed dinner in his head, his brow knotting with frustration. “Callie, I made dinner. We’d like you to join us.” He said, knocking on the door. “Unless there is a cab idling in the driveway to take me back to the bed and breakfast, I’m not interested.” She sounded tired. And so sad. And almost defeated. “Callie, please, we mean you no harm. You should eat something; you didn’t eat breakfast or lunch at the hospital. It’s not good for you to go hungry.” The door swung open so suddenly he had to take a step back. Eyes flashing, she sneered, “What do you know about wolves, cat? Talked to that big mouthed doctor? I’ve got news for you both. He doesn’t know a damn thing about me.” He put his hands up, surprised at her anger. “I wasn’t suggesting anything about your nature. People eat. It’s normal.”

She snorted and folded her arms. “You’re a cat, Ethan. What the hell do you know about normal?” Touché. “I guess normal is relative. Look, I’ll be honest. You have no car, and we kind of screwed you with the bed and breakfast so you can’t go there. If you’d rather, I could take you to my father’s house, you could stay with him. He’s chief of police.” “You could take me to a bus station.” She set her jaw with a determined, angry frown. That thought left a bad taste in his mouth, but he didn’t say no, he hedged. “Where do you need to go?” She chewed her lower lip for a long time and then sighed. “I don’t know.” “Then there’s no rush.” He turned and left her in the doorway and sat down at the kitchen table where Eryx waited. Leaning over, he whispered, “She recognizes us already. She knew my name without me saying it!” Eryx whispered, “Really? That’s more proof in my book, brother.” For certain. Even their father had trouble telling them apart at times. That their mate could after less than a day knowing them was uncanny. It was one thing to tell them apart by their personalities, or their habits, but just having a sense about it was incredible. After a handful of minutes, she joined them at the table and then picked at the food on her plate even though her eyes said she was starving. He’d grilled steaks like he promised, and Eryx had made several different side dishes, unsure of what she would like. She said nothing, ate little, and got up without a word and went back to his bedroom. He’d tried to go to sleep in Alek’s room, but aside from the uncomfortable mattress, the knowledge that his mate was in the house but not in his arms made his body tense and his lion growl. He’d never been through anything remotely close to this. It was gut wrenching. A dull ache that overrode everything else. He heard Eryx pacing in the hallway, and joined him. And that’s how they spent the night. Wide awake, miserable, and torn up inside. This was going to be much tougher than he thought. **Eryx**

Grunting at the curious look of the human woman behind the desk at the station, Eryx grabbed a walkie and headed out to foot patrol. What he wanted to do was shift and run, hunt and take out his frustration on a deer or something small and fast. Jealousy knotted in his spine, thinking about Ethan at home with her, waiting, but for now there was little either of them could do for her except be there and wait out her unhappiness. The bitter chill of the darkest part of the night tried to lick his skin off, but thoughts of Callie warmed him like a heater. Damn it, but she was stunning. All that warm, honey colored hair, her dark hazel eyes, naturally lightly tanned skin, curves for days. She was so different from the mountain lion females. She was passionate, even pissed off, and she had quite a little temper. She was just simply incredible. A car pulled up alongside where he was walking down the main street through town. It was a patrol car and his father was inside. The window rolled half down and he said, “I’ve got some hot chocolate, son, get in. You’ll freeze your bits off.” He sat down in the warmth of the car and his father handed him a thermos and cranked up the heat. As they idled at the roadside, he took a long drink of the piping hot brew and sighed inwardly. “Why were we made this way, dad? Why are the males the nurturing ones, and our females want nothing from us?” “I don’t know. It’s unfair, but it is our way. Are you worried about Callie?” “She’s angry. And sad. We want to comfort her, but she’s so intent on leaving and having nothing to do with us. What will happen to us if our mate leaves?” “I only know that with your mother, it’s an ache that doesn’t disappear. That she has no regard for me as anything but a member of the pride, a man to scratch an itch if she has one...it’s hell. I don’t know that it would be easier for her to be gone than to see her and not have her. But your wolf, she may just need time.” “Doc said she might be running from a forced mating. Maybe she’s feeling trapped in a similar situation.” Eryx sighed. “I’m afraid to let her go. I don’t want her to be alone. I don’t want her out of our sight, I just…I just want. I want so badly.” His whole body trembled as he fought the emotions that were so new. He’d never wanted a woman so badly before, just as he was sure he’d never want another woman again.

“You’ll find a way. You’re mates, the three of you together, and if she’s afraid or struggling with the situation, then she may just need time. You can figure out a way to keep her in town. Give her a reason to stay.” His father dropped him off at the station house and he spent the rest of his shift filing and doing busywork so he could think. They needed to find out what she was running from and what she was running to. If she was looking for something, they’d give it to her. If she wanted a family, they’d do that in spades. Safety, protection, a home. They would move the moon in the sky if she asked for it. But first, they had to get past the anger at her situation in order to give her whatever she needed. It was nearly lunchtime when he trudged back into the house, exhausted to the core. Ethan was sitting on the couch, asleep, snoring lightly. He walked to the bedroom door and stood silently. The only thing he could think to do was offer to help her get her car replaced, to give back the thing she’d lost. He lifted his hand to knock and then felt a chill slip over his feet. Reaching down, he felt under the door and icy wind greeted his fingers. Trying the door knob he found it locked, so he grabbed the key over the doorframe and unlocked it with shaking fingers. His fears were confirmed as he stared in shock at the room. The bed was made. Except for something folded on the dresser, her things were gone. And the window was wide open.

Chapter 6 **Callie** It felt damn good to run. Shaking the snow from her shoulders, she sat down on her haunches and surveyed the woods from her perch on a small hill. Earlier, she’d woken up from a restless sleep with the sound of a car starting in the driveway. It was damn early, but she hadn’t been able to sleep worth a crap. Her hormones were in overdrive. The bed smelled incredible, like the most male of scents mixed with a rich spice. Every time she moved, the scent blasted her and she kept startling awake. It had been just a little bit of extra hell in the full blown shit-storm of her life. No home, no car, denied credit card. She had hit the trifecta. She heard movement out in the front room and figured one of them stayed behind to keep an eye on her. She hadn’t said much at all, except for her argument with Ethan. His steel gray eyes were so sad as he’d implored her to eat with them. She had a good idea that both he and Eryx wanted to give her a good shake and force her to eat. And she was starving. The steaks smelled delicious, the food made her stomach cramp because she was so hungry and she hadn’t ever had any man make a meal for her. But pride had kept her from devouring the delicious food. Stupid pride, but pride nonetheless. Her mom was killed in a car accident when she was 15, so she’d never gotten to see her only daughter shift, and that had always made Callie sad. Her father, and she used the term loosely, was a rogue wolf that banged her mom, knocked her up, and left without a word. Her mom wasn’t even sure he’d given her his real name. She’d told her growing up that staying within the pack was important, and that while she loved her, she wished she’d never laid eyes on her father. Having a child with a rogue had tainted her for the other wolves and she’d never mated. Callie knew she didn’t really mean her to take it personally, but when her mom kind of wished she’d never been born, well, it didn’t exactly make her self esteem do cartwheels.

Jason’s parents were alpha at the time her mom died and they took her in. They were cousins, after all, and it wasn’t too long after that, that Jason took over the pack after his father was shot in a hunting accident and made lame. Callie felt like a lot of her timidness came from not having her father in her life to teach her how things worked. Maybe that was bullshit. Maybe she was just shy and would have been anyway. Or maybe she hadn’t found anything worth fighting over. She waited until she heard the deep breathing of the man in the front room, signaling he slept. She’d been totally aware of their presence in the hall and although she couldn’t hear what they were saying because they whispered so softly, she could feel their worry, taste it on the back of her tongue. It was odd, to say the least, and uncomfortable at best. That she wanted to comfort them when she was the one in the bad situation had helped keep her awake. Nothing like guilt to chase away a much needed rest. Sliding the window open, bristling at the cold rush of winter wind, she stripped and slipped out of the window and dropped down into the snow, shifting immediately. Her shift was typical size for a female wolf, something like a large dog but leaner. Shewolves were smaller than males, around 60 lbs. or so, but all muscle and often no less fierce. In her form, she’d take on anything in a hunt. In her human form, though, she was content to stay in the background. She'd always thought she was made for snow. Her fur was very light gray and tan on top and stark white underneath. She bounded away from the house and gave herself over to the beast so she didn’t have to think about the twins, or their kind eyes, or their gentle voices, or her own needs that were rising inside her like a slowly filling vessel. Starving, she scented for game, and found a clutch of rabbits that gave good chase, catching one and devouring it before heading off deeper into the woods in search of more. In winter, not much was out and about except things built for snow, so she expected birds more than anything, but really didn’t know much about Pennsylvania game. Sure, she could have asked the twins, but that conversation probably wouldn’t have gone over well at all.

She ran for hours, drinking in the smells of the woods in deep slumber, relishing the crunch of old ice and snow under her paws and the dust of fresh snow that kicked up and tickled her nose. She watched the sunrise, appreciated the valley for its beauty, and finally had enough and headed back. As she trotted along her own path, she realized suddenly she wasn’t alone, as two mountain lions came towards her with purpose. She crouched low, defensively, but knew she was no match for them. They weighed at least three times as much as her, were twice as long, and they had a fierce look to their eyes that said they were pissed off. Somehow, she knew they were Eryx and Ethan and slid out of her crouch and sat back on her haunches. Her fur bristled as they came closer and the feeling that she was in their territory made her want to run, but she stood her ground. Or, rather, she sat her ground. To her surprise, they both chuffed at her, and then laid down, rolling to their sides and showing her their bellies. It was a clearly submissive gesture, and a little part of her softened at the sight. They could take her head off with a swipe of their paw, but they were telling her they weren’t going to hurt her. She wished she could talk. She would have told them that she appreciated the gesture. But it was probably better that she couldn’t talk because she might say something ridiculous and out of character like, “please take your human form and mount me against the tree,” or, “would it be alright if I licked your chest?” She showed them the respect they deserved with their offering by moving slowly towards them and nuzzling their necks. They smelled the same, even in their shift, like sun warmed spices. Their fur in the sunshine was golden, their bellies white and lovely, and their eyes were the same color as their human eyes. Ethan’s steel gray and Eryx’s lighter silver. She gave each cheek a lick, in what she hoped they recognized as a friendly gesture and no more, and then her head snapped to the side. They leapt up next to her, lifting their heads and sniffing the air at the same time as her. And then they were on the hunt, barreling as a trio towards the scent of something big. Flying through the trees, Eryx took the lead and Ethan fell back behind her, and they crested a small hill and came upon a single bull elk, drinking from a stream. They were neither quiet nor stealthy as they crashed down on the elk. She

went under him for his throat, and Eryx lunged for the back of his neck as Ethan took down his back haunches. They splashed into the icy stream while the elk cried in alarm until she choked off his air supply. The elk caught her on the hind leg with a hoof and she yelped and dropped her grip, rolling away, and Ethan roared and tore the offending leg clean off before sinking his fangs into the neck and pulling the flesh free. The elk’s breath gurgled in the gaping wound and he went still as Eryx shook his head and broke his neck and then dropped him. Gesturing with their heads to the elk, they were offering her a great boon in wolf culture by letting her have a kill that she didn’t take down. If she were with the pack, she’d have been one hungry puppy. Ethan nuzzled her back leg with an unhappy growl. When she shifted, she was betting she’d have a good scratch on her thigh. She made a short whimpered sound but moved to the elk and tore a chunk of meat from the neck. She tucked it into her paws and they fell on the elk and ripped it apart, their happy purrs echoing around them. They were graceful and beautiful, even covered with blood. Finished, Eryx drug the carcass away from them, and she assumed it was to keep scavengers away from their home, although anything that would come into a lion’s territory, especially two of them, was just asking for it. Ethan nudged her and she trotted off, her leg burning slightly, but already healing. Eryx joined them shortly and took up her other side, and she felt oddly safe in the middle of two such large beasts. She would have gone back around to the bedroom window, but Ethan made a barking sound at her and threw his head towards the open garage door. With a deliberate gesture, they both motioned towards a Jeep Cherokee, and she got the idea that they thought she should shift behind it. She’d rather be in the house in the bedroom and not out in the garage with no clothes, but she didn't seem to have much choice. She moved to the front corner of the jeep and shifted back to her human form. She was sure it looked spectacular to humans, the shift from human to wolf, or other animal as it were, but for their kind it was just normal. It felt good to shift, like a part of her had been caged up and was glad to be free. Certainly it wasn't painful like they showed in the movies. She’d never want to shift if it hurt like Hollywood said it did.

She stayed crouched behind the jeep as the garage door shut and the overhead light clicked on. “Callie?” Ethan asked. “Yeah?” “Are you coming?” “I’m naked.” Her face went hot with blush. There was a small chuckle and then a blanket came airborne over the jeep and she caught it and draped it around herself. Hell it’s cold out here! Eryx was standing with his large hand holding the door open, a pair of jeans on and nothing else and Ethan was next to him, also in jeans and nothing else. They’d obviously stripped and shifted in the garage before coming to find her. She took one step and winced slightly and Ethan was at her side in an instant, sweeping her up into his arms. “I can walk.” “You’re injured. Don’t be so stubborn.” His grip tightened on her and she tried not to sink into the warmth of his chest. She’d known them less than a day and her mind just about stalled out completely every time she saw them. If she didn’t split fast, she’d get mired in something too thick to get out of. And she wanted to leave. She needed to spread her wings and live on her own for a while. Her new mantra: resist the hunky lion cops! Ethan carried her with sure strides to the bedroom and laid her down and Eryx disappeared into the bathroom and came out with a medical kit. “Whoa!” She gasped, jerking the blanket from Ethan’s hand. She’d almost let him take away her only covering. “I’m fine, I heal fast.” “Elk hooves are filthy.” Eryx said, handing the kit to Ethan. “I just want to see your leg.” Ethan’s voice dropped to a soft tone and she groaned in defeat. She just couldn’t resist that tone. It was so sweet. “Fine, just, would you let me put my pajamas back on at least?” Eryx handed her the folded tank and shorts set that had been on the dresser and they both turned their backs to her and the problem with that, was that their backs were just as lovely as their fronts. All tight naturally tanned muscles. And their fronts were very nice. Well, nice was an understatement. Underwear-model worthy, definitely.

She shoved her arms into the tank and shimmied into the shorts, still feeling incredibly bare. Trying not to sound breathy, she steeled herself and said, “Okay.” Ethan folded the blanket down and rolled her over slightly more by her hip and her whole body jerked at the touch. “Are you okay? Did I hurt you?” She turned scarlet and cleared her throat. She was great. Ethan had just found a direction connection between her hip bone and her pussy, that's all. “I’m good.” The hoof mark was healing as she knew it would be, and if she were by herself she would have showered and left it alone. But Ethan clearly had some medical training because he cleaned and bandaged the scrape quickly and expertly. Giving her a satisfactory pat on the knee he said, “You in any pain at all, Callie?” “No. Annoyed, that’s all.” “At us or getting injured?” Eryx smirked. She sat up. “Getting caught by the hoof. Are you guys going to yell at me?” Right now, she wanted their approval more than anything and that scared her. It meant that after a day, her resolve to leave was already weakening, new mantra or not. Eryx, clearly the more stoic of the two, folded his arms and his pecs bulged nicely. She gave him hard eye contact so she didn’t stare at his lickable nipples. “What, do you mean are we going to tell you that it was insanely foolish for you to go out alone in a territory entirely run by mountain lions that don’t know you? Or that you scared us half to death when you went out without telling us?” “Or, we could tell you that you’re beautiful, human and wolf, and it was our pleasure to hunt with you. If you want to hunt, all you have to do is ask and we’ll escort you. It’s safer that way. The humans know about us, but they won’t know about a wolf yet and a lot of them are twitchy with a rifle.” Ethan said and Eryx nodded. A thousand things went through her mind but what she said wasn’t the top of her list, even if it was smart. “What I want is to get another car and be on my way.” Their faces fell and her heart cracked so sharply she was sure they heard it. It was Eryx that said, “Well the lot in town is closed until tomorrow morning, so I guess you’ll just have to suck it up for one more night.” His voice was raw, dripping with hurt and sarcasm and she winced at it. He and Ethan left without a word but didn’t shut the bedroom door.

She heard their hushed voices, the angry tones, and cabinet doors slamming in the kitchen, and then the front door opened and slammed shut with such force that the house shook. She’d hurt them. Laying back on the bed, she blinked at the tears as she stared at the ceiling. This was for the best. The less attached they were to her, the better. No matter how beautiful they were, no matter how well they took care of her and watched over her, a relationship between a wolf and a mountain lion was doomed. They said it, anyway, that she’d always need an escort to make sure she wasn’t hurt. That was no way for her to live. She was looking for freedom and independence, not more rules. She tried to rest, to catch up on the sleep she’d hoped to get the night before, but it wouldn’t come. All she could think about was the looks on their faces when she said she was leaving, as if she’d slapped them. She tossed and turned for a long time, and then got up. She wasn’t a bitch. She might not want to stay, but that didn’t mean she wanted to be mean. It would be better if they hated her, so they’d be glad she was leaving, but the problem was that she couldn’t be that mean. Pausing at the doorway of the bedroom, she closed her eyes. What was she doing, exactly? She was going to walk out into the front room and tell whichever one was sitting there babysitting her that she was, what? Sorry they’re so hot that she couldn’t help but want to wrap her arms around them even as her eye was trained on the door? That she had to keep moving, because she’d only been gone from her stifling life in the pack for a week, and that was hardly spreading her wings? That she didn’t want to come between them, even as she was pretty sure she couldn’t choose anyway? Those things all sounded like excuses, and weak ones at that. Still unsure what to say, she walked out into the front room only to be surprised to see a woman standing at the front door with her hand on Ethan’s arm. She was beautiful, like something carved by an artist. All sharp angles, tall and lean, she just screamed predator, and immediately Callie knew she was a lion like them. Ethan shook off her hand as if it suddenly burned. The woman, who looked only slightly older than Callie but more refined and elegant than she could hope on her best day, sniffed the air and made a face, “Who let the dog in?”

Oh, this was exactly why she didn’t want to be around other were-animals. The females always fought for the males and Ethan and Eryx were the most wonderful examples of masculine perfection she’d ever seen. Of course they were sought after. And she’d be seen as a threat. An easily dispatched by a huge lion paw one, but a threat nonetheless. Ethan's voice was hot with anger, “Farrah, you will treat our guest with respect when you’re in our home.” She snorted and it sounded regal. “Banging tourists, Ethan, really? And a dog at that? That’s low even for you.” Callie turned away before she heard anymore. Before Farrah saw the tears that her words caused. Before Ethan saw how humiliated she was. She was definitely leaving now. She laid down on the bed and drew the covers over herself, turning away from the open door and staring at the window. She wondered how female lions put down their competition. In the wolf pack, if Callie had made a pass at a wolf that another female wanted, or if a male was sniffing around another female and someone else wanted him, then the females would try to put each other down. That meant someone got grabbed by the neck and forced down to the ground. In public. It was about the most humiliating thing, unless they gave you a choice to put yourself down, and that was worse. Sure it saved you from getting beaten to a pulp until you gave up, but no one thought much of anyone that didn’t at least try to stand up for themselves. Not that she’d had that many suitors. Only one wolf had ever really sniffed around her, an older male named Bruce. He was the stuff the word “ick” was made of. And he wasn’t looking for a mate. One night, he’d caught scent of an unmated female in heat in town somewhere, and he was looking for sex and didn’t care who it was with. And he had a reputation for liking it rough. She could remember easily how he'd had a mind to drag her out into the parking lot whether she was willing or not – and she was most definitely not – and bend her over the hood of his car, and Cadence had come to her rescue. If Cadence were here in King instead of her, she’d have marched over to Farrah and took a swing at her. Even if she would have ended up losing, she took it as a victory if she could at least get one good punch in. Callie wanted to be like Cadence.

Callie had planned to turn over a new leaf and find her inner bitch, but the first sign of trouble and she tucked her tail between her legs and ran. “Callie.” Ethan came into the bedroom and sat down on the corner of the bed. It dipped with his weight. She didn’t turn over to look at him. She couldn’t. “I’m sorry that you had to, well I’m just sorry. She’s not anything to either Eryx or I, just one of the pride females. They’re very bitchy I guess is the right word. I’m sorry if she made you feel bad.” She hoped to crap she didn’t sound like she was trying not to cry. “No problem, Ethan.” He growled slightly in frustration, “Callie, would you please look at me?” “Ethan, I’m pretty tired. If you don’t mind?” She hugged herself tight. She was afraid to move, because she knew if she did that she’d crawl right into his arms. The room got very quiet. She could hear him breathing, feel his eyes on her back, and finally, thankfully, he stood up. “About 7 tonight our family is coming over to watch the UFC fight on pay-per-view. There will be a couple humans and a couple females, but not Farrah. Eryx and I would like you to join us, as our guest.” Oh fantastic. Now the whole house was going to be swarming with people who wanted to get to know her. She would be the new toy that everyone wanted to see. Spotlight on her. “I’m not much for crowds.” He let out a slow breath. “Fine.” The door shut and she was alone, and she let herself have a little self-pitying cry. Why was she so weak? She was like a leaf in the stream, going wherever the current took her. She certainly wasn’t doing her wolf ancestors proud. Weren’t dogs supposed to be better than cats? She scoffed at the notion in her head. Yeah, maybe if they weren’t three times her size. She could maybe give them a scar to remember her by as she lay bleeding and broken. Maybe. And then she’d be shuffling off this mortal coil right quick. The voicemail that had broken her heart the night before rang in her mind. She’d had several calls, all hang ups except one from Cadence.

“Callie, I wish you’d pick up the phone when I call. I’m starting to get a complex.” The laugh was nervous, emotional. Not really like Cadence except when it was just the two of them and there were no pretenses. “I told Jason about the baby and he was so sorry he tripped all over himself apologizing for putting me down and I’m making him suffer for it, just like you said I should.” The pause was significant, and then her voice was thick with tears, “Callie I miss you so much. I know you think that you’re not good enough or strong enough to be in the pack, but you’re wrong. The females, they picked on us so much because we were a threat. It wasn’t because we were weak, Callie, you have to know that. You were meant to lead, to fight, to be great. All you need is something worth fighting for. Please call me, let me know you’re safe. I love you, my friend.” Callie hadn’t called. Last night, she was so angry at her situation that if she’d called Cadence she would have driven up here herself and taken her back to Allen. Callie didn’t want to be rescued; she wanted to make her own way. But she missed the hell out of her best friend. And Cadence was wrong, at any rate. Callie left so Cadence didn’t have to fight for her. Cadence wanted to keep her apart from the other females and protect her, and the alpha couldn’t really do that without making herself look weak and screwing up the hierarchy of the pack. It would have torn her apart eventually, ruined her relationship with Jason. Callie was a lot of things, but she wasn’t that selfish. So her new plan, that she had hatched early this morning while she was hunting, was to get a car and get on her way. She’d find a job in some big city. She could be a teller at a bank or do customer service somewhere. She’d get a place, start her life over, and no one would know that Calliope Marie Hunter was a werewolf until she found the man she was going to marry. And it wouldn’t be twin mountain lions that were cops in a small town in northern Pennsylvania. Definitely. She dozed off and on fitfully, thinking about the car accident, her growing attraction to the boys, the bitch Farrah, and the party. Several hours later, against her better judgment, she got up and showered. With a towel around her head and one around her body, she opened both suitcases and looked at the contents. It was much colder up here than back in Allen. By about twenty degrees at least. Her wool winter coat wasn’t thick enough to withstand this blistering cold. She should head west instead

of east. Seemed like there were some wide open places in Kansas without packs. She wasn’t sure she had enough money for that trip, though. Unless she didn’t replace the car. Her insurance company said once she had a mechanic take a look at the car and send them a letter saying it was totaled along with pictures, that she’d get the value of the car. Which wasn’t much. It had been a loaner from Peter when she got her license and he gave it to her on her 18th birthday. It was old and run down when she got it. She put on a matching satin pink bra and panties, and slid into a pair of artfully distressed jeans. Besides the pair that had been cut off her, these were her favorite. She layered a fitted white tank with a dark green brushed cotton long sleeved shirt and left it unbuttoned, and finished with her black Champion tennis shoes. Taking the time to dry her hair, she pinned the sides back with little twists. It was starting to get long, dipping past her shoulders in a soft wave, the color all browns and honeys. In the summer it got lighter and went a little red. While she put on enough makeup to cover the dark circles that little to no sleep had garnered her, she looked at herself in the mirror. Short, curvy, cute. That’s her. Like a bunny rabbit on two legs. Men didn’t fall at her feet and beg for a kiss. She'd get the punch on the arm, goodbuddy attention. “You’re not going out there for anything except to be nice and respectful to Ethan and Eryx for their hospitality, and to not embarrass them in front of their family. That’s it. If the females give you attitude, you just walk away. You’re not sticking around anyway.” She glared at her reflection as she spoke out loud and willed herself to believe that she could spend the evening with Ethan and Eryx and not want to stay. Yes, she would. She had no choice. That female’s reaction to her was all the proof she needed that the hierarchy for lions was like the pack. And she was trying to avoid that at all costs. It was 6 when she walked out of the bedroom and there were two extra men in the kitchen besides Ethan and Eryx. All four turned towards her when she walked out, and Ethan and Eryx’s eyes lit up like they’d just seen something incredible. She was tempted to glance behind her to see if there was anyone else there.

They moved quickly to her and a rush of their spicy scent hit her and she might have swooned if she wouldn’t have been completely mortified at the thought. “Are you feeling okay? Are you hungry?” Ethan worried. “I’m fine, thanks. I wanted to see if you needed help?” They looked pleasantly surprised. “We don’t yet, but you can keep us company in the kitchen, and meet our family.” Eryx said with a grin. She followed dutifully. “This is our dad, James, and our younger brother Alek. Dad, Alek, this is Callie.” Ethan positively beamed. It was so strange. She shook their hands and then let Ethan lead her to the table where she sat, and James and Alek joined her while Ethan and Eryx busied themselves at the counter. She’d never seen men that were so adept in the kitchen before. Michael, Jason’s brother was a good cook, but he was also powerfully lazy unless he was properly motivated. He was happy to sit back and wait to be waited on. She frowned internally at herself for comparing everything to the pack, except it was hard not to. Different were-animal, same bullshit hierarchy. James, a very handsome man who looked about in his mid-40s, had the boys’ dark hair but had brown eyes. Alek looked about her age, but she was a bad judge and not even sure how old the twins are. Alek had light brown hair and different facial features. She wondered if he looked like their mother. And she also wondered where their mother was. All police officers, James peppered her with questions about her travels, never sounding like he was prying and she found herself telling him, and the boys by extension, that she’d been on the road for a week and was looking for a place to settle when she’d gotten sidetracked by her accident. She felt compelled to say, for all their sakes, that she wasn’t staying. James smiled and patted her hand, “I’m sure that you’ll be able to find something at the car lot tomorrow. Gordy’s pride, he’ll take good care of you.” She thought he meant it to be reassuring, but he passed a look to Eryx and Ethan that said something more was going on there. Once again she felt a little left out. People started to drift into the house. She was introduced to their uncles John, Aaron, and Grant, and Aaron’s three sons, John’s son and daughter, and Grant’s two

sons. The girl, who was oldest at about 14, gave a superior once-over to her and ignored her, walking away to sit in a chair by the window. How odd. The boys, who except for one that looked pre-teen were all around elementary school age, crowded around her and asked her a hundred questions about being a wolf. She caught smiling, happy looks from Ethan and Eryx. Two female lions walked into the house and all the boys went very quiet and then scattered. They looked just like Farrah. Tall, leggy, blonde, and pissed off. James introduced Callie as a friend of the family, and the two women didn’t just look past her, they looked through her as if she didn’t exist. She got a chill just being in their presence. “Callie, want to make good on your offer to help?” Eryx pulled her away from the unfriendly females by her elbow. “You don’t have to take any bullshit from them.” He said in a low voice as he steered her back into the kitchen. “I’m not looking to make any enemies, Eryx, and besides, I’ll be on my way soon enough. Getting into a fight with two girls that could break my neck with a hard thought isn’t exactly my idea of a good time.” She opened the bag of chips he had gestured to and emptied it into the bowl. “Why are you so determined to leave?” He asked her suddenly. “You already know why.” She looked up at him and there was a desperation to his eyes that made her heart clench. “No, I don’t. You know that Ethan and I care about you and we want to make you happy, but you don’t seem to want to even get to know us. Why did you come out here tonight?” “Because I didn’t want to be rude.” He snorted and looked away, his jaw working. “I didn't think it would be a chore to get to know us.” Ouch. “What do you want from me? I’m a wolf, you’re lions. It was a fluke that I got stranded, and as soon as I can get a car I’m out of here. I never promised anything.” Somehow when he turned away without a word, it felt worse than if he’d yelled at her. She took the bowl of chips and put it in the family room on the coffee table. She

was planning to sit in the corner somewhere out of the way and inconspicuous, but James patted an open spot on the couch. “Sit, Callie. You like UFC, right?” She didn't know. She never watched it. She faked a smile and said, “You bet. Who doesn’t like to watch men beat the hell out of each other for money?” He laughed, all the men did, and to her surprise, the male children all sat down in front of the couch on the floor, as close to her as possible. How weird. “Are you married, James?” She took a handful of popcorn from the bowl he offered to her. “No,” He sighed in a wistful way, “our kind don’t live like wolves, Callie. I think you’d be very surprised by how things are here, if you took the time to ask questions.” She opened her mouth to protest, but he stopped her, “You want to leave because you’re on a mission of some sort. I get that. But it’s not right to walk away from something that might be great, just because you’re scared.” He took a long drink from a beer and turned his attention to one of his brothers sitting next to him. She stared at the back of his head and then finished eating the popcorn in her hand as she mulled over what he said. When Eryx and Ethan came into the family room, James got up and moved to another couch and she was suddenly in the middle of a twin sandwich. Or was that manwich? Both of her sides touched one of each of theirs, and her body warmed considerably at the close proximity. Ethan put a plate in her lap that contained a large piece of lasagna and she thanked him and he gave her only the smallest of smiles, just a curve of the corner of his lush mouth, and then he tucked into his own plate of lasagna. It was possibly the best lasagna she’d ever had. The meat sauce was just the right combination of spicy and sweet, and the melted cheese was gooey and plentiful. Except it tasted like cardboard to her. She could feel how upset the twins were. The hairs on the back of her neck had been at attention since they sat down. Her fingers itched to hold their hands, her mouth watered at the thought of kissing them, and her body refused to ignore the heat and sex that wafted from them. They wanted her. There was no mistaking that.

She put the half finished lasagna on the coffee table and focused her attention on the two men on the screen beating on each other and wondered if that is what would happen to Ethan and Eryx if she decided to stay. She thought, "I could just sleep with them tonight. I could do the whole casual sex thing with the gods on either side of me. I could pull them back into the bedroom and take out all my aggression on their gorgeous bodies until I was just a boneless mass of goo. Take off tomorrow anyway." Sure, sure. No, she couldn’t. She didn’t do casual sex. The fact that she’d gone for almost a year without having sex was a testament to that. There were a lot of females that just had to have sex on the full moon. Callie wasn’t one of them. Or, rather, she forced herself not to give into the baser urges and went with hunting. It was almost like sex, except without the hot bodies and orgasms and screams of pleasure. Oh. It’s not like sex at all. She needed to clamp her knees firmly together. If she kissed them, she’d come undone, that much she knew. Because it would turn into more and she was feeling needy and twitchy enough as it was. She sat for about thirty minutes of the two hour fighting tournament and couldn’t have said what happened during that time if there was a gun to her head. She got up quietly and went into the kitchen to get a drink. A door was open and she heard kids laughing and running around. She had wondered where the little ones had gone. Except for the girl. She was sitting with the other two females in the front room looking superior and bored to tears. She wondered why they’d even come. Callie walked down into the basement. The boys were chasing each other and acting very much like rowdy little boys. As she watched them playing chase, she wondered why the females were so cold and distant. It wasn’t a bare minute that she was down there when the atmosphere shifted and the three females came downstairs and stood looking disapprovingly at the boys playing, and her. She decided to be perfectly quiet and ignore them. She had a good rule of thumb that if she didn’t open her mouth and give someone a reason to pound her, then they probably wouldn’t. She was hoping that would hold true with female lions.

One of the little boys, a sweetheart with sunshine bright blonde hair, tripped and fell, and he sat up with a surprised gasp as his cousins gathered around him. He started to cry, holding his arm. The other little boys all tried to comfort him, but they were not much older than him, and he couldn’t have been more than 7. She looked at the females and they watched the whole thing dispassionately. “Aren’t you going to help him?” Callie demanded. The one she’d been introduced to as Layla sniffed. “Why would we help that cub?” “Because he’s a child and he’s hurt. Are either of you his mother?” The other one, Tanya, looked at the boy like she’d never seen him before. “I have no idea.” In confusion, her mouth fell open. “How can you not know if you’re his mother?” “Because we don’t, dog.” Layla said with an annoyed tone. Callie sucked her teeth at the dig. She didn’t particularly care for bitch cats calling her a dog. It was derogatory. A wolf and a dog were no more alike than a housecat and a puma. She moved over to the throng of little boys and the injured one looked up at her with big blue tear filled eyes and the other boys separated for her as she knelt next to him. “Hey, cutie. Did you fall?” She took his hand in hers as gently as she could. His lower lip quivered, “I got cut.” On his forearm, through a rip in the fabric of his shirt, was a narrow gash about an inch long. “Aw, it’s not so bad.” She stood up and held her hand out to him. “Come on, kiddo; let me clean it up for you.” He took her hand with his uninjured one and she pulled him gently to his feet and they moved like a little throng with the other boys until they reached the stairwell where the females were blocking their way. “Excuse us.” Callie said, beating down the fear licking at the back of her throat. She would not be afraid in front of the kids. She could do this. “All you’re going to accomplish, dog, is to help make that boy like all the other males around here. Whimpering, pathetic things that they are.” Tanya looked derisively at the injured boy holding her hand and he shrank against her.

“There is nothing wrong with helping a child that is hurt. What kind of people are you, anyway?” Callie growled, her desire to protect the children from these uncaring women came roaring to the surface. With amazing clarity, she realized that her earlier thinking was true: she found she could be strong if she had something to fight for. She could be strong and get the kids away from the females. She would stand up to the females to protect the boys. Even as she didn’t understand why they were afraid of the females, why the females were so cold and callous towards them, she instinctively drew herself up trying to stretch her 5’4” frame to match their close to six foot ones. “We could just end you, dog.” Layla sneered down her nose at Callie. Callie let a trickling growl seep from her lips and let go of the little boy’s hand and folded her arms. “Okay.” All three females blinked at her in surprise. Layla narrowed her icy eyes at her. “Okay, what?” Callie drew on her inner bitch, drug her out from hiding by the back of her neck so she sounded as dispassionate as she wanted to appear. “I’ll take the beating now. But later, when I’m healed and you’re asleep in your beds tonight, I’m going to come into your rooms and bury something very sharp in the middle of your bodies. So do your worst. But you won’t stop me from helping this child.” They glared at her for a very long minute. Callie was close to losing it, their gazes were so intense, and then they parted like water and left the stairs clear. “Come on, boys. It’s awfully frosty down here.” She picked up the injured boy’s hand and took the hand of the boy next to her, and they walked up the stairs as a group. Determined not to show her nerves by letting her knees go weak, she walked with purpose to the bedroom and picked up the child and put him on the marble counter in the bathroom. The other boys gathered inside the bathroom and watched her while she gently pulled the shirtsleeve up to expose the cut and then used the medical kit under the counter to tend it. He winced before she even put the antiseptic on it and she said, “Watch this.” She kissed the tip of her finger and ran a slow circle around the cut, not touching it, and then said, “Okay, let’s count to three and my kiss will take the pain away, okay?”

He nodded, eyes bright and wide, and all the boys counted to three with her and when she swiped the antiseptic across the mark, he didn’t make a sound. With a bandaid in place, she cleaned up and put him down on the floor. He said his name was Brian. The other boys followed with their names: Kevin, Owen, Henry, Nathan, and Ben. Henry was the oldest at 12. Brian was 6. She asked Henry, “Where are your mothers?” He looked down. “Our birth mothers don’t care for us.” “What? I’m sure they do.” He looked up with glittering eyes. “No, Callie, only our fathers care for us, and our cousins and uncles. Only the males raise the children. The females...they don’t care about us at all.” She was sure she looked shocked because he looked embarrassed. How sad! They followed her out of the bathroom when she couldn’t think of anything to say and she climbed up on the bed and patted the comforter. “Up.” They looked at each other in awe and then scrambled up as she put some pillows against the headboard and reclined back. Brian secured her right side and Nathan her left and she put her arms over their small shoulders and the other four boys crowded around them. They asked for a story, and her mind went suddenly blank. Her mother used to tell her stories when she was little, and she and Cadence had spent hours making up stories to amuse themselves when they were young, but gun to her head, she couldn’t think of anything that little boys would like. And then she had an idea. “Would you like to know one of our legends of the first werewolf?” They made surprised sounds and grinned. Settling down a little more, she crossed her legs at the ankle and looked up at the ceiling. There were tons of legends about werewolf origins, similar in some ways, but often differing in key elements. The first werewolf was always named Linus, but his first mate was where the stories often differed. Her mother had told her all of them, but she chose to retell the story she'd requested the most as a child and shared a legend and myth with boys that were sad

because their mothers didn’t care about them. She didn’t understand that at all. Were female mountain lions only capable of anger? What an odd were-group. “Thousands of years ago, when the moon goddess was in her dark time as she prepared to shine for the new moon, she roamed the earth, sad and lonely. She was very beautiful, with hair like silver and eyes as dark as the deepest ocean. On one of her journeys, she met a man named Linus. He was a warrior, head of the army of his king, and a man that was as fierce and loyal as any before him. Linus was betrothed to marry a girl named Penelope, who was beautiful on the outside, but ugly on the inside, with a heart like a block of ice and a temper that everyone was afraid of. “Linus took one look at the moon goddess and fell deeply in love with her. He promised to marry her and join her the following dark time when she was allowed to walk on the earth. As the goddess left him, promising to return at the next dark time so they could join together, Penelope overheard their plans and made plans of her own. “The moon goddess couldn’t wait for the moon phases to pass so she could go back to earth and marry Linus, and bring him back with her to the moon. But as she made her way back to earth, she found Penelope first and she cast a spell on the moon goddess that sent her back to the moon. The spell stripped her powers to travel between the earth and the moon, and she was not able to see Linus and bring him with her. “Linus was distraught when the goddess didn’t show up, and he went to the highest mountain in the land and climbed to the very top and screamed for her. But she could not answer, even though it killed her. A wolf nearby heard Linus’ screams of agony and told Linus what had happened, that the moon goddess was trapped on the moon now and would never be with him again. ‘If you sacrifice yourself, warrior, I will give you a way to be connected to her.’ Linus was so miserable without his sweet goddess that he accepted immediately. But the wolf was not really a wolf at all, but the great wolf spirit, and he cut his wrist and gave Linus his blood and Linus became a werewolf. Each full moon, when the goddess was her most visible and beautiful, the werewolf could commune with her by shifting into his wolf form and singing for her. The howls of the werewolf are a song as old as time itself, a pledge each full moon that they will never forget that Linus gave up part of his humanity for love. For three nights each

month he loved his goddess with song, telling her over and over how great his love for her was.” The boys sighed happily when the story was finished and she felt herself drifting off to sleep amongst them. In another life, she could picture herself with her own children gathered around her, listening to the stories of her childhood. In the picture in her mind tonight, the children had silver-gray and steel-gray eyes, and thick, dark hair.

Chapter 7 **Ethan** Where the hell was Callie? She’d been gone for almost an hour. Ethan fidgeted on the couch which felt cold and empty without her next to him. Eryx’s dark expression said he was wondering the same thing. She’d just gotten up after hardly eating any of the lasagna that he’d taken such pains to make for her. “Do you think she’s so intent on leaving that she can’t even stand to be in the same room with us?” He looked at Eryx. Grinding his teeth, Eryx returned his look which was a cross between being supremely pissed off and having your heart ripped out. “I don’t know what to think.” Layla and Tanya stood suddenly and walked towards the front door. A shiver of worry skated through him and he stood up. “What have you done to her?” They paused mid-step but then continued their walk to the door and he and Eryx closed the gap between them and stopped their attempt to leave. “Where is Callie?” He growled. He could feel his beast snarling in his mind. Layla looked at them impassively as if she didn’t care that he was close to tearing her throat out. It was John’s daughter Jilly who said, “She’s with the cubs, stupid dog.” Their Uncle John jerked from his chair and grabbed her by the back of the neck and gave her a good shake. “You will not treat your cousins’ mate so terribly. I did not raise you to be like them.” He and Eryx relaxed slightly, but Eryx threatened them anyway, “If I find out that you hurt our mate, I will decorate the hill with your insides.” The females stormed out of the house, looking both angry and afraid. John shoved Jilly back into the chair and walked over to them. “She said one of the cubs got hurt and Callie took them all with her to the bedroom.” He sighed deeply and cast his eyes back to his daughter. “I’ve tried so hard to raise her to be compassionate. It's like

the moment they come into contact with other females, they turn to stone on the inside. I wish I had taken her from here and never let her come into contact with others.” They walked back to the bedroom. The door was ajar, and they both stared in shock at the sight before them as the door swung quietly open. Stretched out on the bed asleep, Callie had five cubs draped over her, her arms around two of them protectively, even in sleep. Only Henry sat on the edge of the bed, slightly apart, but the look on his face was one of longing and sad resignation. They motioned for him, and he got up quietly and followed them deeper into the hallway so they didn’t disturb them. He told them how Callie had stood up for them, how the females had threatened her and how she returned a threat to them. Henry was confused by her affection for them, because he’d never known any females outside of humans that cared for cubs, and humans wouldn’t care for children that weren’t theirs. Pride warmed through Ethan at the thought of their mate protecting the cubs even though either of those females could have hurt her grievously. Henry’s voice got tight. “Why, why is it like this?” “Like what, Henry?” He asked. “Why are the females not like her?” His voice cracked and he coughed to clear it, but there was no mistaking the tears and the sob caught in his throat. He gave the cub a hug and Eryx squeezed his shoulder. They both exchanged looks. He smoothed Henry’s hair back and kissed his forehead. “She’s special and unique. I don’t know why lion females don’t care about marriage or family, but that’s why the males were made to be both mother and father to their cubs. We are lucky enough to find a mate strong enough to stand up to the females and compassionate enough to protect cubs that aren’t hers. You can find your own female some day, Henry. You don’t have to live the solitary life if you don’t want to.” His head shook furiously. “I don’t, I don’t.” “Go and find your father, cousin.” Eryx said gently and Henry peeled away from them, gave a wistful glance into the bedroom, and walked away to join the men. They crept back to stare into the bedroom where she lay sleeping soundly. Her mouth was

parted slightly, her lashes casting shadows on her cheeks, and the sound of her deep breathing was hypnotic. “I’m jealous of the cubs,” Eryx whispered. Ethan put his arm around his shoulders and said quietly, “Me, too, brother. Me, too.” After the fight was over, and their two human friends left, the men sat around discussing Callie. Henry had gone over the scenario in the basement and bedroom for their family and they were all determined not to let her go anywhere. For all their sakes. If the children had softened her towards them some, then perhaps time was the only factor. Time for her to be around them, but only around the males, and time to get to know them all. “There’s the wedding Saturday evening, you know.” Their father settled back against the deep couch. Eryx had picked it out, the only thing in the house that he’d cared about as far as decorating went, and he picked it not for the color but because he liked to fall asleep watching TV and it was deep and comfortable. It was also an unfortunate color their father affectionately referred to as hooker-red. “Thad and Jane’s wedding?” Eryx looked confused. Ethan felt the same way. Thad drove for the town, a tow truck year-round and a salt truck in the winter. In his mid-30s, he’d found the love of his life in their overnight desk clerk, Jane. Both were human, but that didn’t mean they thought any less of them. It was just another glaring example of how their kind were different, and a month ago, hell even a week ago, he was damn jealous of Thad. Their father said, “Don’t women get all worked up at weddings? Think about getting married and that sort of thing? I mean, not our women, but others?” They all looked blankly at each other. None of them knew anything about women. The females were cold and emotionless unless they were angry. If aloofness was an emotion, they could do it over the top. Even during sex they were robotic and unfeeling. “It’s worth a shot.” Uncle John said, scratching his neck. “If you can keep her here through the weekend, you could ask her to go with you.”

“Maybe. But you still don’t know why she left her pack. Didn’t the doc say that they don’t leave for no reason?” Uncle Grant said. “And you guys haven’t talked to her. You haven’t told her that you’re both mates with her. You haven’t told her anything.” Their father said. “She locked herself in the room. What would you have us do, treat her like a wayward cub? Force her to talk to us?” He snarled, not meaning to sound so harsh but unable to stop himself. “Fine, fine.” Grant held up his hands. “You don’t want to push her, you want to give her space, whatever. But you might let her have her space all the way out of town, and then where will you be? The sooner you talk to her, the sooner you can give her whatever it is that she was missing or needing when she left her family.” Damn depressing thoughts. John finally said it was time to get the kids home and one by one they extracted the children from their tangled holds on Callie. Three of the older ones were sprawled across her legs and Nathan and Brian were cuddled into her shoulders, their little arms across her stomach. Ethan had to steel himself as he picked up Brian last. The child was swimming in her scent that was a cross between honeysuckle and lavender, sweet and sultry. He closed the front door as his father and brother left, ignored the kitchen, and walked back to the bedroom where Eryx stood at the bottom of the bed, staring. He joined him and they watched her in the near darkness of the room. The bathroom light was on, so they could get the children out of the room without turning on a brighter light. It was almost too much. The sight of her in his bed, the image of children in her arms, and the scent of her hanging in the air. His cock scraped his zipper in an attempt to break free and he let out a small groan of frustration. Eryx chuckled and then whispered, “We can at least make her comfortable.” They each took a tennis shoe in hand and undid them, putting them on the floor. As tempting as it was to free her from the confines of her jeans, he was certain it wouldn’t go over well when she woke up in the morning, and the last thing he wanted to do was make her think they didn’t respect her. He tucked a blanket around her gently and couldn’t stop himself from brushing her cheek with one finger. Her skin was as soft as he imagined it would be.

