Desiree

Daughters of Circe 2

Desiree Desiree has one mission to fulfill in this lifetime. She must reunite with her werewolf soul mates long enough to get one of them to turn her into a wolf so they can impregnate her. Then she can finally break free from the cycle of rebirth and heartbreak she and her lovers have been forced to endure. Once Marius, Demetrius, and Flynn find the woman they know they’re destined to love, there is no force they will allow to tear her from them, not even their loyalty to their pack. After a neartragedy rocks the Lycan community, Desiree is left unprotected, and she must flee for her life. Though it breaks her heart, she has no intention of returning to her lovers. She won’t ask them to choose between their love for their pack and their love for her. The trio of brothers must fight to preserve their love. Genre: Ménage a Trois/Quatre, Paranormal, Vampires/Werewolves Length: 51,222 words

DESIREE Daughters of Circe 2

Michele Zurlo

MENAGE AMOUR

Siren Publishing, Inc. www.SirenPublishing.com

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A SIREN PUBLISHING BOOK IMPRINT: Ménage Amour

DESIREE Copyright © 2011 by Michele Zurlo E-book ISBN: 1-61034-482-0 First E-book Publication: May 2011 Cover design by Jinger Heaston All cover art and logo copyright © 2011 by Siren Publishing, Inc. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED: This literary work may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, including electronic or photographic reproduction, in whole or in part, without express written permission. All characters and events in this book are fictitious. Any resemblance to actual persons living or dead is strictly coincidental.

PUBLISHER Siren Publishing, Inc. www.SirenPublishing.com

Letter to Readers Dear Readers, If you have purchased this copy of Desiree by Michele Zurlo from BookStrand.com or its official distributors, thank you. Also, thank you for not sharing your copy of this book.

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DESIREE Daughters of Circe 2 MICHELE ZURLO Copyright © 2011

Chapter 1 “You’re trespassing.” Desiree didn’t move to acknowledge the man’s words. She had experienced this moment too many times to think the first meeting would be anything other than a struggle for dominance. It wasn’t a struggle she could win, even if she wanted to. No, she simply needed to establish some semblance of equality. Otherwise, she had no hope of getting what she wanted from him. She would have to play it perfectly. The rich bass of his voice sent tremors through her, finding that ancient place where her soul recognized his. She knew he felt it, too, just as she knew he would fight it with unrelenting stubbornness, trying with all his might to defy fate. Some things never changed. The white pine stood tall and proud in the center of a small clearing. The delicate green needles whispered of softness and supernatural design. This tree belonged to one of her sisters. After centuries of searching, this was the closest she had ever come to needing to find one of them. Desiree stared at it, as if concentrating harder would make the tree give up its witch’s location. “Ignoring me is not in your best interest, witch.”

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Heaving her chest in a resigned sigh, Desiree turned to find out what his face looked like this time. She had no doubt he would be handsome, tall, and utterly irresistible. Fate wouldn’t be so nice as to gift her with an average-looking soul mate whose ego wouldn’t have been inflated by a lifetime of females falling over themselves just to attract his notice. As soon as he stepped out of the shadows of the tree line, she groaned. He wasn’t as tall as he had been last time, which was okay with her because she wasn’t as tall as she had been last time, either. Still, he towered over her by at least a foot. He wore jeans and a red plaid flannel shirt buttoned against the brisk March wind gusting through the small meadow. His jeans were loose, but the shirt stretched across his broad, muscular shoulders. She loved shoulders. No matter how many lifetimes she lived, that one thing remained the same. Well, to be fair, many things remained the same. A soul was a soul. Personality and preference were manifestations of the soul. Though their bodies changed in every incarnation, their basic personalities did not. She didn’t ask his name. She already knew Marius. The Shadow Man had promised to deliver just one of them for this first meeting. Facing all three wasn’t something she relished, especially without first snaring Marius, or at least his interest. The supreme arrogance and the aura of authority could never be disguised. Several steps moved him closer. Desiree neither moved nor spoke. She stared at him with the same intensity she had used with the tree, only this time the edge of trepidation stained her emotions. She was sure it reflected on her face. Not knowing her, not remembering anything of the lifetimes they’d spent together, he would mistake that trepidation for fear. Desiree wasn’t afraid of him. He was a lot of things, but cruel wasn’t one of them. No, she wasn’t relishing the fight it would take to make him fall for her all over again. In fact, she had no intention of fighting

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for his love. She’d take his lust because that’s all it would take to lift Circe’s curse. She, of course, was already in love with him. She remembered every look, every caress, every night spent in his arms. The clouds broke, and a shaft of sunlight exposed the details of his features. Sharp, rugged bones defined the contours of his face. Bronze colored the skin of his face and hands, but she didn’t know if that was his natural tone or if he was already tan from spending so much time outside. The roundness of his face made him seem friendly, but the hawkish nose and those coal-dark eyes negated the effect. Desiree wished with all her might for him to flash a smile, something to give her courage against the granite reflected in every inch of his demeanor. He didn’t oblige. “Leave here, witch, and never return.” Swallowing her pride because she knew he would trample on it if she didn’t, Desiree sauntered closer. She needed to make him want her. Sex was the only thing that would motivate him to keep her close long enough for him to turn her into a wolf and impregnate her. While she wanted much more from him—she wanted everything—she wasn’t going to bank her hopes on success. She had been burned by him too often. Her last three lifetimes had ended utterly barren of love and joy. If she could accomplish her mission in this lifetime, she could be done with the whole circus of rebirth and crap like that. She stopped inches from pressing her chest against his. “I’ll show you mine if you show me yours.” His pupils dilated and his nostrils flared. Color stained his cheeks, but his fists didn’t clench. He looked from her face to her chest and back again. She had dressed both for the cool weather and for the occasion. Her shirt was tight, not scanty, and her jacket hung open. Confusion flittered across his face. “What?” “You heard me just fine, wolf-man. You would have heard me if I said it a half mile away.” She cocked her head to the side and turned on her best saucy grin.

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“Your words are foolish, witch. Unwise. Go back to where you came from and forget you were ever here.” Uncertainty flashed behind his eyes. It lingered for a fraction of a second, but long enough to bolster Desiree’s courage. She raised one hand, moving slowly so she didn’t trigger a reflexive action they would both regret, and rested her fingertips against the soft flannel of his shirt. “You and I both know you don’t want me to leave.” He sucked air in sharply, tensing at her touch. He cast a brief glance at her hand, and need darkened his eyes to obsidian. “You don’t need to fear desire.” She kept her voice low and hypnotic, trying with all her might to cast a simple charm on him. He was too strong for anything that wasn’t subtle. If this slipped past his defenses, it might be temporary, but it would buy precious time. “It’s natural to have these kinds of feelings for a woman you find attractive.” “You’re no woman.” He gritted his teeth, fighting her with everything he had. The charm failed. “You’re a witch, a Daughter of Circe.” It was the perfect opening to ask him what he knew of the Daughters and how. Had he encountered her sister? Did he know where she was? The health and the magic radiating from the tree testified that her sister was alive and well. But this was not the time. As much as she needed to find her sister, Desiree knew this was going to be her only shot at having her wolf. She ignored the Daughter part of his statement. “Oh, my precious wolf, I am definitely a woman. Would you like to conduct a closer examination?” When he didn’t respond, she tossed her hair over her shoulder and tilted her head to expose her neck. To a wolf, this was a sign of submission. He wouldn’t expect this kind of offering, not from someone who wasn’t like him. To a man, which he definitely was, her pose represented the essence of flirting. She ran a finger down the center of his chest,

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following the row of buttons. She itched to undo them, to expose that hard expanse beneath his clothing. Instead, she threw out a challenge. “Or are you not man enough?” Just like that, her arms were pinned behind her back. One hand encircled both of her wrists with no problem. The position thrust her chest against his. Desiree relaxed into his embrace, letting him support most of her weight. Her knees weren’t completely reliable just then. She knew what kind of a lover he was. She knew he would have her begging for more in no time. Part of her feared this about him. She always surrendered to him, but he didn’t always surrender to her. Too many times, he had feasted on her before sending her away from him. She didn’t know what it did to him to live knowing a vital piece of his soul was out there and he chose to throw it away, but it killed her each time. To the depth of her being, Desiree prayed this would be one of those times when he gave in and accepted her love. It had been too long since that had happened. He growled, the sound rumbling through his chest and into hers. “Witch, your words are unwise.” She giggled. “You said that already. What’s the matter? Is having me this close making it difficult to think? Don’t fight it, wolf-man. I can tell by the way you’re looking at my lips that you want to kiss me, and I can tell by the way your free hand is twitching that you want to find out what my skin feels like under these clothes.” His breathing grew labored, but he held his ground. “I could kill you just for being here. This is wolf territory. We kill witches in these parts.” The urge to giggle vanished. The most she managed was a halfsmile. “Not you.” She knew in her soul that he could never bring himself to kill anyone unprovoked. His soul was honest, loyal, and highly principled. That’s where the problem lay. His loyalty to the culture of fear and intolerance in which he had been raised forced him

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to reject her in more lifetimes than not. She loved those things about him, even though it brought them both more than their share of heartache. He shook his head. “You can’t know that.” Desiree shook away the impulse to reveal who she was to him. He needed to realize this on his own or he would never accept her. She chose the logical answer. “You have no powers. If you killed a witch, you would soak up at least some of his or her powers.” Something shadowed his eyes. Desiree wanted to hug him, to press his head to her breasts and comfort whatever caused the pain she glimpsed there. Instead, she took a deep breath and pressed the lower half of her body into his. “We’re off-topic, wolf.” Both brows rose. He didn’t want her to control the conversation. This was his way of trying to take it back. “And what’s that, witch?” She lifted her lips in a saucy smile. “Are you going to tell me your name before you kiss me and are you going to take me home with you or fuck me here? It’s kind of cold out.” There was power in names. He hadn’t yet asked hers. Likely, he wouldn’t ask for some time. Part of keeping her at arm’s length meant not personalizing their relationship by using her name. He kissed her. It wasn’t a gentle kiss. There was no affection in it. Pure passion assaulted her lips as his tongue invaded her mouth to establish dominance. Even if she wanted to participate in the kiss, he wouldn’t have let her. Liquid heat poured into her, searing her body from head to toe. She knew he felt the same thing. Her will melted. She would do anything he wanted now, if only for another kiss. Desiree often resented him for this. She didn’t mind the way he demanded and ruled her when she knew he accepted his love for her, but this initial onslaught always made her wary even as she wallowed in the things he made her feel.

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He broke the kiss and pushed her away. One hand remained on her shoulder, holding her out of reach and keeping her from running away. His chest heaved, even as his eyes narrowed and his lips pressed together. “I’ll warn you now, witch. I share everything with my brothers.” It took every ounce of her steely resolve to remain standing. While he was the most difficult to convince, he wasn’t her only soul mate. Somehow, the four of them were fated to be together. She never felt complete until the four of them were as one. Though she was always separated from them in each new lifetime, forced to spend her time searching, they were always together. Her precious wolves didn’t retain their memories from one life to the next. It was up to her to unite them each time. Because they were always together, though not always as brothers, it made things easier on her end in that respect. She didn’t have to find three separate people and convince them to share her. The odds were already against her securing their acceptance. It wore on a woman’s soul. The other two wouldn’t be difficult to convince. Only this one resisted. Unfortunately, that meant it was always all or nothing. When he rejected her, the other two followed his lead. Loyalty was often the bane of her existence. She nodded, wordlessly accepting his conditions, even the ones he hadn’t yet stated. He would try to use those other conditions to push her away. Already anticipating the bliss to come, Desiree smiled and held her hand out to him. “Take me to your cave, wolf-man.” **** Marius didn’t immediately react. In truth, he was stunned. When he approached the glen, he hadn’t expected to find a witch, much less one of the most powerful of the breed. The Shadow Man’s mysterious

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visit had prompted him to return to this area. While he usually patrolled nearby, he wasn’t in the habit of coming close to that cursed tree. It radiated magic and witchy vibes. As one of the highest-ranking lieutenants in the Lyton Village militia, Marius had been instructed to widen his patrols to cover the areas close to where Shaden’s house stood, empty and abandoned. Nobody knew where he had fled with his witch lover, Torrey. While he would have liked to know—Shaden had been one of his friends— Marius knew better than to ask. If Soren, their former leader, ever found his brother, Shaden, bad things would happen. It was better no one possess this information. This tree was imbued with Torrey’s spirit. It had watched over them as they held Shaden down so Torrey could save his life. Though the two were long gone, the tree maintained whatever magic Torrey had given to it. As soon as he had stepped into the clearing, he knew the woman staring at the tree was a witch. She wasn’t using her powers, but she had used them recently. Remnants of magic hung in the air, electric impulses traveling through the molecules. When she turned to face him, Marius had felt like both of his brothers punched him in the gut at the same time. Her skin color reminded him of piping hot chocolate milk. Tight black curls twisted and bounced around her head as she moved. They were shiny and short, wrangled into a multitude of corkscrews he wanted to see tumbling across his pillow as she arched beneath him and cried out her pleasure. Her body was small by wolf standards, though any human or witch would be. He estimated her height at around five-six. Though she wore loose jeans and a bulky sweater, the luscious and generous curves of her breasts, hips, and ass were still evident. He wanted to strip her naked right there and feast on her pussy.