With a last look over his shoulder, they left her alone in the bedroom, and went to bed themselves. Eryx stood at the sink, rinsing out his coffee mug as Ethan finished making breakfast for himself and Callie, whenever she got up. It was only 7. He was taking the day off to take her to the used car lot, although the thought of her leaving filled him with despair. “I didn’t dream that there were five kids in bed with me last night, did I?” Callie asked, surprising both of them as she walked into the kitchen, dressed in a short jean skirt, black tights, knee boots, and a tight navy blue sweater. To say she looked incredible was only fitting if you couldn’t come up with another word. For the moment, his mind was in a tailspin and words escaped him. Gathering his tongue off the floor, he gestured to the table. “No, their fathers took them home when the fight was over. Sit, I made breakfast.” Eryx, who had been on his way out, filled his empty coffee mug and sat down. Never late, it was something for him to sit back down. “Did you sleep well, Callie?” Eryx asked as Ethan fixed a plate for both of them. Her hair, held back by a thin headband, was so pretty that he wanted to run his fingers through it and test every strand. He put the plate down in front of her and took the other chair. “Yeah. Thanks, whichever of you took off my shoes.” She fixed her coffee with two spoons of sugar and milk until it was very light beige. He knew they would both remember that for tomorrow. “The children were very happy to make friends with you last night. Do you have younger siblings?” Eryx asked. The pause was significant and Eryx shot him a questioning look. Ethan had no idea why she’d gone so quiet. Finally she said, “My father got my mom pregnant and took off before I was born. The pack rejected her for mating because of that...a...spurned female isn’t considered of value. So she never had any other kids. And she died when I was 15.” He couldn’t help but reach out his hand to her. “I’m so sorry, Callie.” She looked at his hand on hers and then she pulled her hand away and began to eat.

Her whole tone changed, her demeanor went cold and distant. “It was a while ago.” “Doesn’t matter how long ago it was, not having your mother around must be hard. Is that why you left the pack?” Eryx asked. Ethan wasn’t sure that pressing her right now was such a good idea, but he didn’t try to stop his brother. The fork dropped to the plate with a clang. “Would you stop trying to analyze me already? Shit.” She made motions to get up, but Eryx clamped his hand down on her arm. “Don’t do that. Don’t run away again. What is so wrong with getting to know us?” “Because I’m not sticking around,” she snarled and jerked her arm but Eryx didn’t let go. “Who screwed you up so badly that you can’t trust anyone?” Eryx demanded. Ethan saw the anger rise in her eyes like a tidal wave and he said the only thing he could think of to stop her from pulling away even further. “Callie, we’re not pack. We’re not like anything that you’re used to. The females, they’re uncaring and cruel, but there’s not a…ranking in our pride. We’re just a large family. But it’s the males that make the family, Callie. It’s in our nature to care, to help. Won’t you let us help you?” “Help me? Like help me stick around so you can have a built in babysitter?” Eryx practically shouted in frustration, “What the hell are you talking about?” “The kids. They are starved for female attention, and the girls that were here said they couldn’t even tell if any of the kids were theirs. Who does that? Who has a child and doesn’t recognize them?” Her voice was sharp and angry. Ethan said gently, “Callie, please. We’re not trying to do anything here except get to know you and give you a chance to get to know us. You said it was a fluke that you had your accident, but we believe it was fate.” The anger bled from her eyes. “Fate?” Nodding, he reached for her other hand again. “Of course, Callie. We could feel a change coming, something we’ve both wanted for so long. You, Callie, we want you.” She looked at them and then down at their hands on hers, and then she tried to pull away again. She jerked back in her chair and pulled on her hands, but their grips were tighter than her will to leave and she sounded suddenly scared, “No. No, no, no!”

Before he could think of something soothing to say, Eryx growled sharply, “Stop it, Callie, fucking stop it right now!” As if she had no will of her own, everything in her went very still and calm and she dropped her head and took a few quick, quiet breaths. Eryx looked at him in confusion and they both released their holds on her. Her hands dropped to her lap and the voice that came out of her mouth was so small and frightened that he couldn’t believe that she’d actually stood up to the females yesterday. “May I be excused, please?” “Sure. I was planning to take you to the dealership this morning, they don’t open until 10. If that’s okay?” He asked gently. “That’s fine.” She got up without lifting her head and walked quickly from the kitchen. When he heard the bedroom door shut he looked at Eryx. “It was like she shut down when you raised your voice.” Eryx flushed with guilt. “I didn’t mean to yell at her. Fuck.” He scrubbed his hands through his hair. “Should I apologize to her?” Ethan rubbed his jaw. “Hell if I know. You know what it looked like? It was like a submissive thing. Like she was angry and you put her in her place and she – submitted. Gave up the fight.” It really did seem like that. She’d been all fired up and then it’s like the light inside her went out. Eryx’s face was carved with worry and frustration. “Look, if she reacted like that, it’s because she doesn’t feel safe with us. She treated your tone as a dominant, maybe the way an alpha would put a lower ranked wolf in their place. If she’s not a fighter, not in her true nature, then that was just a gut reaction.” “So we’ll...what? I’m drifting without a lifeline here.” Eryx grimaced. “I don’t have the foggiest. Don’t feel guilty. We’re used to females that are either pissed off or indifferent. Callie is definitely pissed, but she’s a tangle of emotions that we’ve not dealt with before. I don’t think treading carefully is the way to go with her. I think our family was right. We just need to be honest with her.” He stood up with a sigh and went around to his brother. Eryx was always the strongest between the two of

them. In the face of causing Callie to withdraw so sharply like that, though, he saw Eryx for the nurturing man he always knew he would be. Squeezing his shoulder, Ethan said, “Go on to work. I’ll be here with her. Tomorrow, you can stay home. We’ll get through the walls she’s thrown up.” Eryx’s light eyes were shining with despair. “Do you really believe that?” “I don’t have a choice.” Watching Eryx leave, he stood in the kitchen for several minutes and then picked up Callie's plate. One thing he’d learned from Eryx’s conversation with the wolf doctor was that wolves could really put food away. She hadn’t been eating much, except for when they’d hunted. He knew she must be starving. Without knocking, he walked into the bedroom. She was standing at the window looking out, the winter sunshine playing across her beautiful features. “Eryx went into the station. I brought your breakfast although I’d really prefer you eat out in the kitchen with me.” He put the things on the dresser and walked out. **Eryx** His cell buzzed and Eryx pulled it out reflexively. He’d been on auto-pilot since he’d snapped at Callie and she shut down. He’d never had a female react to him like that before, and he sure as hell didn’t want her to be afraid of him. He’d really fucked up. “Where are you?” Ethan’s voice was edgy. “Um, hell, hold on.” Eryx really looked where he was, and said, “I’m on Wilshire. Why? What’s wrong?” “Gordy just called. He said Callie completely freaked out and is in his office. I thought you should go get her.” Already the car was in gear. “Yeah, I will, but why me?” “Because it’s a good way for you to mend what happened this morning. And she may need a strong hand if she’s scared and I’m more the not-yelling sort.” Ethan laughed, but it was without happiness.

“I thought you were going to stay with her at the dealership?” The streets were deserted for the most part, so he didn’t turn on the siren, speeding towards the dealership. “She said she didn’t want me hanging around. Gordy said she was fine until she sat down in the car and turned the engine on and then she freaked out. He took her to his office and called me.” “I’ll bring her home, don’t worry.” He didn’t feel as confident as he sounded. “I know you will. I’ll be here.” Ending the call, he pulled into the small car dealership that also served as the town’s garage and body shop. Gordy was pacing outside, smoking a cigarette. Flipping up the collar of his black wool coat, Eryx joined him. “I took her over to a car she liked, gave her the keys, she sat down, and the second the engine turned over she went completely white. I think she had a panic attack. I got her into my office and she kept saying, ‘I can’t do this, I’m not strong.’ That was maybe 15 minutes ago. She’s like a zombie now. I’m sorry, Eryx. I wish that Ethan had stuck around.” He patted one of his father’s closest friends on the shoulder. “I’ll take it from here, Gordy. Thanks.” He strode with purpose to the small office at the back of the showroom but his heart was ready to pound out of his chest with worry. What if she freaked out more when she saw him? What if she really was afraid of him? Could he be the heavy hand that Ethan thought he would be if the situation called for it? Opening the office door slowly, he wasn’t so sure. Then he saw her leaning against the far wall of the tiny office, one small shoulder wedged into the corner, her head resting against the next wall. A pamphlet for something was wrenched in her hand and her knuckles were white. He’d do anything, he realized, to get her back home safe. “Callie.” He tried to have a firm voice, but it sounded painfully weak and soft in his own ears.

Her head turned slowly and for a moment he thought she was going to pull that same head-down crap she’d done at home, but she lifted her eyes to him and they were filled with tears. “Eryx?” He waited for her to make a move, tensing his body against every natural instinct he had to comfort her. She had to come to him on her own terms or she’d feel forced and that was the last thing he wanted her to feel in his arms. “I came to take you home, sweetheart.” She blinked and tears slid down her cheeks. “Home?” He put his hand out and let it hang in mid-air, not sure what she would do. The silence hung between them like something made of heavier things, but she moved from the wall finally and slid her hand into his. He was surprised at how cold her hand was and worried she might be going into shock from the stress of what had happened. He led her out into the showroom and before opening the door, he shrugged out of his coat and laid it over her shoulders. Nodding at Gordy, he put her into the cruiser and settled into the driver's seat and headed for home. She stayed leaning against the door, a shell without movement, and he so desperately wanted to hold her against him and tell her that everything would be okay even though he knew the only way it would be okay was if she stayed with them. If she was determined to leave, then a freak out in a car wasn’t going to change her mind. Pulling into the driveway, he turned off the engine and put his hand on the door and then he felt a hand on his shoulder. When he turned back she moved across the seat and hugged him. At first, he was too shocked to do anything, but his brain kicked in and he slid his arms inside both of the coats to hold her as close as he could. “I don’t, I don’t have anybody. I don’t have a home.” Her voice was raw and hurt, and tears were in the background. Resting his cheek on the top of her head while she buried her face in his neck, he said, “You have me. And Ethan. All we have is yours.” She sighed from somewhere deep inside herself and then he felt her lips on his neck. Stunned, he went dead still. She nuzzled under his ear and took a breath, and he felt the gentle whip of her tongue at the place just behind where his scent lay

heaviest. “You smell so good, Eryx.” Her voice was low and sultry, and the abrupt change was a surprise. As his brain misfired at saying something equally amazing, she kissed softly across his cheek and turned his head with her cool fingertips until she reached his lips. Her tongue caressed the seam of his mouth and he opened for her, and the taste of her was as incredible as her sweet scent, like honey and wildflowers. Afraid to rush her, he fisted his hands in the sweater at her back as their tongues slid together in a slow dance. Just as quickly as the kiss started, it was over with a gasp. She sat back and touched her mouth, dark pink from the pressure of their kiss. “If you want to have sex, I’ll have sex with you. But if you want something more from me, it won’t happen. I’m not staying.” He was almost too stunned for words. Had she really just said that? The cruiser door opened and she moved out, pulling his coat off and laying it on the seat. “You can’t turn on a car without overloading, Callie. How the hell do you plan to leave?” “It’s not your problem, Eryx. Thanks for picking me up.” She ran hot and cold like an unreliable faucet. Stunned, he sat for several minutes as the taste of her coursed through his veins and simmered like a well tended fire.

Chapter 8 **Callie** This may be the worst day on record, and Sunday had been so nice. Well, nice at the end of the evening, anyway. And then the revelation from the twins this morning had hit her like a stone between the eyes. They both wanted her to be their mate. Unheard of! Not just that they’re not the same were-group, but both of them for her! She didn't even know how that would work, and every time she thought about it, her heart pounded and her stomach flipped. Eryx had raised his voice that morning and every instinct she had to argue until she was blue in the face went flying out the window and her old habits kicked up. When a powerful male told you to stop doing something, you just stopped. Period. She hated herself for feeling so low in front of them, because she’d liked herself so much Sunday night when she’d gathered her courage and stood up to the females. But she was still a stranger here, still out of place. At least as unwelcome as she would be back in Allen. And then when she’d gone into the bedroom to hide from their piercing gazes, she’d listened to a voicemail from Jason on her cell and it had made her whole body go dead from the inside out. “I don’t know what your problem is, cousin, but you’ve got my pregnant wife tied up in knots because you won’t call her back. I’m tired of her worrying over you. If she loses the baby because of stress, I’m going to hunt you down and make you pay, family or not. Now you get your head out of your ass and you call your supposed best friend.” The call had ended on a snarl she knew all too well. He wasn’t wrong. She was being a bad friend. She wanted to call Cades so badly, but she was afraid that she’d beg to come home. So she’d stared at her cell and then stared at the plate that Ethan had made for her and left on the dresser and she felt like she was caught between two worlds she didn’t understand.

And that’s when she realized that Allen wouldn’t be home anymore. She’d asked to leave the pack. Once a wolf went rogue, they couldn't go back to their pack and join it, it just wasn't their way. Even if she had gone back to Allen, she would be canis-nonwelcome at their weekly shindigs, and come the full moon she’d have to find a place of her own to hunt. And it also meant that they could all treat her like shit for leaving, and she’d be a ghost in her childhood hometown. As if she hadn’t already felt that way before. A combination of things had triggered her mortifying meltdown at the dealership. Jason’s call, Ethan and Eryx’s kindness, their declaration, and yes, a little bit of a flashback. She wondered when she turned on the car, just where the hell she was going to go. And maybe that was enough to send her over the edge. But that kiss with Eryx in the car had been something. He smelled so good, like a warm spice and all male and strength, and she couldn’t have stopped if she’d tried and she wouldn’t have wanted to, either. She wanted him to believe that she wasn’t affected by the kiss, so she’d said the stupidest thing on record. As if she could have sex with him and not fall totally in love with him! That was a feat worthy of Houdini. When she walked into the house from the garage, she bypassed Ethan in the kitchen without a word and went to the bedroom to get her phone. She couldn’t have everyone in the world hate her right now. But Cadence had to let her stand on her own and that meant she needed some space. It pained her, but she kept the call civil and short. Callie told Cades she was stuck in a snowy town up north with car problems, and promised her she was doing just fine. She didn’t tell her that she thought Jason was a dick, although it was the first thing she wanted to say. He’s allowed to protect his wife. “You’re really never coming home, are you?” Her voice went flat. “No, Cades. Well, I mean I might come visit, you know, after you have your baby, but I can’t live there anymore. You spent your whole life protecting me. You’ve got a little one coming and a pushy husband, so your hands are full. Rest easy my friend. I love you.” She wasn’t going to cry. She’d done more than her fair share over the last couple of days, so she shut her emotions up in the deepest part of her mind and turned

her phone off. Bracing herself and hoping that Eryx had gone back to work so she didn’t have to face him, she walked into the family room. Of course he was there, sitting stonily on the couch with his arms folded. Damn it. So how do you fix something like offering to bone the man that’s been nothing but sweet and taken good care of you, as if he’s nothing but a bar pick up? No clue. An apology perhaps? Oh hell, what if he’d actually taken her up on her offer? She saw Ethan in the kitchen and he looked angry. She wasn’t being fair to them. She at least owed them the truth. She stopped in front of Eryx. It took him a long time to look up at her. When he did, she said, “I’m sorry. I, uh, am a complete idiot and I didn’t mean to treat you so poorly. Well, that’s not true, exactly. My plan when you guys swiped my luggage and had them deny my credit card, was to be so mean that you’d take me back there, but that didn’t work for some reason.” She stopped to take a breath and there was a sharp knock on the front door and all three of their heads swiveled in that direction. Ethan moved to the door, opened it, and then slammed it shut abruptly with a short growl. Whatever was out there, he wasn’t happy about. Eryx stood up. “What?” Ethan shook his head quickly and another of those twin looks passed between them. That was quickly becoming her least favorite thing. She ducked around Eryx’s arm that he’d thrown out to intercept her and beat feet to Ethan. “What’s out there that’s got you twisted up?” She demanded, looking up into his gorgeous face and the angry scowl that lit his features. He didn’t look less beautiful, he just looked more deadly. “It’s nothing. You were saying something?” “Don’t lie to me.” She put her hand on the doorknob and the knuckles of the hand that were holding the door shut went white as he exerted force to keep her from opening it. Eryx joined them at the door and snorted, folding his arms again, which unfortunately made the muscles under his uniform bunch so they looked like they were going to bust the seams. “You shouldn’t expect what you’re not willing to give.” “I’ve been more than clear about my intentions. I haven't lied to either of you.”

Eryx’s eyes darkened and his whole body went very still. “Oh? So you’ll join me in the bedroom now?” She swallowed hard, and her heart stopped beating for a second. “Yeah, well, that’s what I thought. If Ethan says there’s nothing outside that door, then you should walk away.” She glared at both of them and then dropped her hand from the door. She very much wanted to see what was outside the door. Her paranoia had her thinking it was about her. You know what they say about paranoia - it’s not your imagination if someone is really out to get you. “Look,” She positioned herself so she could still grab the doorknob when Ethan moved away, if he did. Right now he looked like he could wait out the ice age. “I already apologized for what I said to you in the car. You always throw things back at people like that?” Eryx had the decency to at least look a little unhappy when she pointed that out, and that made her secretly glad. She didn’t like it when she apologized and someone reminded her of it anyway. Apologies should erase memories. At least that was her working theory. “I’m not really sure what you guys want from me.” And that was the truth, even if she was using it currently as an evasive tactic. She absolutely needed to see what was out on the porch. Ethan’s brow furrowed. “Callie, we just want to talk.” “Okay.” To prove she wanted to talk, when what she actually wanted to do was open the front door, she took a small step away from the door. They relaxed some, and Ethan said, “Let’s sit down on the couch where it’s more comfortable.” Almost on cue, they turned together and she opened the door before they could react. There on the welcome mat was a big rawhide dog bone with a red bow on it. Now that’s the kind of bullshit that would make a person go crazy. “For fuck’s sake,” Eryx grabbed her around the waist and pulled her out of the doorway, slamming the door. “Do you feel better now?” She didn’t try to get out of his hold. For one, it was like a damn vise. And for another, it felt really good.

Ethan interjected. “We were trying to protect you. Why do you insist on bucking everything we try to do?” “Because I don’t need your protection. I’ve spent my whole life being protected by other people, and I’m done with that. Eryx, let me go, please.” She struggled against his grip, but all it did was rub her ass against his crotch and she couldn’t miss that a part of him was quite hard. Oh hell. His voice was low and laced with a dangerous bent when his mouth brushed her ear, “You make me so furious I want to put you over my knee, Callie.” Damned betraying body. She did not just shiver at that insinuation! Hoping her face betrayed nothing, even if her body sure probably did, he released her and she straightened her clothes. Facing them, she said, “Why would you want me to stay in a place where I’m not welcome? It’s not as if they got to know me and think I’m a terrible person, I’m not even sure what they don’t like about me. But if it’s like this after me being here for two days then what will it be like in a month or a year?” Ethan didn’t ask permission, he grabbed her elbow and pulled her into the family room and pointed to the couch. She sat because the look on his face said that she really should just do it. He rubbed his temple like he had a headache. Probably from her. She tended to make people insane after a while. “Why did you leave your pack?” “It doesn’t matter.” It was her turn to fold her arms. Eryx and Ethan stood in front of her, looking down from their over six plus height and she felt even smaller than usual. But oddly it wasn’t from being afraid of them, it was just that they were both so imposing and that they actually believed that they were fated to be together. Why they’d want a short brunette like her over those leggy, vacuous lions was anyone’s guess. “No. It does matter. The doc,” Ethan started and she put her hand up. “If you mention that rogue to me again, I’m going to really flip out. I’m not kidding. We may be genetically the same, but he’s spoken to me like twice and he is not an authority on me.” “Fair enough.” Eryx said, rubbing a finger across his jaw. Uh, she’d had her fingers on that jaw. She’d kissed it, too. Oh hell, did she just lick her lips? “If you don’t want us to talk to him, then you talk to us.”

She sucked her teeth in annoyance. “I left because my cousin, the alpha, insisted that his mate, my best friend, put all the females in their place for a little reminder of who’s in charge. She did, but she left me out, because she was just like that. She wouldn’t lift a hand against me if her life depended on it. Jason was furious, and when he told her to single me out or he would do it, she stood between us. So he put her down in my place, in front of the pack.” She laughed but it wasn't a nice sound. It was hard and grating. “She’s a hybrid. Her mother was pregnant and attacked by a rival pack and somehow as her mother died, enough blood got into her that she’s about half and half. No shift, but some of the same power and speed and temper. So she was the mutt, the one that all the females picked on because she was different, and I was always weak, so she defended me to them even though she was worse off than I was. More than an outcast, one foot in both worlds. I let her stand in my place through my childhood, I let her take beatings for me because I was too scared to get hit, even though it never really mattered because I always got mine anyway. So I’m not all that interested in defending myself constantly to a bunch of Barbie dolls. "My plan for my life from the moment I left the pack was to settle into an entirely human town, marry a human and have a bunch of human babies and be the only wolf around so no one would try to hierarchy my ass ever again. You think it’s fate I came here, I think it’s just a fucking fluke. I’m sorry I feel like that. I’m sorry I tried to make it to this town instead of staying put in the last place, and I’m just damn fucking tired of explaining myself to you both.” There. That was a lot of harsh truth. They’d have to let her go now. It was Ethan that snorted this time. “What a fucking load of bullshit.” She bristled. “Excuse me?” “You heard me. Sorry you had a sucky life before, Callie, but you’re in our world now and if you think that we were ever going to let you walk away from us, you’ve got another thing coming.” Eryx’s eyes simmered with banked anger. “You think you can tuck your tail between your legs and run away from all this? You belong to us. There is nothing on earth that will change that.”

She felt her eye tick at their tone, but her heart thudded irregularly at what they’d just said. It wasn’t a dominating 'belong', it was heartfelt. Holy fucking crap. They… loved her? She folded her arms again. It was either that or grab them and hold on for dear life. She turned her head to the side so she didn’t have to see their matching gorgeous bodies. “Doesn’t matter what you think. The minute I can get out of here, I will.” “The hell you will. If you’re leaving, it’s only because we’re coming with you.” Ethan said with a conviction that said he expected her to just go along with it. Before she could ask what he meant by them coming with her, Eryx sat on the couch with a heavy sigh and Ethan sat down on the coffee table. Eryx ran his hands through his hair and then turned his silver gray eyes to her. The anger was gone but the heat was there, and desire. “The females don’t want anything permanent. It’s the males who want children and family. Our father is the one that nurtured us, raised us entirely on his own. Our mother looks at us like she doesn’t know that we’re part of her, and the fact that she doesn’t care one way or the other is a knife in our chest all the time. You had a hard time growing up, well, so did we. All we ever wanted was to not be stuck in the same life as our father. Not to have children that we have to explain that their mother doesn’t love them, doesn’t want them, and that they have to be satisfied with only half a family.” “Those boys, Callie, they don’t understand you but they want you around. They want that affection and attention from a female because it’s just in our nature to crave it. And we’re sorry that the females are reacting to you like this, but it’s not a surprise for us. They don’t want us, but they don’t want anything contaminating the gene pool, and they’ll get violent to prevent it from happening. Right now, they’re bullying you to get you to take off and it seems like its working.” Ethan said, his hands pressed together so tightly that his knuckles were white again. She wasn't sure why she said what she did, but it popped out of her mouth before she could stop it. “So you just want me because I’m capable of love?” Well, that had been the wrong thing to say. They both growled angrily and the sound went right down her back and lodged at the base of her spine.

Ethan stood up with a shaky breath, his voice completely void of emotion. “I’m going to take care of that thing on the porch. Eryx?” His eyes were flat and he looked like he wanted to take out a building with his fists. “I’m going into the station to finish my shift.” And just like that, she was sitting alone in the family room. The front door opened and she heard Ethan say, “Well, I smell Melania and Lola. They must have talked to the other females.” He must have reached for Eryx or said something she couldn’t hear, because Eryx’s normally calm voice was strained. “No, don’t Ethan. I don’t, I just don’t. Later.” Eryx’s boots crunched on the salt on the sidewalk and when the front door shut, Ethan moved quietly through the house and down into the basement. She heard the cruiser start up and the squeal of tires as they bit into the pavement before screeching forward. Wow, she’d totally insulted them, and her chest ached at the knowledge. If this was how they felt when she walked away from them, then she had some serious apologizing to do.

Chapter 9 **Ethan** In the basement, Ethan had hoped to get some space from Callie because he was torn in half. Part of him wanted to scream his head off at her callousness and part of him wanted to latch onto her and never let go no matter what. But no amount of space changed what he was feeling, and that was a whole lot of love for his mate and a whole lot of anger at their situation. She wasn’t wrong. Why couldn’t the females leave her alone? Why did they have to fight against every good thing that the males tried to do for their kind? So what if a male wanted to mate with a human? So what if they’d both chosen a wolf for a mate? It didn’t make them any less lion and it didn’t make them care any less about their own, it just meant that they loved her more. And help him, he loved her. It didn’t matter that it had only been a few days. It didn’t fucking matter at all. The instant that his fingers had touched her skin, she’d slid into his veins like a drug that he couldn’t get enough of and she was the only supplier. And no matter what she said, no matter the distance she tried to put between them, he knew that she loved them both, too, at least in a small way. She was fighting so hard, he wondered what would happen if she just let go and embraced them. Jealousy streaked through him. Why had she kissed Eryx? He knew it wouldn’t be easy to share a mate, but he hadn’t expected to feel so betrayed by the whole thing. He wanted her to kiss him, too. He wanted her to like the way he smelled. He just wanted. Looking around the basement, he wondered why he’d even walked down here. He should have just gone for a walk outside. The fresh air might have cleared his head. Oh, he knew why, and the little brunette reason was sitting up in the family room on the hooker-red couch right now. He hadn’t wanted to leave her alone in the house. Not

with that little fucking present on the doorstep. It was like the females were toying with her as if she were meant to be their prey. With the human females that had made their way into the hearts of one male or another over the years, the lion females simply started off with a verbal warning to both the human and the lion, and then if the human stuck around, they went straight to violence. It was almost like they knew they could push Callie’s buttons and were enjoying it. Enjoying driving a wedge between the three of them. Maybe they hadn’t been so impressed with her standing up to them with the children, maybe they stepped back because they were curious about her attachment to the cubs or were looking to see just how badly they could turn the knife for the males. If the kids were attached to Callie and the females drove her away, it would hurt not only the adults but the kids. It was like an evil two-for-one deal. His roving eyes passed around the basement. It was carpeted with a sturdy dark berber so the kids could play as they liked and not ruin it. Their home was often a gathering place for their family, it had always been. Maybe it was the caretaking gene in both of them, because they liked seeing their uncles and their cousins happy and taken care of. Because no one took care of the males, like their father, except the other males. Unless he, Eryx or Alek helped their father if he got sick or injured, or cooked a meal for him, or took him out for a movie, then he just sat in his empty house and wished that their biological mother would return his affection. You could see the empty longing in his eyes. Shuttering the dark thoughts of a future that Callie seemed so determined to give to them – one without her presence – he stripped off his sweatshirt and went to the far corner where their workout equipment waited. Sexual frustration was a norm in their house. Sure the female lions were willing to have a go whenever asked, but it was hollow and he always felt dirty afterwards. The older he got, the less he wanted to be with them, and he grieved in his heart for asking Melania to bear his cub. That had been a mistake of such vast proportions that it was nearly incomprehensible. And knowing the strength of his feelings for Callie now, he felt like he’d betrayed her on a level that was so deep he couldn’t ever hope for her forgiveness.

He hit the bench, warming up with 150 and then pounding on extra weight in slow increments until sweat poured from him and his brain was just a dull buzz in his skull and his skin threatened to melt right off his bones. And that’s when he smelled her. That sweet honey and floral scent, all heat and woman. Fuuuuuck. He dropped the bar onto the rack and it clanged loudly. He hadn’t even been paying attention, but judging from the number of black weights on the bar, he was well over 400. “I thought you might be hungry, Ethan?” She sounded very nervous and he rather liked that scent on her. It was about time she worried about them for a change. He sat up slowly, not for effect so much as his muscles were feeling raw and hot, and he was pleased to see her hazel eyes darken. She was holding a tray and a few chilled bottles of water under one arm. He reached for one of the towels on the floor to wipe off the sweat and said, “Thanks.” She stood frozen in place while he rubbed the sweat from his face and he wanted to say something, anything, but he really didn’t want to keep putting his foot in his mouth around her. It felt like every time he said something to her that she shut down in some way; ground her heels in even more when all he wanted to do was pull her into his arms. Something ice cold touched the back of his neck and he hissed and opened his eyes to see her standing with a water bottle pressed to him, the tray on the floor and the other bottle in her free hand. Poised between his legs at the end of the bench, she stared at him, just slightly taller than him standing, which made him really think about how small she was. Petite and perfect. And then he was wildly ashamed. They were asking too much of her. Not just judging from her background, but because even in her shift, she was much smaller than them. Although more powerful than a human, she was no match for the females. “You know what a male wolf would do if a female wolf disrespected his mate, the way the female lions did with that little present for me?” The cold bottle moved slowly in a rolling line from the back of his neck to the crux of his shoulder and she added the other bottle to the other side of his neck.

He shook his head. Mesmerized by her gentle attention to his needs, he didn’t want to do anything to make her stop. She got a thoughtful half smile on her face, which took her from beautiful to stunning. He hadn’t seen her smile at all. “He’d beat the shit out of her. And then he’d take his punishment from the alpha for the infraction.” “Punishment?” “Sure. Females are supposed to handle their own business. The female ranking is entirely separate from the male ranking.” “So defending your mate deserves punishment?” The water bottles rolled soothingly up and down his neck, all the way to his sweat drenched hair and back across his shoulders. She seemed lost to the movement. “Same sex to same sex in the wolf hierarchy, yes. It means she’s not capable of handling herself, even if she’s not. If a wolf ignores the disrespect, then her mate should ignore it too, or he weakens her even more. But males are funny like that. All brawn and pissed off righteousness when it comes to their mate.” “We could tear the females apart, Callie, and it wouldn’t change the core of what we are as a were-group. The females will always resent anyone that comes in to take one of the males away from them. They don’t want us, but they don’t want anyone else to have us either.” He wrapped his hands around her wrists, and they were so small that his fingers overlapped his thumbs. He was aware of how fragile she was and he hated himself for putting her through this. “I would let you go if I could, sweetheart.” Shit he was going to burn alive being so close to her. She was like an oven, but not in a bad way, in a way that he wanted to curl around her and draw in her warmth forever. “I don’t think I’m strong enough to be what you need me to be, Ethan.” She moved closer to him instead of pulling away and he looked up at her in surprise. “I want you just the way you are.” Truth. Hard truth. In a slow move, she straddled him and he was completely aware that her short skirt moved up her thighs with a delicious sound and her hands slid up his arms as they wound around his neck and she laid her mouth against his. It was so intimate, such a

small thing, but he’d truly never felt something so gentle on his mouth and when he felt her tongue against his lips, he opened them and the intoxicating taste of her slid inside him and burrowed into his brain. If anything tasted better than Callie, he couldn’t imagine what it might be. She tasted better than even her delicious scent, and her hot tongue slid sensually against his and her cold hands, empty of the water bottles that dropped to the floor, drew him close. Lifting off his mouth, she made a throaty purring sound and kissed across his jaw until she reached the place behind his ear where their scent lay heaviest. She fisted her hands in his hair and pulled his head to the side and he wouldn’t have stopped her for anything. She stroked her tongue up that place and sighed, her hot breath like a caress on his skin and the sound of satisfaction in his ear was like a blessing. “You smell so good, Ethan.” There, that’s what he wanted to hear. And feel. She moved away from him, not with a gasp of alarm like she did with Eryx, but with a small smile, and said, “I’m kinda starving.” He helped her off his lap, although he’d much rather her park against him like that for all eternity, and she sat down on the floor next to the tray, curling her legs beside her. Gathering the water bottles, he joined her on the floor, sitting across from her with the tray between them and giving one water bottle to her. One plate with four sandwiches and a bowl with a large bunch of grapes sat on the tray. He’d never had a woman make him a sandwich before. His whole body warmed at the thought. She picked up one sandwich and gave it to him and he took a bite without taking his eyes off her and then paused. Peanut butter and – bananas? He looked down at the sandwich and lifted the edge of the bread. Yep. Peanut butter and bananas, and something sweet he couldn’t place. “Honey.” “Yeah baby?” He answered automatically and she giggled. He blushed because he’d reacted like it was an endearment. “I’m sorry, what?” Now she was really smiling. A thousand watt brilliant one showing perfect white teeth. “There’s honey on the sandwich.” He hummed in his throat. It was different but good. He’d never had one like it before, usually going for meat filled sandwiches. “It’s good, sweetheart. Thank you.”

“For the sandwich or the kiss?” She’d already plowed through one sandwich and was reaching for another. “Both.” She chewed slowly and took a long drink of water. “Did you really feel connected to me when you touched me while I was unconscious?” “Yeah. Both of us touched you at the same time and we thought you were human and that you were going to die. I’ve never been so freaked out in my life.” “I looked pretty bad?” He didn’t like thinking about how close he’d come to losing her before he even got to know her. “Yeah, there was a lot of blood and you were out cold. That first night, you cried. Is it because you miss your pack?” “I did.” She sighed, brushing her hands together after she popped the last corner of her second sandwich into her mouth. She was a really fast eater. “I didn’t want to get tangled up somewhere. I had this idea to just keep drifting until I found what I was looking for, and you guys threw this huge monkey wrench into everything. I don’t know what to do, Ethan, and that’s the truth.” He reached for her hand and was so glad when she didn’t cringe away from him. “You don’t have to make a decision now.” “No, I guess I don’t.” A great hope filled his chest. Maybe she wouldn’t be so determined to leave now. He started to pull the grapes off the stem and drop them back into the bowl after he finished his sandwich. He offered her the fourth sandwich and she tore it in half to share it with him. Again he was awed by the gesture. While they finished the sandwich and then the grapes, she asked him about being on the force and his family, and he shared with her because she took an interest, even though he desperately wanted to have her answering his questions. And Eryx deserved to be part of what was going on right now. “Can we go to the station?” She asked as they walked upstairs. “Sure, if you want to.” “I want to apologize to Eryx. I know he was angry and I don’t want him to be festering in that all day.”

He marveled at how well she knew them both already, just on pure instinct. Eryx was most definitely festering. That was an excellent word to describe his current state of mind. If he was angry when he left, he would be a twitchy furious ball of emotion and not have any idea how to let it out without exploding all over her and freaking her out. He told her he would grab a quick shower and they could head out, and although he told her to leave the dishes, as soon as he walked down the hallway, he heard the water running in the sink. Special. She was one special woman. He dressed nicer than he would have for a normal run by the station, finding his black casual slacks and a thick white v-neck sweater in the back of the closet. He wasn’t a dress up sort of guy, but he very suddenly cared what he looked like. He’d hated taking a shower. If it hadn’t been for the fact he’d been sweating up a storm before she sat down on his lap, he’d have never wanted to wash off her scent again. On the way to the station, she watched from the passenger seat of his Jeep Cherokee and seemed to take in everything that passed by. He pointed out the few interesting things about the town, although not much was visible under the snow banks. The old bank that was now a nice restaurant called The Vault, their one grocery store, the gas station, the bar, the bank, and the school. “How big is your pride?” “113 I think, now.” She chewed her lip in thought when he pulled into the visitor parking space in front of the station. All three cruisers were parked, so if Eryx wasn’t inside he was on foot patrol. Considering his mood when he left, that was probably a good bet. “So the boys now, when they’re of age, the females their age and even the older ones, will they let them alone to mate with who they want?” “Doubtful. The females all keep together like a horrible sorority. If one of the females gets wind that a male is interested in someone besides one of them, no matter the age, she’ll gather the troops, so to speak.” “It’s not right to keep your own kind from being happy. But I guess all the groups do that to some degree.” “Do the male wolves mind if a female is interested in a human or another supe?”

“Not really. The only way it might bother a wolf is if he was interested in her. As long as they know that the pack has to come first sometimes then it doesn’t really matter what’s flowing through the veins.” That was a very good philosophy. But lions were not pack animals, not like wolves. They didn’t have to shift on the full moon, or at any other particular time, and they didn’t have monthly get-togethers. They were just a big family, at least the males and male children. He took her hand again. “Two of the females work the desk so chances are when we go in there, you’ll see a female and she’ll probably say something. I don’t expect you to fight or anything, I’m not asking you to, but I just wanted you to know that we don’t think any less of you for the person you are. If you want to ignore her, all the females, we’ll keep you safe, I promise.” Her pretty eyes were calculating as she looked into his eyes. “You’d rather I was stronger, though.” It was a statement and not a question. “I don’t think the strongest female wolf out there could stand against a lioness when she’s pissed off. And our shift is so much larger than yours, sweetheart, even if you could make them stand down in human form, well,” he pulled her hand to his mouth and kissed it. “We can talk together, later. I just didn’t want you to feel like I was taking you into the lion’s den. So to speak.” She smiled again and pecked his cheek. He wondered what had changed for her so quickly from this morning. He wouldn’t complain. And he’d wait to ask when the three of them were together. Gathering her hand in his to make sure she stayed close and didn’t slip on any ice on the sidewalk, he considered the word that would describe their relationship to the world: ménage a trois. Looking down at the top of her head, he wondered if she’d given any thought to that. He had. A lot. Since she’d recovered in the hospital, it had been banging around his head like an errant freight train. The blast of warm air as he opened the station door for her shocked his subconscious from the wild thoughts. He wanted to ignore Melania behind the counter, and had very much hoped that it wouldn’t be her back there, but his luck was just not that great. In their age group there were seven females and Melania was their leader,

of sorts. The most vicious, she’d turn on her own kind for the slightest thing. He couldn’t believe he’d ever given her a thought as anything except what she was: heartless and debilitatingly cold. She stood up slowly, her fingertips spread on the countertop above the u-shaped desk and she looked as if she were not a lion but a snake, ready to strike. The sharp reprimanded growl didn’t come from him, but from his father in the doorway that led to the offices and holding cells. “Melania, I am certain that I do not need to remind you that you are an employee of the city and you will respect every person that walks through that door. Period.” Ethan wasn’t sure that would work on her, but it shut her up enough that he could get Callie past her without an actual confrontation. Now he realized that the smarter thing to do would have been to call Eryx and have him come home. He just couldn’t think straight when Callie was with him. They followed his father back to his office and surprisingly, Eryx was there. He stood quickly, a magazine gripped tightly in his hands, and his eyes went from his own, to Callie’s and then down to where their hands were together. “I’ll give you guys some privacy.” Their father said quietly and shut the door. Eryx waited and it was clear from the confusion on his face that he didn’t know what to think or say. Callie dropped his hand and walked over to Eryx, craning her neck to look up at him. She was a damn tiny thing. She looked around a little and then pulled a file box over and stepped on it, which brought her close enough to Eryx that she could look in his face. Cupping his face with both her hands she said, “If you make me list all my faults since we met I’m not going to be thrilled, but I am sorry. I’m sorry I hurt you and I’m sorry I said such mean things, and I’m sorry I kissed you and left you sitting alone in the car because that was just dumb. And I’m really sorry that I said that I’d just have sex with you as if you aren’t special and wonderful. Because I couldn’t just have sex with you, Eryx, either of you.” She looked back at Ethan and held out one hand and he crossed the office fast and grasped it. “It would be a lie.” Eryx’s voice was steady but he recognized it as the one he used when he was reining in his emotions tightly. “Just like that?”

“Kind of. I realized the mistake I’d made and I, well, we need to talk.” For a long moment Ethan worried that Eryx was too worked up to be what she needed, but it didn’t last. He dropped the magazine and pulled her close and kissed her, and then in a move that surprised him, his twin turned their mate around on the box so she faced him, and she wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him, too. After taking turns kissing her until she complained with a laugh she was dizzy from the turning back and forth, Eryx took them out in the cruiser to do the rounds and then they headed home together. She was excited to be in the cruiser this time around and curious about their jobs in such a small town, teasing them about crime waves involving cow tipping and toilet papering. When he suggested they go to dinner at The Vault, Eryx agreed it was a good idea. He pulled Eryx aside at home for a private moment and mentioned his worry about how people might react to the three of them. He was not surprised to learn that Eryx had wondered about the same thing. The townspeople, and by that he meant humans, were fairly hear-no-evil, see-no-evil sorts and ignored the fact that one-fourth of the town’s population were mountain lions. But seeing two men in a relationship with one woman wasn’t something that was typical of this area and they didn’t want her to be uncomfortable out in public with them. Unfortunately it was a bridge they would cross when they had to. Eryx went back to shower and change and Ethan pulled Callie into his lap on the couch, devouring her mouth in a deep kiss. When Eryx joined them, she climbed from his lap and went straight over to him, moving gracefully until she was in his arms, up on her toes, with her mouth pressed to his. Her tiny form was engulfed by his brother's larger size, and he clasped his hands at her back and lifted her off the floor. He put her down and straightened. “You make me feel like a giant.” She puffed up her chest and went up on her toes with an indignant look. “Are you calling me short?” Ethan joined in his laughter as they both declared her an elf for all intents and purposes.

The Vault was one of those restaurants that their father called theme or kitschy. It had been a bank and the bank had closed the branch and some well meaning humans had thought it would be clever. You could eat in the actual vault, but you had to have a reservation; otherwise you could eat in their regular dining room and have typical decent restaurant food like prime rib and pasta. It was all that passed for a restaurant in town except for a small deli that made excellent sandwiches. They ate at The Vault once a year on their father’s birthday. It had been a tradition for as long as he could remember. The human hostess glanced at the three of them and at how Callie held both of their hands in hers, but although there was a curious look in her eyes, there was no trace of disapproval. And that was a good thing. They were just starting out with her and there was no way he wanted Eryx to punch a human female for giving them a hard time in front of Callie. They took a seat on either side of her at the square table. A candle glittered in the center of the table covered with a crisp white cloth. The interior of the old bank was filled with columns and marble floors, thick curtains covered the windows and the vaulted ceilings were carved in relief. The waiter, a man they had gone to high school with named Kellan, filled the water goblets. “Hey, guys. Don’t see you in here except on your dad’s birthday. What’s doing?” “Kellan.” He said stiffly, not missing the appraising look he gave to Callie. Oblivious, she twirled a lock of her hair and chewed her bottom lip, studying the menu in front of her. She was clearly one of those girls that had grown up thinking she didn’t measure up to any of the other girls around her and that men didn’t look at her. And considering what they’d learned about her upbringing in the wolf pack and the rather vicious ways the females behaved with each other, it was no wonder. They’d just have to spend plenty of time making sure she understood just how gorgeous she really was. She asked for a glass of white wine and both he and Eryx ordered beer, and then he ordered two appetizers for them to share. He’d had to take the initiative, because she and Eryx’s heads were together and they were talking quietly behind their menus while Kellan waited. When they were alone, she leaned over his way and put her hand behind his neck and pulled him close so her lips were just a hairs’ breadth from his ear.

“I was just telling Eryx that I think Kellan should keep his eyes to himself and he agreed.” Little minx. After they ordered their meals, all three of them getting rare prime rib and all the fixings, they shared a plate of stuffed mushrooms and a plate of fried wedges of mozzarella and Colby cheese, and then they tucked into their main meals. During the course of the dinner, Callie was surprisingly open and honest about her life and what had driven her on a mission of her own. How she’d been determined to not stop for any reason because she was afraid she’d want to go back to Allen. It was a great relief when she admitted that she could no longer deny that something was happening between them and she’d been a fool to fight it. All through the meal, she looked at and touched both of them, not in any glaring way, as if she were trying to prove a point or stake a claim, but just simply as if she couldn’t stop herself from running a finger across the top of a hand, or a gentle squeeze of a knee. He learned two important things about Callie during that dinner. First, she had a fantastic laugh matched only by her smile. And second, she had a tough outer shell no matter what she believed of herself. When pressed, she showed herself to have courage in spite of very serious odds at different times in her life, and even the act of striking out on her own, while she thought it cowardly, was something that he’d never have the nerve to do on his own. Sure, with Eryx, with his family, he’d take off for greener pastures in a heartbeat. But by himself? He marveled at her courage. After dessert and coffee, they headed home, and it was a scene he wanted to replay every night for the rest of his life. “There’s a wedding on Saturday evening,” Ethan said when they’d hung up their coats in the hall closet at home. “It’s for Jane and Thad, she is one of the humans that works desk at the station and he drives a truck for the city. We’d like to go, if you’d like to come with us.” “Like a date?” She cocked her head to the side. They both nodded. “With both of you?” They nodded again.