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However, his reaction had been more than physical, and that pissed him off more than anything. It was one thing for Shaden to fall in love with a witch. He had long lived away from the village, and he would not miss Lyton much. For Marius, Lyton was the center of his world. His family and friends lived there. He would die to protect it. Having feelings like this for a witch could only lead to disaster. Besides, love at first sight was a fairy-tale notion. It didn’t happen in real life. He thought the menacing stance he assumed and the dire words he uttered would have scared her away. He didn’t want to kill her. The idea of hurting her turned his stomach, yet he knew he would do it if she forced the issue. She had to leave. Except that he had fallen into her curious trap. The witch could gain nothing from him, yet he could gain so much from her. The recklessness with which she threw her life into his hands, tempting him with every flutter of her eyelashes and every word that fell from her luscious mouth, angered him. She obviously had a thing for wolves. One day, one of them would take what he wanted from her sexy little body and then kill her without remorse. Now he was trapped. His body wouldn’t allow him to deny her offer, and his head would never allow this to develop into something more. When he and his brothers finished with her, they would take her wherever she needed to go and forget they ever met her. She had to know this. “Heed my words, witch. This is temporary. When you wish to leave, you need only say the word. When we are finished with you, we will bring you back here whether or not you wish to leave.” The desire that flamed in her eyes didn’t wane even though the ghost of a shadow passed behind them. Marius fought the urge to take her in his arms and chase away everything that bothered her. He wouldn’t ask her name. He didn’t want to know. Knowing meant he would never forget, and this was a woman whose memory

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would haunt him. He could still feel the fire of her lips as she yielded to him. She dropped her hand. He had ignored it on purpose. She needed to know on every level that he would be the one in control. That slow, sensuous smile never left her lips. Marius scooped her up and threw her over his shoulder. It would take her all day to walk to the cabin he and his brothers kept on the outskirts of the village. This way, they would arrive within a half hour. **** Desiree breathed deeply in an effort to calm herself. She tried to not be angry at the cavalier and domineering way he treated her. This had always, and would always, be a source of contention for them. She loved the way he mastered her body in the bedroom, but she had little patience, especially in this incarnation, for this behavior anywhere else. “I can walk, you know.” He didn’t answer. Looking up, she watched the ground disappear beneath his long, quick strides. The motion made her dizzy, so she closed her eyes. That proved to be a mistake. His shoulder pressed into her gut, and closing her eyes intensified both discomforts. “I’m going to be sick all over you if you don’t put me down.” A sharp blow stung her ass through the thick denim covering it. “That should help take your mind off of it.” While she did like a good spanking as much as the next woman, she preferred to practice her BDSM in the world of mutual consent and safe words. Her wolf-man, she knew, was the real deal. This was not entertainment for him. Still, a little respect would be greatly appreciated. She elbowed him sharply in the vicinity of his left kidney.

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He grunted and his heavy palm spanked her one more time. Pleasant tingles worked their way along her synapses, but Desiree ignored them. She kicked at him while she grunted and huffed out her warning. “You don’t get to do that outside of the bedroom, wolf-man. This is not negotiable. I’m okay with sexual spankings, but if you think to subjugate me or discipline me in any other context, you can take me back right now and forget we ever met that much sooner.” The world tilted and the solid ground slammed into the soles of her tennis shoes. He stood before her with his arms crossed and his lips pressed together in stern disapproval. “Don’t be difficult, witch. This is what it means to be with a wolf.” Desiree snorted. “I’m not stupid. Just because you like to tie up women and spank them doesn’t mean all wolves do. I’m sure your mother taught you manners and respect. Dig deep, wolf-man. I expect for you to treat me right.” He crossed his arms over his massive chest. Anger glittered from his dark eyes, but something else hid behind the fury. Fear? “Are you asking to return to the glen?” Desiree shook her head. “I’m establishing ground rules.” He stared at her for the longest time. At last, his head dipped in a curt, brief nod. “You agree to submit to me in the bedroom, but you will not recognize my authority over you outside of that room. Is that all?” With effort, she closed her mouth. He was accepting her rules much faster than he had in any previous lifetime. Perhaps there was hope after all? She nodded. “For now.” “Fine. Then I’ll keep you in the bedroom, witch.” One step put him an inch in front of her and forced her to drop back her head to look at him. “I’ll pleasure myself with this body until you pass out from exhaustion. I’ll discipline you as I see fit. I will watch as my

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brothers use your body for their pleasure. And I’ll keep you bound to the bed when we’re not using you.” Her system flooded with desire and rendered her knees useless. He caught her as they buckled, lifting her to meet his lips in a kiss that did more than mark his territory. Her arms slid around his neck, and she wrapped her fingers in his short hair and her legs around his waist. She kissed him back, dueling with him for equal footing. If she let him dominate her now, then he would not abide by her rules at all. At last, he stopped fighting. The sparks of the kiss morphed into a gentler kind of passion, and Desiree melted into him, yielding her soft body to meld to his hard contours. She felt the jolt that pierced her core echoed in him. The large hands cupping her ass stiffened, tightening possessively and painfully on her ass. Desiree said nothing. She was sure he would do much worse to her ass before the day was over. If nothing else, he would exact his revenge with a blisteringly hot spanking. He broke the kiss and swung her into his arms, cradling her like something precious. “You walk too slowly.” Being held like this didn’t bother Desiree at all. She settled back in his arms and draped her arms around his shoulders. He glanced down at her every now and again as he raced through the woods. Desiree watched for cracks in his stern exterior, but she was unable to catch anything significant. Twice, he looked puzzled. Mostly, he just looked like he wanted to strip her down and go for it right there on the forest floor. She didn’t break the silence because she didn’t want to undo the progress she’d made. Besides, this gave her a chance to study him while her weight and scent imprinted in his subconscious.

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Chapter 2 Demetrius scowled in his brother’s direction, though his thoughts had nothing to do with Flynn. When the Shadow Man had visited hours ago, his sudden appearance, cryptic message, and sudden disappearance hadn’t sat well with either of them. The legendary figure only appeared once or twice each generation, and those few wolves graced with his presence saw their lives irrevocably changed. “I don’t think he’s human.” Flynn pressed the flat of his hands against the picture window that looked out over the small clearing. “He didn’t have a face.” Demetrius watched his brother for a moment. At six-five, Flynn was the smallest of the trio. Broad shoulders topped a thickly muscled chest that tapered to slim hips. Flynn was the only blond in the family. In that, he took after their mother. His large blue eyes and angelic face were also inherited from their mother. The angel-face was deceptive, however, and more than one woman had fallen prey to his easy smile Marius had two inches on Flynn, while Demetrius had three, not that size mattered. Marius was their undisputed leader. For as long as he could remember, he and Flynn had been content to let Marius call the shots. When the Shadow Man had insisted things would go horribly wrong if the three of them went on this fool’s errand, Demetrius had wanted to protest Marius’s decision to go alone. Like always, he swallowed his objection. Marius always made the right decision. “He had a face,” Demetrius said. “We just couldn’t see it under that black hood and weird magic.”

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Flynn snorted. “Weird is right. It wasn’t witch magic. I’ve never smelled anything like it. Maybe the legends about him are true.” He leaned his forehead against the glass. “Should we go after Marius? What if he’s in trouble? I don’t trust a man whose eyes I can’t see.” Demetrius thought on this for a spell. The most recent stories he’d heard about the Shadow Man were nothing more than overheard whispers. Something to do with Shaden and Soren. If this man was responsible for tearing apart those two, then he was dangerous indeed. It was long thought that the compulsion driving Soren—his need for power—had been magically enhanced. This compulsion had destroyed his bond with his brother, taken a witch’s life, and drove both Shade and Soren from Lyton. No one knew where either of them had gone. A familiar scent invaded his senses. “Marius is close. He’s brought a woman. An aroused woman.” He sniffed again, just to be sure. His sense of smell was better than either of his brothers. “The Shadow Man sent him for a piece of ass?” Flynn straightened, pulling himself up to his full height, and focused on something in the distance. “She’s pretty.” Demetrius joined Flynn at the window. Several moments passed before he could clearly see them. His sense of smell was a little more developed, but his eyesight was only average. Flynn had the gift of advanced vision. Marius had instinct. Together, the three of them functioned as the top law enforcement and protection team in Lyton. The woman was small, human-sized. Most of her body was covered by clothing—a thick jacket to protect against the early spring chill, jeans, and boots. Where it showed on her hands and face, her mocha skin glowed with an inner light, begging to be kissed and touched. Though her head was turned to look up at Marius, Demetrius made out round, brown eyes, dusky pink lips, and a pert nose. Corkscrew curls, streaked with colors ranging from caramel to black, spilled over Marius’s arm.

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And that was the most shocking part of the tableau. Marius carried the woman cradled in his arms, as if she was precious cargo. While Marius enjoyed the company of a willing woman as much as Demetrius and Flynn, he had never gone out of his way to be more than cordial to their lovers. Women threw themselves at the three brothers, due as much to their position in the village as to their physical attractiveness, and so none of them had ever put time or effort into romance. Demetrius didn’t care that the woman was human. Dalliances with human women were the dirty little secret male wolves kept to themselves. It was extraordinarily difficult to procreate with a human, and wolves did not suffer from human diseases, therefore messing around with humans was safe and easy. “She’s pretty,” Demetrius agreed. “I’m wondering what’s so special about her that a man who doesn’t exist would come here and tell Marius to go find her at Torrey’s witchy tree.” “And why she can’t walk.” Flynn’s nose twitched. “Damn, she smells good. I can scent her now. Marius better be bringing her for us, Mitri.” Demetrius agreed with his brother. They watched as Marius closed the distance. Flynn opened the front door, and they both stepped out in time to greet Marius and the mystery woman on the porch. “Is she hurt?” Demetrius had to know why she was being carried. Because she was human, he couldn’t ask any overt questions that would indicate their wolf nature. Tucked in the security of Marius’s massive arms, the woman studied him. She looked at him as if she knew him, but needed a minute to place his name. Then she turned the same penetrating perusal on Flynn. At last she smiled. Her pretty face transformed to beautiful, and Demetrius’s pulse quickened.

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“No,” Marius said, pushing past him and into the house. “She’s human. It was bad enough I had to travel the distance in this form. I wasn’t going to wait for something as slow as her to make the trip.” The woman smacked Marius’s shoulder as he set her on her feet in the living room. She regarded him through narrowed eyes. “I am not a ‘thing,’ you silly wolf-man. Let’s get that straight right now. I will not be referred to as a thing, and I will not be treated like a thing.” Marius growled, and that was when Demetrius realized the woman was a witch. He wanted to smack his forehead. Of course she was a witch. Someone as mystical and mysterious as the Shadow Man wouldn’t send Marius for just any human. Flynn beat him to the question. “You brought a witch to our home?” “Yes, I brought a witch to our home. We will enjoy her charms, and then she will leave.” Marius smacked her on the ass. “Get naked, witch. I have an itch that needs scratching.” Her light brown eyes darkened dangerously. Even Demetrius knew to not anger a witch. Her power was difficult to scent, lingering just below the surface, but he sensed an endless depth. Before he could warn Marius, the witch took matters into her own hands. She jabbed a finger into his chest. Marius glanced down, more amused than angry at her gesture. “Just because your pack is around you doesn’t give you the right to act like a jackass.” She turned those big brown eyes on Flynn. “Can you point me in the direction of the powder room?” Then she smiled at Demetrius. “Is it almost time for dinner? I missed lunch and I’m starving.” Flynn gestured toward the hallway leading to the rest of the house. “Second door on the left.” Stunned by her audacity, Demetrius nodded blankly. How had she known he was the one who cooked? Flynn could make passable meals that would do in a pinch. Marius couldn’t cook to save his life. Luckily, that circumstance had never been tested.