“Do you, I mean, these are people that you’ve known your whole lives. You won’t be embarrassed to be seen with me, together?” His heart melted a ton. She was worried they were ashamed of her. Silly female. “Never.” He swore. “It isn’t anyone’s business what our life is like together, Callie.” “Right. And if they’re idiotic enough to question two possessive mountain lions about their mate, then they get what they deserve.” Eryx grinned, but underneath the smile was a sincere threat. She narrowed her rich, hazel eyes at them appraisingly. “I haven’t decided if we’re mates yet.” Liar. Still, he liked her spunk. Loved it. “No rush, sweetheart. We’ll be here.” “I don’t have anything nice enough to wear to a wedding.” “We’ll go shopping, Friday night, maybe catch a movie.” He suggested. She smiled, biting her lip again, a habit that was going to make his cock insane, and then said she’d love to join them, and kissed them both goodnight. Although a large part of him wanted to make love to her tonight, he knew the right thing was to wait. They were getting to know each other. To care for each other on an emotional level that was extremely new and unusual for the two of them, and she was trying to reconcile her need to spread her wings with her desire to stay with them. Waiting was a good thing. **Eryx** Life is funny sometimes. You go your whole life expecting things to be one way and suddenly, you’re on a different path and you can’t even believe your own luck. That’s how he felt with Callie. He’d expected the life of the single father, raising his children alongside his brothers’ and being the all encompassing dual parent. Now, it felt like he could have anything he wanted because of the sweetheart asleep in the master bedroom. He said goodnight to Ethan and went to his room. As he stretched out under the covers, he let his mind wander. Most men probably fantasized about sex, and while his

mind was drifting often to the tantalizing curves of her body he'd felt under his hands while they’d hugged and kissed throughout the day and evening, his fantasies were almost all boring on the sex front. He fantasized about cuddling on the couch with Callie, her head on his bicep, his body draped over hers for warmth and comfort. He thought about going swimming in the lake this summer and kissing droplets of water from her skin, camping in the fall and holding her in front of a bonfire and talking quietly, about doing all the mundane stuff that humans took for granted. Hell, he’d be thrilled to drink coffee and read the paper with her every day for the rest of his natural life. She was truly something spectacular. He woke up with a start from a very nice dream about Callie, when the front storm door slammed shut. Grabbing a pair of jeans from the floor, he tugged them on and met Ethan in the hallway coming from Alek’s bedroom. The master bedroom door was open and the bed was empty. They both ran to the front door, worried that someone had actually come into their house and kidnapped her. Shoving their feet into boots and grabbing their coats, they ran out of the house and then paused, scenting the air for their mate. Without a word they took off behind the house and into the woods. In the light from the half moon, he could see only one set of bare footprints in the snow. She was out without shoes? Did she still have those tiny pajamas on? Less than ten minutes later as they raced alongside her footprints, they heard her crying and they ran at full speed towards the sound and then they stopped in their tracks. Callie, wearing the same tank and shorts from the day before, with no coat or shoes, was cradling what looked like a dog at first, but when she lifted her tear-streaked face, it was clear that it was a wolf. It was so cold that the tears were freezing on her cheeks and her whole body was wracked with tremors. He jerked off his coat and threw it over her shoulders. She sobbed, “I heard him, I heard him being cut. Who would, who would hurt an innocent animal this way?” As she leaned into him and Ethan knelt on the other side to look, he saw that the inside of the wolf was hanging out like red ropes on the white snow. It was still alive, though, somehow.

“I’ll take care of the wolf, Callie, you need to go back into the house.” He tried to extract her from the wolf but she started crying harder and shaking her head. “Take her Eryx. Just…get her in a hot shower and I’ll take care of him.” Ethan looked grim. Neither of them wanted to say what was on their minds. That either this was a direct warning to Callie or someone had thought the natural wolf was her. Neither scenario was good. It was clear that Ethan wanted him to manhandle her and he didn’t want to do that, because they’d come so far today, but she was in negative temperatures in what amounted to underwear. “Hot water, Eryx, and then into bed and you go with her, got it?” “Yeah. Don’t take too long, brother.” “I won’t.” Eryx jerked her free of the bloody wolf and pulled her against his chest, standing up in one smooth motion as she shrieked at the loss of the wolf in her arms. He turned towards the house with a jog, unsure if Callie’s sudden quiet was a good or bad thing. She was shaking, her teeth were chattering together, and her body felt positively frozen. And she was covered in blood. He wasn’t sure how he’d feel if he saw a natural mountain lion slaughtered like that, but she clearly felt some camaraderie with the beast. He took her straight to the master bathroom and turned on the shower. Rocking her back and forth in his arms, he talked to her quietly, wondering why it was taking so long for the water to heat up. Finally it was almost too hot to stand and he kicked off his boots and stepped inside with her. When he moved to put her down she struggled and he wasn’t sure if she was trying to get closer to him or away from the hot water, or both. “Stop struggling, sweetheart, you’re frozen to the bone.” He put her feet on the floor and held her tightly against him so the water beat down on the front of her body. She went rigid for a moment and then stopped struggling and relaxed against him. After a few minutes, her bone cracking shudders eased and she sighed with relief. He moved one arm, sliding his hand past her elbow and lifting her hand up so he could check her fingers and then he did the same with the other hand and bent over enough to reach her toes. “Well you aren’t frostbitten. You could have died out there,

Callie. What were you thinking?” The growl in the back of his throat was one of frustration and a knot of fear. What if it had been a trap? “I’m sorry, Eryx,” she rested her head against his bicep and hugged his arms around her. “I just, I couldn’t stop myself. Thank you for coming for me.” He hoped she could hear the truth in his voice. “I will always come for you.” Necessity called for action and not standing in the shower holding onto her all night. “Alright, if we’re going to save Ethan some hot water, we need to get you out of your pajamas and cleaned up. Can you stand by yourself so I can get out?” “No, I don’t want you to go.” This was potentially the worst idea in history, but if she needed him, then he could control himself. And thank goodness he was still wearing jeans. He reached for the hem of her tank and drew it over her head, partly glad she was not facing him and partly annoyed about that very fact. The first time that he saw her naked, though, he really did want it to be because she wanted it, not because the circumstances dictated the necessity. He dropped it in the corner of the tub and tugged one side of her tiny shorts down until they fell and she could step out of them. She wasn’t wearing panties. He gave her a washcloth that was hanging on the bar and opened a bottle of what turned out to be vanilla body wash and squeezed it onto the cloth she held. And then he closed his eyes and tried not to be hyper aware of the movements against him as she washed away any remaining evidence of the wolf’s blood. A few achingly long minutes later, she dropped the cloth over the bar and said she was done, and her voice had gone flat and lifeless. Please don’t let her go into shock. Turning off the water, he stepped out with her and wrapped her in a towel without daring to look down and turned her away so he could wrangle the soaked denim from his body and wrap a towel around himself. Securing it on his hips, he swept her up into his arms and she burrowed her still cold body into his and shivered. He jerked the covers back and laid her down, pulling the blankets back up and turning to the closet for more of blankets. Something hit him and he glanced down and saw her towel. “Eryx, I’m cold.”

He swallowed the suggestion she could have kept the towel on, because frankly he was glad she hadn’t, and laid two more blankets on top of her. He dropped his towel and carefully slid into the bed, grateful for the darkness so she didn’t see his erection. But seeing it didn’t matter, because the moment he adjusted the blankets over himself she turned into him and slid one of her legs right over his so his balls were cradled into her thigh and his cock pressed into his stomach, wedged tightly by her bare hip. And then those cold arms wrapped around him and she ducked her head against his chest and held onto him like she was adrift at sea and he was a life preserver. Erection notwithstanding, it wasn’t a very sexual thing because she needed comfort and he should provide it for his mate. “I’m scared, Eryx.” Her fingers dug into his back slightly and a fine tremble shivered through her. “We’ll keep you safe, Callie, I swear on my own life.” The front door opened and closed, and the lock clicked. He turned his head when Ethan came into the room, shivering. “Please tell me you saved me some hot water, I’m about to bite my tongue off.” He dropped his jacket and made for the bathroom. “We tried.” He told him, curling Callie closer against him. Ethan didn’t turn on the bathroom light and got into the shower quickly. Less than five minutes later, he walked out with a towel around his waist. “You got things under control, brother?” Ethan’s voice was quiet and very calm. That meant that he was feeling emotional and trying to hide it. Neither of them were very good at keeping secrets from the other. Part and par of being twins. Callie lifted her head from his chest and reached a hand out from under the covers. “Come to bed, Ethan. I’m still cold.” She clearly wasn’t going to have to ask twice. And as much as he would like to hold her alone all night, it wasn’t something he would ask for of either of them. Not now, when things were so new. Some night, though, he would want to have her to himself, to touch and explore for hours until he knew every inch of her smooth, warm skin. His cock throbbed and he groaned inwardly.

Ethan dropped the towel and slid under the covers and he clearly meant to just lay next to her, but she had other plans, and pulled him with one arm until he was leaning against her back and she was between them. This was as close as he’d been to his brother with a woman. They’d never shared. The female lions wouldn’t go for so much kink in the bedroom. Unless they'd agreed to bear a cub, they were only interested in their own pleasure and once they got off, they were inclined to just wriggle out from under the male and get dressed. Whether he was done or not. “What did you do with him?” Her voice was small and tired. His own hand was resting on her bare hip, and he could feel Ethan’s hand just above his on the curve of her waist. “I…stopped his suffering and then I covered him with brush. The ground is too hard to bury him. I’m sorry, it’s not exactly decent.” She shifted slightly, burrowing deeper against his body and said nothing else. After several minutes, she relaxed and began to breathe deeply, and he sighed in quiet relief. “Did you catch a scent?” He asked quietly. “Tanya and Farrah, but you know that Melania was behind it. She was not happy about what dad did at the station. Or seeing us together with her.” “We need to leave. That was a definite warning.” “I had hoped that it wouldn’t be so bad for her, but this is out of character for the females. It’s like they’re playing with her.” Ethan growled and Eryx felt his hand spasm against her waist in an unconscious movement. “What bothers me most is that they keep coming here, to our home. This should be a safe place for her, but how the hell can we keep her safe when we’re asleep?” “At the least one of us should be in bed with her at night, so we can make sure that nothing like tonight happens again. Until we have our plans made. And she needs to understand she can’t go anywhere alone. If they’d been waiting for her with that wolf, I shudder to think we’d have ever found her alive.” Eryx caressed the smooth skin of her hip and it made her leg jerk slightly between his and he had to suppress a small groan. Very smart, idiot, he thought, as if he wasn’t already about to combust. “We could go stay at Dad’s.”

Ethan hummed in thought. “We should be able to protect our mate or we don’t deserve her.” He wasn’t wrong. “Then come morning, we’ll call Uncle Rhett and start packing.” As if sensing his unrest, Ethan said, “We’re doing what’s best for her. There, Rhett’s got a human wife and the whole town is human, and it’s half the size of King. We can protect her so much better there.” “I just don’t like the idea of leaving Dad, but on the other hand I don’t want to risk her life. So we’ll go. I never doubted that we would need to, I just didn't expect it to have to happen so quickly.” Ethan agreed that he’d not expected it either and they lay in silence with their mate tucked between them, until they could sleep. But it wasn’t a restful sleep. For one, Callie was not sleeping soundly. She jerked and moved often, waking both of them with each small gasp or clutch of her hands against him. He didn’t like her being afraid, even in her sleep. Dozing once again, he was woken by a hand moving in smooth waves up from the small of his back to his shoulder and back down. Deliberately slow, it was like she touched each vertebra in his back until his body unconsciously moved in that same rhythm and he sleepily put his arm around her to draw her close, and hit Ethan’s stomach. Oh yeah. His brother was right there on her other side. When he started to pull away she said, “No, touch me, Eryx, please.” He felt her mouth caressing his collarbone, that dangerous tongue flicking along the arch of bone, and if it weren’t for the fact that when he opened his eyes Ethan was staring at him, he might have rolled over on top of her and just taken her. Early morning light filtered in through the blinds and bathed the room in a faint glow and he met Ethan’s curious and confused look with his own. Her arousal was heavy in the air, like sun warmed honey, hot and sweet. He knew the right thing was to make sure she was awake and then to remind her that they had more serious things to think of at the moment besides scratching an itch. As if sensing his hesitancy, she rolled onto her back and shoved the covers down. Her skin was flushed a pretty pink color and his eyes immediately drew down to her beautiful breasts and their tight, dark pink nipples.

She hooked an arm around each of their necks and pulled Ethan down to her mouth first and then turned to him. “I’m hot.” She whispered into his mouth, licking at his tongue. She arched suddenly with a moan and dropped her head back to the pillow and he saw that Ethan had captured one nipple in his mouth, his cheeks hollowing as he sucked it deep into his mouth. Was it possible that he’d never seen anything as erotic as watching his brother tend to their mate? With renewed vigor, his cock hardened another degree and he descended on her mouth with a moan that matched hers, as she dug her nails into his scalp and moved between them. He slid his hand slowly across the curve of her hip, up her flat belly, to the gentle swell of her untended breast, and ran his thumb across the puckered bud while he fed at her mouth. In the back of his mind, he thought they should stop and talk, make plans, and…do…something? Both he and Ethan jerked at the same time on the bed as her hands wrapped around their cocks. He put his hand on her hand and stilled her. “Callie,” he warned, looking into her dark eyes, “we should talk.” “He’s right, sweetheart. We have plenty of time for other things.” Ethan didn’t sound very convinced, and he wasn’t feeling it much either, but they had several things looming over them, the least of which was consummating their new relationship. She thrashed her head on the pillows and made a whimpered sound, “I’m sorry, I’m sorry.” He met Ethan’s eyes over her body and knew that Ethan’s furrowed brow and worried frown were mirrored by his own. Ethan leaned his head against the side of hers, “Are you in pain, Callie?” She moaned and arched her back off the bed like she was trying to get away from the lower half of her body. Maybe this was what happened when wolves mated? Were they hurting her by trying to put this off in favor of discussing the danger, not to mention the facets of the physical side of their relationship? Her eyes were bright but unfocused, the pupils bare dots in the depths of brown and gold and green. “I just need, uh, I” her words ceased in the midst of her panting breaths. His first thought was that she was going to have a panic attack or

hyperventilate, but the air was suddenly pulsating with the heat of her arousal, and once again he met Ethan’s eyes. Ethan’s voice was deeper than normal when he spoke softly, “We’ll take care of you, love.” Their hands moved to the same place between her legs, and he slid a finger inside her slowly while Ethan circled her clit with his finger. Fuck but she was hot and wet. Her body clenched his finger and she moaned so deeply that the sound went straight to his cock and lodged at the base there. She kicked at the blankets and he pulled his hand away to free her and the sight of her legs spread wide on the bed between them and Ethan’s finger running tight and fast circles around her perfect bud nearly undid him. He pushed two fingers inside her this time, the silky wet depths of her body seemingly endless. Her hand flexed on his shoulder and she closed her eyes, as if she wanted to absorb only the feeling of their hands on her. He pulsed his fingers inside her to the same fast tempo that Ethan worked her clit and her whole body joined in her climax that was so raw and incredible that it was just sheer willpower that he didn’t come from the sight, not to mention the motion of her body against his. Her body bucked against their hands and she cried out with a throaty growl and moan combined and her pussy pulled at his fingers as her orgasm rushed through her. Struck dumb by the sight of her bliss, he watched as her skin flushed a deep rose color and her mouth fell open with light pants. She wriggled slightly and shivered, and when her eyes opened they were focused and normal, but exceptionally beautiful, almost entirely gold laced with green. “I, uh, thanks?” She said with a rough voice. And then they all laughed. He pulled his hand from between her legs and Ethan did, too. It didn’t escape his notice that both of their hands were glistening and the desire to taste her was so strong but he fought it. He didn’t know if she’d like that. He’d never had a woman respond to him like that before, so to say he was out of his element was an understatement. As if reading his mind, she said, “Do you want to know what I taste like?” “Yes.” His voice was a bare hiss of sound.

Her top teeth snagged her lower lip and her eyes lowered as her hands pulled both of theirs up from where they lay on her thighs and she licked the tip of his finger and then the tip of Ethan’s, and directed their hands towards their mouths. Exquisitely sweet and silky, her juices were as sweet as anything he’d ever tasted, and the knowledge that he’d helped her come like that was heady. Her hands dropped to her stomach and she played her fingers across the soft, flat expanse of flesh underneath the innie belly button that he found wholly erotic. “If we have other things to do, then we should get out of bed, okay? Because I can’t really think straight with you two naked in bed with me.” Ethan snorted, his finger popping out his mouth with an audible wet sound. “You can’t think straight?” They sat up, both of them groaning quietly. His body was hard with tension. He’d never had such an erection before, but he didn’t care. Sure, he wanted to bury himself in her pussy for years, but he didn’t want to rush it. Seeing her climax that way had been more powerful than anything he’d ever witnessed in his life. He dare thought he could just pleasure her for the rest of his life and he’d be more satisfied than all of the times he’d ever come combined. Little vixen, she purred, “Sure I can’t take care of anything for you?” He gave her an incredulous look and she sat up suddenly. “I’m sorry, I couldn’t stop feeling so needy. I’ve never felt like that before. And now you’re both unsatisfied. I don’t mean to tease. Let me help you.” She kissed his shoulder and then turned her head to look at Ethan who was already drawing pants on from the dresser. “No, sweetheart, we’re fine. It was our pleasure, I promise. And right now, we have more serious things to discuss.” Ethan assured her. Her knees drew up under her arms as if remembering the wolf. “Do you think they thought it was me?” Ethan tossed a pair of jeans at him and he slid them on over his aching skin. “I don’t think so. It was a male wolf, for one, and for another it was very clearly a natural wolf and not a shifter. But I think the message is clear.” He leaned over and kissed her forehead.

Ethan offered to make breakfast and Eryx urged her to take a shower and said he was going to make some phone calls. She nodded, looking a lot less happy than she had several minutes earlier. Although every fiber of his being revolted at leaving her in bed alone, they had matters to attend. After a short conversation with their father, in which he cursed a blue streak and said he’d be over within the hour, he called their Uncle Rhett. After a cursory greeting, he dove into the explanation of things, and Rhett did not disappoint him. “We’d love to have you come here, Eryx. Lisa would love to have another woman around. The humans shy away from her a little because of me, and she’s lonely. When do you think you can come out? There’s not much to do right now except tend the animals for the winter. The police force could use another cop, although in a town this small it’s mostly youthful indiscretions.” “We’ll need to come pretty quick. If last night was any indication, then they’re not playing anymore.” He sighed and rubbed at the space between his eyes. “You know, we’ve got the old apple barn, it’s just got equipment in it right now, but it’s got a big old cast iron stove in the center of it for warmth and has a second floor that could easily be converted into bedrooms. I’ll get to converting it right quick at least with the plumbing and getting it cleaned out, we’ve got plenty of furniture in storage for ya’ll to use.” “Thanks, Uncle Rhett. I don’t know what we’d do if we didn’t have you to turn to.” “Nonsense. No lion male would turn down family, or anyone else in distress. You give me a ring in a couple days and let me know when we can expect you. If you’d like, you can have your Callie call Lisa and they can get to know each other.” He ended the call on a sigh of relief and then he felt hands on his bare shoulders and recognized them. With practiced skill, she smoothed out the taut muscles of his shoulders and he was lulled into a sweet peace. Her hands slid across his chest and she kissed the shell of his ear. “I feel like I’m falling in love with you, Eryx.” Never had a woman spoken such sweet words to him.

“I’m already there, angel.”

Chapter 10 **Callie**

Ethan opened the door to let in their father and brother. Callie was certain she surprised them by going straight to his father and hugging him. She kissed his cheeks and told him softly that she was sorry she'd fought against the truth and he nodded and took in a long breath, as if he were trying to stop some great emotion from breaking free. Just behind them, their uncles walked in, and she hugged and kissed their cheeks as well, and then went to Ethan and crowded against him in the kitchen. It felt like she'd been away from him for too long. Eryx joined them, sandwiching her in a possessive way she liked while the other men sat at the table and discussed the situation. She listened quietly while they talked about moving to Indiana and selling the house and keeping her safe in the meantime. A storm was moving across the Midwest and if they left now they’d get mired in the middle of it. So they decided to wait until the first week of February. That was just three weeks from now. They were certain they could keep her safe until then. She hated the idea of them leaving their family for her, but if what had happened last night was any indication of just how off-balance the female lions were, it wasn't smart to stick around. Ethan excused himself to the garage to get his laptop from the jeep and Callie offered to go with him. "Are you sure?" She stopped Ethan before he turned to go back into the house. "About what, love?" "All of this. This was your grandpa's house, your family is here." She paused, a little lost to the emotion of everything when an unwelcome voice interrupted them. "Hello, dog." Melania crowed, coming to stand just inside the garage next to Eryx's mustang. Behind her were Tanya and Farrah, mocking smiles on their lips.

Fear washed over her immediately as Ethan tucked her behind him. Eryx was suddenly at her back. She didn't know what had prompted him to come into the garage, but she was very glad he was there. The women moved a few steps further into the garage as if they owned the place, and the looks on their faces said they hadn’t come to apologize. She was tempted to back up a few paces but she knew if she turned tail now that things would only get worse. She heard Ethan and Eryx's family come to the door for support but they didn't come into the space with them. She knew that they would back them up if things got out of hand, but the three of them had to work this out on their own, period. Melania peered down her sharp nose at Callie and her eyes narrowed. Whatever her plans were, they weren’t good at all. “What are you doing here, Melania?” Ethan asked angrily. She sneered, raking her eyes over Callie like she was a helpless bunny. It made her blood run cold. This was a woman that wouldn't waste an opportunity to take out a rival, by any means necessary. Melania ran her tongue across her top lip and pointedly ignored Callie, turning her head to look at Ethan. “I can’t believe you wanted to have a cub so badly, Ethan. Really, that you would go to the dogs for that, it just boggles the mind.” A fine shiver of tension wove through Callie and she stepped slightly away from them and turned her head to look at Ethan who looked completely mortified. Melania curled her lips in a sinister smile. “Oh, he didn’t tell you? Just a few days ago, Ethan was begging me to have a cub with him, even to marry him. So pathetic, like all the males around here.” She sighed and blinked innocently. “If you want it so badly, Ethan, I’ll give it to you. I’ll even try to be in a relationship with you. No need to pollute the gene pool with this little bitch.” The two other females with her smirked at Callie, looking down at her as if she were nothing. But she wasn't nothing. She was a rogue werewolf and the mate to two mountain lions. In that moment, Callie had found a cause worth fighting for - her mates - and something snapped in her brain as her wolf snarled inside her and demanded satisfaction.

In the blink of an eye, Callie grabbed Melania’s ponytail and slammed her head into the spoiler with a sharp growl, the sound of her head hitting the metal like a thunderclap. Melania crumpled to the floor, unconscious, an enormous gash across her face that cut through her eye. Her face was covered with blood that was already seeping into that mane of blonde hair and onto the garage floor. Callie took a menacing step towards the two females and her voice came out edged with a vibrating growl, “You get your friend out of my house, and you tell her when she wakes up that if she so much as has a dream about my mates, that I will climb her like a tree and beat her to death with her own arm.” The females were frozen in place, their eyes wide with fear, and Callie took another step towards them and slammed her palm down on the trunk of the car. They jumped and then moved fast, grabbing Melania between them and hauling her outside and into a waiting car. When the car was gone, she spun on Ethan and Eryx. She could feel her wolf simmering under her skin. Her fangs had elongated in her rage and she knew her eyes would be wolf amber. She licked the edge of one of her canines and glared at Ethan. “You asked her to bear a cub with you?” Ethan’s voice was riddled with worry, “Before you came into town, love, I swear.” “You want her?” “No, no, I promise, Callie. The second I knew we were mates, I didn’t ever want anyone else but you.” His voice was low, begging. “I feel the same way, Callie,” Eryx added. She swung her penetrating gaze towards Eryx and in a heartbeat both men were on their knees before her, shame and worry coloring their features. Blinking in surprise, she let go of her wolf and her eyes bled back to hazel and her fangs receded slowly. “It’s damn strange that I don’t stand up for myself but threaten a cub or you two and I’m all half-shift and ready to take on an army.” She shuddered slightly, went to her knees in front of them, and hugged her arms around both of their necks. “We can’t help that we’re your mates, Callie,” Ethan’s voice was soft and laced with genuine remorse over the situation.

She heard their family move away from the door to give them privacy and could hear the wonder in their hushed voices. She had not only surprised herself with her actions, but she had clearly surprised everyone. “I don’t want you to be anything else but mine.” She sighed and leaned back, kissing them gently. Glancing behind her, she let out a slow breath. “I may have just made things a whole lot worse.” Eryx tugged a lock of her hair and she turned back to them. “You didn’t, angel. And it doesn’t matter. In a few weeks we’ll be on our way and then you won’t have to look at any other females unless they’re human.” “When your family leaves, I want us to make love. I don’t want to wait a second longer.” She knew that she should continue her conversation with them, to make sure that they were not going to regret leaving their family behind for her, but all she could think of at that moment was making love to her mates and marking them as her own. Back in the kitchen, she was feeling damn twitchy. Maybe it was because of the wolf dying last night and it being a direct threat to her, or maybe it was because she’d been completely out of control in the garage over those stupid bitches and their presence, or maybe because she felt like her insides were on fire and the only thing that would put the flames out was Eryx and Ethan. Naked. Oh yeah. She’d never been so horny in all her life. And all they were doing was standing in the kitchen and talking. Talking. Talking. Talking. She’d been sitting at the table for a while, because standing up to the females in the garage had taken a toll on her and she’d needed to sit down. But now she was pacing and twirling a lock of her hair around her index finger, which was a nervous habit from when she was a kid. “Angel?” Eryx’s voice broke through the steady hum of thoughts in her head about bare chests and hot mouths and heavenly moans. “Hmm?” She stopped pacing and looked at them and realized they were all watching her intently.

“You okay?” He asked as he and Ethan moved closer to her. Well, that was good and not good, because they smelled wonderful. All heat and male and sex. Damn it. “I’m, I’m fine. Were you saying something?” “We just wanted to know if there was anything from Allen that you need us to have shipped to our uncle’s?” “Ah, no, I only have the two suitcases and my, well, I don’t have a car anymore, I guess it's more of a mangled twist of metal and upholstery.” She gave him a half smile and he chuckled. James said, “Ethan said you needed to have a mechanic look it over for the insurance company payout?” She nodded and Grant said, “One of our cousins runs the shop in town, just have one of the boys give him the information for the insurance company and Brad can handle it for you.” “Thank you.” She smiled in relief. That little ditty had been hovering over her head. Ethan kissed her temple. “We’ll get you a new car when we get settled. We’re going to drive both vehicles to Indiana anyway, no sense taking a third along for such a long trip.” She agreed and then felt her body temperature rise another notch just being between the two of them. Both of them tensed slightly, their arms around her going more solid like their muscles were flexing. She either needed to get away from them or apologize for stripping and mounting them in the kitchen in front of their family, so she said, “I’m going to, um, go in the back and lay down. Thank you all...for everything.” Eryx kissed her cheek. “We’ll come find you when we’re done here.” The heat in his eyes said he hadn’t forgotten she said she wanted to make love to them after they were alone, and she hoped they wouldn’t wait long. Her wolf was snapping in her brain to get close to them, to touch and taste every inch of their bodies and to mark them. She shut the bedroom door and sat down on the edge of the bed. Her body was humming like tuning fork. It seemed like an eternity before the front door opened and the sounds of shuffling feet and quiet goodbyes reached her ears. Her wolf whined,

finally! And then their feet sounded on the carpeting as they moved through the family room and down the hallway towards her. Every step made her body tighten and her sex flood. She had never been so turned on before in her life. The door opened and they moved in, stopping at the edge of the bed in front of her and looking down. The looks on their faces were identical: love, desire, lust, heat. She could drown in that heat and never get enough. She swallowed and her mouth seemed really dry. “I’ve never done anything like this before.” Ethan’s soft smile reassured her. “Neither have we.” She flushed, partly from heat but partly because she was a little embarrassed, “Can you both be with me? I mean not like at the same time, but just, all of us together?” They looked at each other and then at her and the silence in the room was palpable. Eryx finally said, “You’d like us to take turns with you, but all three of us be on the bed together?” “Yes. If you want that, too?” She just knew that at least this first time, she wanted them both with her. She wanted to share everything with them. “We want whatever makes you happy, sweetheart.” Ethan’s smile was slow and predatory and Eryx’s matched it. She jerked her top over her head and dropped it to the floor. “I want to not have clothes on anymore.” Their shirts came off and she made the motion to toe off her shoes when they both dropped to their knees and undid the laces of her tennis shoes. And then her socks came off, and if she said it wasn’t a damn erotic thing to watch, then she’d be lying. They looked at each other for a quiet moment, each with a foot in their hand, and clearly something passed between them, because they stood and took off their own shoes and then Eryx climbed up on the bed and took her in a hard kiss, pulling her up the bed and putting her down on the pillow. He kissed across her jaw to her ear and lashed the shell of it with his hot tongue. “If we do anything you don’t like, let us know right away. We only ever want you to know pleasure at our hands, angel.”

She might have answered, but she felt the bed shift and then Ethan’s hands were undoing her jeans and all thought went out the window. He tugged them down slowly, leaving her panties on, and Eryx was kissing her deeply and cradling one breast in his palm. His hand slid around to her back and he fumbled slightly with the catch of her bra but it came undone and he pulled away from her mouth with a triumphant smile and pulled it off with his finger hooked in the middle. “You are fucking gorgeous, angel.” He said with a deep voice. He moved slightly off to the side and kissed her again, his thumb running around her nipple in slow circles. She felt Ethan’s hands on her knees and he slid them slowly up her thighs and her legs began to quiver. His hands landed on her hips and he leaned down to press a kiss to her belly button and her stomach twitched and she felt him smile against her heated skin. He tongued her belly button, and then hooked his fingers in her panties and sat up enough to draw them off her before spreading her legs apart and settling between them. Eryx pulled away from their kiss and she looked at Ethan. “I want to eat your pussy until you come on my tongue, sweetheart.” He stroked a finger up her folds and she let out a shaky breath. “Would you like that?” What she meant to say was oh hell yes!, but what came out of her mouth was a pleading, “Please, Ethan.” He dropped his head slowly, parting her before leisurely stroking his tongue up her once. The whole world dropped away and she writhed under him while he explored her core with his fingers and mouth. Eryx kissed her until she couldn’t kiss anymore for the panting and moaning, and then he moved to her breasts, lashing them with his tongue and sucking them deeply into his mouth, grazing her tight nipples with his teeth. Her nails dug into his back as Ethan drew an orgasm from her, his mouth against her and his tongue and fingers deep inside. She cried out at the pleasure as the climax wove through her and Eryx sat back and stretched out on his side as Ethan wiped his finger over his glistening mouth and then sucked it into his mouth. “You taste incredible, sweetheart.” She leaned up on her arm to kiss him while he slid his cock inside her, draping her legs around his waist and drawing him inside. He stroked slowly as his thick and

long cock spread her apart and pushed in. It seemed forever until he was inside her completely, and the fullness of him wasn’t like anything else she’d ever felt before. Almost painful, dancing the line of pleasure, he stroked his fingers across her cheek and smiled, lowering his head to kiss her once and whisper in her ear that he loved her, before pulling out and then driving into her again. Each pass in and out of her body drove her higher, and she clutched him with one hand and held Eryx’s hand with the other, while she met Ethan’s strokes into her body with her own frantic movements. He thrust into her until he drove her to a climax, the first orgasm she had ever had during sex that hadn’t come from a finger or thumb stroking her at the same time, and Ethan’s name spilled from her lips like a chant. His climax followed hers, and he dropped down to his elbows and kissed her while they both breathed hard and little shivers of pleasure washed over her, like waves lapping on the shore. She felt her heart fill with love for him and his twin, and her wolf sounded an agreement in her mind. Ethan moved off her, rolling to the other side of her with a soft kiss and Eryx went up on his elbow and tilted her chin towards him for a long, deep kiss. His hand slid down her sweat-slick body and he parted her easily, sliding his finger just inside her and curving it upwards. She’d never had a man search for her g-spot, and she didn’t actually think that it could be found, more the thing of romance novels than reality. In just a short while, he began to slide his finger against a spot inside her that made her whole body tense up and she screamed in surprise when the orgasm flashed hot and fast through her. He shifted over her and before he could enter her, she positioned one leg over his outstretched arm so her body was spread wide before him, and he growled in pleasure as his cock pushed inside her in slow, short thrusts. Equally as large as Ethan, the position made her body tighter and they both groaned at the invasion while her body continued to tremble at the remnants of the climax. He paused long enough to kiss her and tell her he loved her, and then he pounded his body into hers with hard, fast strokes, shifting his hips to touch different places inside her, until she was thrashing under him from the building pleasure. She came hard and screamed his name to the ceiling and she felt his strokes falter and then he thrust hard several times before he came, a groan of satisfaction on his lips followed by her name.

He dropped on top of her, but kept his weight on his own arms, and kissed and nibbled at her neck while they both shivered through the climaxes before he slid off her. After a few quiet minutes, Ethan leaned over and kissed her temple. “You’re amazing, sweetheart. And that was damn hot, watching you two together. I never would have guessed.” His sweet eyes were dancing and she kissed him before turning to kiss Eryx. “I agree, brother.” She felt another need rise in her and her wolf began to pace inside her mind, whining and snarling. She needed to claim them. Make them hers. She rolled onto her stomach and went up on her knees. They both looked lazily at her, the banked heat like a slow smoldering fire in both of their eyes. “I need to mark you both, I feel like I have to.” “Of course, love.” Eryx sat up and squeezed her shoulder. “Whatever you want from us you can have it.” Ethan sat up. “Is it just biting, sweetheart? What do you need us to do?” “My fangs will come out, and I’ll break through the skin on the back of your necks. Are you sure?” “Of course. We’ll wear the marks with pride.” Eryx promised, kissing her fingertips. She did Ethan first. She had him lay on his side and slid behind him, smoothing the hair up from the nape of his neck before licking the salt from his skin and letting her fangs descend. Her teeth actually hurt because the need was so great. “I love you, Ethan,” she said softly and then fit her fangs on the back of his neck and bit down. He let out a small moan and wound his fingers with hers and held her close to him with her arm across his chest. Extracting her fangs, she licked the blood from the marks and kissed them. As she moved over him to Eryx, Ethan kissed her and said, “I love you, too, Callie.” She did the same thing to Eryx, and told him that she loved him before she marked him and he told her, too, that he loved her and she had no doubt that the love between the three of them was very, very real. She sat between them both as they lay

on their sides, their eyes a little glazed, the taste of their blood on her tongue, running hot in her veins. Eryx sat up. “Can we mark you?” “Do you normally do that?” “We don’t have lion mates, sweetheart. But we could each take a side?” Ethan sat up, too, and cupped her neck and ran his thumb down the side. “If you want to, I would love it.” She promised. They moved slowly around her, Ethan moving to the front and Eryx to her back, and Eryx drew her sweat-damp hair up and away from her neck and they both licked each side of her neck as they drew her tightly between them. At nearly the same time, their fangs pierced her skin and she gasped and moaned, writhing between them. It felt so right, so good, so hot, that she never wanted it to stop. And then she felt Ethan’s fingers slip between her parted thighs. While they held their fangs in her neck, he worked her to a hard and fast orgasm and she shouted as they released her and began to lick the marks and lap at the tiny drops of blood that seeped as the wounds closed and scarred. She pushed Ethan down and leaned over his hard cock, licking her lips. She tossed a glance behind her at Eryx whose eyes had darkened considerably as he spied her body spread wide for him. She licked the top of Ethan’s hot cock and Eryx pushed inside her. Ethan moaned and dropped back to the bed and she worked him with her mouth while Eryx sank deep inside her pussy. He held her tight with his hands on her hips and she teased and sucked Ethan until he groaned, “I’m fucking close, brother.” “So is she,” Eryx growled, and he slid a finger around to her clit and gave the tense bud a few flicks and she went flying, moaning her climax around the stiff cock in her mouth. He came with a deep moan as she sucked every last drop from him and then Eryx came, shoving hard into her until she lost her mouth’s hold on Ethan’s cock and slid down onto his chest. Eryx dropped off to the side of them, and Ethan wrapped his arms around her and kissed her forehead. “I’ve never felt so exhausted and yet so alive in all my life.” He laughed and she did, too, as Eryx reached up to kiss her once more before declaring, “This is the best

day of my life. We claimed our mate, she’s wearing our marks and we’re wearing hers, and now, angel, we get to start fresh in a new town and start our lives together.” Happy, for the first time in as long as she could remember, she smiled at him and settled back on Ethan’s chest, too tired to move.

Chapter 11 **Ethan** Ethan could not help but marvel at Callie as she lay exhausted on his chest, breathing deeply after their marathon lovemaking. Eryx drew up the sheet over all of them and settled on his back, one arm behind his head on the pillow and stared at the ceiling. He was fairly sure the two of them wore the same satisfied grins. Everything he’d ever known before in the bedroom had been cold and dark. Callie was the opposite of it all. Her body was hot, her movements exquisite, and the way she cried out when she came was the most splendid thing he’d ever witnessed. He could go his whole life just pleasuring her, to see her body shudder and her mouth fall open, and then when she said his name, over and over, like she had to brand it to the heavens, well, that was just pure bliss. He would never have guessed that having her fangs sink into his flesh would be something erotic, but it was. He felt her power, felt as if her wolf was free and marking him as her own, both human and beast. And then to do it back to her, to know that on the right side of her neck his fang marks would always show so no one would doubt that she was claimed was heady. You could lose a ring. You couldn’t lose the marks. It was late. The sky outside was dark. They’d spent the day making love to her, completely forgetting about dinner. Not that he cared. He wouldn’t have wanted to miss a second of her today. “You want me to crash back in my room?” Eryx asked quietly. He turned his head slightly. “I don’t think it’s my room any longer.” He shifted her off him slowly and Eryx helped ease her between them. She didn’t make a sound, completely worn out from her ordeal the night before with the wolf and all they’d done today.

“I didn’t think I’d, you know, like it.” He said, kissing her forehead and settling her against his chest. Eryx adjusted himself behind her, sliding underneath the sheets until the lower half of her body was close to him. “I didn’t either. I like that we can share her, and take care of her together, in every way. If we didn’t get along, it would be really difficult to be so close.” “She makes it easy, I think, because she's so willing.” He sighed, smiling in remembrance of the heated look in her eyes when she saw his cock for the first time. And how wonderful it felt to slide home that first time. And her talented mouth. He drifted off to sleep, images of his time holding her and making love flashing like a movie, a scenario he wanted to recreate over and over. He was possibly having the most erotic dream he’d ever had, and over the years he’d had some doozies. But he could almost feel the hot mouth as it closed over his hard cock, and he knew for sure that it was Callie, because she was the only woman who’d ever gone down on him. A tingle raced down his spine as the mouth slid off him and a hand clasped the base of his cock and he opened his eyes to see he wasn’t dreaming at all, but Callie was pumping his cock with her fist and sucking Eryx. He put his hand around hers and she flicked her eyes to him and moved off Eryx, sliding her tongue up the underside of his cock and laving it like a lollipop. She dove down on him, moving her hand off and taking him until he hit the back of her throat and the sensation made him arch off the bed with a sharp gasp. She grinned like a cat as she let his cock slide from her wet mouth, flicking the slit on the top before fisting him again and moving back to Eryx. Lost to the rhythm of her hand on him, he closed his eyes and let himself go and just seconds after he heard Eryx’s grunted release, he followed, his hot jet spurting over his stomach. With an audible pop, she released Eryx and then he felt her tongue licking up the come from his flesh and he ran his fingers through her hair, pushing it aside so he could watch. Like he tasted like melted ice cream, she got up every drop and then sat up with a contented sigh and said, “I was hungry.” They both laughed and he sat up and kissed her. “That was the best way I’ve ever woken up.” Pulling on shorts from the dresser, he ignored the wobbly knees that went hand in hand with a powerful climax and went to fix them something to eat,

deciding easy was best for eating in the bedroom. While coffee brewed, he cut up a loaf of banana bread and arranged it in a basket on a tray, and then cut fruit onto a platter and added cubed cheese and ham. He fixed her coffee the way he knew she liked it, and his and Eryx’s, and carried the tray into the bedroom. They fed her by hand, and she nibbled each bite and licked fingers and kissed them and they arranged the fruit on her body and ate it from her, and when he put a slice of strawberry right on her clit and sucked the bud into his mouth at the same time as the fruit, she grabbed his hair in a vise grip and gave herself to him. Although there were plans to be made for their move to Ashland, Indiana, neither he nor Eryx could tear themselves away from her long enough to do anything about it, or even consider going into work. They shared her again, taking turns giving her pleasure and watching with amazement as she reacted to them with every fiber of her being. Nothing in the universe was better than this. Nothing. **Eryx** “I’ll fax over our resignation letters later today, Dad.” Eryx swiveled slightly in the office chair in his bedroom, looking out the window. They’d spent all day Thursday in bed with Callie again, and then it occurred to him that they’d basically just walked away from their jobs without making anything official, so getting up this morning and leaving his sleeping angel tucked securely in his brother’s arms, he called his dad. “No worries, son. I know you’re busy.” His father’s voice was a mixture of happiness and jealousy. Eryx could understand that. Just a bare week ago he was anticipating a life like his father had, chasing after a female that didn’t want him, the cold, emotionless sex, begging for cubs and then raising them alone. Now, he didn’t have to worry about that. Not with Callie. She was anything but cold and emotionless. And she would never walk away from a cub. Not just because it wasn’t in her nature, but because of her own childhood. “Callie would like to see the kids again. Maybe Sunday?”

“Sure, I’ll call your uncles and set something up. There’s probably another UFC, although I’m not sure she really enjoyed it.” His father chuckled. She might have, if she hadn’t still been so intent to leave them. “Are you going to the wedding?” “Yes, she said she’d go with us. She’s worried about what people will say, about us together as a threesome.” “Doesn’t matter. The only thing you have to worry about is how you all feel about it. The people in town here don’t understand us, don’t get the females. If Callie’s uncomfortable then you can just leave, anyway. Thad and Jane will be glad for the support, regardless. But you should be prepared; some females will show up, surely. At least Melania and Farrah, since they work with Jane.” He let out a growling sigh and laid his head back on the chair. “I know. We told her and she’s still game, but we also know we can’t leave her alone for a second. The thing with the wolf the other night, dad, was just too serious to ignore.” “I think our threats to them were enough to deter any more of that, plus her reaction to Melania in the garage. I must say, I’ve never see someone use a parked car as a weapon before.” He chuckled and Eryx joined him. It had been a damn sight, that’s for sure. “It’s funny because she still thinks she’s weak. For certain, strength isn’t always about who’s bigger and stronger. She’s more fierce and determined when she’s threatened than anyone I’ve ever known.” “That she is, son.” As he ended the call, he smelled her, the sweet scent got stronger and then she turned the chair around and dropped to her knees, spreading his legs apart in the process. “Good morning, angel.” She was blissfully nude, every inch of her lush body sweet perfection. She gave him a sultry smile and reached for the button of his jeans, making his cock rise with just the sound of the button popping. He lifted his hips and she tugged them and his shorts down. “I’m making a new rule, love.” She leaned over his cock and darted her tongue along the slit. “Oh?” He swept her hair aside so he could watch her go down on him. She was the first to ever do it and it was a damn sight.

“No underwear in the house.” He smiled. “Does that include you?” “Oh yeah.” She used her tongue to slide the drops of pre-come around on the head of his cock, making happy growling sounds in her throat as if she couldn’t get enough of how he tasted. “I’m game. It’ll be one less thing to maneuver around when I want to get to your pussy.” Her eyes went dark. One thing he’d learned quick about his angel was that she liked it when they talked dirty to her. She absolutely loved hearing what they were going to do to her. To think there was a time when he thought that what he’d had with the pride females was as good as it could get when the woman licking his cock like a lollipop was so incredible that it put everything else he’d ever done to blinding shame. Her tongue swirled the top of his cock. “You like getting to my pussy, Eryx?” “I love it, angel. I love how hot and wet you are and I love tonguing your pussy until you scream.” Her hand squeezed him tight at the base and she slid him into her mouth slowly, until he hit the back of her throat and then she growled. The sound shivered down his cock like a bolt of electricity and he couldn’t help but shift his hips further and dig his fingers in her hair. She relaxed and he slid just that much deeper into her throat, as she fucked him with her mouth. He came undone, groaning and watching her with half closed eyes as she sucked every drop from him and then kissed the head gently. With liquid grace, she slid up his body and straddled him, putting her hands on the top of the chair and kissing him. He gripped her thighs and a shiver of tension went through her body. “What do you want, angel?” “I want you to fuck me with your fingers.” He let his hands travel up her spread thighs and across her sensitive hips, and he ran his thumbs in the space on either side of her pussy, where the warm, soft flesh made promises of hot and wet things just slightly further down. He rolled his thumbs up and down the space and her hips followed the motion as her back arched and he flicked

his tongue across one of her tight nipples. His teeth grazed it and she dropped her head back, her body tensing as she gripped the chair. She was fully trembling now, her whole body covered in goosebumps and her breathing short and panting. He let one hand leave the warm space and cup her pussy, slipping a finger up her wet folds and caressing the little pleasure pearl that he loved to suck. “Here, sweet?” He swirled his wet finger across it in a figure eight. “No,” she gasped, her thighs twitching with tension as she struggled to keep herself upright. “Inside. Put your fingers inside me.” Damn it but he loved to hear her soft begging, as if she wasn’t sure he wouldn’t torture her, hold out on her. Which he had done yesterday, teased her to the brink again and again until she was begging for mercy. She’d just taken such good care of him that he wouldn’t make her suffer a second longer, so he sank two fingers inside her hungry, wet pussy and she moaned, biting her lower lip and gazing at him with dark eyes. “Ride my fingers, angel. Like it’s my cock,” he urged, half wishing that she’d let him finish in her pussy instead of her mouth. She complied immediately, shifting her hips to ride his fingers, twisting until his palm rubbed her clit just the right way. Her body clutched him and she made soft mewling sounds as she grew closer and closer to climax and then she let go and moaned as her body exploded around his fingers. She shuddered, the wood frame inside the chair back cracking under the pressure of her hands as he found her g-spot and worked it fast and hard until she shrieked in bliss and her come slid down his fingers and coated his hand. This time she did collapse and he slid his hand away from her and cuddled her close, kissing her sweat dotted forehead as she let out a sigh of deep satisfaction. She whimpered slightly and he could guess she wasn’t as comfortable as he was, since the chair wasn’t technically made for two, and he shifted her easily around until she was sitting sideways on his lap, her legs draped over the chair arm. He swiveled slightly as she rested her head against his shoulder, still shivering every few seconds from her climaxes. The chair creaked oddly as he swiveled and she laughed. “I think I broke your chair.” “Worth it, love. I’d sacrifice every chair in the house to bring you pleasure.”

She turned his face with her hands and kissed him, running her tongue inside his mouth with a sense of ownership and sweet contentment. Ethan knocked on the door jam. “You guys hungry? I made a frittata while she seduced you.” He laughed and set her on her feet so he could tug his jeans up. “Wait, I said no underwear.” She demanded. “You meant right now?” “Yes. Right Ethan?” She darted a sly look to his brother. “Hey, if I’m going commando then you have to, too.” He shrugged and grinned at his sweetheart. “If you insist.” He stepped out of his jeans and shorts and tugged the jeans back on. He’d never gone without shorts before. It wasn’t exactly comfortable. Maybe track pants were better, like Ethan was wearing. She reached for the robe that Ethan was holding out for her and after he switched the unyielding jeans for black track pants in the bedroom, they all walked out to the kitchen together to eat. When had his life become so incredible? Not only had they spent nearly the entire night playing how-many-orgasms-can-she-have, but then she’d just taken him to another height of pleasure in a desk chair of all things. They ate breakfast and talked about their plans for the day which involved going shopping for the wedding tomorrow night and picking a movie to go see. He and Ethan were pouring over the theater listings in the newspaper when a fork clattered to the floor and they both looked over the paper at Callie and she was asleep, her head propped up on her hand. He couldn’t help but smile. They’d ended up getting their days and nights all mixed around, staying up all night and sleeping during the day. Well, sometimes sleeping during the day. Ethan said, “Let’s go see Blood Covenant. The previews looked good.” Blood Covenant was about warlocks and vampires fighting. He nodded and stood up, planning to put his sweetheart to bed and then write up their resignation letters. Ethan offered to do the letters and told him to stay with her and rest. They were all a little worse for the wear, but it was a good exhausted, for sure. He scooped her up in his arms and carried her back to bed, pulling the robe off and tucking her sweet body against his once the shades were drawn and the room was

plunged into muted darkness. He drifted off to sleep quickly; it was hard not to feel relaxed holding her, surrounded by her sweet scent.

Chapter 12 **Callie** She woke up from her nap feeling kind of feisty and naughty. She wasn't really sure where this inner vixen came from, but she liked her. Maybe she just needed to get out from under the oppressive pack mind set. Or maybe she just needed two hot men to uncover her inner sex goddess. Yep, that was probably more likely. They were willing to share her. She didn't know any wolves that could share a female willingly. Sandwiched between her mates, she kissed them both and wriggled free of their warm arms so she could get cleaned up. “Need help, love?” Ethan purred with a deep voice. “If you join me, we’ll never leave the house.” She pointed out and ducked into the bathroom before they could say whether they cared or not if they ever left the house, or the bedroom for that matter. She decided to do something she hadn’t done in a long while, and that was shave her pussy completely. Usually reserved for summer, she normally used an electric razor to keep things neatly trimmed but never gave it much thought otherwise. Right now, though, she found the whole idea of being completely bare thoroughly erotic, and knowing they wouldn’t know about it until they touched her next, gave her a little thrill, as she filled up the tub and gathered her supplies. A few razors later, she showered completely and then stood with a hand mirror and one leg propped up on the counter to inspect her work. Very nice, not a stray hair to be found from one leg to the other and parts between. She knew they’d love it and she shivered at the thought of the discovery to come. They left her alone in the bedroom to get ready themselves and she rifled through her suitcases to find something sexy. She realized that she didn’t really think of herself that way. Or at least she hadn’t. Most of her clothes were either downright casual or what she wore for work which were plain skirts and blouses. But she did have

a few things that would turn heads and since yesterday afternoon, when Eryx had tortured her by driving her to the brink of climax and then retreating, letting her cool enough to draw away from that blissful edge before starting again, well, she could torture them a little, too. Her body flushed at the thought of that time. Ethan had restrained her wrists above her head with his large hand and alternated between biting and sucking at her neck and doing the same things to her breasts. She tried to move against Eryx’s mouth when she was just a stroke away from falling apart, but he held her legs splayed wide open and with Ethan keeping her still so she was unable to move on her own, she was completely at their mercy. And then Ethan started whispering in her ear about all the things he wanted to do to her, how he wanted to take her hard until she screamed his name, how he loved the taste of her on his tongue and wanted to eat her out for hours, and she was in torturous, almost-pleasure heaven for a really, really long time. Until tears leaked from her closed eyes and she begged Eryx to let her come because she couldn’t take it anymore. He must have been waiting for her to say that, because he immediately took her right to the most intense orgasm she’d ever had, and drew it out for what seemed like forever with gentle pressure from his fingers and tongue. Shivering at the memory, she settled on a black button front fitted tank and paired it with a silver gray draped cardigan with wide sleeves and a black leather mini skirt with darts up the front. She had a pair of thigh high stockings with lace trim at the top and paired them with suede Mary Jane’s. She left her hair plain, put on her makeup more carefully than she ever had before, and dotted a bit of vanilla lotion on her wrists and along either side of her neck. She wasn’t wearing panties or a bra and felt like such a vixen. She got grins and sultry looks when she walked out of the bedroom, and Ethan held her coat for her while she put it on, dropping his nose to her neck and taking a deep breath. “You always smell so good, love,” he smiled against her, placing a kiss on her pulse. “Thanks.” She turned and kissed him once, and then turned to kiss Eryx, who said she tasted even better than she smelled. She sat in the front while Ethan drove and Eryx leaned forward from the back so they could all talk. They asked her a lot of typical first-date questions, which she

thought was kind of funny since they’d been mostly naked for the last two and a half days, but she answered all their questions while they made the twenty-five minute drive. Ethan: What’s your favorite movie? Callie: Um, favorite of all time is Underworld Rise of the Lycans, of course. Eryx: What’s your favorite food? Callie: Favorite type of food or like my very favorite thing? Eryx (laughing): Both. Callie: Um, Italian, I guess, but my very favorite thing is those orange jelly slices with the sugar on them. Ethan: Tell us something that you’ve never told anyone else. Callie: Pass. Eryx (laughing harder): Fine, then, how old were you when you lost your virginity? Callie (blushing hard): Wait, wait, go back. I’ll think of something to tell you. Ethan (tweaking her knee): Nah, we want to know how old you were. Can’t pass and go back. Callie (grousing): I didn’t know there were rules. Eryx (sounding wicked): I could just torture you until you tell us. Callie (giving up and blushing): 14. (stunned silence) She took a deep breath and turned a little more in her seat. “It’s actually something I never told anyone, not even Cadence. But, I mean, he knew, so I don’t know that it actually counts as something I never told anyone else.” Eryx growled, looking positively feral, “If he hurt you, I’ll hunt him down, angel.” She warmed at the protectiveness and squeezed his hand. “Well, I mean it hurt because I think it always hurts the first time, but I chose it. I thought I wanted to, but I think I just wanted someone to want me like that. I don’t know.” She sighed and closed her eyes for a moment. “I just didn’t want to be wedged in the backseat of his uncle's old Camaro while he got off and I didn’t, even though I had no clue what that really meant at the time.” Ethan snorted in disdain, “Was he a wolf?”

“Of course.” He brought her other hand up to his mouth and kissed it. “Was it ever nice for you?” “It’s very nice now.” Smiling, he kissed the inside of her wrist. “You know what I mean.” “I thought it was, before you both, but now I think I didn’t really know. Everything I had before seems like a pale shadow to the way you make me feel.” Eryx squeezed her other hand and kissed it. “I feel the same way.” “Me, too, love.” Ethan promised. The mall had three anchor stores, and they took her into Macys. She had planned to bring her purse with her to pay for her own dress, but they had refused, and Eryx took it from her and hid it, saying that she was going as their date, and more than that, she was their mate and they were supposed to take care of her. She wanted to argue, it had been on the tip of her tongue, but the looks on their faces told her she needed to let them do this. They needed it, needed to take care of her, as much as she had always wanted someone to take care of her. And now she had two of them. The wedding started at 6:30 with a sit down dinner and reception following, which meant dressy. She never really felt like a girly-girl very often in the past, but she wanted to be. She wanted to be feminine and lovely. For them. They followed her around the dress section and while she was flipping through a rack she looked up at them and they looked completely out of their depths, which made her smile. “What?” Ethan asked. “Nothing, you guys are just very cute. And quiet. Don’t you have an opinion?” Eryx leaned over and brushed her hair from her shoulder, “We’re waiting for you to go into the dressing room.” She snorted a laugh and blushed. While she looked at the dresses in her size, she found out that they both preferred the color black, hadn’t been to a wedding before, and worried that they were dreaming and she was going to disappear at dawn. Silly boys. With four dresses, all black, she left them at the chairs outside the dressing rooms and cursed herself inwardly for not putting on at least panties. Every time they

brushed up against her or smiled at her it made her whole body go liquid and she felt like she’d left a trail all the way through the damn store. The first dress was a plain black tank with a bolero jacket that had some beading and embroidery to make it fancy. Still wearing her thigh highs and heels, she walked out and they grinned. She had a feeling that no matter what she wore, they’d say it’s wonderful. The problem was that the dress was too short for an evening wedding. At least that’s what she was always told. “Well?” She turned around and smiled. “Do you have to wear the jacket?” Ethan asked, leaning forward with his forearms on his knees. “It’s like negative 2 degrees outside.” She protested. “We’ll keep you warm.” Eryx’s brows wiggled and she blushed, damn it. “It’s pretty, it’s just you have really sexy shoulders.” Ethan shrugged, “I’d rather see you in something that doesn’t cover you up so much. And we’ll be inside, anyway. It will be warm there.” “And we’ll keep you warm.” Eryx promised again with a wink. “Fine, let me try the others.” She wasn’t disappointed. She wasn’t that crazy about the dress in the first place. The second dress was a tank dress with a shawl, the third was a halter and neither were very flattering. And then the fourth dress. “Perfect.” Eryx breathed, his eyes getting darker and a wicked smile curling up one side of his mouth. “That’s definitely the dress,” Ethan stood up and came to her, taking one hand and twirling her around. He caught her around the waist, stopping the spin, and kissed her. “My little sweetheart is one gorgeous kitten.” His smile was sincere and his words were warm and made her feel all tingly and loved. No doubt it was a great dress. Solid black and strapless with a sweetheart neckline that made her generous chest look even nicer; the bodice was delicately embroidered and gathered at the waist, where it fell to her ankles with a slightly longer drape at the back, almost like a train.

Eryx was suddenly behind her and he twisted her hair up and kissed her neck. “Could you put your hair up, angel, so we can do this easier?” He bit down gently on her pulse and her knees went weak. She grabbed Ethan for support and let out a trembling yes and they both chuckled in that way that men do, when they think they own the world. And these boys owned her, lock, stock, and tingling pussy.

Chapter 13 **Ethan** “I’d give my canines to be in there right now,” Ethan stared at the place where his sweetheart was changing right now. The dress was perfect for her. It accentuated everything that he loved about her and then some, plus the black looked perfect with her skin tone. He wagered she looked good in every color, although he preferred her naked. Naked and saying his name. “Me too, brother.” Eryx chuckled and leaned back in the chair. “So this has been an interesting experience.” “I’ll say.” They’d never taken a woman shopping before. They’d never been asked their opinion about a dress. In fact, what might be slightly more embarrassing was before they had taken her to dinner, they’d never been on a date before. Ever. 26 years old and this was their second date. “Do you think we should tell her everything…about our past?” Ethan asked quietly. “You mean like before we leave? Because I think we should eventually, I’m just not sure I think we should hit her over the head with all that we’ve dealt with as lions all at once. She’s only just agreed to be our mate. I wouldn’t want to scare her off.” “I know we’ll tell her everything eventually, I just, there are some things that I’m afraid the females might try to throw in her face. I wish we were already gone.” His happy thoughts drifted darkly, to the things they’d been forced to do to gain the affections of the females once-upon-a-time. He snorted to himself at the term ‘affection’. He’d truly never known the female form of affection until he’d held Callie in his arms. She was the word personified. She moved out of the dressing room wearing the ridiculously tiny mini skirt that showed the top edge of lacy stockings and just a peek of her sweet belly between the

top and the waistband of the skirt. He was torn between loving how she looked and hating that anyone else could get a glimpse of her. Eryx took the dress from her and disappeared to pay for it and he pushed her backwards gently until she was hidden between two racks of clothes and kissed her. His mouth fit with hers as if they were made together, one for the other, and she drew her arms around him and held him as tightly as he held her. His body went uncomfortably tight, and he pulled from the kiss with a slight groan. What a brilliant idea. Now he’d be stuck with a hard-on for however damn long the movie was. Whose idea was it, anyway, to sit in the dark in public with her and not be able to do anything? Her eyes were bright, pretty hazel and gold, and she stroked his jaws with her thumbs. “You’re so handsome, Ethan.” Instead of answering her sweet compliment, he kissed her again, and then pulled her away from the wall and went to find the other part of their trio. Eryx put the bagged dress over his arm and took her other hand and they walked out to the truck to go to the theater. They had a good twenty minutes before the movie started, and they’d chosen it because it had been out for a while so it wouldn’t be packed, plus being an action flick meant they weren’t going to be watching her watch handsome leading men in love scenes on the screen. At the ticket counter outside of the theater, he purchased their tickets while Eryx held her as she shivered. Apparently wolves didn’t run as warm blooded as lions did, but they had no problem keeping her warm. No problem at all. They were standing in line for snacks when she excused herself to the bathroom and promised whatever they picked was fine, and as they watched her go, Eryx said, “So about a ring.” “I was wondering what you thought about that, too.” “Well, we either both get her an engagement ring, one for each ring finger, or we get her one really nice engagement ring and do separate wedding bands.” He hummed in his throat. “I don’t know. Should we ask her?” “I don’t know. Do men do that?” “Hell if I know. And it’s a different scenario than normal anyway, with just one man and one woman.”

He paused and looked across the candy counter, spying the orange jellied slices she said she loved. After getting two boxes, plus a large tub of popcorn and drinks, they moved away from the counter to wait for her. Ethan said, “Maybe the best thing is for us to pick out separate engagement rings. That way the bands on each finger will be part of a set. And we can get what we like individually instead of one of us maybe compromising.” Eryx snorted, “It’s not as if we have that much experience with jewelry.” “Yeah, well, I’m totally out of my depths with just about everything we’re doing with her. How about you?” They both grinned and dropped the conversation, because Callie was there. She went on her toes and peeked into the popcorn tub and then smiled, one of those sweet ones that made her eyes look bigger and her whole face light up. As they’d hoped, the theater was nearly empty. While they knew they couldn’t avoid people seeing what they were together, because things were so new between all of them they didn’t want to expose her to how horrible people could be when they saw something they didn’t agree with. Like a woman with two men. As cops, even in their small town, they’d gotten a good glimpse of the nastier side of human nature, and although the connection between the three of them was strong, they both worried she would try to pull away again if things got dicey. He wanted to believe the look in her eyes that said she wasn’t going anywhere, but his experience with women was limited to the female lions, and, well, the less he thought about them right now, the better. They sat in the far back corner, his shoulder against the wall and her between them. The lights were still on, and they could see a couple sitting towards the front. The theater was small, with a main middle section of seats and two smaller side sections, and he just had to hope that no one would come in and want to share their space. It would be hard enough to be with her in the dark when she smelled good enough to eat, literally, but not being able to touch and kiss her when he wanted to because there were people around would be hell. He gave her the boxes of orange slices that he’d tucked into his coat pocket and the way her face lit up made him feel like king of the world. She opened a box and fished one out and popped it into her mouth. Sighing happily, she darted a glance

towards the other couple in the theater and then leaned over and kissed him and then turned to kiss Eryx. “Did I say thank you for the dress?” She asked when they had taken off their coats and both leaned forward to rest their arms on the chair backs in front of them so they could look at her while they talked. “You may have mentioned it once or twice.” Eryx smiled. “It was our pleasure.” He said, taking her hand and brushing off a little bit of sugar caught on her fingers. He wanted to lick the sugar crystals off, but he knew one taste of her skin and he’d be done for. “So, this thing with your uncle and leaving. Are you sure?” Surprised, he said, “Why wouldn’t we be sure?” “Well,” she looked uncomfortable, “this is your home. Your dad and brother are here, and the rest of your family. We’ve known each other a week and you’re uprooting your whole lives for me.” Eryx answered for him. “Callie, if we could stay and keep you safe, if the females would eventually stop the harassment, then we would. But they won’t ever stop. And more than just you, any kids that we might have would be in danger of being threatened or hurt, too, even if they were completely lion.” She bristled slightly and that protective wolf that he’d come to love shone in her eyes. She squeezed their hands. “I just don’t want you to regret what happens between us all.” Ethan leaned forward and caught her face with his free hand. He hoped she could see the truth in his eyes. “The only thing that we would ever regret is not having you in our lives, I swear. Whatever happened to bring you to us, the only thing that matters is our life together, our marriage, our family. We’re getting so much more than we’re leaving behind.” She smiled in a small way and then said, “You want to marry me, like really marry me?” They both said “yes” at the same time and she breathed out a small laugh. “We’re already technically married, at least by wolf standards. You know, the marking thing?”

Really? Damn cool. “So wolves don’t get legally married?” Eryx asked. “No, they do, it’s just a formality. In the eyes of a pack, marking is like taking vows. I…maybe should have mentioned that?” She flushed like she was embarrassed and he tucked his finger under her chin so she’d look at him. “We love you, sweetheart. If we’re already married to our little kitten, then we’re thrilled. But we still want you to have our last name.” She looked at Eryx for confirmation and he nodded. Then she looked for the human couple again and found them not paying attention to anything but the screen that had some sort of trivia game on it, and she leaned over and kissed Eryx first and then him. The lights dimmed and they sat back, and Eryx put the popcorn in her lap but she was more interested in the candy and unfortunately they had to give up holding her hands while they snacked. She shared an orange slice with both of them and they watched the previews together while another few couples entered the theater but stayed to the center and front, thankfully. He was feeling possessive of her, and it was a new feeling for him. Maybe it was the revelation that in her eyes they were already married. All he knew was that he didn’t want anyone close to her right now except Eryx. By the time the previews were over and the movie started, the candy and popcorn were gone and they were back to holding hands again. In his head he cursed the theater seats and the arm rests that separated them. It would have been a much better idea to watch a movie at home where they could hold her on the couch, although he could guess they probably wouldn’t even notice the movie. She released his hand and leaned onto his shoulder, curling her arm around his bicep and squeezing. It put his hand in an interesting position, draped over the arm of the chair and right over her thigh. Tantalizing bit of flesh that it was. He reminded himself that they hadn’t brought her here to paw her in the theater, and there were far too many humans nearby for them to do anything remotely fun, so he ground his jaw and stared at the screen. Which worked for about ten minutes. All he could think about was how close she was and how good she smelled and, hell, he just had to touch her, just a little bit, and see how silky those stockings felt. It was only a half inch that he had to move his hand

to touch the top of her thigh and she made a very faint murmured sigh, but she didn’t pull away or tell him to stop, so he took that as a good sign. Her legs were crossed, and he scooted his hand up her thigh to her knee and pulled gently until she uncrossed them and then he squeezed her knee. He felt her look at him and he turned his head and smiled and leaned to whisper in her ear, “Do you want me to stop?” She rolled her eyes and said quietly with a smirk, “No, it’s a great idea to horn me up in a public theater and then leave me hanging.” Feisty woman. She went back to resting her head on his shoulder and he pressed a kiss to the top of it. She smelled so wonderful all the time. He especially loved it when she got turned on, because her scent got so intense it was like walking through a wildflower meadow that someone had coated with honey. So sweet, so tantalizing, so incredibly delicious. Although the movie was action-packed, the only thing he cared about was the feel of her knee under his fingers, the delicate stocking that covered her skin, and how slowly he was inching up towards her pussy. The question in his mind was whether she’d let him get that far in public, and whether that was even a good idea. He wasn’t sure he could touch her like that and not a) make her come and b) bend her over the seat and pound her in half. His knuckles brushed against Eryx’s, and he cast a glance at his brother and found him staring straight ahead but with a small smile on his lips. He was probably also having an inner monologue about just how far to push things. So far, in the last nearly three days they’d been together, she hadn’t said no to anything they’d wanted to do. She was always ready, always willing, and knew her body well enough to ask for what she liked. He alternated between moving slightly up her warm thigh and leaving his hand where it lay and trying to concentrate on the movie. The movie wasn’t even half as interesting as her pussy. As his cock scraped against his zipper, again, he finally reached the edge of her mini skirt with the little slits up the front that showed even more leg when she sat down. The further he and Eryx made it up her thighs, the more tense her body grew. He kept waiting for her to ask them to stop, or clamp her legs together or shove their hands

away, but all she did was shiver occasionally and keep a tight hold on his bicep where she rested her cheek. How long was this damn movie? Why had he thought it was a good idea to pay $36 to not watch a movie because his sweetheart – his wife – was too irresistible? Wife. He couldn’t fucking believe how much he loved that word. She’d made him so happy revealing that little bit of truth. He wondered if she thought of them as her husbands already? If she’d made that conscious decision when she marked them, or if she was just too taken up with her wolf to deny the action. Not that it mattered. She seemed happy now. He wanted her to be happy. He’d do anything to ensure it. Ah, now he was just under the hem of the skirt. Her legs were slightly parted, but only one of their hands was going to make it much further at a time, and he took a long second while his fingers played on the inside of her thigh to decide if he really wanted to touch her more now or not. Another spike of her scent hit his nose and he realized she’d shifted in her seat slightly, wriggling like she had a tendency to do when she started to get hot, and that was enough for him to want to check for himself just how wet she was. Even knowing that he’d probably want to take her right out of the movie and home immediately. He planned to just run his finger down her panties, just for the sheer fact that he wanted to know that she was as wet as he thought she was, just from being with them and the simple touching. He slid his fingers further up under her skirt and froze. No. Fucking. Way. Her whole body shivered as he grazed her pussy with his pinky finger. Her bare pussy. Not only was she not wearing panties, but she’d shaved and she was so wet her honey was all over his finger and he’d barely even grazed the inside of her pussy lips. Holy fucking shit! Very slowly, he removed his hand from under her skirt and turned in his seat. She sat up straight and looked at him, biting her lip. Eryx whispered, “What’s the matter?” He returned the quiet tone, “Check for yourself.” Callie sucked in a breath at what he’d just said and Eryx looked at him curiously for a moment and then slid his hand up under her skirt. She jerked back against the

seat with a stuttered gasp and Eryx’s hand froze as he whispered, “I think we need to leave.” She shook her head, “No, that’s not necessary.” Eryx pulled his hand away and his fingers glistened. “Oh? You want to sit with a tingly pussy for another,” he checked his watch, “45 minutes, plus the 20 minute drive home?” She squirmed in the seat and licked her lips. She closed her legs like a steel trap and both he and Eryx growled, “Open them.” Her legs slid open painfully slow and his cock throbbed. He could smell how turned on she was, and it called to a deep and feral part of him. Eryx was right. They needed to leave. Like fucking right now. Eryx leaned over and whispered something to her and she made a quiet moaning sound and then nodded. Coats in hand they moved to the exit and out into the frigid night air. He shut her in the passenger seat and looked at Eryx. Eryx raised a brow, “I told her that if we didn’t leave immediately that we’d spend the night not letting her come.” He smiled. “As if either of us would do that to her.” Eryx shrugged. “She doesn’t need to know that. Besides, it worked. I could hardly stand to sit next to her and smell how wet she was. And then to touch her. Shit, we shouldn’t have come here in the first place.” He’d been thinking the same thing. **Eryx** The drive home, which took several minutes less because Ethan pushed the speed limit, was quiet and tense. Her arousal pulsed in the air of the truck like a homing beacon and he’d potentially never been so hard in his life. He wanted to see for himself the bare skin he’d felt on her shaved pussy. Whatever had possessed her to do it, he was damn glad. He jumped out of the back seat and opened her door for her and pulled her gently from the truck. Propelling her into the house by her upper arm, he took off her

coat and ordered her none too gently to the couch. He needed a second to clear his head; otherwise he was going to be too rough. He felt out of control, full of the need to possess her and make her his again and again. He stared at the back of her head as she sat on the couch and Ethan came to stand next to him at the hall closet. “So how do you want to play this?” His voice was low enough that she couldn’t hear. He scrubbed his fingers on his jaw. “Let’s just...let her lead and watch each other’s backs. I feel like I’m walking a razor’s edge and I don’t want to ever hurt or scare her.” Ethan sighed and ran his hands through his hair. “I feel the same way. Let’s go make our kitten purr.” They stalked around opposite sides of the couch, fully intending to take control in a way so that they could play with her but also keep a handle on things, and then they both stopped dead in their tracks. While he had thought that she was simply sitting low on the couch, she was evidently carefully taking off her clothes so they’d not even noticed. The only thing she had on were her black lace topped stockings. Her legs were crossed delicately at the knee, showing the length of her lovely thigh but covering what he was so desperate to see. She stroked her fingertips up her leg and played them across her belly and up to cup her breasts. “I was just thinking,” she purred, thumbing her nipples, “that I’ve never wanted two men more in my life than I do you both, and I’m very, very glad that we’re mates.” “How glad?” His voice cracked and he coughed to clear it. He had a lump in his throat the size of a fist. Her hands moved leisurely down her belly to her legs, and she parted them very slowly and raised her legs up until her heels were planted on the couch. Her body was spread wide for them, bare and slick with her heat. “Very.” They both dropped to their knees on either side of her legs and the heat of her arousal was like being near a furnace. Slowly they both took off their shirts, but stopped

there, a silent testimony to believing that keeping the jeans on would help keep them in check. Her pussy glistened, perfect and pink, and she looked at both of them with a hungry gaze, her teeth grazing her bottom lip. He leaned forward, bracing himself with one arm on the back of the couch and kissed her, sliding his tongue into her mouth as he drifted his hand down her parted thigh to her sweet treasure. There was a place just inside her pussy that if he rubbed his knuckle against it, she’d come unglued in about two seconds, but he carefully avoided that place so he could sink into that tantalizing heat. He felt her legs part further and he adjusted his body to make room for Ethan who dropped his head down to lick and suck on her clit while Eryx fucked her with his finger. They didn’t hold out the pleasure, but they drove her to peak after peak, and when he finally used his finger just right, her body exploded around him and she shrieked in bliss, thrashing on the couch. He couldn’t take anymore, and clearly, neither could Ethan. Ethan jerked her into his arms and stalked out of the front room with her and he followed, shedding his clothes as Ethan dropped her on the bed and took off his own clothes as fast as he could. He didn’t protest when Ethan climbed onto her first, because he knew that it wouldn’t be the only time for either of them tonight. She was a willing kitten, and the way she was digging her nails into Ethan’s back and meeting his pounding thrusts with her own hips told him she was as turned on as they were. More than happy to help her put out that flame, he joined them on the bed and caressed her breasts and tweaked her nipples every so often, stopping to kiss her and nuzzle her neck and whisper things to her. When Ethan finished, she was already kissing him and pulling on him. He loved that she wanted him. He cherished it. He rolled her over onto him and she caught his cock with her fist, aimed it for her pussy and slammed herself down on him so hard that his vision blinked out and he couldn’t catch his breath for a moment. Demanding, she rode him hard, twisting and rocking on him until every move she made caused her pussy to contract around him. When she came, her pussy locked down on him so hard he thought his cock would

break in half, but it was sweet, sweet relief to pump his come into her and kiss the tears of pleasure that dotted her cheeks. As the night drew towards dawn, she made love to both of them again, and by the time he’d peeled himself away from her, she was nearly asleep, murmuring adorable, sleepy things as they carried her into his old bedroom because the bed sheets were soaked with their combined come. Exhausted to the core himself, he took her back this time because he loved burying his face in her neck and inhaling her sweet scent all night. As he drifted off to sleep, he figured that he’d never been happier in all his life. He couldn’t have ordered a better wife for himself if he’d sat down with a catalog and made a checklist. The thought that in her mind they were already married gave hope to chase away the dark thoughts that Ethan’s musings had triggered earlier in the evening. She’d know everything eventually, but it was surely better she be completely invested in them so that when they told her all that had passed in their youth with the females, she didn’t look at them with disgust and walk away. He didn’t think he would survive if she left. In fact, it was the one thing he was certain of. He needed her like his next breath. Whatever he had to do to keep her, he would do it.

Chapter 14 **Callie** Callie had been to a handful of weddings in her life. Maybe more than that. Not only was she Cadence’s maid of honor, but she was a bridesmaid for one of the pack females, and at a clothing donation store in Kentucky was an ugly-as-sin peach colored taffeta and tulle dress that no one in their right mind would be caught dead or alive in. She wondered about Jane and what sort of wedding she was having as she fixed her hair. She’d been under strict orders from the boys that she had to wear panties under the dress. Apparently her commando play had made them a little nuts. Hmm, she hadn’t noticed the incredibly hot sex they’d had the night before or the fact that she’d woken up in Eryx’s bed because Ethan’s had apparently been too wet for them to sleep on. They’d slept the morning and part of the afternoon away, drugged into a deep sleep with great sex and warm bodies pressed together. When they woke up and her muscles were tight and aching, Ethan had given her a backrub and Eryx had fussed over her, worrying that they’d been too rough or they’d gone too many times. She promised she was fine, but they seemed happier doting on her, so she let them both pamper her and enjoyed the thorough rub down and good meal that made up for missing breakfast and lunch. Now, as she twisted her hair up into a chignon and began to secure it with pins, her stomach fluttered at the thought of the things they’d discussed last night between rounds. Marriage. Babies. Their new home. A week ago, she’d been happy to be a nomad and hadn’t wanted to be tied down, but now, bathed in the love of her two mates, she couldn’t picture her life without them in it. She slipped on her only pair of dressy kitten heels and her very last pair of thigh high stockings. The ones from last night hadn’t made it out of the front room. She didn't have much in the way of jewelry, but the up-do and the low cut of the dress called for a

necklace. She dug through her things and found a small diamond heart pendant that had belonged to her mother. Feeling more feminine than any other time in her life, she gave herself one last glance in the bathroom mirror and went out to find her boys. They turned as she walked into the front room, identically gorgeous in solid black suits and black dress shirts. What surprised her was their ties. Ethan wore an olive patterned tie and Eryx wore an amber patterned tie. She gave them an amused look. They both smoothed the ties and gave her what they probably thought were fairly innocent looks, but she wasn’t fooled. They were far too gorgeous to pull off innocent. She kissed them and tugged on the ties. “Is there something significant about these tie colors, boys?” Ethan wiggled his brows at her and said, “I wanted a hazel tie, but this was as close as our dad could find.” She laughed. “You sent your dad out on a tie hunt?” They shrugged and then spent several minutes telling her how gorgeous she was and how proud they were to have her as their mate. She blushed so hard she thought she would pass out. Eryx held her coat out for her and she slipped into it and then he paused at the door out to the garage. “Do we need to check that you’re wearing panties?” The heat in his eyes was enough to make moisture pool between her legs in a heartbeat. “What are you gonna do to me if I’m not wearing them?” She challenged. She bit her lower lip because she knew it drove him nuts. Ethan slid his arms around her and secured her wrists with both hands. He nuzzled under her ear and pulled her hands around behind her back. “I think we’ll have to teach you a lesson, love, if you’re going to be so disobedient to your husbands.” She closed her eyes as he tugged on her ear lobe with his teeth. Her knees got a little wobbly and she heard a tinkling sound and opened her eyes to see Eryx swinging a pair of handcuffs from his finger. “We may need to teach you a lesson or two, anyway.” She breathed out a laugh, “I don’t know whether to be good or bad.”

Ethan kissed her cheek and released her wrists and laughed as Eryx put the handcuffs in his pocket and gave her a narrow look. She put her hands up in surrender. “I promise I’m wearing panties. But no bra, I don’t have a strapless one.” The wedding was being held at a small Methodist church in town. They arrived at 6 and after her heel slipped a fraction with the first step she took, Ethan swung her up into his arms and carried her carefully into the church. “If you wrenched your ankle, I’d feel terrible,” he told her, putting her down in the foyer. Eryx hung up all their coats, and she took both of their hands. “I don’t mind, I like that you take care of me.” Eryx squeezed her hand, “We will always take care of you, angel.” The church was small, one aisle with wooden pews on either side. Stained glass windows ran floor to ceiling and depicted biblical events. Two young men who were apparently cousins of the groom were handing out the programs, and one of them said their father James was down and to the left so that’s where they headed. James and Alek were sitting in the middle of a pew, with Aaron and his sons. The rest of the family was in the row behind them, including ice-cold Jilly. Callie leaned over Ethan and kissed James on the cheek and smiled at Alek, but he simply nodded at her and turned his attention back to the spot on the wall he was glaring at. She wondered at his behavior, if he was angry or if he didn’t like her. She didn’t really have time to think about it, because a steady stream of people came up to say hello, including a few human females that made her she-wolf bristle and her inner bitch come out. She didn’t appreciate anyone giving her mates the please-fuck-me-eyes, especially when she was clearly with them. Clearly. “If you keep squeezing my hand like that I’m going to lose the ability to play with your pussy later, angel,” Eryx whispered in her ear. She relaxed her grip and rolled her eyes. “I don’t think you’re supposed to say pussy in church.” He chuckled and kissed her temple. He took his hand from hers and put his arm around her shoulders and leaned into her ear. “You know we don’t want anyone but you, Callie. But it’s nice to know that you can get as jealous as we do about you.”

She snorted at the compliment, because she just didn’t think that men reacted to her the way that women did to them. Really, they were all sorts of hotness and she was just – her. He tipped her chin up with a frown. “What was that for?” She rolled her eyes again, “You guys are gorgeous and there’s freaking two of you. I’m not, it’s not even close.” Ethan turned slightly and put his arm on the back of the pew in front of them and although his face was neutral and pleasant, his eyes said he was pissed. “I know you didn’t just insult yourself, love. Of the three of us, you’re the gorgeous one. And you’re right – there is no comparison. You are way, way out of our league.” She opened her mouth to say something, but Ethan put his finger on her lips and looked at Eryx. “I told you she would feel like this.” “Yeah.” Eryx growled. “What?” She muffled through his finger. “You spent too long being beaten down in the pack, love, made to feel less than you are. You’re stunning. And if you don’t notice that men watch you like you’re something good to eat, then you’re just not paying attention. And that’s okay with us. Because you’re ours.” She gave him a smirk, but he’d just melted her heart. Eryx whispered, “You are good to eat.” She giggled and blushed and nipped the tip of Ethan’s finger with her teeth, and he returned back to his place next to her and held her hand with both of his on his lap and Eryx put his arm around her shoulders again. She felt well protected and cared for, and completely on display. She was thankful for the wedding to start, because she wanted to get out of the church. They weren’t getting any dirty looks from anyone, but people definitely picked up that she’d come with both men. It was hard to miss their possessiveness with her, and while she didn’t mind it in theory, being out in public like this was a whole different animal. She just didn’t want them to throttle someone who had a big mouth. The wedding lasted thirty minutes, and Jane and Thad made a cute couple. They were both in their early 30s, and she had the plump look of a woman who had

tried vainly to diet but was just always going to be on the plump side. It didn’t detract from her loveliness and she was glowing with happiness. While they exchanged vows, Ethan murmured in her ear, “That’ll be us in a few months, love,” and a thrill of happiness wove through her. As they exited from the church and Eryx carried her this time, she realized that she hadn’t seen the two female lions that they’d said would come, Farrah and Melania. She was glad that they’d skipped it because she sat through the short ceremony feeling like she had a target on her back. When they walked through the doors of the veterans’ hall for the reception, she couldn’t help but see them almost immediately. Her heart sank a little; she had hoped they wouldn't show. Ethan and Eryx followed their family to the three tables that had been reserved for the Fallon family and they pulled out her chair for her and sat on either side. She had a good glimpse of the two females from her seat but couldn’t do anything about it. She was totally starving; otherwise she might have asked to leave. Ethan said, “You know you shouldn’t go anywhere alone, love, right?” “I know.” Eryx ran his thumb along the side of her neck. “We’re sorry it has to be this way, but in a few weeks we’ll be away from all this bullshit. You won’t have to feel like you have to defend yourself or be on your guard anymore.” She smiled and kissed them both. That sounded heavenly. The dinner progressed quickly, five courses that ended with them cutting the cake and doing that kiss thing with the clinking glasses and a few toasts by friends and family. The wedding made her happy and sad. Happy because it was a little preview of things coming in her life, but sad because her mom was gone and that meant she didn’t have anyone left in her family to stand up for her. She didn’t want to dwell on her darker thoughts, so she shoved them away and concentrated on stealing food from their plates when they weren’t looking and getting slightly schnockered from two glasses of white wine. Eryx’s fork clinked on the empty plate where his last bite of cake had been. “Where the hell did my cake go woman?” He growled at her, and she tried to look innocent but it was hard with a mouthful of cake. She swallowed and laughed and then

he patted his jacket and the tiniest tinkling sound could be heard. She let out a huff. “You wouldn’t dare.” “Try me. Cake stealer.” “Hey, where I’m from, if the fork is not moving then it’s all fair game.” She crossed her arms in a feigned pout and Ethan wrapped his arms around her from behind and kissed her neck with a laugh. “She’s got you there.” She let him kiss on her for a minute and then reminded him they were in public so he should behave himself. As he released his grip, Eryx stood up, “I’m going to get some water for our tipsy kitten.” He kissed her forehead and left to go to the bar. “I’m not tipsy.” She protested, even though she felt pleasantly numb and kind of silly. She wasn't one for drinking that much. “I do have to pee, though.” Ethan stood up with her and she looked at him incredulously. “Really? It’s just the bathroom.” He set his jaw and she knew immediately that he would not budge. She put her hands up to stop his lecture about her safety and held his hand as he wove them through the crowd. As far as she could tell, the lion females hadn’t left their table and had done a very good job of orienting their bodies so that they didn’t have to look at her. Which was perfectly fine with her. Ethan waited outside the bathroom for her and they walked back into the main room and saw Eryx was standing at the bar talking to the werewolf doctor, Xavier Grace. She wasn’t particularly thrilled to see him, honestly, but he was a rogue like her and the truth was that she couldn't exactly ignore the core of what she was just because she was not with a pack anymore. She may run across wolves from time to time in her life; she should probably learn how to fake her way through being nice. Eryx slid his hand into hers, mirroring that Ethan had her other one, and Ethan said, “Doc, you remember Callie.” “Of course,” he said, straightening and smiling. “How are you?” “Very well, thank you.” Geez, she sounded like a robot. “I didn’t know that you were still in town. Are you having trouble replacing your car?”

She felt both boys stiffen slightly and was debating telling him it wasn’t any of his concern or being honest, when his eyes darted behind her and something ice cold slid down her left shoulder and dripped into her cleavage. She jerked and let go of both hands, gasping at the icy temperature of the liquid which was an odd clear blue. Eryx snarled as they turned to see Melania’s blonde ponytail bobbing through the crowd. “You stay here; I’ll go grab her and our family.” Eryx said. “What the hell is that stuff?” Ethan’s voice was a low growl as he scanned the crowd behind them and grabbed napkins from the bar for her. “I don’t know. It smells familiar,” She said as she lifted her hand up and took a small sniff of the liquid. And then she knew exactly what it was. “Oh no.” She backed away from the doctor, but it was already too late. His eyes were amber and his fangs had elongated. Ethan looked at her, not aware of the doctor’s movements towards her, and said, “What’s wrong, sweetheart?” “It’s wolf pheromones.” She moved back another step, and Ethan pulled on her arm. “What are you talking about? Are you hurt or in pain? Let’s go to the bathroom and wipe it off.” She pointed to the doctor, “Ethan, it’s too late. You have to get me out here. Right now!” At that moment, the doctor growled and it wasn’t a friendly sound. Ethan spun and shoved her behind his back, baring his fangs and snarling a warning. “Xavier, it’s not real,” she said, trying to get through to the man behind the beast, “you’re better than this, you don’t want to attack me.” He stalked forward, the picture of every male wolf she’d ever seen react to an unmated female in heat, “Mine.” He growled at Ethan and lunged, and it was only Ethan’s faster reflexes and clear head that kept both of them safe as he crashed past them and over the bar. Ethan and Eryx’s family was there immediately, trying to contain the damage but it was

too late. Xavier shot to his feet on top of the bar and growled so loudly that it stopped the party dead. “Ethan please, get me out of here!” She begged. Her body temperature spiked with her adrenaline and it was going to make the pheromones even stronger for him. He’d go nuts. “Give me the female!” Xavier roared as his hands curled and claws broke free from his fingertips. A tangle of nerves knotted in her stomach. “Dad?” Ethan backed them away from the bar, his body protectively in front of hers. “I’ll handle it. Your uncle has Melania restrained and Eryx is waiting outside in the car. Go!” Ethan turned swiftly and jerked her into his arms and ran outside. He sat down in the passenger seat with her in his lap and Eryx slammed his foot on the gas and raced towards the house. They were furious but also confused. They didn’t know how wolves reacted to scent, because for the female lions, there wasn’t a mating heat that called to a male, no extra scent to show she was capable of having a baby. Callie was shivering from having no coat and her adrenaline was starting to leave her so the initial fear that had gotten shoved aside was roaring to the surface. “Callie, what the hell is that stuff?” Eryx demanded. His knuckles were white with tension on the steering wheel. “It's female pheromones. It made me smell like an unmated female to him, one going into heat.” “But you’re not an unmated female. We’re your mates.” Ethan protested. “I know that, but it’s not what I smelled like to him.” She suddenly felt like she was comforting them, which was crazy because she was the one that was almost attacked. “Look, I don’t know how she got hold of them. They have no real use except to lure a male. Some older females use them to excite males for sex, and years ago when it was legal to hunt werewolves, hunters used them to set traps.

“So, every time a wolf goes into heat if she’s unmated, then what happens?” Eryx sounded even more confused. “All females that are unmated take birth control once they reach of-age. If they don’t want to take it all the time, then there’s an herb that we can take that masks that scent.” “You don’t smell any different to us with that stuff on you.” Ethan said. She shrugged. “You’re not a wolf.” “If you would go into heat naturally, would you smell like that to another wolf?” “We’re mated, so no. My body has already changed from the marking. My heat scent will just be for you, if you can smell it, that is.” Ethan held her tightly, the heater cranked high, but she was still cold from the inside out. If they hadn’t been there, Xavier would have overpowered her in a heartbeat. There’s nothing quite as ferocious as a male around an unmated female in heat. She remembered once from her early teen years, an older female hadn’t taken the herb and had been real flighty about the birth control, and if she hadn’t been able to get inside her home and lock herself safely in her room, she would have been attacked by half the males in the school. As she recalled, the female never made that mistake again. And no young female that saw what happened ever took the whole going-intoheat-thing casually again. Inside the house, she made a move to go back to the bedroom and Eryx grabbed her arm, “Wait. Are you okay?” “I just want to take a shower, okay? Ethan, you need to burn your shirt. That scent won’t ever come out of it. And I’m sorry that the dress is toast.” She was trying not to turn into a ball of weeping goo on the kitchen floor. She wanted to be strong for them, to not let them know that she’d been shaken to the core by the lion females’ callous disregard for her. Eryx let go of her and she practically ran back to the bedroom, stripping the dress off as she went. She had no doubt that Melania knew what she was doing when she dumped that liquid on her. That she thought nothing of her being raped? She couldn’t wrap her head around it. She’d had people hate her, she’d had women want to beat her until she cried for mercy, but she’d never had

someone want to see her get raped. The depths of their cruelty were never more evident. She wasn't sure how long she was in the shower, but Eryx opened the curtain and made an unhappy sound. “Angel?” She looked up at him from the floor of the tub, where she was mindlessly rubbing a cloth across her chest. She blinked up at him. “I don’t think it’s gone yet.” He slammed his palm on the faucet and turned off the water, taking the cloth from her hand and making another unhappy sound. As he wrapped her in a towel and lifted her from the tub, she got a glimpse of her chest and the angry red marks that she’d given to herself as she tried to get the pheromones from her skin. Not that it really mattered; they were already in her system and would be there for a few days at least, but she couldn’t stop herself from scrubbing where the liquid had touched. With a swell of warring emotions, she did the only thing she could do to keep her head above water: she sank her hands into his hair and turned his head and kissed him. He stopped walking from the bathroom and kissed her back, squeezing his arms around her. He pulled away with a throaty groan, “We need to talk, angel.” She shook her head and wriggled in his arms, “No talking. Sex. Hot, screaming sex.” She dug her teeth into his ear lobe and pulled and he shivered from his head to his feet and moved into the bedroom. Ethan was waiting to talk, but they weren’t talking anymore. She didn’t want to talk. She didn’t want to think about what almost happened, what would have happened if they hadn’t been so concerned about her safety and let her wander alone. She didn’t want to do anything, but feel their hands on her, their mouths, and their bodies sinking deep enough inside to erase away what almost happened from the whole night and her conscious mind.