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She shrugged out of her jacket, tossed it over the arm of a chair, and headed off in the direction Flynn indicated. Now that it wasn’t covered by anything but denim, Demetrius saw that her ass was delightfully curvy. He watched as it sashayed down the hall and disappeared into the bathroom. Demetrius turned back to Marius. “She agreed to come here and have sex with us? That doesn’t make sense.” Marius frowned. “She was at the white pine Torrey enchanted. I found her staring at it. When I warned her to leave, she offered her body to me. To us.” Flynn shook his head and flopped down on the chair where she’d thrown her coat. He picked it up and checked the pockets. One pocket contained keys and a cell phone. There was nothing else, no wallet, no identification, none of the feminine products females seemed to carry in abundance. “I don’t think she planned coming here,” he said, dumping her things into her pocket before replacing her jacket on the chair’s arm. Marius grunted. “She wasn’t surprised to see me. She wasn’t at all shocked when I told her I would bring her back here to share with you two.” None of them were the kinds of men who dismissed threats easily. “She’s really hot,” Flynn said. Demetrius eyed Marius thoughtfully. “You hate witches.” Marius sank down on the couch cushion. His long legs stretched out in front of him. He picked at something on his jeans. “There’s something about her, Mitri. I know her scent pleases you. Her beauty has impressed Flynn, and her spirit has caught my interest. She smiles like an angel and she kisses like a seductress. It’s like she was made for us.” Demetrius didn’t say anything. Not only did having a witch under their roof make him twitchy, but having one who, on the surface, seemed tailor-made for them shook him to the core. Even if the Shadow Man hadn’t appeared and sent Marius on this errand,

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Demetrius wouldn’t have welcomed this kind of change. He liked their lives just the way they were. **** Desiree looked into a mirror that badly needed cleaning and tried to talk sense into herself. She was here, at their home. Step one accomplished. Next, she needed to seduce them in such a way as to rock their collective world and make them each fall for her. From the way Flynn—the Shadow Man had indicated he was the blond one— stared at her, she knew she had his interest. Marius had proven his interest with a kiss that melted her bones. Demetrius had only looked stunned and distrustful. She chewed her lip. He wasn’t supposed to be the difficult one. Marius was clearly in charge. They may have questioned the situation, but they hadn’t questioned his judgment. However, she knew that even if Marius wanted to keep her, he wouldn’t do so without the consent of his brothers. She checked to make sure her weave looked okay. She wasn’t due back at the hairdresser’s for another six weeks. The nappy roots were barely visible. Once she achieved her goal, she planned to let it go natural. Not only did it look good on her, she would be finished trying to impress potential dates. Now that she had her soul mates, nobody else would do. When they rejected her, there was no way another man or men could begin to fill the void in her life. Taking a deep breath, she opened the door to the hall and returned to the living room. Marius and Flynn were seated. Demetrius stood with his arms crossed over his chest and his legs spread shoulderwidth apart. Denim wrapped around legs as substantial as tree trunks. Thick muscles, defined even through the heavy material, led her eyes upward to where an impressive bulge strained the material. Like Marius and Flynn, he wore a red flannel shirt. Together, they looked like a trio of mountain men.

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Her eyes lifted to meet those of Demetrius. He was a little taller than Marius, and his muscles were bulkier, not that Marius lacked in the least bit. Like Marius, his features were sharp and angular, though they were tempered significantly by his round blue eyes. If he had any softness in him, she would find it in his eyes. Right now, they smoldered with fire, but she couldn’t tell if it was desire or temper. She tested the waters with the sweetest smile she could muster. It probably wasn’t a good idea to mention that she’d asked for food. The fire flared. He came closer, his nostrils expanding and contracting as he took in her scent. She stood still and let him circle her body, learning her in his own way. Her body responded independently of her mind. His nearness acted as a magnet, pulling her desire to the surface. She struggled not to let little sounds of need escape. They would hear the slightest vibration in her larynx. As Demetrius checked her out, she glanced over at Flynn. His eyes flickered over her body, seeming to see every inch of her whether or not it was covered. He didn’t bother to hide the hunger in his eyes. Marius watched his brothers as much as he watched her. “I can smell your power, yet you’re not using it.” Demetrius didn’t expect an answer from her, so Desiree remained silent. He lifted his head, staring over her shoulder at Marius. She felt his breath in her hair. The tiny caress sent shivers down her spine. “She’s a Daughter of Circe.” Flynn started. His blue eyes narrowed as he stared, looking at her with new eyes. “Like Torrey?” Desiree broke her self-imposed gag order. They knew her sister’s name. “Torrey? You know her? You know where she is?” Her excitement caused her to take a step closer to the seated pair. Demetrius caught her around the waist and pulled her back against his chest. Marius shook his head, frowning.

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“She is gone.” The bass of Demetrius’s voice rumbled against her back. “She left last fall. Nobody knows where she went.” Desiree sifted through the questions jamming her thoughts to find the ones they might answer. She felt their unease. Had Torrey’s soul mate been a close friend that she’d stolen away from the pack? Though she wore a different name, Desiree only had one sister left out of the original sixteen Daughters. Torrey’s mate was a lone wolf. It would have been much easier for her to convince one man they were fated to be together. “Was she…” Desiree swallowed. She knew they scented the snakes writhing in her stomach. “Was she okay?” Marius rose to his feet and crossed to stand directly in front of her. Desiree tilted her face to see his. He touched her cheeks, her eyelids, and her chin. “She was alive when she left. We did not harm your sister. Is that why you came here? You seek her?” Heat from Demetrius’s palms soaked through her jeans where he held her hips. At Marius’s question, his grip tightened. While it was part of the reason, it wasn’t her foremost motivation. Before she found Torrey, she needed to get pregnant with the child of her soul mates. “The Shadow Man told me where to go. When I found the tree, I thought I would find her, but she wasn’t there.” Reaching out, she placed the flat of her palms on Marius’s chest. “You were.” With a single finger, Marius traced a path down the side of her face and down her neck. “And you think the Shadow Man sent you here to seduce us. For what purpose? Nothing can come from the union of a witch and a wolf.” Desiree had a different opinion about that, but she kept it to herself. She lifted a brow and grinned at Marius. “Orgasms?” “I highly doubt the Shadow Man had that in mind when he arranged this meeting.” Flynn appeared next to her. Likely, he had moved across the room in a normal way, but Marius blocked her view and Demetrius held her in place.

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She turned her head. Uncertainty ticked at the corners of her mouth, making it tremble. “How do you explain what’s going on, then? Do you honestly think Marius could be seduced by a witch unless he felt an insurmountable attraction?” Demetrius undid the button on her jeans and drew down her zipper. Desiree inhaled sharply, craving his touch, something she hadn’t felt in more than seven hundred years. He pushed a hand under her panties, finding her wetness. She knew he had scented her arousal some time ago. That’s why he couldn’t move away from her. He must have inherited his strength in his nose. Circe had only so much power to give each of them during the slaughter. Her lovers had chosen to split it. She closed her eyes and rested the side of her face against Demetrius’s chest. “You feel it, too, witch?” Arousal thickened Marius’s tongue and made his voice husky. He could smell evidence of her desire, yet he couldn’t believe she felt it as deeply as she did? “So cynical,” she whispered. As always. Demetrius pressed her clit, playing it over the pad of his finger. Desiree whimpered and gripped his wrists, willing him to keep going. Strong hands with long fingers pried her hands from Demetrius. She didn’t have to open her eyes to know it was Flynn. Marius wouldn’t have been so gentle. She opened her eyes as much as she could anyway, focusing her gaze on him as he transferred control of her arms to Marius. Flynn lifted the hem of her shirt and pulled it over her head. Since Marius hadn’t released her arms, the shirt became a binding. She let them have their petty dominance. Once they fell as deeply in love with her as she was with them, it wouldn’t matter anymore. Flynn’s warm hand closed over one breast, kneading the globe and teasing the hardened nipple. Marius stepped back to let Flynn have more access, and Desiree shifted her attention accordingly.

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His lips closed over hers, softly seeking and gently demanding. The tip of his tongue slid over the seam of her lips, and she parted to let him inside. He explored her with agonizing thoroughness, tasting every corner of her mouth and nipping at her lower lip. Demetrius slid one finger into her pussy, pushing it in slowly and moving to test her give. Desiree smiled into Flynn’s kiss. She knew what it took to be with her wolves. Damn creatures were extra-large everywhere. Once upon a time, her men had been normal-sized. All that changed with Circe and her desperate curse. At home, Desiree had a dizzying array of toys she used to prepare herself for what they would want. Behind her, Demetrius’s heart beat a steady staccato into her back. When he realized she could take him with no problem, his heart rate increased and he growled a moan. His finger left her opening, and his hand abandoned her pussy altogether. Flynn ended his kiss and removed his hand from her breast. Marius finished removing her shirt and let her hands fall to her sides. None of them stepped away from her, yet Desiree felt abandoned and exposed, though she still wore jeans and a red lace bra. “This is what you want, witch?” Somewhere during their long, silent walk, Marius’s thinking about her had shifted. She could hear it in the way he called her “witch.” It had been derisive, but now he used it at a term of endearment. What she wanted? She wanted the men who had loved her for centuries to remember loving her. She wanted them to feel something that might lift the heavy burden from her shoulders. She wanted this to mean for them what it meant for her. She met his gaze with open honesty. “I want you to call me Desiree.” Marius stared back. If he felt shock that she revealed her true name, he did not show it. “You used my name earlier. How did you come to know it?” “The Shadow Man told me. I know Flynn and Demetrius, too.”

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A frown tugged the corners of Marius’s sensual mouth down. Desiree wanted to feel his hot kisses again. “He did not tell us your name.” She shrugged. Now that she knew their current names, any name they had used previously disappeared from her memory, erased and replaced with those they now claimed. “I can’t explain his actions any more than you can. All I know is that this is fated to happen, and we can’t fight fate.” She lifted a hand and placed it lightly against his chest. “I don’t want to fight it.” He regarded her for a long moment. Her growling stomach broke the silence. The frown on his face quirked into a small grin, and he handed her shirt back to her. “We can’t have you fainting halfway through the fun. We’ll feed you first.”

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Chapter 3 3,000 Years Ago The storm had come and gone. Desiree was used to such happenings. Mother always protected them from the worst of it, but she refused to cast her influence over the entire island. Nature must run its course. The natural order must not be disobeyed. Desiree skipped along the narrow path, pausing often to push huge wet leaves and debris out of her way. Sometimes it amazed her how much a tropical storm could change their little paradise. Technically, their island didn’t exist. It was part of the world, yet completely separate. No sailors could stumble upon it accidentally. Desiree often watched ships sail close by, the men on the decks easily visible. Often shirtless, they toiled under the heavy sun, pelted by the salt spray of the sea. Sometimes they came within yards of her perch on the low cliffs overlooking the churning sea. Panic seized them at those times, and they worked to get away from the whirlpools and sandbars they thought they saw. Very few humans could actually see the island. Circe wanted it this way. She said humans didn’t understand their kind. Humans made up fantastical stories that cast witches as the villains. Humans hunted and killed them. Yet humans had always fascinated Desiree. Men were unknown in her world. Sure, she had three fathers, but that was it for male company on the island. She and her sisters were too sheltered. None of them had ever touched a man who wasn’t their father before—and their fathers did not count as men. Circe assured them each it would

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happen when the time was right. Their soul mates would find them. Nothing would keep them away. Waiting wasn’t fun. Humans seemed to have a vast abundance of males, many of them attractive. Many times, Desiree and her sisters had discussed fashioning a ship and sailing away to the human world. Just as many times, their fathers assured them it was too dangerous. Bad things would happen. Desiree was beyond caring whether or not bad things would happen. She just wanted something to happen. The crashing of the ocean waves grew louder, overpowering the muted jungle sounds of bird calls and slithery things. She emerged from the tangle to find her beloved beach strewn with wreckage. Planks of splintered wood littered the shoreline. More bobbed in the surf just beyond the shore. The refuse of shipwreck ruined the stretch of shore where she liked to spread her sarong on the sand and bask naked in the heat of the sun. The tattered remnants of a sail draped over a pole of wood fluttered in the wind. Desiree headed that way. Any fabric she didn’t have to make herself was an object of intense interest. Perhaps she could salvage enough to fashion a wrap. Just as she closed in on the sail, which she now realized would never do for clothing, a groan diverted her attention. The sound came from beneath a pile she had passed. Curiosity had her pulling splintered wood from the source of the sound. No human could survive a force that could tear a ship to shreds like this, could they? Pulling away the last large plank, Desiree saw that a human could indeed survive. From the looks of it, just barely, and probably not for long. His large body lay prone on the sand. If he stood, he would tower over her. This was just one of the many things she liked about men. She wanted her soul mate to be tall, like this human male. The scraps of clothing that still clung to his legs and torso did nothing to hide the hard physique he’d no doubt earned working long