Chapter 15 **Ethan** Neither he nor Eryx slept well that night. Callie was asleep between them, worn out from a mixture of making love to both of them when they got home from the wedding and the stress of the evening. He’d known in the back of his mind that she was so needy for them because she’d been freaked out by the doc’s behavior and was trying to distract herself. If that was how wolves looked when they had plans for a female, it was no wonder she’d been ready to leave the pack. It just wasn’t fair to her that she had to be subjected to this harassment, and it pained him to know he couldn’t keep her really safe. He would have bet his eye teeth that they wouldn’t try anything in public, around the humans, but he’d been seriously wrong. He just didn’t fucking know what to do about it. He didn’t want to keep her prisoner in the house, but every time they left, something seemed to happen. He had finally dozed off well after two a.m. when a terror-filled scream split the quiet in the house and Callie was thrashing between them, trying to get off the bed. They stilled her as best they could without hurting her, both of them talking to her and trying to keep her from hurting herself. Her eyes blinked open and she stared at them in the light from the nightstand he’d clicked on, and then she burst into tears. He positively hated to see her cry; it made him feel like such a failure. While she sobbed into his chest, he and Eryx shared a look that was one of grim determination to see that she didn’t have any more nightmares. Eventually she settled down, but she never really went back to sleep again. Whatever had seeped into her subconscious had terrified her. “We should cancel tonight,” he said as he scooped scrambled eggs into a bowl. Callie was inhaling the steam from a cup of coffee, her face drawn and weary.

She set the cup down hard. She not only looked exhausted, she had gotten out of bed angry but wouldn’t talk about it. “No. We can’t cancel. I want to see the kids and your family, and we only have three weeks before we’re going to be leaving.” He and Eryx exchanged looks and she groused, “I really hate when you guys do that twin thing, you know.” He put the bowl down on the table and tweaked a lock of her hair. “Sorry, love, we’ve been doing that for a long time. Fine, we won’t cancel tonight but I do expect you to take a nap today at some point.” She gave him a slight glare and then smirked, “Jawohl, mein Kommandant.” He and Eryx both laughed and he joined them at the table. They discussed the move and getting the house ready. They couldn’t take everything with them, because they were going to have to drive both vehicles as it was, and getting a rental truck meant that she’d have to drive, too, and neither of them wanted her to right now. Not for such a long trip. They wouldn’t coddle her forever about the driving, but she hadn’t made a mention about getting another car since her meltdown in the dealership on Monday and they weren’t keen on a repeat. They were planning to come back later in the spring with a moving truck and get the rest of their things. “Well, I just won’t unpack my stuff then.” She shrugged, taking a bite out of a piece of toast. “I need to do laundry, though.” “I’ll do your laundry while you rest.” He offered. She made a face, “I can do laundry, I’m not helpless.” Puzzled, he said, “I didn’t say you were helpless. I just, I want to take care of you.” She leaned back in her chair and there was something distinctly unfriendly in the action. “Right, because it’s in your nature.” She said it like it was a bad thing and he didn’t understand that. “Not because it’s my nature, Callie, but because I love you. Why wouldn’t I want to?” The silence stretched for a few minutes and he shared another look with Eryx. Was she retreating again? This was what they’d both feared, shared last night when

they couldn’t sleep. That she would decide it wasn’t worth it. That they weren’t worth it. If she suddenly took off without them, they’d both be lost. She stood up. “I guess I’m just tired.” Eryx grabbed her wrist, “Wait, you didn’t eat very much. Are you not feeling well? Did those pheromones bother you more than you said?” “They weren’t meant for me. They didn’t affect me, just the way I smelled to him. It was artificial. I’m sure he feels badly about it, but,” she pulled her wrist away from Eryx’s grasp, “it’s just a little too much like what I was used to. If the males scented an unmated female in heat but couldn’t get to her, they could get, out of sorts like that and unless you were fast enough to get away, they would just overpower you.” They both stood up. “You were raped by wolves claiming they couldn’t control it?” Eryx nearly shouted. She paled and took a step back. She shook her head and said, “No, I wasn’t. I...would have been once, but Cadence saved me.” She took in a shaky, slow breath and then closed the distance to them quickly and grabbed them both and they held her between them. She seemed to be fighting not to cry, and they soothed her as best they could when they didn’t understand quite what she was dealing with. Her voice was small and low when she finally said, “I just, I love you both but I hate it here. I hate being afraid, I hate that I can’t do anything about it but sit around and wait for them to do something else to try to get to me. If you hadn’t been there, he could have...I mean I know that look he had in his eyes. He thought I was in my heat and males can’t resist that kind of thing. How could Melania think it was okay to let me be raped? To do that to him, too? It would ruin him.” She shivered and they hugged her tighter. He marveled at her concern for the wolf that had the potential to hurt her. “We wouldn’t let anyone take you from us, Callie. If we’d needed to rip his arms off to get to you, we would have in a heartbeat,” he promised. “Less than three weeks and we’ll be gone, angel.” Eryx murmured gently in her ear. “We can keep you safe until then. We’re not going to take anything for granted when it comes to your safety.”

She relaxed further and Ethan straightened slightly after kissing her ear, “I’ll clean up the kitchen and get to the laundry. Maybe you should lay down with her?” Eryx didn’t ask if she wanted him to, he simply swung her up in his arms and carried her to the couch. He settled on his side against the back cushions and cradled her in front of him, clicking the TV on and flipping for something to watch. Ethan smiled at the scene, knowing that Eryx had often wished to have a woman to cuddle with on the hooker-red couch. His dad called him an hour later, when he was separating all their clothes in the basement laundry room. “The doc wanted to stop by the house and apologize, son, but I told him that was probably a bad idea.” He grunted, “Probably. Callie said the pheromones will be in her system for a few days anyway and I’m not sure what Eryx would do if he saw him right now. Callie had nightmares last night because of it; she definitely doesn’t want to see him again even though she said it wasn’t his fault. I know it wasn’t, too, but it’s hard not to, you know, want to rip his throat out.” “I understand. You and Eryx were not the only ones that wanted to hurt him because of what happened. There was a doctor at the reception that gave him a sedative to calm him down, but we had a hard time keeping him from going after her without physically hurting him.” His dad sighed deeply. “I’m going to need her to make an official statement if she wants to press charges against Melania. Xavier is willing to add to her statement about what the pheromones did to his mind.” “She’s in no position to rehash last night, Dad.” Dropping the lid of the washer with a clang, he cranked the dial and then walked out into the main room. “How often have we told victims that the best thing they can do is make an official report as soon as possible? If you guys hadn’t carted her off so fast last night she could have done it then. I know why you did, you had to get her away from him, but that doesn’t mean that she can skate on this. I can only hold Melania until tomorrow night without filing against her.” “I know, it’s just I’ve never been on this side of it before. She just told us that what frightened her about the doc was that it’s how males will act when they believe a female is in heat, and that they’ll just overpower the females. Rape them.”

His dad swallowed audibly. “Was she ever attacked like that?” “Her friend stopped it. The more I learn about the pack life she was part of, the happier I am that she left. I can’t imagine her being forced to live a life dictated to her by ancient traditions and leaders that call all the shots.” “Well, she’s not part of it any longer. She’s going to have what she wants with you. Being the only wolf in her family and loved for who she is and not forced to hold her place in the pack.” He could thank his lucky stars for that. “I’ll talk to her about the statement. I don’t want to ruin her mood tonight, but maybe it would be better for her to just get it over with.” He hung up with his father and went upstairs to plan the food for the get together. It hadn’t escaped his memory that she said her favorite food was Italian, so since he’d failed to ask her if she’d liked his lasagna, he made baked ziti instead, being as quiet as he could be in the kitchen. By the time Eryx extracted himself from her sleeping form on the couch and joined him in the kitchen, he’d made good headway into preparing for their family to come over. They quietly discussed her statement and what to do about Melania. In the end, it was up to Callie. They wanted justice for her, but if they went after Melania and killed her, there were so many humans in the town that there was no way they’d escape it unharmed. They just wouldn’t understand and would demand what they saw as justice for her death. While Callie had told them about the pack justice being handed down by her former alpha where they’d hunted and slaughtered wolves from a rival pack that had kidnapped her friend, it had only worked because the town was mostly wolf and it had been well hidden. The females would never allow them to do that unscathed; they’d make sure that they suffered publicly for protecting their mate. Eryx made a gesture with his knife as he sliced apart a rotisserie chicken. “If she makes a statement, they’ll hold Melania for a while; maybe even the three weeks until we’re gone and she could call and drop the charges. That way we wouldn’t have to bring her back here to testify.” “That would only work if there was no bail. No matter how high the bail is the females will pool their resources to get her out. And then, well, she’ll be even more

pissed. And you know as well as I do that the human judge and D.A. aren’t going to understand what the big deal was about pouring some liquid on her when it didn’t hurt her physically.” He handed over the prepared pizza crust so Eryx could top it with the shredded meat, making a bbq chicken pizza. “If she makes no statement?” He asked, washing his hands at the sink with a sigh. “I don’t know,” Ethan ran his hands through his hair after he popped the pizza into the oven and tried to reason both sides out. “If only there were a lion council or something, where we could take her to be held accountable for her actions. There’s never been any consequences to their actions, any of them. And it’s partly our fault as males, because we’ve always allowed them to get away with that behavior. They have all the power for our kind because they hold the ability to carry children.” Eryx nodded. “You know what I kinda hate?” “What’s that?” “Leaving dad behind. I wish he’d come with us. I think he wants to, I know for sure he’s jealous of what we’ve managed to fall into, but with Alek acting the way he is and the rest of the family here, I don’t suppose it will happen.” “Yeah. Me, too.” They worked for another hour in silence before Callie woke up. They walked around the couch as she made her cute little waking-up noises when she stretched and because she was tangled up in the blanket Eryx had wrapped her in, she rolled off the couch with a squeak of alarm and landed hard on her butt. She burst out laughing, kicking at the blankets until her legs were free. At least her mood had improved with some rest. They helped her up, and he offered to massage her butt to make up for it. She smiled playfully and said that she was fairly sure he couldn’t just keep his hands on her butt and not touch anything else in that area, and he was pretty sure that was true, also. She talked to their aunt Lisa on the phone for a little while, helped them in the kitchen, supervised him doing the laundry, and then followed him into the shower when he went to clean up.

Her soapy hands were heavenly hot on his skin. “I’d rather you not use your body wash, love,” he sighed, closing his eyes as she rubbed vanilla scented lather all over him. “But we’ll match.” She laughed. He wouldn’t argue that point. As if he would deny her anyway. She could use baby powder scented body wash and he’d wear the scent happily. They made love in the shower, slick with soap and water, and when they rinsed and dried off, she sat on the bed and let him brush her hair. It soothed her frayed nerves as much as his. When Eryx found them sometime later curled up on the bed under a blanket and talking, she sat up and said, “I’ll make a statement but I don’t think it’s wise to press charges. All it will do is fuel the fire that’s already blazing in their minds about me.” Eryx sat down on the edge of the bed. “We’ll support you either way, angel.” “Do you want me to press charges?” Ethan sat up and slid his hand up and down her spine. “We want you to do what you feel comfortable doing. Our hands are tied to an extent because of her public job and us being former police officers plus all the humans that witnessed the event. If she suddenly went missing, well,” he shrugged because he didn’t want to finish the sentence and make her feel guilty. “Then it’s for the best. Maybe we could put a GPS chip on her, huh? Know where she is all the time?” She smiled, but it was small and forced. Damn females. **Eryx** Their dad was the first to arrive that night, and after kissing her cheek, he took Callie into the kitchen and took her statement. They stood behind her, each with a hand on her shoulder, but kept their mouths closed. It was her statement to give not theirs to influence. She told the events with an unemotional voice, and he worried a little over her detachment to the whole thing, but he could tell that she was trying to get past it and for her, that meant shoving the fear aside and moving on. He hoped she would be able to

sleep well tonight. He didn’t like her being afraid in her sleep; when their arms were around her it should be a safe haven for her. “She’s been let go from the police department,” their father said as he flipped the notebook shut and laid the pen down on top of it. Eryx had expected some kind of reprimand for her so he wasn’t surprised. Callie put her head in her hands, “She’s going to kill me.” He and Ethan both bristled and growled. Eryx laid his palm on the table and leaned over her, tipping her face up until she was forced to look into his eyes. “She will not get close enough to you to hurt you again, baby, we swear.” Their dad patted her hand. “Honey, she had to be disciplined and it was the only thing I could really do. She assaulted you. She’s bound by a code of ethics at the department and being that she was arrested I had no choice in the matter. And even if I had a choice, I would have done it anyway. She’s practically ruined the doc’s reputation. Already he’s had patients cancel on him. He’ll probably have to leave town and start somewhere fresh. But more than that is that she used the equivalent of a drug to try to hurt you in a public place and completely freaked out the humans.” Eryx couldn’t care less about the doc’s problems or the humans’ worries. He didn’t understand this whole mating heat scent thing, but the doc tried to take their wife from them and rape her. If Ethan hadn’t stayed with Callie, there’s no telling the damage he could have done to her before someone helped her. “She’ll be released Monday evening. With this statement, we’ll get a restraining order against her, and that’s something at least.” He snorted inwardly. It wasn’t anything to a willful female like her, but it didn’t matter. He and Ethan had already agreed to spend the next few weeks under selfimposed house arrest with their kitten, and the only thing they were planning to do was to go out separately in the next few days and buy rings for her. They wanted no doubt in anyone’s mind that she belonged to them. Because she did. The tension in the kitchen rose by slow degrees and he could feel that she was dancing on the edge of breaking down again, and he hated that he’d been unable to keep last night from happening.

The front door opened and she jumped up from the chair. “Brian!” She laughed and met their cousin halfway between the front door and kitchen in a big hug. She spun him in a circle and kissed his tawny head. Putting him down, she knelt in front of him and pushed his shirt sleeve up and inspected his arm where he’d been injured. “How’s my sweet patient?” Brian beamed and showed the gaping hole in his mouth where two teeth had recently fallen out. “I’m all healed.” “Your teeth!” She held his little face in her hands and his insides went mushy at the sight. She was such a wonderful woman. “How much money did the tooth fairy bring you?” “You mean the lion fairy?” He quirked his head at her and she laughed, and it was the laugh he loved most. All the tension from giving her statement seemed to slide off her shoulders and he was thrilled they’d not canceled their plans for tonight. “You’re right; I mean the tooth-lion-fairy.” “Two dollars. One for each toof.” They all laughed at his lisp and he talked animatedly to her about losing his teeth when the rest of their family came in, and while she greeted their uncles warmly, she was most interested in the kids and called them each by name and hugged and kissed them. Even Henry, as old as he was, reveled in her affection and being lumped in with the attention for cubs half his age. While she sat on the floor in the family room and talked to the cubs, their uncles joined them in the kitchen. “When’s your move date?” “February 4.” He answered, dragging his gaze from her. It was mesmerizing to watch her interact with the cubs. He doubted that even human mothers compared to the affection she was showing those cubs, and they drank it up like water to their parched hearts. A pang of sadness slid through him. They were taking her from the cubs. Even though it was necessary, the cubs would be devastated. To have a taste of a mother’s love and have it pulled away abruptly would hurt them all. And she was sensitive enough herself that she’d certainly feel bad for leaving. He sighed. No matter what they did, she suffered some. All he could hope for was that they could be enough

for her in their new home. That she’d not regret anything they’d done to protect and love her. They talked about moving and packing, the drive to their uncle’s farm, and what to do about the house. Their family wanted to help them pack and also provide extra eyes during the day. No one believed that Melania or any of the other females would stand down. “Will she need to shift on the full moon and hunt or anything?” Grant interrupted his dark thoughts. He and Ethan looked at each other and then he said, “I’m not sure she can help herself.” Ethan said, “We’ll just go with her. I’d like to see her shift, anyway.” The full moon was Friday and he was suddenly very excited to see what the process of shifting from her beautiful human self to her lovely wolf self would look like. She was a gorgeous wolf. Gray, tan and snow white and her eyes were so enchanting. And he’d loved hunting with her on Saturday, even though he’d been completely freaked out that she’d gone out alone. Graceful, she was a true predator and he’d never thought that blood was all that erotic, but seeing her muzzle colored red from the elk, he’d changed his mind quickly. As the fight started, he couldn’t curb his jealousy flaring as she spent nearly the entire time with the cubs. While she talked to all of them, she sat with the cubs on the floor and ate, sharing quiet, private jokes and showering them with affection and they devoured it. The pangs of longing for his own childhood, not to mention that she was his mate and not sitting with him, ate at him while he sat in stony silence and tried to watch the UFC fight they’d paid fifty bucks on pay-per-view for. Normally, he’d be rooting for one of his favorites, they’d be betting on who’d win and arguing about the fighters and moves they used. Pretty quickly he realized he wasn’t the only one that was paying close attention to Callie and the cubs; every man there was watching her with a mixture of emotions. Longing, hope, happiness, and jealousy.

He felt Ethan look at him, and he turned his gaze away from the television that he’d been forcing himself to watch in the first place. “Someday that will be our cubs she’s being so affectionate with.” He half-smiled at the notion, an image of her in his mind, belly stretched with his cub. It curbed the jealousy for him in some ways. He’d never figured he would be jealous of his own cousins over the casual attention of his mate, but it was so foreign to him that he was having a hard time stopping his base reactions. He knew they were no threat to them, but he wanted her with him. Wedged between him and his brother, her laughter in his ears, her eyes dancing at him. She looked up suddenly and searched him with her pretty eyes and then she stood fluidly and came to the couch to sit between them. They both relaxed at the contact as she wriggled herself between them until she was captured in the space they’d left for her with every inch of her sides pressed to them. With a contented sigh, she hooked her arms around both of theirs and rested her head on his shoulder. Now he could relax. She’d sensed their unease, or felt something of their emotions, and she’d come to comfort them. He kissed the top of her head, inhaling the sweet vanilla scent from her shower earlier and said quietly, “I love you, angel.” She tipped her head up to look at him and after a quiet moment said, “I love you, too.”

Chapter 16 **Callie** The looming full moon was screwing with her libido something fierce. Not that it was hard to get worked up with the boys. Just looking at them made her get all hot and melty, and since she’d declared that they weren’t wearing underwear in the house anymore, well, that just meant that anytime they’d had a mind to touch each other, there was one less thing to get around. Since her initial shaving, they’d requested she keep it up and she liked it. The sensation of being shaved and the things they did to her made everything seem more intense. On Monday night, she’d asked for them to give her one night each alone with them, so they could get to know each other individually as well as when they were together as a group. They’d asked her to choose for the first night, and she picked Ethan, for the sole reason that she could see he needed it more. He was definitely the more tenderhearted of the two of them, more emotional, but that didn’t mean that Eryx was any less loving. She and Ethan went to bed after dinner and didn’t come out until lunch, and it was a wonderful night. They played with each other leisurely, touching and tasting and exploring, and she found out he was good for four times before he cried uncle at being unable to come another time, but that didn’t stop him from giving her a final orgasm as the sun crept over the horizon and then he cuddled her against him and they both drifted off to sleep. Eryx was cool that afternoon, trying to hide his jealousy with the blank face and neutral voice she’d already come to know intimately. Ethan fixed lunch for them and then left to run errands. There was a suspicious look exchanged between them but she didn’t bust their balls over it. They’d spent 26 years sharing private looks and jokes as twins, she couldn’t expect them to change that overnight, and she didn't want them to.

She found the whole thing with the cubs on Sunday night odd. She’d been sitting with the kids and talking, enjoying their company in the short time they had to get to know each other before they left. And then she’d gotten a strange feeling and looked up to see that both Ethan and Eryx weren’t happy. They wore identical frowns, their brows furrowed and arms crossed over their chests. She couldn’t believe they were jealous of the cubs. They were just children, after all. And it had occurred to her very quickly that it wasn’t necessarily her affection at the moment that bothered them, but a combination of the lack of their own mother’s affection when they were cubs, and their feelings about her. Since they were new to a relationship, new to the feelings that grew with each day, they didn’t entirely know what to do with themselves. She could see the possessive jealousy that streaked their faces, the longing for her to shower them with affection, and their desire not to share her with anyone outside of their new family. They wanted her to love them and their future children. Period. And he was jealous now, even though he tried to hide it. She stood up from the kitchen table and reached around Eryx to turn off the water at the sink as he filled it to wash the dishes. Taking his hand, she drew him to the couch and pointed to it. He sat dutifully, a little sullenly even, and she said, “Lie down.” “Why?” “This is the portion of our program where you stay quiet, my love.” She chided him, folding her arms. He smirked but laid back on the couch, stretching out but remaining tense. She dropped to her knees and leaned over, brushing her lips across his. He reached for her but she pushed his arms away. “I’m a little sore. If we do anything right now, then I’m going to be really sore and I’d rather spend the night making love to you than have a quickie right now. Let me love you, Eryx. Just you.” He shook his head, “I don’t want to take pleasure without you.” “But this does give me pleasure,” She promised, pulling his shirt up from the confines of his jeans. “You have such an incredible body and you’re mine. Please.” She bit her lower lip just for his benefit and he growled low in his throat and then groaned and gave up. “Are you still abiding by my no underwear rule, Eryx?” She

questioned as she shoved his shirt up slowly to reveal the stomach and chest that made her brain stall out. “What happens if I’m not?” Funny, hadn’t she just said that on Saturday? “Twenty lashes.” She darted her tongue across one ridge of his stomach, flicking the inside of his belly button. “Ah, sweet, your tongue is a deadly weapon.” She explored his chest with her fingers and tongue from her perch on the floor, digging her teeth into his nipples until he hissed at the sensations and then kissing away the slight pain that she’d left behind. When her hand worked inside his jeans, she found him not only rock hard, but also without underwear and as she pulled his jeans down his hips and his cock slid into view, she murmured, “Um, good boy. Still, just for good measure, I’m going to punish you anyway.” His voice was raw when he groaned, “Punish?” She flipped her hair to the side so he could watch her and she kissed the hot head of his cock, “Punish with pleasure.” Eryx had two buttons when it came to oral sex that made him come in a heartbeat. One was a hard twist to a nipple and the other, she’d discovered accidentally over the weekend, was a firm hand on his balls. She decided to do both to see what happened this time. She toyed with him first, licking and nibbling his thick length and watching him close his eyes in ecstasy. Then she cupped and squeezed his balls with one hand and twisted his nipple with the fingers of her other hand while sucking him hard. He roared and arched off the couch, coming nearly instantly, his come shooting straight down her throat and nearly blowing the back of her head off with the force of it. She swallowed every last drop, let him slide out of her mouth slowly, and kissed the velvet soft top of him. She leaned over the couch and braced herself on either side of him. His eyes opened, glazed over and out of focus, and she grinned. “I love you, my big sweet cat. I love giving you pleasure, and I will love the hell out of you returning the favor tonight when it’s just us.” “If I can recover by then.” He chuckled roughly.

“I have plenty of confidence in your ability to recover quickly, Eryx. I think I heard Ethan come in, so you might want to cover up your, you know.” She clicked her tongue at him, kissed him once and straightened. Again she had that feeling of being a little extra horny, but she was also sore. She didn’t think there was a thing as too much sex, but she did think there was a thing as too much friction, and four times with Ethan plus how much he loved to go down on her meant she was not ready for play herself. It had been a sweet gift to do that for Eryx and ease some of his unhappiness. It was important, in her mind at any rate, that they be able to be together at times, separately, not only simply as a threesome. Although she found it completely erotic to be with both of them, it had been wonderful to be with Ethan alone and she knew it would be the same with Eryx. That night, she asked Eryx about his fantasies, and he said he’d always wanted to watch himself. However he wasn’t about to use a camera to record anything so intimate. She had a better idea and one that wouldn’t be kept on record, and they made love in the bathroom, her leaning over the counter in front of the large mirror, and him behind her. They locked eyes the first stroke inside her, and it was one of the most intense experiences she’d ever had. Watching his muscles bunch and contract as he worked in and out of her, and the way her body moved in response to his assault was just about the most erotic thing she’d ever seen. After lunch on Wednesday, a sleep deprived Eryx left to run errands, and when he asked if she wanted anything while he was out, she said she was hungry for steak, and he promised to pick up some for dinner. She and Ethan began to pack, and when Eryx returned several hours later, he joined in, and the next few days were spent packing and enjoying each other’s company. Their family came over at various times during the day to help them pack. On Thursday, she was thrilled to hear from her insurance company that they were sending her a check for the replacement value of the car, which although only $2,500, was a nice addition to her savings. It wasn’t the first time she was aware that the boys weren’t allowing her to pay for anything, and although they didn’t want her to buy a car right now, at least she had the finances to do it. And once they were settled in their new home, she could find a job.

She spoke to her future Aunt Lisa nearly every day that week, discussing the town and their farm and home. At 35, she was 9 years younger than Rhett and they’d been married for five years. She was a school teacher before she married him, and she quit to help him with the farm. Along with livestock, they also had cornfields and plenty of land. She seemed eager to meet her; Callie thought she was lonely. As her first full moon as a rogue drew close, she felt a pang of missing her pack, but although she had walked away from the only home she’d ever known, she was getting so much more in return. More love and acceptance than she could have ever hoped for. She had a gift in the form of two very affectionate mountain lions, and she couldn’t have been happier in her wildest dreams.

Chapter 17 **Ethan** Stretching the kink in his back, Ethan straightened and dropped the roll of packing tape on the box that marked the last of the basement things they were taking with them. They had his truck and Eryx’s mustang, and although Callie only had two suitcases and a box of things, they were being careful with what they took. Their family would ship things as they needed, and they planned to come visit of course, but they had spent a good bit of time deciding what to take and what to leave behind. He knew that Eryx really wanted to take that damn couch with him. And Callie knew it, too. When he went to run errands on Tuesday morning, he came into the house and found she had him stretched out on it while she went down on him. While he appreciated the attention she’d given him alone on Monday night, Tuesday night when she was with Eryx was just about the hardest night he’d ever gone through. It was bad enough that he couldn’t fall asleep without her in his arms, but to hear her cries of pleasure and the creaking of the bed and know it wasn’t from him had been a torture all its own. He heard a noise at the bottom of the stairs and turned with a small growl of happiness. Callie was wearing his robe and nothing else. It hung off her shoulders, gathered at the elbows, and splayed wide open like a cloak behind her. She smelled incredible. Then again, she always smelled good, but when she was turned on, it was the most intense fragrance and it called to them both like a beacon. “It’s the full moon tonight, my love.” Her voice was doing that sultry growl that he’d realized quickly meant she was not going to take no for an answer. Not for any reason. Not that he’d ever turn her down. He pulled off his shirt and dropped it as she moved with liquid grace towards him, as if she had bones where she shouldn’t have them. She leaned her back against the

wall and slid her hands down the front of her body. Hmmm. His body responded immediately to the sight. Dropping his pants, he’d taken her rule of no underwear in the house until they moved seriously, and found it a relief to not have to fool with them on either of them. Of course he found it wildly nice that she’d spent the last couple of days almost entirely naked, except for when their family came over. He drew her body up his and she hooked her legs around the small of his back and dug her nails into his shoulders. “Hard, baby, please.” She moaned, dropping her head back to the wall. That was her signal to say she didn’t need any foreplay, either because she was still rolling from orgasms with Eryx or because she was just that turned on. She sank down on him, pulling with her legs and driving herself down until she was seated fully and then her head lifted and he caught a bit of amber flickering in her eyes, and knew that she was dealing with full moon cravings. He was more than happy to oblige. “Fuck you’re hot, baby,” he growled before starting a hard rhythm. He angled slightly, rolling his hips until he heard her breath catch in the middle of her panting moans and knew he’s found her sweet spot, and that was it. She wanted hard, and he gave it to her, driving himself up into her hot flesh and forgetting everything else around them. She gave herself over to his onslaught, and buried her face in his neck. He expected the bite, he had a feeling she couldn’t really help herself, and it just did it for him. He loved that she marked him so that anyone that saw the bites and scratches would know he was well loved. She came the first time and her ragged moan cut through the quiet in the basement and he pushed himself to give her everything she needed. His fingers cut into her shoulders as he held back at least until she came once more, ignoring the pleasure building inside his own body until he’d taken care of her. A wave of heavy scent drifted between them, the combination of her arousal and his mixing together, and it triggered something in him, a primal need to mark her. He turned his head into her neck and bit down and she screamed as she came hard. Her

climax drew out his, and it seemed like forever that his body came inside hers, a cycle of pleasure that made him shudder from head to foot and his knees go weak. Groaning, he managed to lower them both to the floor without dropping her, and he rolled to his back and she settled on his chest, draped over him like a blanket, the robe covering both of them. Within minutes she was asleep. He wasn’t as comfortable as he could have been if he’d been in bed with her, but he’d lay on broken glass to see to her pleasure, that was for sure. With some gentle maneuvering, he kicked his legs free of his jeans and rolled to his knees with her in his arms and took her upstairs. Eryx was crashed out on the couch so he carried her into the bedroom and laid her down, covering her and giving her cheek a caress. He didn't bother to cover up. He and Eryx had been eye-fulling each other ever since they’d made love to her the first time and he didn’t have a shred of modesty left in his body. He tapped his brother on the arm as he sat down with a groan on the coffee table. Eryx gave him a one-eyed stare and smiled as it slid shut, “She take you to town, too?” “Yeah.” He yawned and ran his hand through his hair. “I marked her. At the end. I felt like I had to.” Eryx’s eyes popped open. “No shit? I did, too. I don’t think I could have stopped if I’d had any blood in my brain to think, it was like she smelled better than normal. You think it’s because of the full moon for her?” “Don’t know. Something’s going on with us because of her, though, don’t you think? It’s like yesterday when you beat up Alek because he saw her naked.” Eryx grimaced at the memory. They’d all been surprised and it had been totally innocent on Alek’s part. He was bringing in packing material from the garage and Callie didn’t know that anyone was in the house except for them, and she hadn’t bothered to dress. She’d grabbed the blanket from the back of the couch and wrapped up, but Eryx had come out at just the wrong time and lit into Alek as if he’d planned to hurt her. Poor guy was still nursing a pretty serious busted lip and black eye.

Scrubbing his jaw with his knuckle Ethan said, “Well, if we both did it then it’s either a lion mating thing or a wolf full moon thing, or a combination of the two. Since none of us have been in this situation before, it’s not like we have a book to refer to. I’m going to crash with her in the bedroom. You coming?” “Yeah.” Another yawn worked through him and his eyes shuttered as soon as he had his arm around her and Eryx had stopped making the bed shake as he got comfortable on her other side. He figured that since they’d first made love to Callie, they’d been having sex about two or three times a day each, not counting his fantastic night alone with her. And more than just quantity, it was that he flat out loved being with her. He loved making love to her, slow and tender so it took hours, and he loved fucking her hard and fast until she screamed his name. And it was even enough to just hold her while she dozed off after a go-around or at night while they slept. He’d worried in the beginning that they wouldn’t be able to share her, but things were going well so far. Not that he’d jinx it. She wasn’t much in the mood to eat dinner when she woke up, and she said it was just full moon jitters. They’d already agreed to both shift and go with her while she hunted, but promised to stay back as long as it wasn’t something huge like that elk. He was looking forward to watching her shift. On the back porch, she dropped the robe she’d taken over and draped it across a dry spot on the rail and tossed them a small smile before crouching down. She shivered and then made a strange sound like something hurt. “Baby?” He asked. She blinked those pretty eyes up at him and they were even lovelier, amber and wide. “I’m okay, I just felt weird for a second there.” Before he could ask her to elaborate, she shifted and went from a beautiful woman to a pretty wolf in a few seconds. Motioning for her to come over, they both crouched and ran their hands through her fur. Thick and warm, she smelled like her honey scent plus something like the woods in the fall, a nice combination. She licked both of their palms and then bounded off the deck and turned, sitting in the snow on her haunches and waiting for them to join her. Dropping their jeans to

the rail, they both shifted and moved to her, circling and sniffing and she sat passively and let them scent-mark her by rubbing their cheeks against her body. She made a humming noise that was a lot like a purr and he thought she was probably smiling. With a growling nip on both of their shoulders, she darted off into the tree line. They could easily catch her because their stride was so much longer than hers but she was going at a fast clip to get ahead of them. They definitely didn’t want to really play at her being out of their sight, so they beat paws to catch up quick. He had always thought that mountain lions, hell any big cat, were the most graceful creatures, but watching his mate as she darted between the trees and over brush as if she instinctively knew where everything was, gave him such a sense of pride and love for her. She was incredible. Sleek and lean, a perfect color for woods in the wintertime, and just beautiful, woman and wolf. She found a nest of rabbits and gave chase to one of the larger ones, and they sat back and watched her as she stalked and caught it, shaking the dark brown body in her jaws until the neck snapped before dropping it between her paws and tearing it apart. He darted a glance at Eryx who had a look of sheer pride and love in his eyes, and he wondered if she’d picked up that neck snapping bit from them. Finished in a short time, she bounded off again, more leisurely this time as if now that she’d hunted she could just run and enjoy herself and they joined her. At the top of one of the larger hills, she sat down on her haunches and lifted her muzzle to the sky and let loose a loud howl that gave him shivers. It was both happy and sad, joyful and mourning. As the howl echoed around the hillside, it was joined by natural wolves and they sat in stunned silence as they listened to the song of the natural wolves to their mate. It was almost like they were saying goodbye to her. As the last of the howls slid into the darkness, Callie made a groaning, sighing noise and turned, darting a look to both of them before bolting between them. Silly girl, as if they couldn’t catch her. Pounding through the woods, the snow kicked up from them as they moved to catch up to her while still giving her the sense that she was calling all the shots with the game. As they drew close to the house, he glanced ahead of them all as they ran and he saw something odd glinting in the snow in her path. He had just a heartbeat before

he realized that it was a trap. Without a second thought, he tackled Callie to stop her from getting to the trap, tumbling with her in the opposite direction. She snarled and growled furiously and he wished to hell he could talk and tell her what was going on. A loud crack sounded through the forest and Eryx was standing in his human form with a thick tree branch sticking out of the jaws of the tripped trap. Callie froze. “Callie, you were heading right for this.” Eryx's voice was filled with wrath. He gestured to the trap and she blinked her amber eyes a few times and then shook her head with a whine and padded over to him, rubbing the top of her head against his knee. “It’s okay, love, it was your beast. Let’s get home. I’m going to freeze off a part of myself I like a great deal.” Eryx was smiling, but his eyes were dangerously dark. Callie padded back to him and nuzzled under his neck with a gentle growl and then they headed back, and she stayed right by his side as Eryx jogged ahead. Fortunately they were close to the house. But unfortunately, that meant that the trap had definitely been meant for her. Because of the dense population of were-lions, no one hunted in the area with traps, and no one would put a trap so close to a were-lion’s home unless they were purposely looking to trap one of them. Or a sweet little wolf. Eryx stalked right into the house and put the trap inside the door. He was most likely going to call their dad. Ethan shifted and grabbed for his jeans keeping one eye on Callie and one ear on his brother. She shifted and reached for the robe and hit the ground with a soft whimper. “Callie?” He grabbed her off the ground and moved into the house quickly. Her head dropped back like she fainted, and then she shook out of it. Blinking several times, she said, “I felt dizzy there for a second.” He wrapped her in the blanket from the couch and sat her on his lap. “Has that happened before?” “No. Maybe it was just a little case of nerves, thinking about the trap that could have taken my leg off.” She lifted her head from his shoulder. “I didn’t bite you, did I? When you pushed me away my instincts just went nuts.” “No, you didn’t get me. I wish I could talk in my shift sometimes. It would be damn handy.”

“I love you, Ethan, thank you.” She burrowed into his arms and drifted off to sleep nearly immediately, even before he could reply. After settling her on the couch and finding his jeans too ice cold to put on, he grabbed a pair of track pants from the bedroom and found Eryx in the kitchen, staring at the phone. “Eryx?” “Hm? Oh, dad said in the morning he and the others will come and do a grid search of our property to check for more traps. Even if we’re leaving, the cubs play out there. I would hope there was only the one, although that seems unlikely.” “Agreed.” Eryx put his hand on his shoulder. “It was good luck that you saw the trap because I didn’t. She could have died from blood loss if the trap had closed up high enough on her leg, caught an artery.” “Why won’t they just accept that we’re leaving and be done with this bullshit?” Eryx shrugged. “Retaliation, I’m sure. Every time she’s met with the females she’s managed to keep them at bay. Did she say what was wrong when she shifted? It looked like she fainted.” Shaking his head, he went to the refrigerator to make them some sandwiches. “No.” The package of deli roast beef sat heavily in his hand. “Can you believe that symphony of wolves for her? I’ve never heard anything quite like it.” Eryx smiled. “Me neither. She is one special woman. And all ours.” “Most definitely.” **Eryx** Four more traps were found on their property. It boggled the mind. This went beyond trying to scare her; it was like they were trying to kill her outright. And that made no sense, because they were leaving soon. He didn’t know how long the traps had been out there, but it appeared it hadn’t been very long.

The females all clammed up tight about the traps. Even under the intense anger of all the males, they appeared as aloof and uncaring as usual. As if they were asking why they’d left roses lying around and not something designed to maim and kill. What had amazed him about the whole thing was that when he’d gotten back from the meeting, having been so furious and out of sorts, that Callie had just taken care of him. She left Ethan on the couch and came into the kitchen where he’d been slamming cabinets and drawers in an effort to find something to take the edge off the rage he’d been feeling. Once again, he felt like he could have lost her and been helpless to do anything about it, and she’d just taken his hand and pulled him back into the bedroom. She undressed him slowly, without a word, before stripping out of her own clothes. She kissed him teasingly slow and thoroughly, from the top of his head to the soles of his feet, before taking him with her mouth. She knew just how to work him with her mouth, bringing him right to the edge and then backing off until he calmed, before ramping up again. When he came down from orbit and his vision cleared of stars, he rolled her over onto her back, splayed his hands over her spread thighs and dove down on her core. Fuck but he loved to eat her pussy. Sweet and hot and oh-so wet, and she made the best sounds when he did it. Throaty growls and pleading moans, and she used his hair like handlebars, directing him where she needed him. He drew her through a few orgasms until she couldn’t really react anymore because she didn’t have anything left to give. Then he slid inside her with a cock that always seemed ready to hit the end of her, and by the time he was ready to come the second time, she was ready, too, and they came together, and that was such a sweet relief. To feel her clutch him as she came, the ripples that descended his cock like waves of pleasure, and then to feel his cock spill inside her. He moved her around the bed like a rag doll, because she was already in that close-to-sleep place that he loved putting her in, when she was so exhausted she couldn’t possibly keep her eyes open another second. Curled into his chest, his sweetheart sighed deeply and drifted off to sleep. In a few days they were leaving the only home that he and Ethan had ever known. Callie worried that they would resent her for the fact that they couldn’t stay, but it spoke to the deepest part of their kind when it

came to taking care of their mate. Certainly they were sad to leave their brother and father and the rest of their family here, but it was such a relief to be able to take care of her by leaving that it eclipsed everything else. She didn’t really understand because wolves didn’t have anything like this among their own kind. Their males and females mated at will with humans and wolves alike, and it seemed that as long as the humans understood that sometimes things with the pack took precedence over all else, then there were no problems. Twirling a lock of her pretty hair, he thought about getting married. They wanted to marry her in truth, to give her their last name, but so far, they hadn’t decided which she should marry on paper and which she should just commit to in the same ceremony. A multiple marriage wasn’t legal of course, so only one name would be on the marriage certificate. A part of him wanted it to be his name, but in all truth, it didn’t really matter. There was no mistaking that she was theirs, both of theirs, and every day another facet of her love for them opened, like a flower blooming. “You look thoughtful.” Ethan said quietly from the doorway. “I was just thinking about getting married and having cubs.” “I think about that, too.” He smiled fondly at Callie and then met his eyes. “Dad’s out in the family room and wants to chat.” “I’ll be right out.” Pulling on a pair of track pants after he extracted himself from under her embrace, he kissed her forehead and made sure she was tucked in before shutting the door and meeting his dad. Seated around the family room was their entire family minus the cubs who were in school right now. Alek gave him a wary look, still nursing the shiner and busted lip. He’d apologized several times for losing control, but a trust had been broken between them and he mourned the loss of it. Granted, maybe what bothered Alek wasn’t that he’d been out of control but that he hadn’t apologized for the actual pounding, and he never would. He’d totally lost it when he saw that his brother had seen his mate naked, mistake or not. Alek was lucky that Eryx had heard Callie’s frightened voice over the roar in his head, otherwise they might be saying goodbye in a hospital room. He’d had a desire to protect her, protect what was his, and Alek didn’t understand and probably wouldn’t ever if he stayed with the pride.

Their dad wanted to talk about the house. He and Ethan had considered selling it at first, using the money to fund the reconstruction that would be needed in the apple barn, but the house had been built by their grandfather and they didn’t want someone outside of the pride to own it. The house was worth about $80,000 in this economy, but none of the pride could afford a second mortgage for that much, so they’d had Alek get a personal loan for $25,000, which was as much as he could afford. Although right now he looked like he wanted to call the whole thing a wash. Their Uncle Grant was a realtor, so he brought the paperwork with them, and Alek handed over the bank draft grudgingly. Everything would be filed once they were gone, but this way Alek could take over the house and they could have the cash. “Now, we have a present for you boys.” Their father stood and motioned for them to come out to the garage. In the driveway was a rental trailer. He looked at his father as he made a ta-da gesture. “Geez, boys, it’s so you can take the couch.” Now that was some good news! Alek snorted, “Did you really think I wanted that couch? It smells like sex.” Ethan growled low, “Watch it little brother.” Alek answered angrily, “Fuck you, Ethan. Fuck both of you. You’re walking away from the pride for a woman you’ve known less than a month.” Surprised, Eryx said, “Alek, we love her. She’s our mate.” Rolling his eyes, he fished his keys from his jeans pocket. “Yeah, whatever. Later.” They all watched him leave, his pickup truck roaring to life and then fading quickly. Their dad sighed, “He’s having a hard time saying goodbye. He just doesn’t understand.” “We don’t mean to hurt him, Dad,” Ethan looked out of the garage as if he could still see Alek’s truck, “but he has to believe it’s the right choice for us.” “I believe he’s jealous more than anything.” Their dad replied. Uncle John said, “We all are.”

They made plans to have a get together before they left. February fourth couldn’t come fast enough. That night, the two of them made a special dinner for her and then proposed. Even though she considered them married by wolf standards, and he loved that, they wanted her to be theirs legally, too. Ethan had picked a simple single stone engagement ring, planning to pair it later with a plain band that would match his own. Eryx had taken the route of an entire set, and the engagement ring part of the set was a half carat with smaller stones down each side, and the wedding band part had three third carat diamonds together. He thought it was perfect for them. They kissed the happy tears from her cheeks after she said yes to them both and then she asked them to take her to bed to celebrate. And they were more than willing. While he craved that individual attention he’d gotten from her that one night the week before, he also enjoyed watching her with Ethan, and he never would have guessed that would be the case. They made a game of seeing how many orgasms she could have before she cried uncle, and they finished with her taking him with her mouth while Ethan slammed into her from behind. She collapsed onto his chest with a moan and groan combined, slick with sweat and their combined pleasure, and he drew his arms around her and smoothed her hair from her face. Ethan dropped to the bed next to them and rolled onto his back, coughing and then laughing as he tried to catch his breath. “I hear your heart, Eryx.” She whispered. “It’s beating just for you, sweetheart.”

Chapter 18 **Callie** Moving Day. February 4. Tomorrow. Had three weeks really gone by so quickly? As excited as Callie was to be going to their new home and meeting their famous Uncle Rhett and Aunt Lisa, this house had become her home so quickly that she was sad to leave. Even if she did understand the urgency. They couldn’t keep going on red alert like they had been. After the thing with the traps on their property, they hadn’t wanted her outside at all. Granted it was less than a week, but she knew if they’d needed to stay longer, that come the next full moon they’d want to corral her to the backyard alone or, worse, in the house. She couldn’t live like that, and she didn’t want them constantly looking over their shoulder in worry for her. Ethan and Eryx had become her mates so fast and their family had become the family she’d missed all those years, and she was going to miss their father and brother and uncles and cousins as desperately as if they were blood relatives. She took solace in knowing they’d see them in a few months for their wedding, which they wanted to plan for sometime in May. Knowing they would come to visit wasn't as comforting as seeing them every day the way that she had since they’d become their official guards. She tried very hard to keep her feelings under wrap. After all, they were moving because of her, because the lion females couldn’t handle losing two of their males, even though they didn’t want them either. It was the oddest contradiction. A lot like the childish I don’t want it, but you can’t have it either sort of thinking. She cherished the last three weeks of them together. And her cravings for them increased every day, until she hadn’t really felt like wearing clothes at all because she seemed to always be taking them off. She’d never felt so wanton and needy in her life, and she couldn’t explain it other than thinking it had something to do with finding her mates. She recalled Jason and Cadence when they were first mated, that they seemed locked in the house for weeks. She kept thinking she could call Cades and tell her what

was going on but she just wasn’t ready yet. Cades would be about six weeks along now, and Callie wondered if she would ever see the baby. Her reverie stopped abruptly when her cell rang. She didn’t recognize the number, but recognized the area code as one from near Allen. She answered and the woman on the other end said, “Calliope Hunter?” “Yes. Who is this?” “This is Amanda from Dr. Peterson’s office. I’m calling to see why you missed your last two appointments for your birth control shot.” Her mind fizzled. “Um, well, I moved away from Kentucky. But I also have like two more weeks before I need another shot. I’m not due until the middle of February.” Wait, that didn’t sound quite right. “No, Calliope, you were due on December 17. You had an appointment that you missed, and we sent a reschedule card and you missed that one. Have you gotten the shot at another doctor’s office now that you’ve moved?” Her heart stopped. And then her brain crackled. “I, no, that’s not right.” “Well, it is according to our records. Have you had unprotected sex since the 17th of December?” Hell yes. “Yeah.” “Well, your shot is over six weeks past due. Have you had a period since then?” Had she? No. No! “Um, no.” Shit! “Not even any bleeding at all?” “No. I don’t think so.” “Well, now, it can take a while for your body to come back online after the shot wears off. But six weeks is a pretty long time. You need to take a pregnancy test, Calliope. And even if it shows negative, you should go see an OB just to be safe.” She managed to say thank you as she hung up, cursing herself for being so foolish to not even think about protection. Why hadn’t she gone to the appointment in the first place? Oh, right. All that shit with the pack and Cadence. And then she’d packed up so fast. If they sent a reminder card in the mail, it was sitting at the damn post office in Allen.

What was she going to do if she was actually pregnant? She’d wanted to have a long time to explore their life together before they thought about kids. What if they weren’t ready? And then clarity washed through her. The first time they’d made love, when she’d been so needy and, oh! That was heat. She was actually in heat because she’d been off birth control. And then when she’d felt odd about shifting on the full moon, that was her body beginning to prepare her for not shifting. Growing up in the pack, she’d seen when females stopped shifting and everyone always knew right away that it meant they were pregnant. They could shift for the first month or two and then their body refused to let them and the beast quieted naturally for the length of the pregnancy and usually for several months afterwards while the body healed and the infant needed its mother. In something of a daze, she walked out in the kitchen and found Eryx wrapping a coffee mug in packing paper. “Hey sweet. Whoa!” He put the mug down and rushed to her side. “You look green, are you okay?” She smiled up at him and touched his cheek. “Where’s Ethan?” “He went to get lunch.” “I think I’m pregnant.” So, she’d decided to just blurt it out? Lovely. His whole body went very still and she would have had a complete meltdown except then he shouted for joy and picked her up and swung her around. “Are you serious, love? Really?” Laughing, she let him devour her in a kiss. “Pretty sure. I need a pregnancy test.” She told him about the call from the doctor’s office and her own suspicions. He pulled his cell from his pocket and he sounded so very happy that it melted all the tension she’d felt just minutes earlier. It wasn’t hard to miss Ethan’s crow of delight across the phone when Eryx told him the news. As he hung up, he swung her up into his arms and carried her to the couch. “He’ll bring one home; he was already on his way back. Are you happy, sweetheart?” “I feel kind of stupid.” “What for? Don’t you want to have a child with us?”

Stopping the hurt before it got a chance to bloom on his face, she tugged his ear, “Of course I do, Eryx, I just, maybe I’d like to not be an unwed mother, or maybe it would be nice if we had a real house or, hell, if we weren’t leaving your family behind because of me.” Grasping her chin in his fingers he said, “First of all, you’re not an unwed mother. Not technically. And we’re already planning to get married in the spring so you won’t even be showing at that point, as if it matters. And secondly, we have a home waiting for us and while we’re leaving our family here, we’re also joining family there. Haven’t you liked talking to Lisa?” She smiled. “Yeah, she’s sweet.” “Well, she’s thrilled as hell to get to know you in person and so is Rhett. And I’ll tell you a secret, okay, love? I don’t think that our father will stay here with us gone. Especially with you pregnant, I know he’ll want to join us. He and Rhett were closest of all the brothers, and it killed him when he moved away.” “Why did he move, anyway?” “Because he wanted to take one of the females for a mate and she hated the idea so much she attacked him. He couldn’t handle the rejection so he pulled up roots and went to a place where there were no lions. And then he and Lisa fell in love, so he always said that the best thing that ever happened to him was leaving. And it’s the best thing for us, too.” Sad. But with a happy ending. She settled against his neck, drawing in the spicy, male scent of him. “Will you wonder if the child is yours?” “I don’t think there’s any way to tell, sweetheart. We are identical twins after all. Although you don’t seem to have trouble telling us apart.” “No, you look different to me. You smell slightly different, too.” “Any cubs we have will be ours. Both of ours.” Something clicked for her and she started. “If it’s a girl, will she hate me?” Tears sprang to her eyes unbidden at the reminder of the cold glassy stare of the females. He hugged her tightly, “Never sweet. There’s no way that a child of yours would ever hate you, female or male. And who knows whether they’ll even be able to shift at all or they may be one or the other. And at any rate, we’ve always believed that the

reason the females are so cold is because it’s a cycle that hasn’t been broken yet. You would be the first lion mother that would hold all her children close to her, male and female. And her husbands.” His smile was infectious and she let the thoughts slide away from her, even as she was going to hope for all boys. The door to the garage slammed against the wall and Eryx stood her up and stepped aside so that Ethan could grab her, which he did. His eyes were dancing with happiness, and he kissed her hard and hugged her tight. Dropping his hand to her belly he sounded in complete awe, “This baby is going to be so loved!” They wanted her to take a test right away, even though it wasn’t morning, and Ethan pointed out he’d gotten her two, just in case. She had to shove them out of the bathroom. There were just some things she wouldn't do in front of them, and peeing was near the top of the list. She looked at the test in her hand and said loudly, “I can still hear you outside the door!” “Callie,” Ethan protested, “we’ve had our hands and mouths on every inch of your body. Why are you so freaked out about peeing in front of us?” That actually made her feel worse. “I don’t know.” She groused. “But I am. Leave me be for a minute or I’m going to make you wait until tomorrow morning!” She heard their matching sighs and smiled. Then they walked away. Just to be safe, she turned on the faucet, which helped anyway with her nerves. It must have been a man that invented pregnancy tests where a woman has to aim at a tiny stick between her legs while sitting down. Sheesh. She finished up, popped the cap on the test, and opened the door. They hadn’t gone far and were both sitting on the edge of the bed. Eryx clicked the stopwatch on his watch and opened his arms for her. She curled into his lap and grabbed for Ethan’s hand and closed her eyes. Five minutes takes either a very long time when you’re waiting or a very short time when you’re doing something you love. Like climaxing. When the timer beeped, she suggested they all go look together, and as they walked the short distance to the bathroom, she could feel their anticipation and joy as if it were her own. The two blue lines were bright and clear: she was definitely pregnant.

She turned to face them and had to laugh at their expressions. They were like kids at Christmas, full of giddy bliss. “Now, you’re sure you’re not just being all excited for my benefit?” They snorted simultaneously. Ethan chided her, “We couldn’t be happier. How do you feel?” “Okay, I guess. Surprised.” She shrugged. “Hungry?” They laughed and hugged her happily again before heading into the kitchen to eat the lunch that Ethan had brought home for them from a small deli next to the gas station. After they ate, they made love together, and then they left her alone in the room so she could call Cadence. “Pregnant?” Cades shrieked happily. Had it truly been nearly three weeks since Callie had heard her voice? Seemed like an eternity longer than that. “Yeah. I let the shot lapse in all the pack drama in December and I went through my heat this month.” “That’s something else, eh?” She laughed. That was an understatement. “So, did you find a wolf or will it be human?” “Ah, I’m actually mated now, Cades, to twin mountain lions.” The silence was deafening. She thought she’d hung up, it went on so long. “Really?” She said finally. “Yeah. They, well, it’s a long story. But suffice it to say that we’re actually moving to Indiana tomorrow to live with their uncle and his wife, and she’s human and really sweet, and this will be the fresh start I wanted.” “With cats.” She sounded unhappy suddenly. “Yes. What’s wrong with them being cats?” “Because it’s not natural! Cats and dogs? Shit, Callie, that’s like, I don’t know, too weird.” She rolled her eyes which Cadence completely missed since she was on the phone and not in person. “I’m really sorry I couldn’t find a wolf to mark me when I was a kid and then torment me for 14 years.” Callie snorted.

Cades sniffed and then chuckled. “Yeah, I guess you’re right about that. I have no room to talk. So when will you come home? We’re only going to be like a month apart!” “Cades, I am home. My home is with Ethan and Eryx, and I told you we’re moving to Indiana. I couldn’t go back to Allen. It wouldn’t be fair to them and I’d be an outcast anyway.” She shifted gears. “Twins, really? So you do the whole three-way dealy?” It was as if she hadn’t heard Callie say twin mountain lions the first time. “I’m not going to discuss my sex life.” She felt defensive suddenly and hated that feeling. There was nothing wrong with their relationship. Period. Cadence sounded sad. “We used to talk about everything.” “Yeah,” She sighed as she looked out the bedroom window. “There’s a lot that’s not the same anymore. But I don’t regret anything that brought me to them. I’m happy, finally, and we’ll get married in the spring and then I’ll be popping out a half mountain lion, half wolf kid in September.” “Maybe we can come to the wedding? You should have someone stand up for you, from your old home.” “I’ll think about it.” She saw something moving out in the woods, a flash of blonde hair, and the hair on the back of her neck rose. “I’ll call you in a few weeks, Cades. Tell Herr Jason I said hi, and Michael and Linus, too, okay? I’ve gotta go.” “Is something wrong? You sound upset suddenly. I didn’t mean to make you think I wouldn’t like your men, it’s just I didn’t expect you to wind up in a three way marriage with cats. I know I’ll like them when I meet them.” “No, it’s not that. Just something out in the yard. I’ll call you when we’re settled, Cades. Love you, bye!” She hung up before hearing her reply and dashed out to the family room. “I think Melania’s out in the woods!”

Chapter 19 **Ethan** At Callie’s alarming words, he left her with Eryx and ran out the back door. He scanned the woods and saw no sign of movement, but the females were fast runners even in their human forms so that meant nothing. If Callie saw her, then she had been there. The question was, why? A half second before the scent hit his nose, he heard Eryx and Callie yell for him from the garage. The vehicles were on fire! Callie stood outside the garage, shivering without a coat while Eryx battled the fire inside the mustang with the kitchen fire extinguisher. Ethan grabbed the extinguisher from the tool cabinet in the garage and opened the back gate of the jeep, burning his hand in the process. Fortunately the window was slightly rolled down so the extra oxygen didn’t cause the fire to flare, and as he poured the foam into the interior of his truck, he vaguely heard the fire sirens, just slightly louder than the sobs of his wife. Several minutes later, that seemed much longer, one of the firemen gave him a blanket to wrap around her as they stood shivering on the sidewalk. The burn on his hand was nearly gone and he and Eryx were both covered with soot, but they were all okay. He could be thankful for small miracles. Such as nothing had exploded and the garage hadn’t caught fire. Their dad walked up with Alek, both of them furious. “Well, you can be thankful that the trailer wasn’t sitting in the garage,” their father said. They’d moved it around to the side of the house because it was full and ready to go. Eryx grunted and held Callie against him, rocking her back and forth. She’d stopped crying but somehow that was worse. It had been such a joyful morning. “Except now we have nothing to tow it with.” Eryx’s voice was hard edged. “They’ve effectively hobbled us for at least a week, possibly longer.”

Callie’s voice was small, “It’s my fault. Melania was clearly a distraction to keep our focus away from the front of the house.” Ethan caught her eyes, “No, love, none of this is your fault. Not a single bit of it.” “You should leave tonight,” Alek said. He and Eryx looked at him in surprise. “And how would you suggest we do that?” Eryx asked. “Take dad’s truck. It’s big enough to haul the trailer easily, and I’ll act as chauffer for him. Gordy can give us a loaner until you come back in the spring to visit.” “Are you sure?” Ethan asked in surprise. Alek shrugged like he was trying to distance himself from the emotions he was feeling, “You clearly can’t stay here any longer. Once you’re out of the lion territory then you’ll be free of all this and you won’t have to worry about your mate’s safety. And the lionesses just nearly burned my damn house down trying to get back at you three, so yeah, I think I’d rather you take off than see what else they have planned.” “Of course, my truck is yours, no problem.” Their dad said, looking both relieved and sad. Callie turned in Eryx’s arms and smiled sadly, “Thank you both. I’m sorry for all the trouble I’ve caused.” Their dad shook his head, “It’s not you, honey. It’s the way they were made and our acceptance of it up until now. I'm happy to give up my truck to see you all safe. There’s nothing more important to me than my children, and you’re already part of our family.” Silence dropped over them again, and he and Eryx took turns comforting Callie while the fire department hacked their vehicles to pieces to make sure the fires were out. Eryx’s face was blank and he knew it was because he loved that mustang and hated seeing its destruction. He was fond of the jeep, too. But, better the vehicles than the house. Or something irreplaceable. Their father and brother left to go get the truck and make arrangements with the insurance company, and the three of them went back into the house after the fire department was gone. Their vehicles were towed to the police impound lot for evidence and to wait for their cousin to take care of things with the insurance company for them.

There were several things to be thankful for, and he listed them for Callie and to hear them out loud himself. He gestured to their suitcases that were in the hall. “At least we have our clothes, and your box of things, sweetheart. The only stuff we lost with the vehicles were a couple of emergency kits, some old coats, and our iPods. It could have been worse. If they’d gotten into the trailer, or, hell, done something in the house. Sweetheart, let’s just get ready to move and put this behind us.” Eryx slid his hands around her and he spread his fingers on her stomach. “And let’s not forget that our cub is growing inside you, love. Our family, the three of us and our child are the only things that matter. Everything else can be replaced. You certainly can’t.” He kissed her ear and gave her a gentle push into Ethan’s arms and he wrapped them around her tightly and held her close. Within a few hours the trailer was hooked up to their father’s F-250 and the rest of their belongings were packed inside. Everyone had come to say goodbye to them, and the cubs all cried into Callie’s arms about her leaving them and every male there was sick with the sight. Aaron said, “It’s fucking not right.” “We have to keep her safe,” Ethan protested. “No, I mean, it’s not right for us to let you go on your own. I know Rhett’s there and he’ll keep a good eye on you, but, shit. I can’t let the only female that my boys have ever gotten a hug from walk out of their lives. We’ll join you. If you don’t mind the company.” Ethan’s heart swelled. “We’d love to have you.” He and Eryx shared hugs with their uncle and then Grant said, “Well, fuck, if you’re going, there’s no way that Brian and Kevin would ever let me live it down. We’ll go, too.” Their father said with a grin, “You already know there’s no way I’d let you have my grand-cub in another state.” John sighed, “Jilly’s fourteen. In another two years I’ll lose her completely, but I can’t risk bringing her with us and exposing your cub to their cold nature. When she leaves me at 16 and becomes a stranger, I’ll bring Henry. He’ll hate waiting, but it’s for the best. And I’ll send him to visit in the summer, too.”

They all looked at Alek. He didn’t look one bit happy when he said, “I’ll stick around until Uncle John’s ready to leave and then I’ll join you.” A huge number of life changing decisions were made within a few minutes and he looked at Eryx and his eyes were shining bright with hope that they’d opened a new chapter of their lives. Not only for themselves and their wife and cub, but for their entire family. When they told Callie to stop crying because they were going to join them in Indiana within the month, she was beside herself with joy and the kids were no less enthusiastic. With final kisses goodbye to the cubs and the adults, they slid her between them on the bench seat of the truck, belted her in, and said goodbye to the only home they’d ever known. The six hundred mile trip from King, Pennsylvania to Ashland, Indiana was going to take about 11 hours without counting stops, which was why they’d planned to drive halfway and stop for the night. Ethan drove the first leg of the trip, and they talked about the future that waited for them in their new home. According to Rhett, the barn would be easily converted into a proper home for them. The first floor was wide open and could be divided into a kitchen and family room and electricity, gas and plumbing were already in place. Rhett sent pictures to their cells, and they could see the staircase that led to the second floor loft, which was big enough for several bedrooms and bathrooms and perhaps a game room for the kids. Callie groused, “Let’s just have this one first, before we go planning anymore, okay?” He laughed and squeezed her hand which she’d parked on his thigh. “Of course, sweetheart. Rhett can help us find a doctor for you. There’s no pack in the area and he’s the only were in Ashland, but he said there are a few were families scattered around other towns. He’s certain one of them will have a doctor they trust.” They were going to stay in the guest room on the first floor of Rhett and Lisa’s home until the barn was ready. For them, it couldn’t happen fast enough. Callie was a little sensitive about how noisy they all were when they made love and he didn’t want to dampen their love life because they had to share a house with their aunt and uncle.

When they stopped for the night in Akron, Ohio, they made love and were laying together on the bed, a tangle of arms and legs. He kissed her bellybutton. “So you think maybe you’re three weeks?” “Something like that.” She yawned. “That first time we made love I’m pretty sure I was feeling so needy because of the heat.” He looked up at her, “Are you sorry?” She looked startled, “No, of course not. I mean I wouldn’t have gotten pregnant on purpose right now, but we’re mates and I’m not going anywhere and you’re not going anywhere, and this baby is going to the first ever lion-wolf hybrid. Special beyond words. And well loved, too.” She stared at him for a few quiet moments and then said, “Unless you’re going to do something fun down there, I’m ready for bed.” “Now how can I resist such a tempting offer like my sweet kitten’s pussy?” He laughed and settled down between her legs to eat her like his favorite dessert. Which she was. **Eryx** The barn was huge. It was more than big enough for them and a half dozen cubs, which made his head spin with anticipation. They walked around the interior, talking to Rhett about replacing windows and adding insulation to the walls, fixing the floors and where the two most important rooms of the house would be: the kitchen and the master bedroom. They’d done a great job of clearing the barn out which they’d used for storage for years, and Rhett had friends that would help with the construction so they could get started right away. The days flew by. The contractors their uncle recommended were happy to have the work and with Callie's help, they designed the downstairs and the master bedroom on the second floor. She only had a few requests: her own walk-in closet, a Jacuzzi tub big enough to play in, and a glass enclosed shower large enough for three. Downstairs, she only wanted a fireplace with a hearth and mantel big enough to hang

lots of stockings from. Ethan designed the kitchen because he cooked more than any of them, and Eryx handled the additional room designs for the first floor, which included a half bath and an office. He wanted to make a formal dining room for holidays, but what she wanted instead was a bigger kitchen so they could all be where the most love and warmth in the home was. They both thought it was a great idea. Neither he nor Ethan wanted her working in the barn with them, with all the dust and debris, but she was very insistent on doing her fair share and it hadn't been an argument she was going to let them win. They kept her busy with easy but time consuming jobs away from the contractors and their loud noises and occasional bawdy language. Eryx knew the cub didn't have ears yet, but still, he didn't want Callie exposed to all that crass language either. Not his sweet little angel. Living with Rhett and Lisa took some getting used to, but they were wonderful and accommodating, and just happy to have them there. The barn was far enough away from the main house that you couldn't see it through the tree line but close enough for a leisurely ten minute walk. The bed they were sleeping on in the guest room had a frame that was so creaky that Callie refused to make love to them that first night. They quickly solved that problem the next day by dismantling the bed and sleeping on the mattress and box spring on the floor instead. Although Callie was the noisiest in bed of the three, purposely keeping their sounds of pleasure down to almost mute proved more difficult than Eryx would have guessed. But they weren't about to let Callie get away with saying they had to wait until they were in their own home before they made love again. Not a chance. Ashland, Indiana was a tiny farming town. One school for up to eighth grade, and then the high schoolers went to the next town over. One greasy spoon called Cherie’s, one bank, one gas station and garage, one grocery, one pharmacy, a feed store and a hardware store, and the city hall building. Population-wise, it was half the size of King, and he and Ethan had taken turns carefully scouting the area at night and found no trace of any other shifters. At least within the town limits. They discussed the full moon, which would come up in a few weeks, and Rhett had suggested she just stay on the farm property. Although it was winter, there were several stands of trees and there were abundant deer and small game. Callie said that she thought this would be

the last time she shifted until several months after the cub was born, and he was okay with that. Even staying on the five hundred acre farm didn't mean that a hunter couldn't wander by. They'd planned to have one of them shift to run with her and one to stay human for a look-out. He reasoned that they may never be comfortable with her out on her own, but she didn't seem to mind the company. They talked about getting married and decided to first find someone to officiate the ceremony that would be willing to marry both of them to her. While only one would be official, they wanted to have the ceremony to encompass both of them. Callie eventually saw the light of working on the wedding details with Lisa, so after she finished the last project they had given her to do, she gave up the work in the barn and stayed with Lisa. It was easy to see, within just a day or two of spending time together, that Lisa was just what Callie needed - a female friend. They wanted to be enough for her, and in some ways they were, but just like he needed Ethan to talk to sometimes, she needed a female companion and Lisa was desperate for a woman to talk to also. He knew all about being lonely, and Lisa was one lonely woman. They'd only been in town a few weeks when they were approached at the local diner by the mayor, Frank Jeffries. He was a big man, with a barrel chest and weathered hands that said he'd spent a good portion of his life working hard. He asked if he could join them, and they said yes. They were sitting in the circular booth in the corner, Callie wedged tightly between them and both of their hands possessively on her thighs. They hadn't spent much time in town visiting with anyone, because they were too busy. Except for trips to the grocery and the hardware store, most of their time was spent in the barn. Their father and two of their three uncles were due to hit town in two more weeks. With Rhett's help, they had already rented a large home near the farmhouse that had at one time been a boarding house. It was a three story monstrosity that sat empty for years, big enough that all the kids could have their own rooms if they wanted, and all the males, too, with a dozen acres of land for the kids to run around on. When Alek, John and Henry came, there would be plenty of room for them, too.

"I'm Mayor Jeffries, ya'll can call me Frank, though. I'm not one for putting on airs or anything. I was chatting with your Uncle Rhett the other day, and he mentioned that ya'll boys were policemen back in your hometown." "That's right," he answered, smoothing his fingers up Callie's jean clad thigh. She shifted slightly at the motion. It hadn't escaped their notice that the further she got in her pregnancy, the more sensitive she became to their touch. "Well, we've got no police force to speak of. A few of the older farmers volunteer to answer a cell phone in emergencies and the police in the next town over help out, but lately we've had an increase in petty vandalism. Teenagers, you know, young'uns that don't have anything better to do. Without anyone to patrol, there's no real consequences unless they get caught in the act. We can't pay a whole lot, but the benefits are provided by the county and I heard that your wife is pregnant." Frank smiled at Callie and Eryx felt a little shiver of tension shift through her. So far, they'd gotten only curious glances when the three of them had been together in town, but it was only a matter of time before people were comfortable enough with them to ask questions. Ethan's voice was mild but stiff, "Yes, our wife is pregnant." Emphasis on "our". The mayor's brows lifted. "I heard you were in a, what's that called? Polygamous marriage?" Eryx snorted. "We're not human, Frank. However, when we do get married officially in the spring, Callie will only legally be married to one of us, but she is our mate already, our wife, because we are were-lions. There isn't anything illegal about our private relationship." He put up his hands, "No, no, I wasn't saying anything to disparage anything you have. A good friend of mine is a were-bear. In fact, he's the fire chief in Bracks about ten miles north. People will talk, you know, because this is a pretty small town, but they're willing to look past anything they don't understand in order to have a police force." Somehow, Eryx doubted that. Ethan said, "We're in the middle of remodeling our home, Frank, and we do have a child on the way. I can't see how we could possibly start a job anytime soon."

"I understand that. I was just hoping we could talk about it, in my office perhaps next week? It would take a few weeks to get things rolling anyway, but I'd like you to think about it. We could be flexible with the hours, and you'd have the ability to hire deputies, and Callie, if you were looking for some work, too, you could always work the call desk. It's pretty boring, though." He winked at her and Eryx wanted to punch his teeth in. "Thank you, Frank." She said with the saccharine sweet voice that he knew meant she didn't much care for him winking at her either. "We'll drop in next week to chat." Ethan said, extending his hand. Eryx shook his hand also and Callie just smiled at him. When he got up from the chair he'd pulled over and walked out, Callie said with a low voice, "If you both don't stop squeezing my thighs I'm going to lose all feeling in my toes." They both released what were apparently tight grips on her legs and he massaged the area gently and kissed her cheek. "Sorry, angel." Ethan apologized, too, and they finished their desserts and got ready to head back to the farm. And then they had their first real argument. Fortunately it was a short one. She started the conversation innocently enough, when they went to look at the barn and see how the new hardwood floor looked. "I think I'd like to take the mayor up on his offer." Ethan said what Eryx was thinking, "No wife of ours is going to work when she's pregnant. Forget it." She bristled and narrowed her eyes at them. With a quick look he knew she could tell they were on the same side and that wasn't her side. "This isn't the stone ages, I'm allowed to work." "There's no point. What good would it do to take the job for a few weeks just to quit?" He tried to soften what Ethan had said but he felt no less strongly about it. She protested, "I'm only six weeks, it wouldn't just be a few weeks." "Callie, sweetheart, a police station is no place for you. Even in a small town, there's stuff you don't need to be exposed to. And considering that the police force is non-existent, you'd be alone in the station when we were on patrol." He pointed out.

"We can't allow that. The town hasn't learned about us yet, and you said the further along you get in your pregnancy, the less you'll be able to draw on your strengths. We'd worry too much." She folded her arms, "So you'd rather me just be stuck here all day alone? I'll go cuckoo-bananas." Ethan took a step towards her and she stopped him dead with a hard look. He swallowed a growl and said, "Sweetheart, please. Try to look at it from our point of view. Do you think we could do our jobs if we thought you were sitting alone in the police station?" "But we could use the money." They both adamantly shook their heads. "We're fine. We will be fine even once the barn is done, too. Don't you think by the time we get married and then finish the house that you'll be too far along to even give a job a thought? You're busy aren't you?" She chewed on her bottom lip. Ethan said, "Besides, I don't think we'd both go work for the police department anyway." "Why not?" "Well, Rhett could use a foreman. We've already talked to him about it, and if one of us goes to work for the force then you'll be covered medically and the other one can work on the farm." "So one of you would just give up what you've been doing for the last six years because of me?" She looked angry again. Why? "What are you talking about love?" Eryx didn't let her shoot down his need to comfort her with that icy glare. He folded her into his chest and hugged her tightly. "One of us gets a job with decent pay and benefits, the other works the farm with Rhett. As long as we're providing for you, then we're happy. We told you that we'd do anything to see you safe and happy and well taken care of. This is it for us." "But you won't let me work." Her voice came out muffled against his shirt. Ethan ducked his head down far enough to catch her eyes. "What kind of men would let their pregnant sweetheart work when they can provide for her? This is what we want, honey. Don't you want us to be happy, too?"

Eryx felt her tense and knew she was pissed again. "Don't do that." She ground out. "Do what?" Ethan asked. "Don't try to make me feel guilty. I can't not contribute to our family. This isn't the sixties; I'm not Donna Reed wearing an apron waiting for you at the front door.” Ethan quipped, "I’m confused. I thought I was a caveman?" She struggled in Eryx’s arms and he was certain she wanted to punch Ethan and he probably should let her to teach him a lesson. Instead, though, he said, “Ethan, stop teasing her.” Ethan hung his head in mock shame, and Callie grudgingly accepted the gesture and relaxed. He kissed the top of her head and cuddled her instead of just restraining her and said gently, “Sweet kitten, please let us work and take care of you. There will be more than enough to do around the house and the property even after we’ve remodeled, that you’ll be glad to be home. And then once the cub comes, then it will be even better. And we want that. Truly.” She lifted her eyes to his and looked confused. “You just want me to be a – housewife?” “Not just a housewife, love,” Ethan said, “our wife, the mother of our cubs, and whatever else you want to be. We’ll give you the moon in the sky if you want it. Just don’t ask us to be okay with you working when you’re pregnant. We never will be.” “Alright.” She said finally. As first fights went, it wasn’t a bad one. And at least now she knew how they felt about her working. Maybe it was a possessive thing for them, but they didn’t want her around any other males without them present. The good news that followed the next day came from the fire chief, Don Pope. “Mayor called, said your girl’s pregnant. I just wanted to let you know that my sister is a midwife. She only delivers weres. And she has hospital privileges at Cranston Memorial for ultrasounds, deliveries, and the like, it’s about 25 minutes west of you; she lives in Bracks.” He wasn’t really sure how he felt about the mayor waving their personal business around town like that, but he was very glad to have the news to tell Callie. Chief Pope

had wanted to talk to them more about taking over the police station, and they agreed to come over for dinner that Sunday and meet his sister. Saturday night, for the full moon, Callie didn’t shift. She couldn’t. Out behind their barn, she stripped and crouched down and that same small pain noise she’d made in January spilled from her mouth and this time she didn’t ignore it. He’d been worried sick about her, because she’d clutched her side like she was injured but she said it was just a muscle spasm. She let them fuss over her all night; sometimes she fought their pampering as if she couldn’t imagine them wanting to take care of her. Truly, he’d never enjoyed anything more. That Sunday evening, they met Don Pope, his wife Gwen, and his sister Sarah. Gwen and Sarah were also were-bears. Don and Gwen had two children, both grown and in college. Gwen was a great cook and piled the table with trays and platters and they had a good meal and good conversation. Callie liked both Gwen and Sarah, and Sarah offered to do the ultrasound the following week when she passed her eight week mark. The chance to hear the heartbeat of his cub made his own heart race in anticipation. The next week, they decided to meet with the mayor and once he discovered that Ethan was also an EMT, he offered them a very good deal: Eryx to run the department as interim chief until they could call a vote of the city council the following month, and Ethan to run the ambulance a few days a week. It would allow him to still be foreman on the farm and stay close to their wife, which is what they both wanted. They told him they’d get back to him the following week because they wanted to discuss it with Callie first and check with their father about coming on as a deputy when they got settled. Callie was on-board for both of them working, and seemed relieved that Ethan wouldn’t be gone full-time. Eryx was slightly jealous, but he also knew that she loved him and that wouldn’t change just because Ethan may get to spend more time with her during the week. And he’d rather have her looked after than be alone, even in their home. That Thursday night, they met Sarah at the hospital. Because she was a midwife that handled only were-animals, she had privileges within the hospital but they preferred her to bring her clients in after-hours for routine physicals. The exam room was small

and they stood at the head of the examination table on either side of her and each held a hand. Eryx had no idea what it would be like to see Sarah examining his half naked wife in stirrups and it made him feel strangely possessive. Even if Sarah was a woman and they were Callie’s mates, he didn’t really care for someone so close to what was his. A glance at Ethan over Callie’s head told him that he didn’t much care for it either. All these new feelings for them were hard to deal with sometimes. Sarah pulled out a small device attached to a computer on a rolling tray. It was a wand ultrasound. Callie grimaced and squeezed his hand and when he looked at her in concern she chuckled and said, “It’s not as big as you, it’s just uncomfortably plastic.” Sarah grinned at Callie, “Lucky girl,” to which Callie just snorted. Then Sarah said, “Next one at five months will be regular on the belly. This is best for so early.” He and Ethan watched the screen and murmured soothing things to their sweetheart. Finally Sarah tilted the screen towards them further and said, “There you go. Hope you have a big enough house.” Was that – two? Callie broke the stunned silence. “Are you fucking kidding me?” Sarah laughed, made an adjustment with the wand that made Callie grunt slightly, and then zoomed in. “Nope, two babies. Identical, too. But you kind of expected that, didn’t you?” Callie groused, “I might have if I’d planned this in the first place.” They all laughed and he and Ethan kissed and half hugged her as much as the table would allow and Sarah continued to click around the screen and take measurements and then she printed out three pictures. “Right over eight weeks. Target 40 weeks delivery would be September 28th, however with twins they almost always go around 35 weeks, so you’re looking at August 20th, sometime around there.” She released Callie’s legs from the stirrups and handed her some paper towels to clean up with. “I’m going to sit out in the nurse’s station and make some notes in the file for you, come out to chat with me when you’re cleaned up.” Ethan took the towels and cleaned the lubricant from Callie’s body with gentle strokes and Callie sighed and closed her eyes. Eryx leaned over and kissed her forehead, “Are you okay, love?”

Her eyes were bright and shiny with unshed tears when she opened them. She smiled and a tear slid down the side of her face. “I’m very good. I’m just surprised and, well, it’s a good surprise. A really good one.” It truly was.

Chapter 20 **Callie** When the family arrived the first week of March, the kids were so happy to see them and it was really wonderful to see the kids and the rest of the family, too. Even though she’d worried about everyone resenting her for having to move a few states away from their home, she couldn’t miss the happiness that seemed to be coming off of every single male. Like a great weight had been lifted from all their shoulders. She knew what that weight was, because she’d felt it when she left the pack. They had their freedom now. They could live and love how they wanted and there were no female lions to stand in their way. The boys were homeschooled for the rest of the school year because it was too late for them to enroll in the small school. Grant and Aaron brought the boys over to the barn and they did their studies in the main house while Lisa and Callie shifted between working on wedding details and helping them with their work. Lisa loved having the kids around. Since her family had abandoned her, she didn’t even know her own nieces and nephews and she was so thrilled to have the boys to dote on. And they were in heaven. Two females to love on them. Whenever Ethan or Eryx were with them, Callie kept the attention to a minimum and the little ones figured out pretty quickly that it made them uncomfortable to see her paying so much attention to the kids. The further along in her pregnancy she got, the more possessive they got, but that was okay with her. Morning sickness was blissfully absent, but she was hit with food cravings and aversions that would drive a normal man to drink. One day she’d enjoy eating something and the next day, just the smell of it would have her running for the bathroom. It took the boys a while to figure out that she wasn’t ill exactly, and they were very accommodating about her weird cravings and helping her in the bathroom if she needed it. She didn't like throwing up in front of others, but after a while she got over

that feeling when she spent a good bit of time on her knees trying not to throw up on her hair. Eryx began his job as Sheriff the second week of March and Ethan took two shifts as the only EMT driver in town. He only answered two calls, though, and one of them was because an elderly woman couldn’t get her bottle of aspirin open. James was deputized right away and he took the night shift while Eryx took the day shift. Aaron planned to take the deputy exam for the county as well. Grant was going to work on Rhett’s farm and bring the boys along until they were in school in the fall, and was planning to do his real estate on the side, but not until the market picked up. They found a minister, thanks to Sarah, a female were-bear from their parents’ den, who was willing to marry them the way they wanted. The ceremony had to include both of them as her husbands, even though the certificate would say that only one of them was her legal husband. It didn’t matter to her which was on the marriage certificate. She was a little too consumed with the twin babies in her belly to think about minor things like whose name was where on a piece of paper that meant nothing to her except she got to take their last name. The minister, Pastor Giselle Uriah, had a similar problem finding someone to marry her sister and the king of their bear den, because thirty years ago humans were twitchy about weres. Humans still were, of course, but things were better than they used to be. As it turned out, were-bears were mostly just big people. The fire chief was a huge man with big meaty paws and a shock of dark hair that looked like a mane. And Gwen and Sarah were tall and broad, not fat but not lean either. Just big and curvy. And Giselle was no different. Callie liked her right away. She made a draft of the vows for them and they tweaked them just slightly, and Callie gave Ethan and Eryx a little argument about the “obey” part and had a good time teasing them about it. Love, honor and listen-to-sometimes, seemed much more fitting from her perspective. Although they made progress on the barn, it seemed considerably slow going to her, so she mostly just hovered in the house with Lisa while she did a lot of work on the wedding for her. Among her many talents, she had a knack for organizing things whereas Callie didn't at all. Callie could organize some things, like a spice shelf, but not something intricate like a wedding.

It was towards the end of March and they were going to try on wedding dresses at the only decent place, which was in a town just south of Ashland called Hoffsman. Ethan and Eryx wanted to come. Not so much for seeing the dress, she didn't think, but because they didn’t really like her being away from them. They still hadn’t gotten her a car of her own, but she hadn’t asked either. She had a half dozen people willing to drive her at the drop of a hat so maybe she was just being selfish and spoiled, but hey, if they were willing, then she could let them indulge her. Callie stood on a platform in front of the full length mirror and chewed on her bottom lip. The woman who was helping her try on the dresses fluffed the skirt and smiled up at her from the floor. The carpeted platform was circular and several feet off the ground in front of a bevy of mirrors to show every angle. It was a nice dress. She wanted something strapless because they preferred that look on her. She wasn’t one of those women that wanted to spend a fortune on a dress she was going to wear once, but she wanted one nice enough that if they had a daughter some day that she’d want to wear it, too. She shook her head and said, “Let’s see the other one, then, and I’ll make a decision.” She’d had ten dresses on already. Lisa was having fun doing something girly. She’d spent way too much time with just Rhett. Stupid human women shunning her just because she married a were. The final dress was perfect. A sweetheart neckline led to a gathered waist that was embellished with beads and seed pearls. The short train was the perfect length for the old Methodist church that Pastor Giselle had reserved for them. And what was even better was that although the dress fit well, it would give with her belly if she puffed out at all between now and the wedding, which was slated for May 1. She chose a plain, long veil with scalloped edges that would attach with a crystal clip at the back of her head. For her shoes she chose simple low heeled white satin sandals. Now that her dress was picked out, it was Lisa's turn, and Callie sank down into the wine red velvet love seat in front of the stage and slipped off her shoes. When Lisa came out with her first dress on, she looked down at her from the small stage, "Are you sure about the colors?"

Callie laughed. "Definitely. Unless you'd rather try to find a color to fit my eyes, and I'm not sure how nice anyone would look in greenish-brown." The attendant brought out dresses in the style Lisa had asked for. Tea length, which was past the knees, strapless but not daring. What's the fun in that? She told the boys she wanted silver and black as colors, because their eyes were shades of gray, and they wanted her to put her eye color in there. When she said no, they suggested amber because of the color of her wolf's eyes and she liked that even less than hazel. So they'd finally made her compromise with dark green because it was her favorite color. After three dresses, Lisa chose a cute dress in holly green with a sash at the waist and some rhinestone accents. She began to try on shoes when Callie's cell phone buzzed. She expected it to be one of the boys checking up on her, so she answered without looking at the screen, “Wedding Central.” “Callie?” “Oh, hey Cades. What’s up?” “I thought you were going to call me when you got settled in Indiana?” Oops. “I’m sorry, Cades. We’ve been super busy since we got here. I did intend to call you.” “Okay. Well, we haven’t gotten a wedding invitation, and I was just wondering if you’d set a date yet. You said spring, but it’s already almost spring.” Shit. She hadn’t even included them in the invitation mailing. Just showed where her pregnancy brain was right now. “Well, we’re set for May 1, at a small chapel in town. Are you and Jason interested in coming?” She sounded offended. “Of course. You’re my best friend, Callie, not to mention that you’re Jason’s cousin. We’d all like to come.” Her mouth went totally dry. All of them. Like the pack? “We who?” “Um, me and Jason, Michael, Linus and Karly, and Bo.” She frowned. “If all the upper ranks are here, who’s going to handle pack business?”

“Peter will. Jason already talked to him about it. And Linus’ mom is going to come up to watch the baby for them. And it’s just for a couple nights. We could come to your rehearsal dinner. Is there a decent hotel around?” Everything in her world narrowed to what Cades was saying. She hadn’t expected them to come. She’d thought Cades offered reflexively because they were friends, and she suddenly felt badly that she didn’t consider Cades her best friend anymore. Did that make her a bad person? Felt like it. As aware as she was that Peter, Tina, Jason and Michael were part of her family, they were distant cousins. And in all honesty, although they provided the support she needed with the pack, it wasn't as if they were all one big happy family. They were, but Callie was just the orphaned girl that needed a place to live for a few years. At one time, the pack had consumed her every thought. Since she left and met the boys, it was as if that time was buried far back in her memories. And in all truthfulness, she had actually not given the pack a second thought when she was making her plans and now six of them wanted to join them. And for the rehearsal dinner no less! She fudged the details slightly, “We’re going to mail out invitations this week. I’ll send four of them, one to Peter and Tina even though they won’t come. We’re having our dinner that Friday, and of course you’re welcome. I’ll make sure there’s something in the invitation about the rehearsal dinner so you can let me know for sure one way or the other.” Lisa took that moment to say, “Are these shoes too high to stand in all day?” “Who is that?” Cadence said defensively. “Lisa, my,” shit! “matron of honor. I just picked out my dress and she’s trying on shoes.” There again was the deafening silence. “I thought I would be that for you. You were my maid of honor.” “I’d like you to be a bridesmaid, Cades, if you’re interested. It’s just a small wedding, and Lisa and Rhett have been so good to us. Besides, I wasn’t sure that Jason would want you to walk down the aisle with their brother Alek who is their best man.”

She sounded stiff and unhappy. “What are your colors?” “Dark green and black. You don’t have to do this, I’ll understand.” “No, it’s fine. I wanted to let you borrow my mother’s bracelet for your “borrowed” thing, like I wore in my wedding. I want to be there for you, Callie. I want you to have your family with you.” Her frown felt like it took over her whole face, but before she could tell her that she already had her family – she was surrounded by them – Cades said, “I have to go. I’ll keep an eye out for the invitation. Love you!” Callie stared at the phone. Lisa sat down next to her, “I can step down, you can let your friend be your matron.” “No, Lisa, no. I asked you because you’re important to me and there’s no one else I’d rather have with me than you. To be honest, I completely blanked on the pack. I think the babies are making me a little nuts and forgetful.” Lisa smiled gently and dropped the subject for which Callie was grateful. They headed to the mall and got her wedding lingerie, which included white satin panties, a garter belt and white stockings. While they were there, she got a cute black baby doll to wear to bed that night, but only Eryx got to see it. Right after they sat down to dinner, Ethan got a call from their father that he’d like some help at the boarding house, so he left the two of them alone for the first time in several weeks. Eryx ran his hands along her back, over the satin of the babydoll, after they made love and he cuddled her into his chest. She was already sleepy; it had been a long day. And the times when one of them could get her alone, it seemed like they were more patient to bring her pleasure so that by the time they came, she was wrung out and hung up to dry. Not that she’d complain. She could remember her times as a teenager, having sex and not really enjoying herself, wondering what all the fuss was about. Maybe it was Ethan and Eryx's age and being more experienced. Maybe it was because they were lions and they truly cared about her pleasure. Or maybe she knew her own body well enough to help them bring her to pleasure. Not that they needed directions anymore. They could both send her spiraling into pleasure with a few well placed touches, and it seemed like the further along she got, the more sensitive her skin became. And they’d definitely noticed.

She was nearly asleep when Ethan climbed into bed. He made an annoyed sort of sound and she felt his fingers graze the baby doll. “Damn, what did I miss?” “Take the morning off. She bought it for both of us anyway,” Eryx yawned. He shifted her off his chest so she was cuddled between them and she wriggled and woke up enough to yawn and grab for Ethan’s arm, which he gave willingly and cuddled behind her. She woke up slowly with feather light touches on the inside of her thigh. She recognized the mouth right away, but even if she hadn’t, Ethan kept his hair slightly longer than Eryx’s so that it tickled when he leaned over her. She yawned and stretched, shifting under him. One of her legs was across his waist and the other tucked behind him, and he was kissing softly across her belly and running the tips of his fingers on her legs. “Morning, beautiful.” He smiled, “I’m sorry I missed you last night.” “You can stay home today?” He hummed in his throat, “Yes, I am all yours today. In fact, Lisa has gone running errands with the kids so we have the house to ourselves and we can be as noisy as we like.” “Do you like it when I’m noisy?” She ran her fingers through the soft dark hair at the side of his head. “I love it when you can’t stop your reactions to me, because you're feeling so much.” He gave her a long look with his dark grey eyes and she felt her heart swell at the love she saw in the depths. They made love and took their time, reveling in the emptiness of the bed and the quiet of the house. Afterwards, they showered and dressed and went for a walk around the farm. It was simple and sweet, and they held hands as they walked in the still chilly March air. She confessed her worries at having the pack at the rehearsal dinner and the wedding, and how she’d felt about Cadence's insistence that the pack was still her family. After a few quiet minutes passed, Ethan stopped walking along the tree line and pulled her into his arms.

“You’re our family, Callie, and we’re yours. You left the pack for a reason and Cadence has forgotten what that was. If you want them to be there, then we’ll make room for them. The winery can just move us into the larger private room. But if you don’t, then don’t feel guilty. You can close that chapter of your life to start this new one with us. But it’s your decision. Whatever you want, Eryx and I will both support you. You have to know that.” “I know,” She sighed into his chest and drank in the scent of him. She felt selfish for wanting to walk away from that part of her life when it seemed like Cades was nearly desperate to see her. Maybe this could be closure for her like Ethan thought. Even though it went against her better judgment, she had Ethan change the reservation to include six wolves at the table for their rehearsal dinner at Caske Winery and she mailed off invitations to the people she’d grown up with. She crossed her fingers that it wouldn’t come to bite her in the ass, even as she was fairly sure it would.

Chapter 21 **Ethan** It was moving day. Again. Finally. Fucking. Finally. He was looking forward to laying Callie down on their bed in their new home and making her scream all night. He was pretty sure she hadn’t forgotten how to be noisy those few times that Uncle Rhett’s house was empty, and more than once in the last couple of weeks, she’d appeared out on the farm in the afternoon wearing a skirt with nothing underneath and wanted a quickie. Food aversions aside, they were all enjoying her increased sexual appetite thanks to the pregnancy. It was a week until the wedding, and they were just waiting for Eryx to get off work so they could carry their kitten across the threshold together. She was bursting at the seams to get into the house to see everything. They’d managed to keep her out the last two weeks while they moved furniture in from another storage barn on the farm. Besides the hooker-red couch and the king mattress from his room, coupled with a four poster bed that they purchased just for her, they hadn’t needed to buy anything else except an extra large kitchen table and chairs. When Eryx finally pulled up in front of the house, they walked back together with Callie between them and then he swung her up in his arms and Eryx angled his arms under her as well and she groaned, “You guys make me feel like a whale!” Eryx shushed her with a grin, “It’s important, love.” She smirked and made the motion to zip her lips and they carried her across the threshold of the home that was several months in the making. They put her down gently and she kissed them both and then with a happy sound and a clapping of her hands, she moved around the downstairs and looked excitedly at everything. She loved the kitchen and he couldn’t wait to cook for her.