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days aboard ship. Kneeling next to him, she used a gentle grip to turn his head to the side. Breathing sand could do nothing to help him regain consciousness. Even coated with blood and sand, he had a handsome visage. Sharp cheekbones underlined large, sensual eyes with dark lashes. His eyebrows were black, as was the mass of curling hair on his head. Dreadlocks, though she didn’t know whether or not he meant to have them. One of her fathers, Teigh, sported dreadlocks, but his skin was much darker than this human’s. The man’s lips moved, and another groan fell out. “Shhh,” she soothed. “You’re safe now.” One eye half opened and dropped closed, enough for Desiree to see that his irises were a delightful shade of chocolate. He planted a palm on the sand and tried to push himself up, but nothing happened. “You’re weak,” she said. “You’ve been hurt. Let me care for you.” “Brothers.” Desiree looked around, her gaze searching for evidence of other humans. Other than debris, she saw nothing. “I see no one but you.” Without thought to the pain he might be suffering, she used all of her strength to roll him over. He cried out when she touched his ribs. “Broken.” She looked at the place where she put the most pressure in her bid to move him. Indeed, the natural curve of his bones was interrupted. One nearly poked through the skin. Human bodies were so fragile. No one on her island had ever suffered more than a cut or a scrape. Circe made sure those healed in seconds. “Are you broken elsewhere?” Because of her attempt, he now lay on his side. The broad shoulders she had observed seemed even wider. His head lolled oddly, and he fell backward so that his chest faced the sun. His eyes opened and closed. “Bruises only, I think.”

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A scratching noise unlike anything she’d heard before diverted her attention. A pile of oily-looking fabric moved. Desiree leapt to her feet, crossing the distance in less than a minute. This man’s knees were tucked under his body. He struggled to push his torso upright. She grabbed his shoulder to assist. Loud curses streamed from his mouth, startling her into letting go and backing away. “I won’t hurt you, nymph. That shoulder is dislocated. I would appreciate if you didn’t use it as leverage.” His voice was rough, scratchy no doubt from too much sea water. The hair on his head, and on his chest when he finally righted himself, were the palest yellow. “I’m no nymph,” she said. That misconception was abhorrent to Desiree. Nymphs were tiny creatures who avoided most other beings. They preferred their element or piece of nature and nothing else. No nymph would care that two men were shipwrecked on her beach. She might watch from the water or the bough of a tree, but she would never reveal her presence. He sat back on his heels, rocking dangerously from side to side. “A beautiful gift from the Gods is what you are. I am Marius. I require water.” Desiree watched him for a moment. He looked to her as if he’d had entirely too much water. Her eyes strayed to the ocean waves gently swishing onto the shore just a few feet behind him. He watched her closely. “Fresh water. What is this place? It must have a stream or something. Where are my men?” Turning to the direction from which she’d come Desiree pointed. “A broken man is there.” His eyes widened, and the blond man lumbered to his feet. He was much taller than she expected, dwarfing even her fathers by a few inches. She hurried to his side, unsure as to how to help him. The last two things she had done caused pain. He slung his good arm around her shoulder, resting some of his weight on her.

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“I don’t think anything is broken, but the ankle is twisted.” He smiled, drawing her gaze to his full lips. They were pale pink, though his skin was bronzed from the sun. Lines fanned out from his eyes and deepened around his mouth. Strange feelings swirled below her gut, fluttering with pleasant expectation. Desiree licked her lips, and his green-eyed gaze dropped to watch. For a moment, she thought he might kiss her, but he turned his attention to the direction she had indicated. He took a tentative step. Using her as a crutch, he limped his way across the distance that hadn’t seemed so far when she had run it minutes ago. He dropped to his knees next to the wounded sailor. “Demetrius.” The dark man opened his eyes. “Marius. My brother. I thought we all died.” “You should have,” Desiree said. She watched as Marius checked his brother’s body, running his hands over limbs. “No humans have ever survived a shipwreck here before.” Marius froze. He pinned her with an incredulous stare. “No humans? You’re not human?” Now Desiree froze. Alarm bells sounded in her head. Stories her fathers told her of the things humans, especially male humans, did to witches. She ran. The wreckage changed the landscape of her beach. Leaping over the first few obstacles didn’t prove to be a problem. Nearly to the place where a path would lead her to safety, she leaped again. Something reached up from the debris, snagging her ankle. She screamed as she fell. The ground rushed up to meet her. She thrust her arms out to break her fall, instinctively bending her knees to land in a crawling position. Her free foot kicked at the thing holding her until it, too, was caught. The man, she saw now that yet a third human had survived the wreck, was just as large as the other two. He was dark like the first man she encountered. He rolled her onto her back and pinned her to

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the ground with his huge body. She bucked her body and shoved at the large shoulders. A hand clamped over her mouth, muting her screams. “Cease, woman. You’re in no danger.” Desiree immediately calmed, but not because she trusted this man. She realized her strategy for escape wasn’t going to work. He stared at her with savage intensity. This man had the same blue eyes as the blond man, but the dark, messy hair of the first man. They all shared the same cheekbones and general face shape. His body pressed into hers, chest to chest, belly to belly, pelvis to pelvis. She ceased breathing. Her eyes were so wide she feared the orbs would pop out. He appeared just as disheveled as the other two, yet somehow less threatening. His hold of her was firm, but gentle. Slowly, his hand eased from her mouth. He knelt up and helped Desiree to her feet. The urge to run fought and lost a battle with her curiosity over these males. “My name is Flynn, good woman. We are travelers from far away. The storm destroyed our ship, and we washed to shore. We are unarmed and we mean no harm. Please do not call your village down on us.” With that, he collapsed onto the sand. Desiree dropped to her knees next to him. She patted his hand and slapped at his face, but he didn’t respond. Her screams had reached the ears of her fathers, as she had known they would. No matter where she was on the island, they seemed to hear any sound of distress. Caiden called it a protective instinct. Two of them, Caiden and Teigh, crashed through underbrush to emerge on the beach only a few feet from where Desiree knelt. Caiden trained his eyes on her while Teigh scanned the distance. “What have you found, Daughter?” Desiree gestured to the man on the sand. “Humans. Three of them. The others are…”

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Teigh jogged in the direction she meant to indicate. Desiree wasn’t surprised. As the largest of her fathers, he was the warrior of the bunch. Caiden often remarked on Teigh’s uncanny protective instincts. She watched as he greeted the two men walking toward them. They leaned awkwardly against one another, not making much progress. Teigh spoke to them, his words carried the opposite way on the shifting wind. Caiden knelt on the other side of the man at her feet. Flynn, he had called himself. “His name is Flynn. He caught my ankle and I couldn’t run away.” Caiden checked Flynn’s head, prying his eyes open to have a look inside. “He’s in bad shape, Daughter.” Shadows fell over them. Desiree’s head jerked up. Teigh had arms around Marius and Demetrius. They had looked so large earlier, but next to her father, they seemed much smaller. Marius swayed as he tried to stand on his own. “How bad?” “Nothing time won’t heal.” Teigh seemed to growl the assurance. Desiree got to her feet. “Father, can’t Mother heal him?” Demetrius and Marius both looked from Teigh to Desiree, their mouths hanging open. Finally, Marius spoke. “You’re her father? You look to be the same age.” Teigh stared, his expression stone. “We’ll take them to the quarantine hut.” Caiden chuckled and nodded. He raised his hands, and both Marius and Demetrius slept. Teigh caught their bodies as they fell, setting them gently in the sand. “Last night, Circe had a vision, Daughter. She saw your young men and she saw that you would love them.” Teigh grasped each of her shoulders in his large hands. “This is why I did not stop you from investigating this morning. What is fated must come to pass. Circe

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and your sisters have stocked the quarantine hut. You will keep them there until they decide to leave or until they agree to become like us.” **** Weeks passed, and her men did heal. Marius healed first. Caiden set his shoulder and showed Desiree how to make an herbal wrap for his injured ankle. Marius’s unconsciousness had been caused by exhaustion, so he spent his time either staring at Desiree or peppering her with questions about how she cared for his brothers. Demetrius, with his broken ribs and the deep gash across his forehead, required her care for a little longer. He drifted in and out of consciousness as she kept watch. Flynn slept for days. Desiree learned to drip water from the stream onto his tongue. She spoke to him as he slept, assuring him he was safe and taking the opportunity to extol the wonders of the island. Of her family, Desiree only saw Caiden and Teigh. Caiden’s medical knowledge of the human physiology meant she needed his help. Teigh came along, but he merely stood to the side of the hut and watched. Then they would leave together. The hut was little more than four posts supporting a thatched roof. The roof kept the harsh sun off the men’s bodies as they healed, but it let in plenty of diffused lighting. Fragrant flowers ringed the hut on all four sides. The foliage grew in height until it blended with the jungle surroundings on three of them. On the remaining side, the sounds of the sea filtered through. At night, it sang a rhythmic lullaby. During the day, it served to fill the silence between Marius’s questions. “Are you learning the role of healer?” Marius perched on the edge of his cot, extended his foot, and then he watched her unwrap his ailing ankle. “From Caiden?” Desiree washed the stain of herbs away from his skin. Caiden had warned her to be gentle with his tender appendage, but from the way Marius hissed at her handling, she didn’t think she was too successful.

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“It is true that Father is a healer, but there is not much call for his services here. Mostly, he listens to our problems and mediates disputes among his daughters.” She tested his healing by pressing a finger lightly against his skin where the swelling was almost gone. “Do you think you can stand on this yet?” Marius didn’t move. “You call Caiden ‘Father’ while the man who guards him seems more likely to be your father. His skin is dark like yours.” He rested his fingertips on her shoulder. The wrap she wore sheathed her body but left her shoulders bare. Desiree’s heart quickened at his touch. She forgot to breathe. His caress moved down her arm, and she dropped his foot onto her lap. “So soft. So beautiful. I wonder at a father who would leave his lovely daughter alone with three strange, virile men.” Breathing returned with a vengeance. Air rushed into her lungs, only to be quickly expelled. When she licked her lips to moisten them, his gaze dropped to her mouth. The direction of his caress reversed, and now he drew his fingers along her collarbone. “Mother assures my fathers no harm will befall me here,” she said at last. “Otherwise, they wouldn’t let me near you.” Wetness seeped between her legs, something that happened often around these three men. Caiden had assured her it was a natural reaction to being near her soul mates. Still, it was uncomfortable. It left behind a longing she didn’t understand. “You ignore my question, Desiree.” His palm wrapped around the side of her neck, half cupping her cheek and forcing her gaze from the ground where it had dropped. “I asked which of the two men is really your father.” The question puzzled Desiree. She creased her brow as she tried to figure out what he meant. “I have three fathers. I don’t understand what you’re asking.” “Three? I’ve only seen two.” His thumb grazed across the edge of her bottom lip.

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Desiree inhaled sharply. She wiggled to ease the ache forming between her legs. “One Father must always remain with Mother, and she will not come here. She will allow no one but me to see you until you decide whether to stay or return to your home.” “If I followed your fathers back in order to properly thank your mother for allowing you to care for us?” He had moved closer. His foot no longer weighted her lap, and his thigh brushed against hers. The gossamer fabrics they wore barely muted the contact. Desiree couldn’t seem to think of anything but what his lips might feel like against hers, but the question must be answered. Marius demanded it with his tone and with his commanding presence. “Please don’t.” She had to coax air into her lungs. When she inhaled, the scent of Marius’s skin filled her senses. He’d never sat this close to her before. “Teigh would kill you, and I don’t want that to happen.” He moved his thumb along her lip again, but this time he stopped after one pass, replacing his thumb with his lips. They were soft, so much softer than they looked, yet firm. He coaxed her gently, as if he understood this was her first intimate contact with a man. Heat flooded her body, and her blood sang with excitement. When he moved away, she followed him, drawn forward by his magnetism. He chuckled softly and caressed the hair near her temple. “You’ve never done that before.” The spell broken by the amusement in his words, Desiree leaned back, moving away from Marius. “There are no men on the island.” When she would rise to leave him, Marius caught her hand. “Desiree, I meant no judgment by that. I’m pleased to be the first man to experience your sweetness.” The feather mattress dipped next to her as Demetrius positioned himself on her other side. Desiree liked his dark looks. They were so much more friendly and inviting than Marius’s light coloring and remote stares, and he smiled far more often.

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Trapped between the pair of them, Desiree felt as if butterflies were loose in her stomach, only the sensations reverberated through her body pleasantly instead of evoking nausea. As she turned to Demetrius, she wondered if his kiss would be as unsettling as Marius’s. Demetrius hadn’t said much in the time he’d been there. Desiree came to understand that he was the kind of person who saw much and spoke little. When he did speak, the things he said were important. When she’d bathed him, the dirt had fallen away from his hair, leaving his brown curls soft and loose and revealing places where the sun had streaked lighter colors through it. Desiree hadn’t passed up an opportunity to touch it yet. As he tilted his head and leaned closer, she threaded her fingers through his curls. His kiss was very different from Marius’s tentative exploration. He didn’t seem to care that she had no experience. With his thumb, he demanded her jaw relax and drop open. His tongue pressed against the seam of her lips, bypassing them easily and sweeping inside. Wondrous heat suffused her body. The wetness between her legs became a problem. She moaned under the onslaught, shifting her hips and legs to find a position to ease her suffering. Marius pressed his palm against her thigh, holding her in place and preventing her from wiggling. Desiree whimpered. “Don’t worry, darling. We’ll take care of you.” The knot holding her wrap over her breasts eased. Marius slid his hand under the cloth, further loosening it, and cupped her breast. He didn’t do anything more than hold it, but Desiree shivered and moaned into Demetrius’s never-ending kiss. Finally, he released her. His lips moved over her cheek and along her jaw. Marius kissed her shoulder. Lost in the maze of complicated sensations swirling through her body, Desiree barely noticed how they shifted her to sit between Marius’s legs. He supported her back with his chest. His hands came around to cup her breasts, both of

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them. Now he squeezed the globes and rolled the pads of his fingers across the sensitive peaks. Desiree arched her back, but Demetrius rotated her hips with his big hands, negating the effect. Somehow, her clothing had disappeared. She was nude, but she didn’t feel naked. Her body existed for these men to feast upon with their mouths and their hands. Pieces of her buried much deeper rose to the surface, clamoring for Demetrius and Marius. They wanted Flynn, too, but he wasn’t yet conscious. Circe, daughter of the sun, was never wrong in her predictions. She had given her blessing before these men had washed ashore. Even if Desiree hadn’t trusted Mother so completely, the way their touch completed parts of her she hadn’t known were missing would have been all the proof she needed. Demetrius parted her legs. His fiery tongue licked her hips and her inner thighs, working to the apex where her need was greatest. Marius leaned forward, twisting to kiss her. This time, he didn’t bother with the gentleness he’d displayed earlier. This kiss mastered her, body and soul. Something hard poked at her back, and she reached behind her to soothe the ache. Her hand closed over his shaft. It had grown in length and girth, and it radiated heat. Forgetting her discomfort, she stroked it, wondering at this transformation. Marius groaned and removed her grip. “Not yet, darling. Soon, I promise.” Demetrius knelt at the end of the bed. His massive chest rested on the mattress and his hands pushed Desiree’s legs open so wide they fell off the sides. Her need opened completely to him. “Beautiful.” He blew a stream of air across her exposed pussy. Desiree shivered, but she didn’t alter her position. “She’s perfect, Marius. Bewitching.” Desiree wanted to say something, to assure Demetrius she found him breathtaking as well, but he licked her slick center with one long

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swipe of his hot tongue. She gripped Marius’s thighs and gasped, thrusting her hips forward to beg for more. Begging was not required. The first taste seemed to only make him ravenous. Demetrius devoured her pussy, licking and nipping and sucking where he wished. Desiree’s hips moved on their own. Instinctively, she understood the ancient rhythm required, but Marius held her hips still with a grip stronger than beaten leather. She reached to wrap her fingers in Demetrius’s silken locks and hold him where she wanted him, but Marius stopped her. Instead, he guided her hands to his hair and he claimed her lips again and again. The crashing of the sea in the distance echoed the waves crashing through her system. Desiree surrendered, letting them tear her apart with sweet heat and utter joy. She shouted as the largest wave broke, but Marius swallowed the sound. When she came down from a high she never before imagined, Desiree found Marius surrounding her body. He stroked her hair and kissed her temple, words of praise rumbling from his chest. A hunger had been awakened inside Desiree. With a tiny pleading whimper, she turned to Marius. Instinctively, she knew he called the shots. She buried her face in his neck and inhaled his scent. From his position kneeling on the floor, Demetrius stroked her calves. She wanted to feel his fingers touching where his mouth had brought so much joy. “You’ve never kissed a man before,” Marius said. His voice held no judgment, but she heard the weight of his thoughts. “You’re untouched.” “I wish to be touched.” She threaded her fingers through his and brought his palm to her breast. Demetrius chuckled. “Your fathers might kill us for what we’ve already done.” “No.” She shook her head. “This is fated to be. Mother said. Otherwise, my fathers would have already killed you.” Another consideration occurred to Desiree. She sat up, pulling herself away

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from Marius’s embrace. “Of course, we should wait for Flynn to recover first.” “Why is that?” Marius asked. “Because I wish to be complete. I can’t be complete without the three of you.” Marius and Demetrius regarded her intently. They exchanged a look she did not understand, but she knew asking would yield no answers. With a sigh, she snuggled into Marius’s arms and closed her eyes.

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Chapter 4 As they ate, Desiree familiarized herself with their wolfish ways. Though three thousand years had passed since their first encounter, seven centuries had elapsed since she’d last consented to be reborn. Seven hundred years was a long time to take a break. Her soul mates had been forced to either spend their lives alone or settle for something less than love for their past three lifetimes. When she was with her wolves, she didn’t spend time wondering at the women who filled their beds when she wasn’t around, just as she never thought of the men who met her needs, some as husbands and some as just lovers, when they weren’t in her life. They would be alone this time around, too, if Caiden hadn’t convinced Desiree it was time to set in motion the events that would herald Circe’s return. Of them all, Caiden and the Shadow Man had the most vested interests in making sure Circe returned. Only then would they be released from their existences. The Shadow Man, Teigh, lived half in this world and half in an indefinable world. Caiden lived wholly on another plane. Teigh could make short visits, and the daughters spent all their time there when they weren’t on Earth. They could also contact him through meditation or dreams. For her part, Desiree was tired of this existence. If she was guaranteed a happy ending every time she was reborn, it wouldn’t be so difficult. But nothing came with guarantees, not even death. “Are you all right?” Flynn’s question jerked Desiree from her thoughts. She finished cutting a bite of steak as she answered. “Fine.”

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He frowned, not believing her. Of the trio, he had always been the one more in tune with her feelings. “Second thoughts?” She watched him eat. He cut his steak like anyone else. He used his fork. He chewed and swallowed. They all did. Someone had taught them table manners this time around. However, she’d also seen them change their shapes, hunt down wild game, and tear the flesh from the animal with their bare teeth. In some of those lifetimes, she had successfully convinced them to make her a wolf so she could bear their offspring. In most of those lifetimes, she had failed. This time, she wasn’t going to leave it to chance. These men of hers weren’t to be given a choice. She was tired of playing this game. This time, she played to win. If her less-than-honest approach meant she lost them, so be it. She hadn’t experienced their unreserved love in more than two thousand years. There had been plenty of sex, though. “No,” she said. “No second thoughts.” “What do you do when you’re not listening to cryptic orders from the Shadow Man?” Demetrius flashed a smile as he spoke, and a tiny dimple appeared in his right cheek, softening his whole appearance. That, combined with the sparkle in his eyes, made her heart flutter a bit. It was too like the smiles he’d given her countless times before. It brought back memories of better days. She swallowed hard, fighting the feelings that always put her at a disadvantage. “I am a hospice nurse.” “Do you use your magic to end people’s suffering?” Marius’s casual tone didn’t fool Desiree. He’d been raised to be suspicious of witches and their motives. “I can ease their pain, but I can’t end their suffering.” Having died from a variety of illnesses, quietly in her sleep, and even a few times from murder, Desiree felt she was in a unique position to understand the suffering and grief of her patients. “Sometimes all I can do is hold their hands, especially when they’re maxed out on morphine, and help them imagine a better place.”

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Flynn closed his hand over hers. “It must be hard to watch that day in and day out.” “A soul is forever,” she said, blinking back the heaviness caused by the topic and by Flynn’s display of feeling. “I take comfort from that. It’s more difficult for their families, of course, but that’s as it should be. It’s difficult to learn to live without someone you love.” The silence was broken only by the scrape of fork on plate. Marius had resumed eating, but Flynn and Demetrius trained their attention on Desiree. “It’s not the topic you expected to bring up, I know. Let’s change it. How do you like being the law in these parts?” She was careful to not ask questions that might make them think she was on a recon mission to ferret out information on their security structure. The more suspicious they were, the more difficult her job would be. Marius pinned her with a look of warning. “Being in charge suits us, as you’ll find out shortly.” Hot cream rushed to her pussy and heat rose to her cheeks. With her dark coloring, the blush wouldn’t be very visible, but her wolves would be able to smell the increased blood flow anyway. Not that it mattered. The scent of her arousal already had them inhaling more deeply. Dinner finished quickly. Demetrius and Flynn cleared the table. Marius pushed his chair back and patted his thigh, his signal for her to sit on his lap. Trepidation stained her desire, but she made it to the other side of the table on steady legs. She stepped between his spread knees and perched her ass on one of his massive thighs. She didn’t know what to do with her hands, so she folded them on her lap. He slid one arm around her backside and gripped her hip. One flex of his powerful muscles, and he pulled her closer. Now her thigh brushed the bulge in his jeans. “Witch, you must abide by our rules or you cannot stay.”

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They always had rules. If she were in this for a lifetime, she would show her spirit now and fight for what she wanted. But she wasn’t here to win their hearts. She wanted their blood and their sperm. She would love them, but she wouldn’t fool herself into thinking they would love her back. Desiree nodded. She would play the part they wanted. “No magic. Our neighbors won’t like you being here, but they won’t raise a fuss unless they know you’re a witch. If you use your magic, they’ll smell it.” That was a no-brainer. Of course, she could use subtle magic and they’d never know. Only amateur witches couldn’t cover their tracks. “You can’t go anywhere without one of us. You can go outside, but don’t stray from the yard. Don’t speak to the neighbors. If they greet you, nod and turn away. They’ll know you’re not permitted conversation.” Everything in Desiree wanted to smack him into the twenty-first century, but she refrained. If he told her to keep the house in order, she would walk away. There was only so much humiliation she would countenance. “We’ll try to have one of us home at all times, but that’s not always possible. If an emergency should arise while we’re gone, use the phone in the kitchen. Dial zero and tell the operator to contact one of us. Someone will come home as quickly as possible.” The more rules he stated, the more Desiree wondered how many non-wolf women they’d kept in their home, but she knew better than to ask. She waited patiently for more rules, but none came. “That’s it?” Marius drew his brows together. “What else is there?” She shrugged. “I thought you’d say I had to be naked all the time and that I couldn’t refuse you anything sexually.” His mouth opened and closed, but no words came out. Behind her, Demetrius’s laugh boomed across the kitchen. He rested his hands on her shoulders, startling her with how quickly he

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closed the distance. She had to get used to how quickly they moved. “The rules are for your safety, Desiree. You’ll be naked a lot, but we’ll most likely be naked, too.” “We’re wolves,” Flynn said as he flopped into the chair next to Marius, “not monsters. What did you think you were getting into?” Desiree tore her attention from Flynn’s casual, open-legged pose and turned it to Marius. “You said you’d spank me.” He grinned and closed his free hand over her breast. “Step out of line and you’ll find your bottom on fire, but there are lots of other things I’d rather do right now.” That comment slid off her skin, but not before it bounced up and down her spine, leaving pleasant tingles on one end and her dander up on the other. She raised a brow and let the corner of her mouth curve into a seductive grin. “Such as?” “Dessert.” Before she could question the flavor of ice cream, she found herself lying on the table. Demetrius and Marius worked to strip away her shoes and jeans while Flynn tended to her shirt and bra. In seconds, she was naked and splayed on the hard wood. Her men surrounded the table on three sides. Marius stood to her right. Flynn flanked her left side, and Demetrius lifted one of her feet. Desiree let her head drop back onto the table top. If Demetrius was half as into feet as he had been when they first met, she was in for the night of her life. He kissed her instep and licked his way to her ankle. Shivers raced up her leg, not stopping until they reached her breasts. As if they had only waited for that signal, Marius and Flynn each tasted a nipple. Hands roamed her torso and slid up her legs. Each of them worked toward her pussy but nobody touched the place where her need blossomed. She writhed and moaned, unable to move because of the way they positioned themselves. Flynn worked his way up her neck to her mouth. He captured her lips in a searing kiss, exploring her with his

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tongue that way. He licked and thrust, taking his fill before releasing her to breathe again. Even before they had become wolves, these three had been enamored of her scent and taste. She’d spent hours orgasming just from their oral attention. It seemed tonight was heading toward a similar end, if only one of them would actually touch her weeping pussy. Flynn’s hot hands lifted her, caressing her shoulder blades and the small of her back. They scooted her to the edge of the table where Flynn and Marius hooked one arm each under her knees, spreading her wide and holding her down. She thought she would feel the smooth glide of Demetrius’s tongue next, but he lifted her hips and impaled her. **** For the first time in his life, Demetrius had no idea what he was doing. Though he and his brothers hadn’t discussed beforehand what they planned to do with Desiree, this wasn’t their first time sharing a woman. The three of them took great pride in driving a woman to the edge over and over. He liked Desiree so far. She was gorgeous, and she had much more spirit than she had allowed them to see. More than just the usual beauty, she had something intangible he could neither name nor describe. It was like his soul had recognized her the moment she walked in, and now his wolf had to claim her. Her hot little pussy clenched around him, sucking him deeper. He sank fully into her, shocked and impressed that she could accommodate his full length. Avoiding his brothers’ faces, which he was sure sported censuring expressions, he focused on the woman with whom he felt an inexplicable connection.