Pausing at the bottom of the stairs that led up to the second floor, she pulled her sweater over her head and hung it on the banister and said, “We have to christen every room in the house. Let’s start with the bedroom.” They raced to her and followed her up the stairs and carried her again over the threshold of the most important room in the house. And then they made love all night. First, in the master, and then the master bath, and then she cajoled them downstairs to the kitchen to eat a late dinner which they promptly worked off, spreading her on the new kitchen table like a buffet and taking her as hard as she demanded. He and Eryx both called in sick the next day, and they finished christening the downstairs, and then the stairs themselves, and then they spent the rest of the day pampering their kitten and talking together. It was one of the best days they’d had in the many, many great days since Callie had come crashing into their lives. On Wednesday, when Eryx headed off to work, Ethan cuddled for a while with his sweetheart and then got up and made her breakfast and brought it up to her in bed. She picked at the food and settled back under the covers. “Sweetheart, can I make you something else?” He smoothed the hair back from her face. “I’m just sleepy, Ethan.” “Everything will be fine this weekend, Callie.” She gave him a steady look and then closed her eyes in a final sort of way and he took the cue to just leave her to her thoughts. If he’d learned anything about her over the last few months it was that if she wasn’t ready to talk about something, she wouldn’t. “I’m going to clean up downstairs. I’ll save this plate for you, for later.” He kissed her temple and left her in the bedroom, shutting the door and heading downstairs. He cleaned the kitchen, wrapped up her plate, and then got dinner prepared. He knew from what he’d heard learned from the humans that they’d befriended over the years, that for most marriages, the men worked outside the house and the women handled the meals and the cleaning and the laundry, even if they also worked. He didn’t really understand that. He got great joy out of taking care of their family. Even though Callie did her fair share, or rather as much as he and Eryx would allow, he preferred to take care of her because he loved doing it.

He got beeped for the ambulance and answered the call, which he hoped would be a quick one. He changed into his uniform and left a note on the pillow for his sweetheart for when she woke up. He hated leaving when she was asleep, but he was on call today and although there wasn’t much that happened in this little town, he was kept busy. Several hours later, he stopped in the station to turn in the beeper. He only had one more shift and then he was off until after their honeymoon. “You talked to Callie lately?” Eryx looked up from his desk. Ethan leaned in the doorway. “Not since I left this morning. She was asleep so I left a note. Why?” “I called a while back to see if she wanted to get lunch with me, but she didn’t answer. I’ve been trying every 15 minutes.” His heart rate spiked. “Did you try Lisa?” Eryx gave him a hot glare. “No, I’m an idiot. Of course I did. She’s out running errands and Rhett’s out of cell range on the farm.” “I’m heading home now; I’ll give you a call. I’m sure she's just sleeping.” Eryx glanced at the clock hanging on the wood paneled wall, “All day?” He swallowed and said, “I’ll call you,” and tried not to run out the door. Speeding home, he couldn’t stop himself from thinking the worst had happened, because he’d seen the worst working in the police department and for the King EMT squad. He jumped out of the truck as soon as he parked in front of the house and jerked the front door open. “Callie?” He called out, trying to calm his racing pulse and the thudding heartbeat that was too loud for his ears. He didn’t hear her response. He walked towards the stairs, worried something had happened and she’d not been able to reach the phone. She was still so very early pregnant, and a lot could happen in the first trimester. He’d never forgive himself for leaving her alone when he’d known something was bothering her this morning. What if what he took as nerves was her hiding that she didn’t feel well? “Callie?” He called louder as he rounded the top of the stairs. His hand turned the closed bedroom door and as it swung open, he heard it: she was crying in the bathroom. He smiled and let his pulse slow on its own. Her food aversions were really

driving her insane. One day she’d love something like ham sandwiches and the next day they’d turn her green. He opened the bathroom door, but something was different about this scenario. She was leaning heavily against the toilet, but she wasn’t crying because she was throwing up, she was just weeping with her head in her hands, and a small piece of paper was crushed in one fist. “Sweetheart, what’s the matter?” He stepped towards her and the moment she looked at him he knew that something was horribly, terribly wrong. He knelt next to her and she actually flinched away from him. Where he knelt, a manila envelope was turned over and he picked it up. It was addressed to her and postmarked from King. Something about the handwriting looked familiar and when he reached into the envelope, Callie stopped his hand, “Don’t, Ethan.” Her voice was a bare whisper, like she’d been crying for a long time. Her pretty face was red and blotchy, and her hair was drenched with sweat. She’d been worked up for a while. “Callie, please. Tell me what’s wrong.” She handed him what turned out to be a crumpled picture and said, “Why didn’t you ever tell me, Ethan?” He was going to say, ‘tell you what?’ but the moment he stretched the photograph open his heart dropped out of his chest and hit the floor. It was him and another man, naked, kissing. And then it clicked. The handwriting on the envelope was Melania’s; he recognized it from seeing it at the station. “Callie, I,” he stuttered. All this time, he and Eryx had only talked once about telling Callie about their past with the female lions. He’d known at the time that eventually it would come out and haunt them if they didn’t share their secrets with her first, but they’d dropped it. He’d been glad for the reprieve because they both wanted her to love them so much that she wouldn’t walk away from them because of the things they’d done, and allowed to be done to them, at the females’ demands. She looked at him plaintively, broken and sad, from where she was huddled on the cold tile. “This is from before you came into our lives, sweetheart. You have to know that.”

“I’m not an idiot.” She snarled suddenly and shoved herself up from the floor. He was taken back by her abrupt change in demeanor. “Tell me. Tell me everything fucking right now Ethan. We’re not supposed to have secrets.” She flicked the photograph in his hand, “This is a huge fucking secret!” “I, I, we need to wait for Eryx.” She narrowed her eyes at him. He stared into her eyes, hoping to see a glimmer of love in the depths, but all he saw was hazel and amber swirling together in anger. She was livid. When she spoke, however, her voice was suddenly devoid of emotion. “Fine. Get out until he gets home, and take those fucking things with you.” She kicked at the envelope on the floor and stalked past him and back into the bedroom. His hands were trembling when he gathered the envelope from the floor and pushed the photo back inside. He felt sick enough to vomit. She was turned away from him on the bed, arms folded angrily and her whole posture said to stay away. His heart sank. Eryx was going to be devastated by her reaction, at least as much as he was at this moment. In the kitchen, he called Eryx. “We have a problem. How soon can you get home?” “I can cut out in about 20, unless you need me home right now. Is she okay?” He heard the worry in his voice. “Yes and no. She’s fine physically, but, just come home, Eryx.” “Will do.” He didn’t have the courage to look into the envelope. At least not alone. He was freaking out in every sense of the word, and the one thing that would help him, the one person that could comfort him better than any other person on earth was furious with him. Eryx was home in half an hour and sat down at the table after taking off his jacket. He explained, “This was delivered to Callie today. It’s Melania’s handwriting, Eryx.” Eryx went pale. “What’s inside?” “I think you and I both know what’s inside.” “Please tell me that Callie didn’t open it.” Eryx’s voice was a bare plea.

He shook his head. “She’s so pissed Eryx. I think she feels like we lied to her.” He told him how he’d found her in the bathroom, and then how she had kicked him out. It would figure that the picture she had in her hands was something that would devastate her and change how she looked at him. If she’d looked through everything, he knew exactly what she’d see and his heart was cracking fast at the thought of losing his most precious mate. “Well… let’s see what she saw.” Eryx said finally. Ethan dumped the contents out and it was even worse than he thought. Not only were there photos of them kissing other male lions like the photo she had in her hand, but there were also pictures of them having sex with different females in their age group, and several of their orgies. Neither he nor Eryx were gay or even bi-sexual, but several times the females bullied them into kissing and touching other males, their friends, before they would agree to sleep with one of them. When they were younger men, even more desperate for affection, they hadn’t known any better. If the pictures weren’t bad enough, there were two DVDs, titled ‘Ethan’s Greatest Hits’ and ‘Eryx’s Greatest Hits’. Eryx shoved everything into the envelope and stalked over to the fireplace. He opened the flue, lit the long barreled lighter to catch the quick-starter log underneath the wood they kept stacked in case she felt like a fire, and then bellowed, “Callie, get your ass down here, NOW!” The silence in the house after his roar was nearly as loud. Several minutes passed. “Eryx, what are you doing?” He grabbed his arm when Eryx stormed past him towards the stairs. “She can’t hold us hostage for our past, Ethan. We fucked up by not telling her before, but we can tell her now. She wants to know our demons, then we’ll flay our souls open right now.” Eryx wrenched out of his grasp and stomped up the stairs, opening the bedroom door with such force that it cracked against the wall. He heard arguing, and was tempted to go up there, but then Eryx appeared with Callie slung over his shoulder. He gripped her legs tightly and although she didn’t kick or hit, she struggled and shrieked,

“Let me fucking go, Eryx!” Eryx said nothing as he stomped down the stairs, his face dark and furious. He dumped her onto the couch and she bounced once and tried to get to her feet. Eryx barked, “Sit!” She pursed her lips tightly and glared at Eryx before she eased back down. Eryx paced angrily in front of her, back and forth several times, and then he dropped to his knees, buried his face in her lap, and wept. It was the first time that Ethan had ever seen his brother really cry since they were children. The raw emotion that Eryx showed their mate made his own heart break further and he was on his knees next to him, hot tears streaming down his face, begging Callie to forgive them for their past. She didn’t move for several minutes as they wet the material of her jeans with tears. He looked up at her with blurry eyes, “Callie, don’t leave us, please.” Her face softened suddenly and real sorrow shown in her eyes and she stroked his face with her hand, “Oh, Ethan, I would never leave you. Either of you.” And then tears filled her eyes, and she said, “Why would they send those to me? You said we’d be safe here from them.” She hugged her arms around both of them and they all cried together. She gathered them next to her on the couch and stroked their backs and kissed the tears from their cheeks until all three of them were quieted and comforted, at least as much as possible, considering. She kissed both of their temples as she rubbed their backs, “I was angry because of the secrets. If you’d prepared me, if you’d trusted me to be able to handle your past, no matter how ugly, then this wouldn’t have hit me like an out of control eighteen-wheeler. I don’t care what happened before, I care that you thought so little of me that you couldn’t be completely honest about your past.” Eryx sighed deeply, “Ethan wanted to tell you, before we found out you were pregnant, but I was ashamed so I discouraged him, and then we just kept burying it. I’m sorry. Ethan, I’m sorry to you, too.” “I was glad you didn’t want to at the time, Eryx. It was as much my responsibility as yours.”

Callie kissed both of their foreheads. “Tell me now, and then we’ll close this chapter forever.” It pained him to have to tell her everything, but they had no choice now. Sitting back from her side, holding one of her hands, and scrubbing at his wet cheeks with the back of his free hand, he started their story. When they were teenagers and sniffing around the females, the females rebuffed them completely. Eventually, the females suggested that they would be willing to have sex with them if they were given gifts. They were disappointed that the females didn’t want to date. Even though their dad and uncles all told them it wouldn't happen, they had held hope that things would be different with their generation. It was how the humans in the movies they watched started out on the road to marriage, so why not mountain lions? Although they were cautioned time and again by their family that the females weren’t interested in marriage, the lionesses gave them false hope by accepting gifts in exchange for promises that were never fulfilled. When the males started to ask for the promises of sex to be fulfilled, the females played a different game. They would bait them into situations with other males, and then declare if they didn’t do things with their friends, such as kiss, that the females would leave. And once the males did that small thing, the females asked for more things. Not just kissing, but undressing and touching, and they hadn’t known at the time that they were being filmed. And then when they finally agreed to have sex with them, it wasn’t private but with the older females watching as a group. Afterwards, he remembered how devastated Eryx had been. The females hadn’t been kind at all as they watched and their comments were destructive to their already poor self-esteem. It was then that Eryx started to lose the softer side of himself and began to withdraw. They believed it was how things went with the females. That it was that way even in human circles and the movies they’d seen that were romantic and full of love were just fiction. They believed that the females held all the cards and played them however they cared to, human or lion. They were too ashamed of their actions to ask anyone for the truth. And then the pictures started to show up at their dad’s home and he sat them down and told them they were being treated poorly. It wasn’t the first time

that he chastised them at home and then publicly stood up for them. The pictures stopped. They thought they were given the originals to destroy, but clearly they weren’t. Eryx said something surprising, “I know I told you I never wanted to be recorded having sex, Callie, and that’s true. I have to assume that they videotaped us having sex and that’s what is on the DVDs. I didn’t know. I knew about the pictures, but not the videos. I swear.” “Oh baby, I believe you.” Callie pulled him into a tight hug. Ethan figured it for something they’d discussed privately. Callie turned to him, “I’m sorry for what they did to you. I’m sorry I lost it before and made you feel so bad and worried. My emotions are just so nuts right now I couldn’t get a handle on what I was feeling. There’s a part of me that wants to think that you didn’t really exist until we met, and I know that’s silly.” Ethan shook his head and kissed her palm, “It’s not silly, it’s how it feels to me. I didn’t exist until you loved me.” “Me, too, love. You’re the only woman I’ve ever loved, and I never want to see you so angry and disappointed ever again," Eryx promised. That was the damn truth. They stood together and went to the fireplace and slid the envelope onto the hot coals and watched the flames lick and destroy it slowly. Callie kissed each of them and pulled them back to the couch. She settled them against her and stroked their hair and talked about everything except what they’d just shared. She had effectively opened up a painful chapter of their lives, wiped the slate clean, and shut the door, locked tight with her love for them. He’d never felt more loved and cherished in his life, and he thanked his lucky stars for the sweetheart that could see past all his faults and love him anyway. **Eryx** He wasn’t sure if he’d ever get over manhandling her when she was pregnant. He’d gone up to the bedroom in a rage of disgust for himself and found her as livid as Ethan had described. He wanted her to go downstairs to talk but she refused, and she got in his face and yelled at him for hiding their past from her. He hadn’t intended to let

his beast loose, but he slung her over his shoulder and carried her downstairs. He wanted to scream to the moon that she had it all wrong and punch his fists through the walls in frustration. He wanted to berate her for the rush to judgment and her unwillingness to talk, but in the end, he’d been broken by the stark reality of the situation. Callie saw firsthand what their sexual history was like. It was shoved down her throat without warning and they had no one to blame but themselves. And that was enough to make him insane with the thought that she might leave them for this alone, and he’d lost it. Fallen at her feet to beg for mercy. He must have apologized a hundred times for his behavior, but Callie dismissed his worries later that night by promising that he hadn’t hurt her a bit and she was perfectly fine. She even soothed his worries further by having Ethan drive her to the station the next day with the portable fetal heart monitor. She closed the office door and stretched out on his desk carefully to avoid knocking over anything. Ethan lifted her top and kissed the slight swell of her belly, and then used the monitor to find their twins. When the sound of the two heartbeats echoed around them, she grinned, “See, our sweet little cubs are strong. Next time you want to pull a caveman move like that, though, you better be heading towards the bed.” He kissed her belly and then her mouth and they listened to the twins a little bit longer and then duty called and Ethan took her home. He worked later than usual that night with plans to take off Thursday as well as Friday. He needed to spend some quality time with Callie, and with Ethan taking a last on-call tomorrow, he would hopefully get that opportunity and he had just the activity in mind to make up for his treatment before. The next morning, when Ethan left them with a last kiss goodbye and a look of longing to stay tucked around their mate, Callie made motions to get up. Eryx held her with an arm around her waist and refused to let her out of bed. Her wriggling against him in all her naked warmth budged a very nice part of his anatomy. She groaned, “I just need to pee, Eryx. Come on!” “You have to come right back.” “Promise.”

He let her go and she disappeared for a few minutes and then stretched out on her back next to him and took his hand and placed it very gently on the very slight swell of her belly. He rubbed the taut skin, eager for the weeks to pass so that their cubs could grow and he could feel them move. “I was thinking about names, Eryx.” “Oh?” “Yeah. Wanna hear?” She shifted onto her side and tucked her arm under her head. “Of course, love.” He pulled the blanket over her hip and laid his hand there to rest. “I was thinking of Elliott and Evan.” “Nice. They don’t have to start with the letter ‘e’ though.” “I don’t know, I think it’s neat, to have traditions like that. And I thought that Elliott James would be cool, and then Evan Roman.” “James for our dad, and who is Roman?” “My mom’s dad. He used to take me scouting in the woods when I was little. He said that even though I had better senses than humans, it didn’t mean that there wouldn’t come a day when I maybe wouldn’t have all that extra hearing and scent and sight, and if I could walk the land in confidence in my human form, than I could be a wolf at ease.” Eryx liked that story about her past. He wished she’d had a nicer upbringing. At least he could do everything in his power to see that what went forward for them all was full of love. “What if they’re girls?” They were going to be identical, so there were only the two options. She made a face, “I hope they’re boys.” “Sweetheart, even if they’re girls and completely lion, they’ll love you. They won’t be like the pride females.” A fine tremble wove through her. “You don’t know that, Eryx. I just don’t think I could bear it. To have my children treat me like a stranger.” He couldn’t bear it either. For himself or her. “What we believe is that the females create the discord themselves. The girls always start out the same, sweet and loving kids like the boys are, but then the females come around and everything

changes. John said he wished that he’d taken Jilly away as soon as she was born and hidden her from the females. I remember when she was two and he’d managed to keep her away from them, and she would run to us and jump in our arms and ask for kisses with her little baby talk. And then she was a stranger suddenly and John was heartbroken. Whatever the females said to her, whatever they did, love, she was different after meeting them.” “Well, if they’re lions I hope they’re boys and if they’re wolves, then I hope they’re girls, because wolf boys are really arrogant.” She smiled and chased the dark look from her eyes. She did it for him, he knew that, but he didn’t press her. It was out of their hands after all. But he did honestly believe that Callie was going to be the lynchpin in all of their children’s lives. No other lion children would be as loved and well cared for as theirs that much he was certain of. And no other lion husbands, either. While they were alone together for much of the morning, they made love and cuddled and talked, took a bath together and went for a walk around the farm. When she was ready to take a nap, he rubbed her back until she was fast asleep, and he stretched out next to her to read. That evening, he looked over the checklist with Ethan for the next week. They were standing in the family room while dinner was cooking and Callie had her head in the fridge and her adorable ass sticking out from the door. Lisa had done an amazing job of getting the wedding and reception together. Callie had been thrilled that her dress still fit and hadn’t needed an alteration. She looked very early pregnant, gorgeous and glowing, and he couldn’t have cared less if she walked down the aisle with jeans and a Nickelback t-shirt on. The most important thing happening on Saturday was that she was going to be theirs legally forever. “Reservation’s solid, I called before I came home. I have our bags packed and ready to go. The only thing left to decide is who signs as husband and who signs as witness.” Ethan said. Eryx looked up from the paper. It was one of those things that was both important and unimportant. She belonged to both of them. But the human standards for marriages didn’t take multiple were-animal matings into account when they wrote laws. “I’ve been thinking about it a lot and I wanted to toss this out to you. Because I’m

full-time with the city, I have full benefits and you don’t. So if we don’t want to scrape together a few grand for medical costs between her and any future cubs, then it makes sense for me to be listed as husband. As an offset, I thought it would be cool if you signed as the twins’ father on the birth certificate.” Ethan’s face brightened considerably. “Yeah?” He returned the smile. “Of course. Besides, I’m not planning for these to be our only cubs, and you can sign as the witness on the marriage license so both our names will be on there. The placement won’t matter.” And Giselle was creating an unofficial marriage license for them to display in their home that would have them both listed as her spouse. “That’s cool. Thank you for thinking it through. I didn’t know what to do about it and it seems like a stupid thing to think about, but I couldn’t stop.” “I know, man.” He looked over the list again, mentally checking everything off, when Ethan snickered, “Holy crap.” He looked towards the kitchen and Callie had a gallon of milk upturned over her mouth and was shot-gunning it. With amazing speed, the milk disappeared from the jug that had been full when she got it out of the fridge. She dropped the empty milk jug down to her side with a hiccup and a small burp and then she did the cutest thing he’d ever seen. She patted the small swell of her belly through her thin cotton pajama top and said, “That better babies?” She must have felt their eyes on her because she grinned at them and said, “They wanted milk.” “Clearly,” he snorted with good humor. Internally he thought, I hope she doesn’t throw all that up. Friday, she was a bundle of nerves because the wolves were coming to the rehearsal dinner. He wasn’t sure he agreed it was a good idea for them to be there, but he did agree it was good for closure to that part of her life. She would always be a wolf, but that was only a fraction of the wonderful woman they had come to love so greatly. When it was time for them to go to the winery for their rehearsal dinner, all their vehicles drove in a long caravan. The boys were staying with Gwen the were-bear and

her grandchildren. Alek, John and Henry were so happy to see everyone. Eryx wished they’d been able to come in earlier. At Callie’s request, they had bought a truck like their father’s that had a long bench seat in the front. She liked to sit between them. Ethan replaced his Cherokee with another one, citing the need for two car seats soon enough and no back seat in the truck. She still hadn’t asked to get a car for herself, and he was perfectly fine with taking her wherever she wanted to go. For the first time in their lives, they went grocery shopping with their mate and did all the fun dating things that she’d done as a teenager but they had missed out on. They went to a drive-in and didn’t watch the movie for more than ten minutes before the windows were steamed up. They had a picnic under a tree when the weather was first starting to get nice. They camped out and kept each other warm in the tent all night. And she even convinced them to go to a club to dance and although it had made them feel a little territorial with all the men ogling her, it had been fun and she had really enjoyed herself. The best thing they did, though, top of his charts, was when they found a pool hall and spent the evening betting orgasms for games, and although she was the loser, she won in the end anyway, because they all did.

Chapter 22 **Cadence** Cadence fiddled with the buttons on the front of the dress she wore, looking at herself carefully in the mirror of the hotel room she and Jason shared. They were getting ready to meet Callie and her two men for dinner. The whole situation was absurd, and maybe it was her pregnancy hormones all out of whack, but she still couldn’t believe how things had changed for her best friend. It was only three months ago that she’d gotten the call from Callie that she was pregnant, and she’d been so thrilled, hopeful she would come back home to Allen and rejoin the pack. Cadence missed Callie like a part of her body had been cut off. Now it was the end of April and they were in some small town in Indiana just outside the very tiny town of Ashland, where Callie and her men lived. The town they’d chosen to settle in was apparently even smaller than the one they had left in Pennsylvania – fled, as far as she was concerned – and they’d ended up bringing her two men’s father, two uncles and kids with them. The only ones left back in King were apparently a brother and one uncle that had a daughter who refused to leave, so they’d stayed behind until she was of-age. Callie had explained about the female mountain lions and their strange behavior, but Cadence still didn’t get it, and she probably never would. Four and a half months pregnant and feeling big as a house even though she’d only put on a few pounds, Cadence smiled at Jason’s reflection as he came up behind her and slid his hands around to touch the small swell of her belly. “Why are you so nervous? She’s still the same girl you used to ride bicycles with when you were kids.” “Because I don’t understand any of what she’s doing, Jas.” She dropped her head back to let it rest on his shoulder and he pulled her closer. “It’s like she turned her back on everything that made her special.”

“It was her decision to leave, Cades, you didn’t force her.” Cadence pressed her tongue into the back of her incisor so she didn’t say what was resting on the tip there: No, I didn’t force her, but you did. She could feel the shiver of tension that stole through her husband every time Callie was mentioned. Along with having residual guilty feelings about putting her down back in January when she was early pregnant, he worried about her getting all emotional, which she tended to do every time she talked to Callie. It wasn’t just that she’d walked away from the pack, but she had walked away from her, too, and that cut her deeply. As a result, she found it hard to trust anyone else, even the women she’d made friends with. Suddenly it seemed like everyone she loved was showing her their backs. Except for Jason, of course. He wasn’t going anywhere. He’d planted his flag in her like he was Christopher Columbus and she was America, and he’d slaughter anyone that tried to take her from him. But he sure wasn’t a woman and other than occasional pillow talk after they made love, she didn’t have anyone she could confide in. Linus’ wife Karly was the closest thing to a friend she had now that the position had been left vacant by Callie, and it was probably fitting that she wasn’t really human, but a supernaturally perfect mate for Linus. She’d already given him a son, who promised to be a powerful wolf. So why did it bother her so much that Callie was getting married tomorrow afternoon? A knock at the door interrupted her thoughts and Jason went to answer it. Cadence looked at herself again. The dress was a casual maxi that hugged her curves and showed off her belly bump. She heard Jason making silly noises and saw he was holding Linus’ infant son Remy. “You don’t look well, Cadence, are you feeling nauseous? I have some crackers in my clutch.” Karly joined her, looking perfect as usual and suddenly Cadence missed Callie even more strongly than before. She settled her flying emotions before answering, “I’m okay, just tired from the trip I guess.” Kind of true. But the half of her that was wolf was extremely uneasy. They were in cat territory after all. She snorted to herself and adjusted the combs holding her now nearly waist length hair back at the sides. Cats! Callie was mated to

and marrying twin mountain lions! Even if they were gorgeous as she’d said time and again, it was just against nature! “Sweet? We should get going.” Jason called to her, handing Remy back to his doting father. They left the Route 77 Inn in their SUV. They were meeting at a place called Caske Winery, which according to their website was a five star restaurant about twenty minutes from whatever podunk town they were in. Her mood was darkening further. Neither she nor Callie could drink so why the hell were they meeting at a winery? Nestled back in the trees, the restaurant portion of the winery looked like any other expensive restaurant. Jason held her hand tightly and told the maître d' that they were with the Fallon party. “Cades?” She heard Callie’s familiar voice and turned her head to see her best friend standing in an archway with two very tall, very handsome men on either side of her. They each had one of her hands and every fiber of their being said that she was theirs and they weren’t shy about expressing that. She would have gone to her, flung herself into her arms and cried out her frustration at losing her so quickly, but Jason’s grip on her hand increased and instead they walked together as a group. The two men, identical twins, were taller than any of their men, broad shouldered, muscular, and not entirely happy to see them. And she had a feeling that mountain lions were bigger than wolves in their shifts and that meant something, too. Callie looked wonderful. Different. Her belly was bigger, too. Callie looked at both men and Cadence couldn’t help but notice that she was marked on both sides of her neck, and they silently stepped backwards one step and released her hands and Callie closed the distance and threw her arms around her neck. Cadence stiffened slightly – Callie smelled wrong – but then relaxed and hugged her back. “I missed you, Cades.” “I missed you, too.” She choked on the words. Was anyone in more hell? An unmistakable growl came from in front of them and her eyes popped open as Callie slid away and moved back to the men. They put their hands on her, possessively, and the growl stopped. This had the potential to blow up in all their faces.

Callie smiled as if she were used to their behavior, and she probably was, “This is Eryx and Ethan, my mates.” She made small gestures with her entwined hands but Cadence couldn’t tell them apart for anything. They were even dressed identically. Callie introduced Jason as alpha and her as alpha female and waited for Jason to make the introductions, which he did with his normal authoritative tone. Callie suggested they head into the banquet room and Cadence was surprised to see a lot of men at the table and only one woman. Callie introduced everyone, starting with her future father-in-law, James, the twins’ brother Alek who scowled unhappily, and then several uncles and one aunt who was clearly human. Pack introductions were made again and the wolves sat down on one side of the table and the cats on the other, with Callie and her two men at the head. A waiter wearing a long white apron and all black dress clothes filled up water goblets and took drink orders. All the wolves got beer, all the cats got wine, and since Cadence was relegated to something caffeine free and boring, she just stuck with water. She looked at Callie and her men with annoyance. The twins had waited for her to order a lemon lime soda and then ordered the same thing themselves. Clearly they weren’t going to partake in alcohol when she wasn’t able to and a shiver of jealousy spiked through her. Something about the whole thing was off. They were too – devoted – to her. It was all over their faces. Over-the-top possessiveness that put the wolf males to shame. These men, these cats, didn’t do anything without considering the needs of their mate. Cadence twirled the straw in the glass and stared into the depths of the water. Callie had told her that they were very affectionate. That it was the males that raised the children and supplied the love and nurturing for the children, that the female lions were dispassionate to the extent of being cruel. She had never heard of such a thing before. The whole thing smelled rotten and for a long minute she regretted that she’d pushed for them to come. Callie hadn’t seemed to care one way or the other and maybe that hurt the most...that she’d moved on so easily while Cadence still felt the loss of her friendship so sharply.

James stood up and raised his glass. “A toast to my sons and future daughter. I’m thrilled to see the day when lions find mates.” He raised his glass further to the trio, “A better mate for my sons I couldn’t have described, Callie. Welcome to the pride.” They all clinked glasses and Callie kissed first one of them and then the other, and the cats clapped happily and Cadence bristled. Callie was not pride. That word was ridiculous. Callie was a wolf, no matter what was growing in her belly, and that meant she was supposed to be pack. “How was your trip?” Callie asked after several quiet minutes when the waiter had taken their orders and left again. Cadence waited for Jason to answer, but he didn’t seem inclined to do anything except try to find the bottom of his beer. “Not bad.” “I’m glad you could come. It means a lot to me that you’re all here.” Cadence stifled the snort of derision at the statement and nodded stiffly. She caught a dark look from one of Callie’s men, as if he sensed that she wasn’t pleased about the situation, but suddenly she didn’t care. She wasn’t pleased. Callie seemed oblivious to her discomfort at the situation, which Cadence was having some trouble sorting out herself. “How are things at the garage, Jason?” He looked at Callie, “Good, thanks.” He paused and then said, “So you live on a farm?” All three grinned at the same time. It was eerie. Callie answered, “Yeah, in a converted apple barn at the back of Uncle Rhett’s farm. We were planning to work his farm for him, but that didn’t quite happen.” She gave a sweet look to the men on either side of her and they returned the look with warm smiles that made her jealous. Jason didn’t look at her like that. Unless he was planning to take her clothes off. She ground her words out, “Why is that?” “Well, when we got to town the mayor found out that Ethan and Eryx were cops so they asked them to take over the police department, and Eryx is sheriff now and Ethan runs the ambulance for the police department as their on-staff EMT.” Callie’s smile was so genuine and full of pride that it almost hurt to look at it. Had she ever been proud of Jason like that?

The conversation swirled around her, with Karly talking the most to Callie. Cadence couldn't put her finger on what was bothering her so much about everything, but she was feeling completely petulant and the whole scene in front of her left her with a bad taste in her mouth. She listened as Callie talked about the town, the lions moving from Pennsylvania with them, and the cats all joined in with the chatter. Except for Karly, none of the wolves were really saying anything. Jason wasn't feeling anything much one way or the other, he just looked bored. Their food arrived and Cadence was glad to have the distraction. She could feel Callie's eyes on her, but she hadn't been able to meet her gaze. She was afraid she'd say something terrible to her or that she'd cry. "Oh no!" Callie slapped her hand over her mouth and lurched from her chair and ran out of the banquet room. Cadence looked after her in alarm and then back to her mates. "What did she just take a bite of?" One of them asked, looking over her plate with a frown. “I think it was the chicken this time," the other said, and made a motion to the waiter. "I'll go take care of her," the first one who spoke said, putting down his napkin and standing up. The second one said, "Do you have her mouthwash?" "Yeah," the first one patted the pocket of his dress shirt and left. The waiter appeared and the second one lifted the plate, "My wife's pregnant and the chicken didn't sit right with her. Can you bring out the fillet, rare, lobster bisque and some crackers or bread?" The waiter nodded and took the plate away, and James chuckled, "I thought she could eat chicken?" The second one said, "Yesterday she could. She ate two whole rotisserie chickens before we even got home from the grocery." He smiled fondly when he said it. Cadence bristled again. Jason didn't have any idea the things that turned her stomach now. And he'd definitely never joined her in the bathroom. She almost missed another revelation from the man when he said, "I think the babies are starting to test her

stomach. Every day she wants something new and something she liked the day before makes her ill." He wasn't annoyed about it. He was – proud? One of the uncles laughed, "You know what I thought was hilarious is when she sent Eryx out on a mission for non-alcoholic beer, olives, and salt and vinegar potato chips." The men and the woman, Lisa, all laughed. Apparently it was Ethan that was still at the table and Eryx that had gone with Callie. "Yeah, by the time he got back with the stuff she'd changed her mind and wanted milk duds and orange soda, so he went right back out again." Lisa chuckled, “At least he thought to call first before he headed home the second time.” Cadence gave a sharp look to Jason. One time she'd asked him to get her chocolate milk and he'd complained he was tired. He'd gone to get it eventually, but only because she pitched a fit. “There’s milk and hot chocolate mix, Cades, it's the same thing.” These men seemed delighted to take care of their pregnant mate. And the way the lions all reacted to the situation it was as if they all cared about her and paid attention. Cadence decided to go check on her, because she wanted to see if it was true that her other mate was in there holding her hair back and tending to her. She couldn't believe that was the case. And she couldn't believe that Callie hadn’t told her about having twins! She ducked Jason's hand that he’d thrown up to try to stop her from leaving the table and stalked to the bathroom, opening the door and not believing the sight in front of her. On a small fainting couch in the plush outer area of the woman’s bathroom, Eryx held Callie in his lap and cuddled her, smoothing her hair back from her face and talking in a soothing voice. She was shaking and he was holding a tumbler of something fizzy in his hand. Eryx looked at her for a long minute. "I don't want you upsetting my wife, Cadence." She couldn't help but bristle again. They were both calling her wife and they weren't married yet. Why did that bother her? Did she look as angry as she felt? Why

was she so upset anyway? She took in a few deep breaths and said, "I just wanted to make sure you were okay, Callie." Callie opened her eyes. They were bloodshot and she looked very tired suddenly, but she smiled in a small way. "They take good care of me. Thanks." She felt tears prick at her eyes and she gritted her teeth and fought them. "You didn't mention you were having twins." That explained why she looked a little bigger even though she was a month behind her. "I thought I did." Eryx held the glass to her lips and she took a sip of the offered drink, probably ginger ale, and sighed. Cadence swallowed past the lump in her throat, but found she had nothing really to say to her, so she turned and left. The scene in the bathroom had been intimate. Not sexual, but she felt as if she was intruding on something profound. Jason was wonderful. Everything she'd ever wanted, but as she walked sullenly back to the banquet room she couldn't help but compare. Her own marriage seemed a pale shadow compared to Callie's relationship with the cats. Jason was a wonderful man, but he wasn't necessarily the most compassionate man. He was raised to be alpha and alphas weren’t the most outwardly affectionate men in public. She had never felt like something was missing from her marriage to Jason but, still, she wasn’t happy right now. She detoured out to the front patio of the winery, not hungry and not interested in conversation or pretense. She just wanted to go home. By the time she was chilled from the night air and not having a jacket, she'd come to the conclusion that part of what was bothering her was that she felt like an intruder on Callie's life. They had grown up together, shared everything, and Callie had given her up in a matter of months as if she were of no importance at all. And all the men, not just her two mates, looked at her with complete devotion, as if she were the most important person in the world to all of them. "There you are," Jason said, coming out to join her. Cadence looked at him. He stood slightly apart from her, hands in the pockets of his dress slacks, rocking back and forth on his heels. She knew if she asked him to hold her, that he would. If she went to him first, that he would wrap his strong arms around her and kiss her worries away. If she told him that her heart was breaking and

she felt so out of control with her emotions that she was terrified she was going to say something hurtful if she opened her mouth, that he would shush her gently and let her lean on him for as long as she needed to feel grounded again. But she didn't want to ask. She didn't want to have to ask. She wanted...she wanted to have Jason be so worried about her that he would instinctively cuddle her like she'd seen in the bathroom. That if she got sick from something she ate that he would know what she would like to have instead without even asking. That his father Peter would know just as much as their father James did about what went on in her life. Jason sounded slightly annoyed, "What the hell is the matter with you today, Cades?" She felt her eyes well up and before she could stop the words from leaving her lips she said, "It's not supposed to be like this!" It came out on a wail, followed closely with, "She's supposed to be miserable and want to come home; she's not supposed to be happy!" Jason looked completely shocked at her outburst. And then she realized with a sinking feeling that they weren't alone. "That's a fucking thing to say," one of the twins said with an angry growl. Callie stood open mouthed, shocked, between the two. She flushed with embarrassment. "Callie, I'm," she struggled to find something to say that would fix it, but the look on Callie’s face said she'd done irreparable damage. "Maybe you should head back to the hotel," the other twin said tightly as they turned Callie around and moved her back inside. It looked like she'd lost the ability to walk and they were supporting her. Cadence could guess that she was crying. "Fucking stay here. I'll get the pack." Jason growled with authority and Cadence had no choice but to obey. Mortified, she waited dutifully until their party came out and they went back to the hotel. No one talked to her, but she could feel Jason's anger at her outburst and she was angry, too. Angry that she’d asked to come here. Angry that they’d come. Angry that she’d hurt Callie. And most of all, angry that she’d lost her. She could see that much now. Her friendship with Callie was all but a memory now.

Chapter 23 **Callie** She wrenched her hands into Ethan’s shirt and wept. She knew that something was wrong with Cades the minute she walked into the restaurant, but to know that she expected her to still come back to Allen, even knowing she was pregnant and about to be married, just boggled the mind. Eryx rubbed her back while Ethan cuddled her close on his lap on the small couch in the bathroom. There was a knock at the door and it opened slowly, and Lisa stepped inside. “We’re packing up, we’ll get everything to go and eat at the farmhouse. Whenever you’re ready.” “Thanks, Lisa.” Ethan sighed. When they were alone again, Eryx tilted her face up and wiped her cheeks gently with a cool, damp paper towel. “She’s just jealous, love.” She gave him a disbelieving look. Ethan added, “No, he’s right. Not just jealous but selfish, too. She wanted you to be so miserable that you’d be begging to go back to Allen. She clearly misses you, baby, and can’t stand that you’re content.” She took a few deep, calming breaths. She hated crying. It made their already compassionate natures go haywire trying to soothe and protect her. It was a bad night to have a meltdown. In just three more hours, they were going to leave her alone in their home until tomorrow afternoon at 3:30. She’d felt their tension when Cades had insulted her on the patio. They’d wanted to protect her from Cades. It had warred with them to walk away from Cades without saying something to stand up for her. In the end, taking care of her had won over their instincts to tell Cades off and that was probably for the best. Then Jason would get involved, and well, no one wanted a showdown between the wolf pack and the mountain lion pride. “Let’s go home.” She said with a voice as calm as she could muster.

Outside, Eryx tossed the keys to the jeep at his father. “Will you drive us, dad? We’d like to sit in the back with her, together.” “You bet.” Sandwiched between them, she rested her head on Eryx’s strong shoulder and held Ethan’s hand tightly. There was no safer or more comforting place for her than with her mates. “You know the old saying,” James met her eyes in the rearview for a moment, “that you can’t go home again? I think your friend was counting on you to still rely on her for support, to need a place to call home because you weren’t happy where you put your roots down.” “I don’t know why she would rather me be miserable, though.” “I think she really misses you.” Ethan said, stroking the top of her hand with his thumb. “She can’t miss me and still be happy for me?” She snorted. Eryx tipped her chin until she was looking into his eyes. “You know, I think more than missing you, I think she was jealous. Of your life now and how well you've done without the pack and what you've found with us.” “She’s using the fact that we’re cats as something to pick at, but I think it’s more likely that she’s upset that you found what she didn’t by leaving the only thing she ever wanted to be part of.” Ethan offered, bringing her hand to his mouth. Even in the darkness of the jeep, she saw the flicker of heat in his eyes and then felt his tongue dart out for a heartbeat to lick the top of her hand and her stomach flipped and twisted pleasantly and her pulse started to race. “Are you trying to distract me?” He hummed noncommittally in his throat and turned her hand and pressed his mouth to her wrist, swirling his tongue along her pulse point. Eryx smoothed her hair over her shoulder to expose her neck and kissed the space behind her ear. She shivered and then jerked in awareness of their surroundings. She growled. “Okay, a) that’s not fair because we’re not home and b) we’re definitely not alone.”

James chuckled from the front seat, but said nothing else and her face went hot with blush. She felt Eryx’s hand cup her ultra sensitive breast and squeeze gently. He whispered in her ear, “When we get home, love, you’re going to be so well distracted you’ll forget your name.” Ah, now that was something to look forward to. She did her best to resist their gentle kisses and caresses, as Ethan kissed up the inside of her arm and back down, nibbling on each finger as if her skin tasted like candy, and Eryx kissed her neck and simply held his hot hand against her breast through her dress. It was enough to make her come completely undone, except that their father was driving them so it was just through sheer willpower that she wasn’t lifting the skirt of her dress up over her hips and asking them to take her hard. When they stopped in front of their home, she shoved Ethan’s shoulder to get him to move out of the truck faster. They now only had two hours until midnight. Not nearly long enough in her book. They laughed at her eagerness and James handed them her boxes of food and said he’d see them at his home after midnight. She wasn't sure she said goodbye to him, she wasn't sure she did anything except tow them through the house to the stairs and snarl every time they tried to drag their feet. They were teasing her and she wasn’t in the mood, damn it! Their new favorite way to wring pleasure out of her was to each take a side and work her together as a team. She could barely handle it, it worked her up so fast, but she loved it. When they were naked, they went on their sides, looping one of her arms behind each of their necks while she lay on her back. They hooked her knees and spread her apart, draping her legs over their hips so she was spread wide and totally at their mercy. The first kisses were gentle and teasing as they alternated between her, a taste of things to come, and then slowly they abandoned her mouth and began to work her breasts, first pinching and tugging on her nipples until they were even more sensitive than usual and then dragging them slowly into their mouth with torturous pressure. The first time she’d ever come with their mouths on her breasts was under similar circumstances. The orgasm that flowed through her as they relentlessly tugged on her

tight buds locked her body in a spiral of pleasure that made her dig her nails into their backs and scream. They hiked her legs higher on their hips and Ethan began to flick her clit fast and hard as Eryx slid two fingers quickly inside her. He timed his thrusts to Ethan's flicks, and her body quivered and twitched between them. She couldn’t do anything except blink through the stars in her eyes and listen to the sound of their hands working her. With her body spread wide and hooked over their hips, she couldn’t move at all, helpless to their increasing rhythm until they drove her to a hard climax that made her breath catch in her throat. She cried out and dug her nails into their skin as Eryx added another finger and Ethan increased the pressure of his finger on her clit. Her body wept for them and she clawed their backs as she arched off the bed, thrashing and desperate. She begged, “Please, please!” Ethan and Eryx looked at each other over her writhing body and reached a silent decision. Although she was still unable to find her voice, when Ethan rose to his knees she whimpered for the loss of his warmth. He smiled, gently but wickedly, and lifted her from the bed against his chest. Eryx slid over where she had lain in the middle of the bed and stretched out on his back and Ethan set her down on her knees between Eryx's legs. Pillows went airborne between the two men and Eryx beckoned her forward with a lust filled smile and she prowled up his body and he met her in a hard, demanding kiss. She felt Ethan pushing the pillows underneath her body, one at the top and bottom of her growing belly as he tugged on her hips gently and she moved back towards him. She knew that they were planning to take her together, because time was so short. She would have protested that they could be fast, that she could take them one after the other so she could have them both, but they never did much care for the quickies, and they both wanted her. And damn it, she would give them anything they wished because they gave everything to her. Ethan, on his knees behind her, helped position the pillows a final time so she was comfortable, massaging his hands into her hips gently. Eryx's hot cock, wet with pre-come, beckoned her and all rational thought,

all thought at all, went spiraling out of her mind with dizzying speed as she sucked his cock into her mouth and Ethan drove himself into her. Eryx squeezed her shoulders gently and ran his fingers through her hair, voicing his pleasure because he knew how much she loved to hear him lose control. Ethan thrust hard and fast into her, gliding inside her tight, wet heat, swiveling his hips with each pass until he found her sweet spot and brought her to a fast orgasm. She moaned around Eryx's cock as pleasure raced through her veins. Ethan's hand slid around to her mound and he began to rub her sensitive clit in time to his rhythmic pounding. Eryx's body tensed under hers as she scored her pleasure into his thighs and swallowed his cock, reveling in the throaty growls that poured from his mouth. Her climax hit her like lightning in a clear sky, catching her by surprise so she dug her nails into Eryx's flesh and screamed around his length. He howled as he came, his hips pumping wildly under her as she swallowed each delicious drop of his come. Ethan gripped her hips hard and shuddered as he came, pounding into her wildly and shouting her name until his voice cracked and it became a reverent whisper. Ethan, panting hard, dropped to the bed next to them as Eryx pulled her up his body and hugged her. Shifting her between them, Eryx kissed her ear, smoothing his hand down her sweat slicked side, “What’s your name again, love?” “I’m not sure about anything; I’m still floating in the clouds.” A beep broke through their quiet laughter and they both stiffened. “That’s ten minutes to midnight, we almost didn’t make it.” Ethan sat up, kissing her gently on her lightly bruised lips. Eryx lightly massaged her jaw as Ethan inspected her hips. A glance down showed fingertip shaped bruises from where he had held her tightly and she batted his hand away. "You know I love it when you hold me tight," she murmured, nipping at Eryx's bicep lazily and yawning. When her eyes opened, she peeked down Eryx's body and saw that she had indeed drawn blood on his legs. Before she could apologize for losing control and scratching the hell out of him, he tickled the space behind her ear and parroted back, "You know I love it when you scratch me, angel."