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She gasped and rolled her hips, wanting him to start a journey from which he knew there was no return. He wondered if she felt anything approaching what he felt. Surrendering to his baser instincts wasn’t his choice to make. The wolf in him was already taking over. He didn’t need a mirror to know his eyes were silver and his teeth had shifted. He should turn her and take her from behind so she couldn’t see him like this, so she wouldn’t be afraid of this part of him that was so foreign to her culture, yet he couldn’t stop long enough to give her that. Because Marius and Flynn held her down, she couldn’t move, couldn’t escape him. Suddenly, his wolf couldn’t handle this. He wanted her to give herself over to him voluntarily. He knew she was here because she wanted to be here, but he wanted to claim her all by himself. Demetrius pushed at his brothers’ arms, disentangling them from her legs. He pulled her up so that her chest was against his. “Wrap your legs around me.” His voice had begun to shift as well, yet she seemed to understand his guttural growling. More than that, she hiked her body up his and planted kisses along his neck and shoulder. She whimpered, begging without words, but she didn’t demand anything. She seemed to understand what he was doing, and she indicated her acceptance. Demetrius dropped to his knees. He cradled her head so it didn’t hit the floor, but that was all the consideration he was able to give. He withdrew almost completely and plunged into her tight wetness. Again and again, he pounded his hips into her thighs. His breathing came in ragged bursts, and a continuous growl rumbled through his chest. Desiree met each of his thrusts with the eager tilt of her pelvis. She lifted, bucking under him, and she clung to him, clawing at his shoulders and arching under his onslaught. He felt as if they had melded into one being. This wasn’t something he’d ever felt before. This wasn’t something he’d ever guessed was missing. This was

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something he knew he would never find again. The Shadow Man had brought his true mate, and there was no way in hell Demetrius would ever let her leave. The sounds of pleasure she made came faster and louder, until at last she climaxed, shouting his name as she came. Her sheath pulsed around him, milking his precious seed. His howl echoed in his own ears, and he collapsed on top of her. Strong hands lifted him. The cold hardness of the oak floor hit his exposed ass, reminding him that he’d done little more than unzip his jeans before plunging into Desiree’s sweetness. He opened his eyes to see Flynn cradling her naked body in his arms. “Did he hurt you, honey? I’m sorry. We couldn’t stop him without endangering your life.” Damn straight. He’d have killed anyone who tried to take his mate. Demetrius blinked, stunned by the vehemence of his possessiveness. Never before had he felt proprietary toward a woman. He regularly shared with his brothers, and with anyone else who wanted in on the action. But Desiree was different. He leapt up and tried to snatch her from Flynn. Marius stepped between them. His brown eyes glowered menacingly, a show of dominance. Demetrius dropped his gaze. Marius was his brother and the alpha male of the household. He could share Desiree with his brothers, but no one else would touch her. Behind Marius, Desiree wiggled in Flynn’s arms, trying to get down. “Let her go.” Demetrius challenged his brother for the first time in his life. Flynn put her down, but Marius grabbed her when she tried to slide between them. Demetrius growled in warning. Marius held up a hand. “Mitri, you’re in no condition to be around her right now. You could seriously injure her.”

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“He didn’t hurt me.” Desiree squirmed against Marius’s hold. “Please let me comfort him.” “It’s not safe.” Marius frowned, but he didn’t waver from the challenge in Demetrius’s eyes. Desiree placed her hands on either side of Marius’s face, forcing him to look at her. “Marius, Demetrius would never hurt me. Something happened. Something he didn’t expect. Please. I’m not afraid of him.” Marius touched his fingertips to her hips and her shoulders. He slid his hands up her arms to grip her hands. “You’re trembling.” “It was a really big orgasm. Trembling happens.” Demetrius had enough of this game. He snatched Desiree, wrapped his arms around her body, and held her as tightly as he could. She buried her hands in his hair and jerked his head down until his lips met hers. Immediately, the beast inside him relaxed. **** When Desiree released Demetrius, she smiled to see the silver in his eyes turning back to blue. The instinct to claim her properly with a transformative bite was strong in him. This boded well for the future. She wouldn’t have to resort to trickery if one of them lost it and bit her during sex. However, she needed him to still be willing to share her with Marius and Flynn. She loved each of her men in different ways and for different reasons. Giving up any of them was not an option. Behind her, Marius relaxed. She felt the tension leave him and flee the room. Demetrius released her from his bone-crushing hug and turned her to face his brothers. Now she was to be a peace offering. She squelched the urge to roll her eyes. Instinct drove them as much as rational thought. Rationality was all she had. Since it was based on more than three thousand years’ worth of experience, she trusted in her rationality completely.

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Marius would be last. He would see to his brothers’ needs before fulfilling his own. Desiree lifted her gaze to meet Flynn’s. The need blazing from his blue eyes sent shock waves through her system. Her recent climax forgotten, she closed the distance between them and tilted her face up, offering whatever he wanted. **** Flynn’s heart stopped beating. The scent of her sex mixed with his brother’s seed had a curious effect on him. In all the times they’d shared women, he had never found the smell of a woman full of another man’s semen arousing. It hadn’t mattered to him in the least. Right now, a thin thread prevented him from dragging her to the floor and rutting between her legs the way Demetrius just had. He had been shocked to see the primal way his brother behaved with this woman, yet he wanted to do much the same thing to her right now. She was so tiny and delicate. His protective instincts cried out against treating her that way, yet his wolf howled inside his head, clamoring for her in a way he’d never experienced. With a frustrated growl, he locked his lips to hers. The heat from when he had kissed her earlier hadn’t diminished one bit. The spark ignited. She softened to him, surrendering without a struggle. This pushed him over the edge. Using the last shred of sanity he possessed, he picked her up and took her to his bedroom. At least she would have something soft beneath her when he lost control. He tossed her onto the bed, unzipped his jeans, shoved them down to his knees, and turned her so that she was on her hands and knees. “I’m sorry.” He managed a growl near her ear just before he plunged into her welcoming heat. She cried out and arched her back, rolling her hips to grant him deeper access. The springs on his mattress creaked and the headboard

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cracked against the wall. He held her hips, digging his fingers into her yielding flesh to hold her close. Her tight channel clamped on him, spasming as she screamed out her climax. Her entire body stiffened, making it difficult for him to thrust into her as fast and hard as he needed. He pulled out completely, repositioned his cock at the tiny pucker in her ass, and howled as he reamed her. Her grip on the coverlet tightened, and she lowered her shoulders, giving him even better access. Other than the small gasp that escaped when he plunged into her, she said nothing. The fact she didn’t tense or try to fight him only affirmed his right to claim her this way. She was so tight and small here, a slice of a higher heaven inside a person who already contained paradise. Her hand reached between her legs to work the tiny bundle of nerves that would send her over the edge. Flynn was grateful she was able to mitigate the rough way he handled her. Too soon, her body bucked, shoving against him as a long, keening cry issued from her throat. The scent and feel of her orgasm ripped all control from him. Strains of something ancient echoed through his head. He leaned down and opened his mouth. As he climaxed and his seed shot into her, he found where the pulse beat strong in her throat and he bit down with every intention of making her his permanent mate. **** Marius gripped Flynn by the long blond chunks of hair curling from his head and jerked him away from Desiree just before he broke her skin. The silver in his brother’s eyes and the elongated teeth testified to Flynn’s loss of control. What was it about this witch that turned his brothers into nothing more than rutting beasts? Desiree collapsed to the mattress. Flynn went for her again, struggling against Marius’s hold until Marius punched him in the side

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of the face. Immediately, Flynn’s instinctive goal changed. He flew at Marius, claws ready and teeth bared. His growl sent a tremendous rumble through the house that shook the rafters. Words weren’t going to get them anywhere. Flynn was too far gone to listen to reason. He wasn’t usually unreasonable in his wolf form, but this was a state unlike anything Marius had ever seen. Marius dodged the attack, rolling Flynn through a side table that shattered on impact. Demetrius joined the fray, and within minutes, they had both subdued Flynn without inflicting permanent injury. “What the hell do you think you’re doing?” Flynn spat the words. The edge of his anger had dulled, though, as evidenced by the fact he could form words at all. “You were about to bite her.” As understanding dawned and rational thought returned, Flynn’s eyes turned back to blue and his teeth took on a more human configuration and shape. “She’s different, Marius. She’s our mate.” “She’s a witch.” Marius released Flynn and rose to his feet. By unspoken agreement, Demetrius retained hold of their brother. “She’s bewitched you.” Demetrius helped Flynn to his feet, but he didn’t let go of his arm. “No, Marius, you’re wrong. I felt it, too. I barely resisted the urge to bite her. Right now, a big part of me wants still wants to bite her.” This was crazy talk. If their pack heard either of his brothers say these things, they would think both men had lost their minds. Marius scowled. “Then I’ll remove the temptation.” He scooped the unconscious Desiree up in his arms. Her pliant body molded to his arms, but she gave no indication she did it on purpose. No sounds of protest or acknowledgment came from her. She had passed out. “No.” Both brothers blocked his exit. Marius eyed each carefully. They were both a little bulkier than him, yet he was the alpha. They hadn’t challenged him in a very long time. “I’m going to clean her up and

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put her in my bed to sleep. I think you can agree she needs some rest after what you two animals have done to her.” Demetrius’s jaw relaxed. He moved to the side. “Just don’t make her leave.” Possessiveness was new to Marius. Just because he didn’t like feeling it didn’t mean he didn’t feel it. He clutched Desiree closer to him. “She’s not leaving.” He took her to his bath and cleaned her body. She didn’t stir when he drew the washcloth over her skin in long, slow strokes. Through the cloth, he memorized the way her hips flared and her waist dipped. He caressed the underside of her breasts with the gentlest of touches. Between his legs, his cock grew hard. He wanted to hear her gasps and sighs. He wanted to see the expression on her face when she watched how delicately he treated her. No frantic rutting or digging his fingers into her skin so hard he left marks. Unlike his brothers, he could control the slow burn she ignited inside him. She didn’t make a sound when he used the showerhead between her legs or when he spread the cheeks of her ass to clean her there. No murmur escaped when he patted her dry or when he slipped her beneath the sheet on his bed. She didn’t move from the position in which he placed her. Part of Marius’s anger stemmed from the fact that she wouldn’t wake up. He had been the one to bring her home, yet she had driven his brothers to such extremes that she had surrendered to exhaustion before he had his fill. He hovered over her as he decided on his next course of action. Her lashes cast soft shadows on her cheeks. Did she always sleep so deeply, or was this her body’s reaction to being so thoroughly fucked? Before he could complete a rationalization, his lips touched her collarbone. So soft and pliant, and she smelled divine. His lips moved up the curve of her neck. The scent of her blood permeated her skin, intoxicating him like nothing before. In all of his

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fifty-nine years, Marius had never once been so tempted by the scent of a woman, wolf or human. The urge overwhelmed him. Instinct overtook him, and he sank his teeth into the curve of her neck. Wolves were not blood drinkers, yet Desiree’s blood sang in his mouth. He sucked deeply and swallowed it down. She whimpered in her sleep, shifting away from the twin pricks. It was enough of a wake-up call to pull Marius back into his brain. He gazed down in horror at the bruised and bloody spot on her neck. As he watched, the punctures closed, leaving behind a blotchy pattern of small bruises. The subtle scent of magic reached his nose. What had he done? She had charmed him while she slept, overriding his natural abhorrence at sharing his birthright with any human or witch. This was her fault. Somehow, she instigated this. She nearly drove both of his brothers to this point. She had succeeded with him. He knew his light bite was enough to trigger the change that would turn her into a wolf. Guilt pinged through his chest, gone before it could take root. He had read deception in her eyes already several times that night. She wasn’t as innocent as she pretended. He crept through the silent house. No doubt Demetrius and Flynn were sleeping off the aftereffects of the endorphin rushes they had enjoyed. The trunk in the hall closet gave up the cuffs and chains he needed. Every blue moon, his mother’s compulsion kicked in. As befitting a dutiful son, Marius chained his mother during those times to prevent her from finding some unlucky bastard and becoming pregnant with his unwanted child. Marius had too many siblings to count, none of whom had been the product of a loving union. It wasn’t his mother’s fault. Having a compulsion was the mark of a powerful wolf. Though very strong in their own rights, neither he nor his brothers suffered from that malady. Working together made them invincible.

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Marius carried the heavy chains back to his room. Desiree was in for a rude awakening if she thought she could waltz in there and cast charms over the three of them. She didn’t stir as he snapped the heavy cuff around one ankle. His mother needed six points of restraint. Desiree wasn’t powerful. She was small and weak. One point of restraint would do the trick. He chained her to the plumbing under the sink in the bathroom. That gave her enough length to access the bathroom and most of the bedroom. She shifted as he pulled the sheet back over her rapidly cooling body, bringing her knees up to curl into a ball. Marius relented a little. He hadn’t meant to make her cold. Stripping down to nothing, he crawled into bed beside her and curled his body around her backside to warm her with his heat.

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Chapter 5 Warmth penetrated to the core of her body. A thigh pressed intimately between her legs, a chest pressed to her back, and a hard cock poked into one cheek of her ass. Desiree opened her eyes to find herself in an unfamiliar room. Any room in which she woke in this house would qualify as unfamiliar, but this one wasn’t the one in which she’d passed out. The hair on the arm draped over her waist was dark, narrowing the identity of the man wrapped around her body to either Demetrius or Marius. A vague recollection returned. Demetrius had been about to bite her when Marius had interrupted. She fought the urge to groan because she had no doubt the man behind her was Marius. After what he saw, he wouldn’t have left her alone with Demetrius or Flynn. She tried to turn to face him, but he pressed the flat of his hand against the curve of her stomach, holding her in place. His hand traveled up her torso and cupped one breast. He kissed a line up and down the side of her neck and licked the shell of her ear. Pleasant shivers ran down her spine, and she came fully awake. He rolled the tip of her nipple in his fingers, and she gasped. She wanted to say something, anything to make him talk so she could gauge his mood, but she only seemed to be able to manage gasps and moans. The hand on her breast moved down again. He pulled her leg up and back to fall over his thigh, opening her pussy to his questing fingers. He took his time, teasing and exploring every fold. Her clit cried for attention, but he bypassed it completely. The little moans she had been making turned to frustrated whimpers.

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“Shhh,” he said, kissing another trail over her shoulder. “My brothers were a little too impatient yesterday. I want to show you a bit of what you missed.” After the mind-blowing intensity of the orgasms she’d experienced, Desiree didn’t think she had missed out on anything. The last time a lover had taken her to those heights, she hadn’t been called Desiree and they had different names as well. She couldn’t say that to Marius, not yet, so she kept it to herself. She thrust her hips forward and back, wanting to feel him inside. Marius chuckled and plunged two fingers deep into her sopping channel. His natural heat penetrated her tissues, and she clamped him tight. His thumb found her clit, and he fingered her with agonizing slowness. “I don’t want to hurt you, honey. You have to be sore from last night.” “A bit,” she croaked. The beginnings of a climax pulsed through her walls. “Not enough to want you to stop doing what you’re doing.” As if he sensed how close she was, he increased his pace, but he remained gentle. This was the man to whom she had given a large chunk of her heart all those years ago. In addition to being dominant, he was kind and thoughtful. She could feel his erection against her backside. She knew how much he wanted her, yet he was determined to show her tenderness. Words of love hovered just behind her lips. She knew better than to speak them. She arched, rubbing against his skin, absorbing his heat. Wolves were fire creatures. It burned inside them, making for a volatility she both loved and hated. Tension coiled in her core. Marius detonated tremors along her neck, shoulder, and back, alternating light kisses with the pinch of his teeth peppering her with tiny bites. His other arm had been between them. He slid it underneath her body and used it to pull her closer. His hand closed over her breast and heart. Desiree fell over the precipice, her body stiffening as her climax crested.

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Before she came down, Marius rolled her onto her back. His hard cock teased her slick folds, and he held himself over her body, bracing his weight on his powerful arms. Desiree looked into his eyes. Shocked to find them brown instead of silvering with desire, she reached up and traced her fingers along his cheek. “Marius?” He stared at her for the longest time, flickers of ancient understanding lighting his eyes and then fleeing before he could have a chance to grasp them. Finally, he lowered his head and grazed her lips with his. He licked the seam and tugged at her bottom lip with his teeth. “You belong to us,” he said. “I see deception in your eyes, witch. The scent of recent magic lingers in the air. I warn you now that I will not countenance it.” Desiree rolled her hips, urging him closer to her opening. “I have not deceived you, my wolf. The things you don’t understand will come clear in time. Don’t rush it.” Guilt flashed through his features, gone before Desiree could speculate as to its cause. He eased his cock into her, pushing in by inches. Delicious heat tingled where he touched, and she delighted in the way his thick cock stretched her walls. A light sheen of sweat covered his body, a testament to what it cost him to hold back. She reached down and clamped her hands on his ass, urging him to move faster. “Marius, you don’t have to go slow. You don’t have to hold back with me.” Completely sheathed inside her silky, pulsing pussy, he stopped. “You think wolves are wild creatures who lack the ability to slow down and see to a woman’s pleasure. I aim to show you that isn’t always true.” Tears, hot and salty, pricked behind Desiree’s eyes. She knew his tenderness as well as she knew his wildness, and she loved both sides of his nature. Her hand trembled as she caressed his soft, full lips with her fingertips. For eons, she had enjoyed an easy relationship with

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Demetrius and with Flynn. Their fights had always consisted of small bouts of disagreement. In all these lifetimes, she had yet to find one where the two of them weren’t affable. Her epic fights were always with Marius. If Demetrius and Flynn were the comforting and warm parts of the fire, Marius was the dangerous and searing part of the blaze. All three heated her in ways that fed her soul. “You don’t fear me.” His statement was part question, part challenge. A line pinched between his dark brows. “No,” she agreed. “I’m not afraid of you.” I’m afraid of what you do to me. He withdrew almost completely. Desiree lifted, tilting her hips to entice him. He plunged back inside, setting a slow pace that had her writhing. Her head thrashed from side to side and her hips thrust forward to meet him every time. Sweet heat curled in her core. She closed her eyes to focus the feeling and to remember other times when he had loved her like this. She recalled images of the times when he had gazed at her with open adoration, love lighting the silver in his eyes. Marius pinned her hands to the mattress, resting his full weight on them. “Open your eyes, Desiree. Look at me. Be with me.” She did as he asked. The edge of his brown orbs glowed silver, the only indication he was close to losing control. In that instant, they connected. Images of him in different lifetimes flashed through her mind, and she didn’t shield anything from him. His eyes widened in shock, and he thrust into her faster. His teeth elongated and his eyes turned completely silver. She knew when he was like this, he could see further into her soul. But he affected her, too, pulling her into the present and drowning her in the feelings he evoked with his hard cock inside her and the possessiveness outlining every facet of his body. “Mine,” he said. “You’re mine, Desiree.”

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“Yes.” The acknowledgment fell from her lips, full of truth and longing. The inferno he created burned out of control. She came, her pussy clamping down on him so hard he cried out and climaxed at the same time. **** Marius knew he should lift his weight from Desiree. He felt the way she struggled to take shallow breaths, yet she made no move to push him away. Her body trembled so hard she shook him as well. He released her hands and rolled to the side, taking her with him. Something had happened when she opened her eyes to look up at him. Marius had wanted know the moment of her complete surrender. That happened, but he struggled to explain the images and feelings that bombarded him when he looked into her eyes. He saw her walking on the beach with three men, laughing and kissing each of them in turn. In the vision, she was different. Her hair was short and curly. No false extensions or colors created a façade. Her skin was darker. Joy danced in her eyes. Her smile came easily and often. He liked seeing it. The men with her didn’t inspire jealousy. Somehow, he knew they were him and his brothers, thought they looked nothing like they did now. Other images, many of them intimate, caught him in their thrall. In each of them, the men were different and so was the woman. Yet, he never doubted the men were him, Demetrius, and Flynn. He never doubted the woman was Desiree. Nothing like this had ever happened to him before. Marius held Desiree until she stopped trembling, but his thoughts shifted away from the incredible feelings she evoked to her reasons for evoking them. Why had she projected such images? What did she hope to accomplish?

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This wasn’t her first experience with wolves. That fact slammed home hard and fast, a blow to the head that left him reeling. She hadn’t flinched when Demetrius penetrated her that first time, and she hadn’t protested at all when Flynn took that sweetly rounded ass of hers with his sizeable cock. Suddenly sick, he released her and staggered from the bed. Desiree sat up, clutching the sheet to cover her breasts. Worry clouded her dark eyes. “Marius?” He pulled on boxers and jammed his legs into jeans. “I warned you, witch. No magic and no charms. You couldn’t resist, could you?” “Magic? I didn’t use magic, you big oaf. Good sex doesn’t require magic, just a good lover.” She peered up at him, the languidness of her limbs replaced with rigid and growing fury. “What’s wrong, Marius? Have you never had an orgasm before?” Tucking a clean flannel into the waist of his open jeans, he looked up to frown at her. It was the frown that made grown men quake, yet it seemed to only infuriate her more. Her lips pressed together and her eyes narrowed. Another image flashed through his mind. She wore the same expression but a different face. He shook away the inexplicable memories. “I can smell your magic.” She swept his digital clock from the bedside table, jerking the plug from the wall, and threw it at him. He deflected it easily, but he was shocked that she would resort to violence. It fell to the floor, pieces scattering on the wood. “You incredible ass! You wouldn’t know the scent of magic if it smacked you in that thick skull of yours. The only thing I smell is the stench of a coward. We shared something special and all you want to do is denigrate it!” She rose to her knees, but the clank and hiss of the chain derailed her tirade.

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She flipped back the covers. Her mouth dropped open when she saw the thick leather cuff encircling her ankle. She turned her head, following the path of the chain into the next room. He watched her breasts heave, and his gaze roamed over the curves of her body as she exited the room. He didn’t think about her accusation. In seconds, she returned. “You chained me to the bathroom sink. Why?” Naked and chained, she stood before him, a regal queen ready to dish out a punishment to her general. Marius stood his ground. He knew if he gave in to her now, she would run roughshod over him in every aspect of his life. “You did something to charm Flynn and Demetrius. I’ve never seen them like that in my life. They both nearly bit you.” If it was possible, she drew herself up even taller. “You’re afraid of me because I make you feel things over which you have no control. You’re mistaken if you think I have control over them, Marius. I may be a witch, but I’m not capable of this kind of magic. No one is.” “Bullshit. I saw it in your eyes. Maybe you didn’t mean to share those things with me, but I saw them. This isn’t your first experience with wolves. Do you traverse the world looking to seduce wolves? Is this some kind of weird witchy fetish?” Marius expected her to shrink in the face of his anger, to try to explain away the things he’d seen. He would have liked an explanation, anything to make sense of this strange connection they seemed to share, but Desiree didn’t cower in the face of his temper. She swept an antique lampshade from the lamp on the decorative table behind her and threw it at him. He caught it, thankful it didn’t shatter, and set it on the other side of the room where she couldn’t reach. Her eyes glittered with rage and another emotion he didn’t want to face. “My first experience with wolves? No, it isn’t. This also isn’t my first experience sleeping with a complete jerk, either. If you think I’m going to sit here and let you treat me like shit, you are mistaken.