She knew they both did, in fact. Bites, bruises, and scratch marks were part and par of making love to a were-animal, and although they were incredibly careful and gentle with her especially now with her babies, none of them ever escaped without a little love bite at least. Eryx sat up and kissed her as Ethan got up and dressed, whispering, “We need to go, sweetheart." “I’ll miss you.” She was tempted to say that she didn’t care about traditions, that she thought it was stupid to spend a night apart when they’d been living together for three months and she was having their babies. She kept the thought to herself, because she knew that the boys really did want to do all of the wedding traditions, because theirs was the first mountain lion wedding. “I love you, sweetheart. Tomorrow afternoon we’ll be married and then we never have to spend another night apart.” Ethan promised, kissing her. Eryx dressed and took his place, leaning over and kissing her gently. “I love you, too, baby. I can’t wait for you to be mine forever.” She told them both she loved them and watched them leave the bedroom after reminding her that dinner was in the fridge and they loved her and missed her already. Truly happy and blissed out, she lay in bed for almost an hour and thought back over the last few months of her life and the surprising twists that brought her to this place. A rumbling tummy drove her from bed and she donned Ethan’s robe and headed downstairs. She never gave his robe back, and he wore it every now and then for her so that his scent stayed within the fabric. She loved how he smelled, both of them, male and heat and sex and just hers. And in about 14 hours, she was going to marry both of them. On the table in the kitchen, she almost cried at the sweet scene they’d set up for her before they left. They set a place for her, and a tented card on the plate had her name in Eryx’s scrawled handwriting, overtop of two roses, one tipped with pink and one tipped with peach. She opened the card as she went to the fridge. “Our sweet kitten, we can’t wait for the wedding. This night will be torture for us, but we promise that we will make it up to you for the rest of our lives. We love you. We miss you. We’re so glad you’re in our lives. Your soon-to-be-husbands, Ethan & Eryx.”

She misted at the sweet words on the card. They only called her their kitten if they were talking about her together, as in she was their kitten. Otherwise, she was Eryx’s angel and Ethan’s sweetheart. Three boxes and one plastic covered bowl were waiting for her and she heated them all up carefully. Along with a bacon wrapped fillet and baked potato with all the fixings in separate little containers, there was lobster bisque, a tightly wrapped loaf of sourdough bread, and a selection of spring veggies. They knew exactly what she would have been in the mood for if she hadn’t been so upset by Cades’ behavior. She was certain they were already on their way back to Allen, and she didn’t expect to ever hear from her or any of them again. Karly had always been sweet to her, it was just in her nature to be kind and considerate. While she was fiercely protective of Linus, she didn’t have a malicious bone in her body. She was both surprised and not surprised by Cades’ behavior. She could guess that some of what she was feeling was hormone driven and maybe amplified what she was feeling, but she and Callie had always been each other’s only support growing up. She wasn't sure how she would feel if the positions were reversed. If Cades was the one that had left the pack and joined up with a different were-group, wouldn’t Callie be happy that she was happy and loved and protected? She’d like to think so. Cades spent her whole life wishing she was part of the pack, which is what Callie had been born into. It probably rubbed at her that she’d not only gone rogue, but had picked an entirely different were-group to be with. Cades could probably handle another wolf pack or even a human husband, but not cats. For someone who wasn’t really accepted in the place she grew up, she sure had an elitist attitude about wolves. Finally stuffed and tired of thinking about Cades and the past when she’d worked so hard to make her life here with the boys, she patted the slight swell of her three and a half month old twins and decided to just go to bed. She would take a bath in the morning anyway since Lisa was taking her to the spa and then they’d head to the church to get ready. And plus, if she didn’t take a bath tonight, then she wouldn’t wash off the scent of her men, and she truly couldn’t sleep right without that scent in her nose.

She curled their pillows around her and drifted off into a deep sleep, anxious for the day to flow quickly and without problems. She was more than ready to start the next part of her life. By the time she’d spent a good bit of time soaking in the four person sized whirlpool tub in the master bathroom, Lisa was tapping her foot impatiently in the kitchen, ready to get to the spa. The boys had splurged on this for her, and she didn’t want to go alone, so Rhett had kicked in the extra cash to send Lisa along and both women were tickled pink. “I brought bagels and a note from your boys.” She grinned up at Callie as she wrapped the robe tighter around herself and padded down the winding staircase to the first floor. After a cheek kiss, she took the note and a cup of decaf hot tea from her, and sat down at the table. The envelope had Ethan’s writing on it, and something weighed in the corner. She opened it and pulled out the folded piece of paper and a ring. It looked very old, delicate, and lovely. The card said: “Night without you was hell. We can’t wait to have our kitten in our arms tonight. We found this ring in our grandfather’s things when he passed. This is your 'something old', and a piece of our history that we are so thankful we don’t have to repeat because you are in our lives. We love you and are counting the minutes. Eryx & Ethan.” She sniffed at the emotions that swelled through her and fingered the ring. They were grateful that they had found a mate, a woman to share their lives and to help them raise their children. They’d dreamed about it, hoped for it, but until they met her, they had never expected it to come true. And now, thanks in part to being forced to take her away from their hometown, their father, brother and uncles, not to mention their adorable nephews, all had a chance to change their own destiny. She was proud to take some credit for that. She ate four bagels heavy with cream cheese and drank two cups of tea while Lisa told her about her wedding to Rhett. She had been so sweet these last few weeks handling all the wedding stuff for her. She had a flair for it. Every few days she’d come to Callie with questions about what she wanted and she’d make her choices and leave her to it. The only thing she cared about was that at the end of day she’d be Mrs. Calliope Fallon. Awesome.

Lisa drove them to Kenneth’s Day Spa Salon in Ketrick two towns over for their appointment at 9. All her things were waiting for her in the chapel’s bridal chambers. The only thing she had to take with her was the ring they had just given her, which she was now wearing on her right middle finger. She looked at the ring in the sunlight. It was a slim white gold band, in the center of which was a heart shaped setting made up of cut diamonds and rimmed with tiny round rubies. Down either side of the ring were four round diamonds. It was a lovely ring, and she was proud to wear it, even though she could guess that when their grandfather bought it for the lioness that he bred children with, that she had rejected it. They never spoke of their grandmother, but their hurt at their own mother's behavior suggested that it was an inborn trait for the females, and that she never gave any indication that she recognized them. "Did your friend ever call to apologize?" Lisa cut the quiet with a soft voice, drawing Callie's inner thoughts about the demons her mates battled. Even though they trusted in her and her love for them, she knew that at the back of their minds, they couldn't help but think she was too good to be true. Even with all her faults. "No. I would guess they're back in Allen by now." "I'm sorry." Callie cast a glance at her. She was half watching the road and half giving her a very genuine look. Lisa's own family had turned their backs on her because she married Rhett. They thought he was a beast and would kill her. "I think that they're right, that she was jealous of what I have with the boys. When I think about what I would have ended up with if I'd stayed with the pack, I doubt I would have ever found a mate. Not a true one, anyway." "The hierarchy thing, was it scary?" "I was near the bottom, so yeah. At least when we all first shifted, the ones in my age group were fighting for rank. I think it was worse because they never understood that I didn't care about rank, that I just wanted to live my life and be myself. I had to leave to spread my wings, to find my heart." "I think Ethan and Eryx clipped your wings pretty good." She laughed and Callie joined in. Lisa would probably never be her best friend, she was more like the aunt she

was supposed to be, but Lisa loved Callie because Lisa loved Rhett and Rhett loved his family, and Callie felt the same way about her. Two weeks ago she indulged in a Brazilian wax and the boys had been thrilled. It hurt like hell, but a few pain relievers before and after helped, and in the end it was worth it to not have to shave. Since the first time she shaved for them, they'd liked it enough to request it. So while the wax was painful, a few under-carriage nicks bothered her more, not to mention that eventually she wouldn’t be able to see that area as the babies grew bigger. They walked into the day spa and were greeted immediately by a woman with great skin. "Oh, the future Mrs. Fallon! And Mrs. Fallon!" She gushed at both of them and ushered them right into the back. She walked backwards, holding a clipboard. "Now, you're both getting our Supreme Spa Special." Callie shrugged and looked at Lisa. They'd had nothing to do with the reservation; it was all on the boys. The only thing she knew for sure was that two of the estheticians were going to follow them to the chapel to do their hair and makeup. Felicity, as the woman had identified herself, swung her hand into a room that had two massage tables, soft music, scented candles, and two women in pastel golf shirts and beige slacks. They looked like those Swedish bikini models, with big boobs, ultra blonde hair, and beautiful faces. "Helene and Dawn will handle your massages, and then you'll be getting facials, manicures and pedicures. Do you know how you want your nails?" They both answered, “French," and she smiled. "Of course. For your special day. You can change in the back, and we'll take it from here." Their clothes folded, they met the girls at the tables and Callie apparently got Dawn. Dawn stretched a towel over Callie's waist and asked what scent of oil she preferred, and she thought for a moment before answering, "Do you have anything with honey?" "I have honeysuckle, if that would work?" She turned from the long counter with a brown glass bottle and Callie said it would be perfect. Dawn started at her neck and she closed her eyes with sigh. Her mind drifted to the coming honeymoon. The only thing she knew was that they were going away for a week. The boys had even gone so far as to pack her bag for her, so she didn't have a clue what they had planned.

After their muscles were turned to butter under skillful hands, they sat next to each other on padded, comfortable chairs wearing luxurious fluffy robes. One woman sat on a stool at her feet and began to tend to them, another sat on her right and started on her nails, and a third stood by her head and reclined the seat enough to do her facial. It made the whole experience even better knowing that the boys had planned it for her. She could picture Ethan at the computer, looking over the spa services and asking Eryx what they should pick for her. Her stomach twisted pleasantly at thoughts of them and she knew she'd get to see them soon enough. Buffed and polished to perfection, they got dressed and headed to the chapel. Their two makeup artists, Holly and Belle, were in their 30s, and spent their weekends doing bridal parties. They entered through the side of the chapel and moved down a long hallway to the bridal chambers. It was a two room suite with a full bath, plenty of couches and chairs, and a refrigerator. Their bags were hanging in the closet and their things were spread out in front of two vanities. They’d spent all yesterday morning making sure they had everything ready. Her stomach growled and Holly remarked that most brides were too nervous to eat. Callie laughed, “Well, the babies aren’t, that’s for sure.” Lisa opened the refrigerator and pulled out two plates and arranged them on the vanities for them. Both plates had fresh fruit and veggies and chunks of cheese and crackers. She sipped on hot tea while Belle started on her hair. When Callie was finished with her light lunch, she brushed her teeth and then it was makeup time, dress time, and hair finishing and veil attaching. The veil clipped with a rhinestone clip at the back of her head where Belle gathered twists of hair and pinned them back. Her hair fell in thick curls to her shoulder blades, shiny and radiant. With her seed pearl earrings and necklace in place, she looked at herself in the full length mirror and her heart flopped. Who was that beauty? Oh, her! Lisa grinned behind her. “The dress was an excellent choice, Cal, you look beautiful.” The cut of the dress made it drape beautifully over the slightly rounded part of her belly where her babies lay.

Lisa knelt in front of her with two garters. “Does it matter which one is on which leg?” With Belle and Holly’s help, the front of the dress was lifted up and Callie lifted one leg and said, “No, it doesn’t matter.” After both were secured on her thighs, Lisa stood and said, “Okay, you’ve got your new, which is the dress, your old which is their grandfather’s ring.” Callie nodded, “The garters are blue, and then, for borrowed,” she blinked and then her shoulders sagged. Cades was going to let her borrow her mother’s bracelet. “Here.” Lisa unhooked her tennis bracelet and put it on her wrist. She had just told her this morning how Rhett had given it to her for Valentine’s Day and had saved for months for it. “Thank you, Lisa.” She hugged her and sniffed past the tears. She didn’t want to cry and ruin her makeup before they even got a chance to see her. There was a knock and Lisa went to answer it and let James in. He looked so handsome in his dark suit. They were all wearing matching vests and ties, a silver and hunter green pattern, and he had a perfect white rose in his lapel. “You look just incredible, Callie. A real princess.” He smiled and his eyes got bright with unshed tears. Considering how caring and loving the cats were, she knew she wouldn’t be the only one with tears in her eyes. She gave him a hug and he kissed her cheek. “I’m so glad you’re here for me, James. There isn’t anyone else I’d rather walk down the aisle with than you.” “I’m honored, truly.” The clock ticked down quickly and they were suddenly standing outside the double doors to the sanctuary of the chapel where fifty people were waiting. She smiled at Lisa from the side of the hall out of view of the doors as they opened and Rhett escorted her down the aisle where she took the place of Matron of Honor. If Cades had been with her, she would have been a bridesmaid and walked with Alek if Jason could have stood letting her touch an unmated male. The doors swung closed and Callie and James and took their place on the runner. “Are you nervous?” He whispered.

“A little. Dreams don’t come true every day, you know.” “They’re nervous, too, trust me. I’ve never seen Eryx fidget so much in my life.” He chuckled and she grinned. Her stomach tightened as the doors opened and everyone in the church stood up. Besides their family, the tiny church also contained the mayor and his wife, the fire chief, his wife and sister, and a few neighbors of Rhett and Lisa’s. But the only people in the world she cared about were waiting for her on either side of the minister. As she and James walked down the aisle, her vision narrowed to their grinning faces, the twin looks of love and hope and desire that showed in the glittering depths of their eyes was all she needed to see to know that she’d found her true mates in the unlikely pairing of a rogue she-wolf and twin mountain lions. Whatever choices brought her to this place, she couldn’t have been happier than she was at this moment, and their real lives were just beginning.

Chapter 24 **Ethan** The wedding was a blur. His wife, a vision in white and positively glowing with happiness, filled him with such pride that he wanted to shout from the rooftops how wonderful it felt to find love, finally. Pastor Giselle performed the ceremony that beautifully included the three of them together in one marriage, and they’d decided ahead of time that he would get to kiss her first. Every time they were faced with something that one of them needed to take the lead on, they just worked it out. Eryx gave him a lot of leeway, too. It just showed that Eryx had a deeper tender side than anyone had known. The small crowd in the chapel clapped for them as they walked down the aisle, and their church-acceptable-kiss, which Callie had made them practice ahead of time, gave way to a heated exchange in the foyer when the double doors closed behind them. “We missed you so much, sweetheart,” he said into her ear, hugging her tightly before passing her to Eryx. “I missed you, too.” They had just moments before the doors swung open for the receiving line to adjust themselves but Callie’s flushed face and bright eyes gave it all away. She was one happy bride. As their guests, minus their family, left for the reception at the enormous boarding house that their father and uncles called home, they stood for a hundred pictures in the church, outside the church, and in the church’s small garden. Callie was the loveliest woman he’d ever seen in his life and knowing that she belonged to him and Eryx gave him such a sense of pride. To come to this point in his life, to be married and five months from having twins, was like the most beautiful dream he could have imagined. His sweetheart filled the hole in his heart and made him complete. He would spend the rest of his life worshipping her.

When it was just the three of them in the church garden with the photographer and their family had gone on ahead to get the party under way, they spent that time in quiet reflection while the photographer, a friend of the pastor, moved them this way and that way. Callie finally complained that her hand hurt from holding her bouquet of lilies and the photographer took one last picture and left them to head to the reception to start taking pictures there. A chauffeured town car was waiting for them in front of the church, but they took their time walking to it, Eryx holding the bouquet for her as she walked between them. “It’s been a long day, are you tired, love?” Ethan asked, worried that she would push herself too hard to make everyone else happy. “I’m good.” “Are you happy?” Eryx asked, casting a glance at her with that same look in his eyes that Ethan felt, too. That it was a dream and they were going to wake up, alone, back in King. “Of course. I married my two best guys and in a few hours we’ll be on our honeymoon. It’s been a great day.” She sat between them in the car and as it pulled away from the curb for the short drive to their family’s home, she said, “Are you both happy? I’m pretty high maintenance, you know.” “We don’t think you’re high maintenance, sweetheart,” he chided her, sliding his thumb along her jaw. She closed her eyes with a sigh and cuddled into his palm. “You’re just ours.” Eryx picked up her hand and kissed the rings on her right hand that he’d given her. “Just. Ours.” Cheers from their family and friends greeted them when they walked into the large, open downstairs of the boarding house. The great room was lined with couches and chairs and small side tables along all the walls, and the kitchen counters and tables were stuffed to overflowing with everything that their bride loved. Their cousins ran around half out of their adorable suits already, chasing each other and darting around the adults’ legs. Callie sat between them on a comfortable sofa and he went to fix her and himself a plate. She said that whether she felt in the

mood to eat or not, the babies were always hungry, and they were all very hopeful that she wouldn’t get sick. The dress didn’t lend itself to quick getaways to the bathroom. After they ate, with no mishaps, the stereo was cranked up and they danced with their bride for the first time. It might have looked strange, her in the middle of the two of them, but it felt completely normal. They were so used to sharing her that it felt odd to think otherwise. She was more than enough for both of them to share. So full of love and hope and compassion that she shone over their family like a bright sun. They were about to cut the cake – chocolate with buttercream frosting – when the doorbell rang. Every cat in the place went very still because on the other side of the door was the wolf pack. Their protective instincts went into overdrive, and it wasn’t just the two of them that worried about her emotional state. Their uncles and even Alek came to stand near them to show their support as their father went to open the large double oak doors. Cadence and her husband Jason stood in the center of the long front porch, the others spilled out behind them. They were not dressed for the party, wearing jeans and casual tops. Cadence held a small silver wrapped box with curled ribbon in her hands. “I wanted to speak to Callie, if that’s alright?” He and Eryx looked at each other and then at their wife. They could feel her tension, her body wound tight and muscles locked, and he was about to step in and say that there was no one at the house that wanted to speak to the wolves at all, when Callie cleared her throat and said, “Sure, Cadence.” She did not let go of their hands and when they were out on the porch, she positioned herself slightly behind the both of them as if they were protective walls. And that’s what he felt like. A defensive wall, ready with claws and fangs. “I’m so sorry, Callie. I just wanted you to know that. I know I made you feel bad and I asked Jason to turn around and come back here so that I could apologize in person and give you your gift.” She shifted the box in her hands like it contained the solution to the problem she’d created. “I’m not coming back to Allen.” Callie said, her voice strong and sure. “My life is here, with my husbands and my family.”

Cadence’s eyes shifted between the three of them and she fought down a grimace. “I know that. I didn’t mean to ruin your day, I just, I just miss you so much, Callie. I never thought you’d leave the pack. I thought we’d be raising our kids together and,” she caught herself from whatever she was going to say and cleared her throat. “I’m sorry. I was selfish and rude. Can you forgive me?” The pause was significant, but if she wasn’t the wonderful woman that she was, Ethan wouldn’t have known that at least on the surface, she would accept Cadence’s apology. She stepped between them and hugged her and took the gift. She never said she forgave her, but if Cadence realized it, she didn’t push it. He thought that Cadence’s behavior and desire for Callie to still be miserable was unforgiveable, and apparently, so did their sweetheart. Callie kissed her cheek and stepped back between them, the small box in Eryx’s hand now as their arms wove protectively around her. “Have a good trip back to Allen,” Callie said and without another word, they all turned into the house and the doors shut behind them. “Are you okay, sweet kitten?” He asked, cupping her face in his hands and searching her lovely eyes for pain. She wrapped her hands around his wrists and kissed the inside of each palm. “I’m good, actually. We’re married and we’re about to cut the cake. The babies are hungry for chocolate.” She wriggled her brows at him and he laughed and kissed her. How anyone could have ever mistaken her for weak, he didn’t know. She was the strongest person he’d ever known and his life was better because she was in it. Eryx tickled his fingers along her neck, “Are you sure it’s the babies that want chocolate, or their beautiful mommy?” She wrinkled her nose at them and said, “Maybe it’s both.” After promising on threat of a honeymoon with no sex that they would not try to feed her the cake in any form that involved “shoving or smearing”, they kissed their wife with the sweet taste of frosting on her lips. They spent the rest of the party watching her dance with their family and eat her body weight in chocolate cake. They left for their honeymoon at 8, driving the pickup that was stashed at the boarding house and loaded down with ribbons and balloons and a just married sign on

the back, heading for Yellowwood Lake Cabin Resort. Their large, private cabin was just a short walk from the lake and the Yellowwood State Forest. Before they left, he and Eryx had taken off their jackets, vests and ties, and Callie had changed from her dress into a pretty strapless dress that was form fitting on top and flowed loose to her feet. They had already checked into their cabin, brought their suitcases, and stocked the refrigerator in the small kitchen that morning. They wanted everything to be perfect for their first night together. Already used to being carried between the two of them, she just smiled endearingly at them as they picked her up and carried her over the threshold, both kissing her before they put her down. “Oh, wow.” She said, turning in a slow circle in the center of the great room. Several couches and low tables dotted the hardwood floor, a wall of sliding glass doors looked out onto a screened back porch with a hot tub, and further to the woods that surrounded the cabin. Eryx turned on the gas fireplace and went around turning on the electric candles they had stashed all over the cabin. They’d both agreed that using real candles when they were sure to get distracted and forget about them was a bad idea. He sat her down on the couch and went into the kitchen for the tray of fresh cut fruit and cheese, and the bottle of chilled sparkling white grape juice. Opening the bottle, he poured three glasses and handed them to his wife and his brother and they both knelt down in front of her and clinked their glasses to hers. “I love you, Callie. My sweetheart. I’m so glad that you’re mine forever,” he promised. “And I love you, too angel, more than I ever thought it was possible to love another person.” Eryx said, “I’m so glad you came crashing into our lives.” Her eyes went bright and she said, “I love you both. Ethan.” She leaned over and kissed him, “Eryx,” and then kissed his brother. “I’m so happy to be your wife.” They drank the grape juice which was a little tangy for his tastes but Callie loved it and took both his and Eryx’s glasses and finished them, and they fed her small bites of fruit and cheese until she said that she thought they’d eaten enough for now, and that it was time to get acquainted as husbands and wife.

Eryx pulled out his surprise, a pair of velvet covered handcuffs. Her eyes went wide and they waited to see what she would say. She sat back against the couch with a smirk and said, “Whatever did I do, officer?” Eryx gave him a nod and Ethan scooped her up in his arms and followed him back to the master bedroom. He laid her down in the middle of the bed and stretched her arms up to the slats of the wrought iron headboard. Eryx fit the cuffs around her wrists, anchored to one of the slats, and leaned over and said with a heated tone, “Assault with a deadly weapon.” She laughed and wriggled on the bed, “What weapon would that be?” They both answered, “Your pussy.” Ethan tipped her chin and kissed her, stroking the inside of her mouth with his tongue so he could brand her scent into his mind again and again. He traced the delicate curve of her neck and began to pull the pins from her hair. Eryx, down to his slacks only, straddled her legs and began to tug the dress down slowly, kissing the flesh that was bared until the dress was on the floor and she was laid completely bare before them. Ethan slipped off the bed and took off his shirt and toed off his shoes and socks. They’d agreed ahead of time to keep their pants on until they had given her as much pleasure as she could handle. Handcuffing her was just one way to make sure they didn’t rush things. She had a way of touching them that made both of them forget anything they had planned. Her breasts were much more sensitive now, and seemed to grow more so each day. Settling next to her, he tested the weight of them as he kissed her, feeling her nipples harden further under his thumb as he traced the darkened tips. He and Eryx’s eyes met as his brother parted her legs and moved between them. “So how many times does our kitten need to come for her crimes?” Eryx sat back on his heels and pulled her ankle up to his shoulder and bit down gently on the arch of her foot. Ethan hooked one hand around her knee and pulled her free leg further apart. Callie wiggled and tugged on the cuffs experimentally. “How many hours were we apart?” Ethan teased, leaning over to lick across one delectable nipple.

She let out a shaky breath when Eryx said, “Oh, about 15 hours I think.” Her eyes widened and Ethan had to smile at her still seemingly wide-eyed innocence. As if they would push her delicate body that much in one night. Now, over the course of a few nights? Hell yes. “I think just a few tonight, brother,” he dug his fingers just slightly further into the back of her knee to remind her that she was completely at their mercy right now, that all of her pleasure lay at their hands. Instead of answering, Eryx began to play with her, holding her leg straight against his body while he traced the seam of her open sex with his fingers. He split his time between watching Eryx finger fuck her into oblivion and watching the rapture on her face as she climbed higher and higher. Ethan turned to her breasts and mouth, playing with the sweet, firm globes until she shuddered with each flick of his finger and devouring the sweet taste of her mouth with his own. Too lost to his own thoughts as he plundered her mouth with his tongue, he was only barely aware when Eryx dropped her leg and unzipped his slacks, and he forced himself away from her mouth to give Eryx room to make love to her first. He didn’t really watch Eryx, but he did watch Callie. It was amazing to see her as his brother made love to her, the way that her head tipped back when he thrust his cock inside her, the possessive way that her legs curled around his hips and the panting breaths that gushed from her mouth. She was just simply the most sensuous creature he’d ever known. As Eryx finished and pulled away from her, rolling onto his back with a gusty growl, Ethan leaned over and peered into her eyes, searching for signs that she was overly tired. “Love?” He asked, tracing the edge of her jaw with his fingertip. Something was in the depths of her eyes, he just didn’t know what. “Can you let me go? I want to touch you.” Eryx sat up and reached for the key on the nightstand, and after releasing her and tending to her tingling arms, Ethan decided a change of plans was in order. Dropping a kiss to her mouth, he got up and went into the very large bathroom off the main bedroom that was done in warm beige tile and gold fixtures. The bathtub, a

sparkling sandy brown, sat in the corner of the bathroom with a wide ledge around it and several steps leading up to it. He turned the water on, adjusted the temperature and pulled the drain closed and then went into the linen closet and pulled out every towel inside and made a comfortable place for Callie to sit so he could take care of her before they made love. Eryx and Callie were waiting with curious expressions as Ethan scooped her up in his arms and carried her into the bathroom. Eryx followed, but stretched out on a small fainting couch in front of a large window after turning on the electric candles and dimming the lights. The water was filling up the tub quickly and he stepped in with Callie in his arms and set her on the towels so that she could lean back against the wall with her legs hanging into the tub. “Comfy, baby?” He said turning back around to her after he had adjusted the water flow so it only trickled now instead of rushed. He liked to be able to hear her when he ate her out. She shifted slightly as she spread her legs further apart, the pretty deep pink of her core on perfect display between her lovely thighs. “Yes, Ethan,” she smiled. Kneeling in the tub, he leaned over her pussy and spread her further apart with the fingers of one hand, revealing the swollen pearl of pleasure until it was laid bare for him. He kissed her pussy like it was her mouth, paying the same lavish attention to the apex of her thighs as he had to other parts of her in bed. Swiveling his head back and forth, he tongued her clit and sucked her sweet flesh into his mouth, drawing her to a slow orgasm. He knew she was pretty wrung out already and although he was selfish for her climaxes he didn’t want to cause her muscles to ache in the morning from overuse. He played with her heavy breasts with his free hand and when he felt her hands dig into his hair and her body surge to meet his mouth with thrusts of her hips, he switched a hand around to pulse into her, searching for that hot, sweet spot to send her over. With a sharp cry, her body exploded around him and she fisted his hair in her hands as her pussy clenched his fingers with vise-like intensity. He pulled his hands away from her with a final kiss to her clit before pulling her down in the tub.

The erection he’d lost as he’d prepared the tub for her had sprung back to life with the first taste of her sweet honey and now he turned her to face Eryx and settled her down on his cock backwards so she could use the edge of the tub for support. Still on his knees for leverage, he pushed her hair aside and threaded an arm around her while grabbing her hip and began to move in and out of her. The water lapped around them like tongues and she moved against him, driving her body down to meet his cock as he pushed into her. He took over the pace and grabbed hold of her shoulder with one hand and began pumping into her, driving the breath from her lungs and pushing her towards the climax he could tell was close for her. “Come on, love, come once more for me.” She gasped and moaned, her knuckles white on the edge of the tub, and he swiveled his hips until he heard that distinctive sucking in of her breath that said he’d hit the right spot. Driving his cock into her, over that spot again and again, her body trembled and then she cried out his name and her pussy milked his cock as he came at nearly the same time. He settled back in the tub and pulled her with him, wrapping his arms around her heaving chest as her head dropped back against his. “Love you, baby,” he kissed her cheek. “Love you, too,” she said as she shivered. Eryx joined them in the tub once the water temperature was adjusted and they talked about the wedding and reception and their plans for the week. After she yawned a half dozen times, they emptied the tub and dried her off, settling her between them in the large bed after all the candles and the fireplace were turned off for the night. He woke up slowly to the sound of very soft humming and quiet crunching. He realized quickly that Callie was not in bed and when he scanned the room he saw her standing nude in front of the large bedroom window, one hand cradling her belly and the other chewing on a carrot stick. She rocked back and forth absently, humming a song he didn’t recognize, and seemed to be looking upwards over the treetops at the sky. He got up and joined her, wrapping his arms around her body and splaying his hands across her stomach. “Can’t sleep?” “Hmm? I was a little hungry. Did I wake you up?”

“It’s okay. Do you want me to make you something?” “I’m good now.” She finished off the last of her carrot, chewing as quietly as she could. “What are you thinking about, love?” He rested his chin on top of her head. “I was thinking about my mom and all the mistakes she made with me, and how I don’t want to make those same mistakes with our kids. And I was thinking, too, about how lucky I am to have found you when I did. If I hadn’t gotten disillusioned with my former life I would still be stuck where I was and not deliriously happy.” He chuckled softly and pressed a kiss to the top of her head. “I’m sure we’ll all make mistakes, but we have each other and our kids will know one great truth as they grow up: that we all love them, no matter what.” “Do you know that I love you, Ethan?” “I do, baby. I feel it all the way in the very deepest part of my heart. I didn’t know what love was until I felt your love for me.” Picking her up carefully, he carried her back to bed and settled her between himself and Eryx who hadn’t woken while they’d been up. Pressing a soft kiss to her mouth and curling her into him, he said with a whisper, “I love you, Callie. My sweet, beautiful wolf mate.” **Eryx** After their honeymoon, life got back to normal. Callie supervised Ethan’s painting of the twins’ room when they wouldn’t let her do it herself because of needing to use a ladder. She picked out a dark navy blue on one wall and a lighter medium blue on the others. She found forest wall stickers that included mountain lions and wolves and she scattered them around the walls, finishing with the ceiling filled with glow-in-thedark stars and planets. The two cribs stood against one wall, and a rocking chair and a small table with a lamp with a wolf on the base sat on top of it in front of the large window. The dresser against the far wall finished the furniture, and Callie had matted and framed pictures of herself, he and Ethan when they were young, and she had taken pictures of them in

their shift, promising to have someone in their family take her picture in her shift and the three of them together, as soon as she was able. As the summer started, she began to grow more and more sexually driven. They worried about hurting her or exhausting her, but while she slept a good deal, she was always ready to play. She said the only things she could think about clearly were eating and having sex. The first time that they felt the babies kick was like touching the sun. It was just so incredible to know that their children were growing inside their mate. He came home for lunch as often as he could, and she was always waiting for him. He hadn’t actually eaten lunch during a lunch-hour in weeks. Ethan spent as much time as possible with her while still keeping up on his job with the ambulance and helping on Rhett’s farm. With the cousins done with school until the fall, they could count on them to be hanging around and they appreciated the extra eyes on Callie. They never pestered her, but one or two of the boys would be around somewhere, keeping a quiet eye on her. Sarah declared in the middle of August, that she thought the twins would be ready soon, and that she would be waiting for the call. Sarah had given her the option of having the twins born in their home and Callie soundly nixed that idea. He didn’t disagree. There was something comforting about being in the hospital. Then one night, he had a dream that Callie was afraid and crying, in pain in the dark. He couldn’t find her and felt like something was holding him back from her. He woke up to her moaning in her sleep in discomfort and she sat up abruptly with a sharp groan and clutched her belly. “I think my water just broke.” Ethan was awake in a heartbeat and helped her dress quickly. Eryx grabbed a beach towel from the linen closet and put it down in the truck for her to sit on, and they took off for the hospital, calling Sarah first and then their father. Sarah was waiting for them at the back entrance to the hospital. “She’s had three contractions since her water broke,” Ethan said, “about five minutes apart.” “Good. Callie, how are you honey?” Sarah asked as an orderly stood with a wheelchair to take her down to one of the private delivery rooms in the area of the hospital reserved for Sarah’s “special” patients. Eryx stayed to hand over the

paperwork they had filled out a few weeks ago and grabbed her overnight bag from where he’d set it down and headed to the room. It was small, stark white and smelling of disinfectant, but the only thing he cared about was his wife on the bed. Ethan had already helped her into a gown and Sarah was examining her. While he stood on the other side of her bed, two nurses that he recognized as Sarah’s associates strapped a fetal heart monitor around Callie’s belly and after a few adjustments, the sounds of their two heartbeats filled the room. “You’re about 8, Callie,” Sarah said, stripping off her latex gloves and tossing them in a receptacle. “So we’ll just watch and see how fast it progresses.” Smoothing back the hair from her forehead, he kissed her softly. “Can I get you anything, love?” She grabbed his hand and squeezed it tightly. “Just don’t go anywhere, okay?” Laughing, he promised he had no such plans to ever leave her side. “You are well and truly stuck with us both, Callie,” he promised, and she sighed with a relieved smile. Within an hour, the contractions were much closer together and Sarah finally declared her ready to push. He didn’t think he’d ever seen her look more uncomfortable than when they positioned her sitting up with her lower body spread bare to the room which was thankfully empty save for Sarah and her nurses. With each passing contraction, they helped her as best they could, offering resistance when she needed it, and as much support as they could give. Judging from Ethan’s face, he could tell that his brother felt both awed at the miracle and helpless to make her feel better. With her hair matted to her head with sweat, and her eyes glazed over from exhaustion and pain, when Sarah told her to give one more good push, Callie whimpered and looked up at him. “I can’t, Eryx, I’m too, I’m too tired.” His heart cracked but he helped her to sit up and said, “You can, love, you’re so close to seeing our children. You can do this; you’re the strongest person I know.”

Whether bolstered by his words or a pressing contraction, she bore down, digging her fingers into his hand and yelling out a curse that ended on a sob of relief as their first child was brought into the world. “Yes, baby! You did it!” Ethan cheered from the other side of the bed. “It’s a boy!” Sarah declared, turning the baby around quickly to show them and then handing him to one nurse while she tied the cord. “Which name did you want for our first, kitten?” Ethan asked, tears slipping down his cheeks as he cut the first cord. “Elliott James.” Sarah reminded them all that there was one more coming and Callie seemed renewed by the sight of her first born child and she brought their second son into the world without a curse this time, but plenty of tears. They relaxed her back slowly to the bed and the other nurse took their second child – Evan Roman – to where Elliott was after Eryx cut the cord. The nurses disappeared to the corner of the room to weigh and measure them and give them their first baths. Eryx held Callie’s hand tightly while Sarah tended to her and Ethan took pictures of their sons while the nurses cared for them. Ethan returned after a few minutes, his eyes shining with happiness. Pressing a kiss to her forehead Ethan said, “I’m just so proud of you, Callie.” She smiled sleepily as finally the nurses brought over the babies and handed Elliott to Ethan and Evan to him. Eryx looked down into the face of his son and all the love he’d ever felt in his heart was amplified by a million. He’d not believed in love at first sight until he met Callie, and now he knew that even as a father, he would never love anyone as much as he loved his family – his brother, his wife, and his children. They were all parts of a whole. A whole family. “Look at my brother, the softie.” Ethan chuckled as Eryx scrubbed the back of his hand over his eyes. “Can’t help it. I’m just so damn happy.” “Hey. Watch the swearing,” Callie said with a tired smile. “Sorry, angel.” He winked at her and joined Ethan on the other side of the bed where they switched babies to say hello and he whispered into Elliott’s ear, “You’re the

oldest, Elliott. That means you have to take good care of your brother because he needs you as much as you need him.” “Give me my babies,” Callie said, and held out her arms. After some positioning and discussion about the breast feeding book they’d read together, both boys were happily nursing away, making hungry slurping sounds. “Well, they’re definitely Fallon men.” Ethan declared with a laugh at the way they latched right onto her breasts. By the time the babies were fed, Callie had fallen asleep despite her attempts to stay awake and involved in the first precious minutes of their children’s lives. While Ethan went to get their family, Eryx unlatched the babies from her breasts, placed them in the bassinets at the foot of the bed, and covered her up with a blanket. She looked like a real angel, with a small smile on her lush mouth even in sleep. Ethan scooped Evan up from his bassinet and their father, Alek, and their uncles and Lisa cooed quietly over the newest additions to the family. Their father held Elliott and said, “Ah, they look just like the two of you did. It’s wonderful, boys. I’m so proud of you.” Alek hugged him and Ethan, saying he was glad that he’d come and was happy for them. He was an uncle for the first time and it was clear on his face that although he thought their wife was a fluke and that lions weren’t meant to have real mates, that he was thrilled to have nephews to fawn over. “She’s the difference.” Uncle John said. “When Beth had Jilly, she didn’t even call me when she went into labor, she just showed up at the house one afternoon and told me that my child was at the hospital waiting to be picked up. But you got to be there, and hold her hand and support her, and you’re a real family now. What we’ve all always longed for. I’m so happy for the three of you.” “The five of us.” Ethan said, coming to stand next to Eryx. Five’s a very good number.

Chapter 25 **Callie** Some Time Later... She tried to roll over when she heard first one sharp cry followed quickly by a second one, but her large belly got in the way. “Elliott always riles up Evan,” she groused, rolling to her back and rubbing at her sleep deprived eyes. “It’s true. The oldest is always causing the youngest problems.” Ethan leaned over and kissed her forehead, taking a carefully worded jab at Eryx. “I’ll see what they want.” Eryx slid his hand across her five month baby belly. Thankfully, just a single this time, but an unexpected single at that. The twins were only 18 months old. She thought she had been too tired to remember her birth control. “If this baby isn’t the last one for a while, I’m going to make you guys start wearing condoms.” She threatened. Eryx’s hand dipped down the bump of her belly and teased her thighs. “I don’t know, angel, you said you love to feel us come deep inside you. Condoms will stop that.” Ethan walked back into the bedroom after finding Evan’s favorite stuffed wolf and Elliott’s blanket, “Ugh, who said condom?” “Your wife. She doesn’t want another cub for a while.” Ethan spied Eryx’s hands moving under the sheet and he smiled as he slid into bed next to her. “It’s not our fault you are so irresistible.” She supposed not. But only for them. She closed her eyes and told them she was tired, but they could hear that she was teasing and they took their time bringing her around to their way of thinking. Which was, of course, that there was no such thing as being too tired for sex.

In the last 19 months of her life, so much had changed. Not even two years ago, she walked away from the only home she’d ever known and made plans to “go human”. She didn't even recognize the girl from Allen, and that was a good thing. She and Cades had reconciled after the birth of Cades' daughter Lyric. They sent occasional emails and had the cursory birthday phone call, but the friendship was strained that one night at the rehearsal dinner, and there were some things that just couldn't be forgotten or taken back. James, who stepped easily into place as her surrogate father, told her that friendships were meant to evolve and that sometimes evolution meant it disappeared. Cades didn’t fit into her life anymore and distance didn’t always make the heart grow fonder. Sometimes it made things …distant. She would always be a wolf, and the Allen pack was family for her when she had none, and Cades was like a sister. But nothing ever really stayed the same, and although she did miss her terribly at times, she wouldn’t trade her life with Ethan and Eryx for anything in the world. They ate dinner at the Pope’s one Sunday night a month, and the rest of the Sundays they ate at the boarding house. John and Alek were getting ready to come to Ashland. Henry was ecstatic, but John was devastated at the loss of his only daughter. Callie wished that she could fix what was broken inside Jilly, but mountain lion females were not meant to be mates, they were meant to continue the were-species and obliterate any threats to their pure lines. Except for that last attempt by Melania to derail their marriage, they hadn’t heard from them. The lionesses lost a handful of their most eligible and gracious males because of Callie, but they were happy together and safe and that was enough for her. For all of them. Someone asked her once if the boys ever fought over her and they were surprised when she said no. She was sure that in a human ménage, jealousies and pettiness could ruin things, but between Ethan and Eryx, there was just love. It was a symptom of their mountain lion natures that they cared as much about each other’s happiness as they did hers. And they loved each other enough to share her and they loved her even more than that. And now their children were growing up in a world where mountain lions had a mother that would love them with every fiber of her being, and that was the start of a good evolution.

Several months after their third child, Cameron Alek was born, James showed up at their home with startling news. Melania and Farrah had been killed by the girlfriend of one of Ethan and Eryx’s high school friends and fellow pride-mates, Paul. Paul had taken to heart that he could leave the pride with his human girlfriend and follow in their footsteps. The females had revolted against that notion, going full force at the poor woman and threatening her. One night, they broke into her house and tried to kill her, and she just happened to be a gun-toting federal marshal and shot them both dead. The females in the pride scattered and that left the males on their own, a new dawn for their kind, as it were, in the wake of those deaths. Not too long after it happened, a group of male lions called to ask if they could come to Ashland to live. She knew even before the subject was discussed at dinner that the men would welcome them with open arms and help them in any way. Two of the males were James’ age, but the rest were all in their twenties and eager to start fresh in a new town but still have the pride as back up. She could understand that feeling, the need for a safety net of family even as you spread your wings. She could easily spread her wings now because her feet were firmly rooted with her family. Before the males showed up, she asked the boys if they wanted to go back to King to live now that it was free of females, but they both said no. Ashland had become their home and now, with Alek, John and Henry with them, along with the new males, and the pall of the females in the pride gone, they were finally free. She’ll never know why the lion females were made the way they were, to have no interest in the softer things in life, or why the males were so tenderhearted and caring. It was like most things in life…just the way that it was. She never wanted for an extra set of hands to help with the kids or a babysitter in the form of an uncle if she needed a nap or they needed a night out. And even Alek, who hadn’t come to understand what love really was all about yet and was angry to be cast aside by the brothers he loved so much, had started to come around. And it might just have had something to do with Sarah the were-bear midwife and her sweet smile and kind heart. Every night, Callie rocked her baby boy to sleep and kissed the soft, dark heads of her twin sons before getting ready for bed. Some nights, when Ethan was working the ambulance and it was just her and Eryx, they would make love for hours in the quiet

stillness of the house, thankful for their fleeting time alone together and the circumstances that caused their lives to intersect. When Ethan could stay in bed with her in the mornings before their children woke and Eryx was already at the station, it was a special sort of quiet and love that settled over the house when it was just two of them spending time in a different way than they usually did. Most nights, the three of them were tangled up under the blankets, reveling in their love. Shifting on the full moons, she played chase with her sons. They didn’t know yet whether they would be wolves or lions, or possibly even neither, but it didn’t matter. They were hers. Her life was set in stone for her some time ago, and she took a hammer and smashed it, defying her family’s line of wolves and walking away from the only life she’d ever known. In return for that courage, she was rewarded with the most loving family that was ever created, and she thanked her lucky stars every night that she was so perfectly blessed. The End ******* From The Author: I hope you enjoyed book 3 in my Wolf’s Mate series. Stop by my blog at http://www.rebutler.wordpress.com to find out the latest news and musings, or drop me a line at [email protected]. I’d love to hear from you! ******* Also available from R.E. Butler: The Wolf’s Mate Series: The Wolf’s Mate Book 1: Jason & Cadence The Wolf’s Mate Book 2: Linus & The Angel The Wolf’s Mate Book 3: Callie & The Cats Novellas: A Curve of Claw A Flash of Fang A Price for a Princess

A Bond of Brothers (Coming Soon!) Coming Soon: The Wolf’s Mate Book 4: Michael & Shyne Enjoy an excerpt from The Wolf’s Mate Book 4: Michael & Shyne: And then he saw her. Heaven in a short skirt. Near the tent covered arena where the boxing matches were going to take place in a couple hours, the sweet heavenly beauty was chatting up a few men, laughing and casually touching their arms. His beast sat up and whined. Immediately, everything in his body went on alert. Without even realizing that his feet were moving, he was suddenly next to her as the other men left with brochures in their hands and smiles on their faces. He looked down into her face as she looked up into his. “Hey sweetie. Like to work out?” She smiled sweetly, a lush movement that made him picture that mouth on his cock. He looked up at the booth. It read “Stone’s Gym”. He remembered to answer her. “Sure.” “I’m Shyne. I teach group fitness at the gym, but it’s a lot more than just me bouncing around in tight shorts.” Now that he’d like to see. “I’m Michael.” He felt like a total idiot. Like he’d never spoken to a woman before. Come on man, get it together! She handed him a brochure, and their fingers touched for a moment and she straightened slightly and blinked at him. Beautiful dark brown eyes flecked with gold looked up at him. Their fingers stayed like that for long enough that he was sure of three things. One: she was gorgeous. Two: she was not a wolf but human. Three: she was his mate.

She pulled her fingers away and blushed. Her skin was a lovely shade of coffee with cream, darkly tanned enough to speak to a parent that wasn’t white. Her jet black hair was long and tied back into a high ponytail. The white golf shirt she wore highlighted the lovely shade of her skin and showed off her fit physique. Short, about five and a half feet of gorgeous, she had curves everywhere and great legs that peeked out from under the black skirt. He looked at the brochure. The gym was in Dalton. That was only about a half hour north of Allen. He could totally swing going there and working out. A rumbling growl suddenly alerted him to the three hulking men behind the counter of the booth. Glancing at them, he felt his wolf’s hackles rise and he scented the indiscreetly. Hyenas. All three of them. Shyne said, “These are the owners, Dante, Cairo and Mason. Cairo’s boxing in the match tonight. Are you going?” “Yeah.” “Great, I’ll see you there, then.” She gave him another smile and it was more genuine than the first one. Suddenly, the man she’d called Dante was at her side with his arm on her shoulder. He whispered something to her and she nodded and then seemed to try to extract herself from under his hand. Michael wanted to break his hand off for touching her. Dante was taller than Michael by several inches. And wider. He gave Michael a hard look as Shyne turned away from them and went back into the booth and rummaged through a box. Michael gave the stare back as good as it was given to him. He didn’t budge a muscle until the hyena turned with a snort of derision and went back into the booth. Michael turned and walked away to find his family and friends and read over the brochure. He figured a good way to get to know Shyne was to spend time at the gym. The hyenas seemed possessive of her, but he knew a little something about their kind and they obviously hadn’t claimed her yet. There was no way that a hyena clan would let their bride touch other men so casually like that. And more than that, she didn’t seem to want to be touched the way that Dante had crowded her which told Michael that she wasn’t in a relationship of any sort with them. That was a very good thing.

....Coming Fall 2012!