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I’m not stupid, Marius. I know I’m not your first lover. It’s stupid of you to think you’re my first.” She stopped suddenly, her voice caught on a sob. He took a step closer, seeking to comfort her. The pain that cracked her voice on her last statement tore at him fiercely. He didn’t mind her anger, but it would kill him to see her cry. Her emotion shifted suddenly, crystallizing as anger, and she launched more objects at him. Several books, magazines, a glass of water, all the things on the table and the nightstand near her, flew in his direction. “Images!” She spat the word. “You chained me up because you saw images in my eyes. How closely did you look, Marius? How open were you to seeing the extent of my experience with your damned breed?” Her voice, laced with hysteria, rose to a shriek. He moved in, crossing the space with two long strides, and shoved her facedown on the bed. She screeched and struggled against him. The names she called him were extremely rude. He couldn’t recall a time when he’d heard such language from a woman. Without pausing to consider the possible ramifications of his action, he threw a leg over her thighs and pressed one hand between her shoulder blades, effectively immobilizing her. The palm of his hand met the soft skin of her ass, rending the air with a resounding crack. She shrieked, a sound of fury, not pain, and struggled anew. He tightened his hold and spanked her again. The light brown skin on her ass suffused with pink as he paddled her. The shrieks died down, morphing to moans, and the rhythm of her struggle settled into a writhing pattern. She thrust her luscious little ass up to meet his blows. Her fingers curled into the blankets on the bed, and the scent of her arousal ignited his need. He hadn’t finished dressing before she began launching her missiles. His shirt was half-tucked and he hadn’t zipped the fly on his

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jeans. Rising to his knees, he lifted her ass into the air, positioning her knees underneath, dropped his jeans, and impaled her dripping pussy. She moaned and pushed back against him. “Oh, Marius, yes. Like this, lover. This is what I want from you.” Fire rushed through his body, turning molten at all the points where he touched her. His hands on her hips, his cock in her pussy, the front of his thighs slapping the back of her thighs—all of it combined and exploded. Deep inside, he recognized this wasn’t his first time venting frustration and finding heaven buried in this woman. Marius pushed the awareness away, knowing his growing feelings for this witch meant the betrayal of his pack. Desiree’s scream accompanied the violent spasms in her pussy. The scent of her orgasm sent the electricity in him spiraling out of control. She massaged and milked a climax from him. He thrust twice more, prolonging the sensations for as long as he could, and then he collapsed on top of her for the second time that morning. She shook and trembled beneath him, and he knew she cried. He not only smelled the salt of her tears, but he felt twinges of her grief mixed with his guilt. He eased his weight away. The spanking he’d administered had left a ruddy glow to her ass. He didn’t know if he should comfort her or not. The list of his sins with this woman he’d known less than a day was long and complicated by sins he had yet to acknowledge. The tears did it to him. They tore him apart on the inside. He’d witnessed plenty of women crying, but no tears had ever affected him like this before. He pressed a kiss to her shoulder. “Have I hurt you, Desiree?” She didn’t move. Her face remained buried in the tangle of bedding, but the sobs shaking her shoulders didn’t ease. Fear ate his stomach like acid. It came out harshly. “Damn it, witch! Answer me.” Still nothing. He drew a finger over her ass, testing to see if he’d gone too far. The skin was hot, but she didn’t flinch at his touch.

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While he had begun angrily, the scent of fresh cream to her pussy had dramatically altered his intent. He leaned over her, tugging her shoulder to roll her over. He needed to see her face. She elbowed him sharply in the ribs. He grunted, but he didn’t move away from her. She turned her face so that she wasn’t breathing into the covers, but she still faced away from him. “Unchain me.” “You used magic. I don’t know what you did to my brothers, but I can’t let you run free.” More than that, the images she had projected to him created an unease he didn’t want to explore. This was the only way he could see to regain some of the ground he had lost. She sat up, pulling the bedding to cover her nakedness, and regarded him with steely eyes. “I have not used magic. I’m trying to refrain from using magic. You know damn well I can free myself through the use of magic. What happened with Demetrius and Flynn is the same thing that happened with you just now. They wanted me, and they took what they wanted. Just like you did.” He stood, fixing his clothes for something to do other than look at Desiree or think about what she said. He had lost control. He had taken what he wanted. Now he grasped at straws. “Explain the images.” Her eyes narrowed. “We’re back to this. Don’t be an ass, Marius. I don’t know what you saw, but if you saw my memories, then they were memories that should have meaning for you. If they don’t, then…” She shrugged as if to say a lack of understanding on his part indicated a deficiency inside him. Before he could say or do anything more to complicate their disagreement, Marius left. He stalked to his car, a beautiful, tiny sports car that barely fit his massive frame, without grabbing anything from the kitchen in the way of breakfast. Demetrius and Flynn had left earlier that morning to cover the first patrol. At least neither of them had been there to overhear the series of sins he’d committed that morning.

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Though neither of them would censure him for his actions, they would want answers. They would want to discuss the unique way Desiree affected them. Flynn would be the first to bring up his feelings for her. Marius knew both of his brothers had feelings for Desiree, feelings that didn’t make sense and weren’t easily explained away. He knew this because he battled to deny his own feelings for this strange witch his soul seemed to recognize. He liked her. She didn’t hide her steel will and spunky personality. While her direct manner caused her to say things that made him uncomfortable, he found her kind of painful honesty refreshing. As she promised, she submitted to him only in regard to bedroom issues. The two of them would always clash as hard as they loved. For the first time in his life, a fragile hope had begun in Marius. He snuffed it out, crushing it under the weight of duty and responsibility. Lyton would never accept her. She would never be happy living among wolves who would want to see her dead just because she happened to be a witch. He would enjoy her charms. He would memorize every moment spent with her in his arms. Then he would let her go because he could never offer her true happiness.

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Chapter 6 3,000 Years Ago Colorful birds chattered in the trees, arguing over territory and fruit. The sun shone brightly, but the canopy shaded Desiree, her men, and her family from the glare. Circe stood on a marble dais, the wind lifting strands of her long blonde hair so that they appeared to float. Her eyes reflected the colors of the ocean, swirling with teals, blues, and greys. The simple blue dress billowed in the breeze and hugged her curves. Desiree, Marius, Demetrius, and Flynn knelt at her feet, their heads bowed. Her fathers and sisters surrounded them, their bodies forming the symbolic circle of the unbroken band. “To join together souls is to honor the Gods and Goddesses. My children, in choosing to bind your essence to one another, you bring the blessings of the sun and the moon to this union. Stand, and pledge your troth to one another.” Desiree rose to her feet, as did her men. Dressed to mirror her mother, she felt the power of the sun and the moon flowing through her body. Marius, Demetrius, and Flynn wore white robes they had fashioned themselves. Their skill with the needle impressed Desiree until Flynn informed her that all sailors knew how to sew. It came in handy when the sails tore. Flynn grasped her forearm, and she grasped his. She smiled up at him. “My soul is forever bound to your soul. Together, we are complete.”

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He repeated the words back to her, his eyes softening with the love in his heart. She repeated her vow to Marius and Demetrius, and they pledged themselves to her. When they finished, they knelt once more before Circe. She raised her arms. Magic radiated through the room, soaking every cell of Desiree’s body. Her soul expanded, combining with those of Marius, Demetrius, and Flynn until she could not distinguish between them. Then Circe spoke their names, sealing their souls together for all eternity. “Blessed Be,” she said. “May your lives be happy.” “Blessed Be,” Desiree said. Flynn, Demetrius, and Marius returned the blessing at the same time. Circe raised her eyes to their audience. “Blessed Be.” As one, they closed the ceremony. “Blessed Be.” **** That evening, as Desiree led the way to their rooms, Demetrius took her hand. He pressed a kiss to her palm. “I find it amazing that your mother appears so young.” Desiree frowned and cocked her head to the side. “What do you mean? Mother is the daughter of the sun. She has experienced much in her life. She is very wise. One day, I wish to be as wise as Mother.” He laughed. His soft, dark curls bounced where they brushed his shoulders. “I meant that she appears to be not more than a few seasons older than you.” Now she knew what he meant. To her, youth was a state of mind. She nodded. “We are not human. Wisdom and experience become part of our essence, not our outward appearance. You will see this happen for yourself.”

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Flynn grabbed her arm, halting her just outside the door to their chambers. Worry crinkled his brows. “You mean to say that we will age and you will not? How old are you?” Her frown returned. She shook her head. “My fathers say time doesn’t mean the same thing here as it does in the human world. Mother came first. She tells stories of humans who were covered with hair and did not speak words.” She lifted a hand to ruffle Flynn’s dark hair. “Don’t worry, my love. Our souls are one. You are no longer human, and you will be with me forever.” Demetrius pulled her into the room. When his brothers joined them, he closed the door. The three of them faced her. Demetrius and Flynn had their arms crossed. Marius’s hands fisted on his hips. Confusion ruled Desiree. She didn’t understand their mood. They had made her wait so long for this day. Why were they not stripping naked and letting her have them in the way they had so far denied her? “What do you mean, we’re no longer human?” Demetrius frowned, but patience shone in his eyes. “Your soul is forever bonded with my soul. I am a descendant of the sun. Now that we’re one, you are also of the heavens.” She reached out, needing physical contact to counteract the trepidation she now felt. Demetrius shook his head and turned his back on her. He crossed the room to stand in front of a large, open window. Pangs hit her heart. She hadn’t expected rejection. Marius caught her in his arms. “Don’t fret, my sweet. This was unexpected. We didn’t know exactly what we were promising.” A weight pressed on her chest. “You wish to undo our bond?” “No,” Marius said. “We don’t regret bonding ourselves to you. In our world, marriage is common, but it isn’t a mystical experience. Give Demetrius a chance to get used to this. It doesn’t change his feelings for you.”

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“Your fathers were human?” Flynn rested his large hands on her shoulders and pressed a kiss to her neck. “What are they now?” She relaxed back against Flynn’s chest. “Humans call us witches. My fathers say it isn’t a very nice term. Mother says we’re pieces of the heavens on Earth.” Marius smiled. “I like that one. You, my darling Desiree, are definitely a piece of heaven on Earth.” The room had been prepared by her mother and sisters. Her fathers had built a bed large enough for the four of them to sleep comfortably. Her mother had taken her aside to explain the logistics of intercourse with three men. Marius, Demetrius, and Flynn had spent their months together teaching her the delights of orgasm, but they drew the line at intercourse. Desiree was more than ready, but she wanted Demetrius, too. He gazed out the window, his thoughts so remote she couldn’t hope to guess at them. She disentangled herself from Marius and Flynn and crossed the room. Her arms encircled Demetrius’s waist and she rested her cheek against his broad back. “I don’t know what it’s like to be ripped from the only place I’ve ever known and thrust into a new place where there is no hope of seeing my loved ones again. I can’t replace the home you’ve lost, but I can give you a new one here. With me.” He turned in her arms, holding her close. “I don’t regret coming here, my love. You make it all worthwhile. It’s the sea I miss, and it’s right outside the palace. We’ll make another vessel.” Desiree smiled. They were sailors, after all. Perhaps they could never leave the vicinity of their enchanted island, but they could still enjoy the sea. He kissed her with a ravenous aggressiveness he’d never before displayed. Always when his lips touched hers, he had restrained himself. He had been gentle, seeing to her pleasure and not his own. Now all that changed. She melted under the force of his onslaught, molding her body to his.

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The gravity of the moment and of her love for Demetrius only deepened the reach of the electric sparks rushing through her body. Hands tugged at her clothes and the warm ocean breeze caressed her bare skin. Demetrius broke the kiss and pressed his forehead to hers, his chest heaving. Desiree felt her body lifted. Marius carried her across the room and lay her down on the bed next to Flynn. She had known Flynn would take her first. Whenever Desiree had tempted Marius too much, his face had paled at the thought of causing her pain. He was convinced this first time would hurt. Flynn ran his hands up her arms and down her sides, stoking slow flames. Cream rushed to her pussy. Desiree pushed at his clothes. She had seen him naked plenty of times as she nursed him back to health. Though she had admired his sinewy form many times, she hadn’t permitted herself to explore the dips and valleys delineating his muscles. Now she gave in to that need. He was hard everywhere. His chest, under a sparse sprinkling of silky hair, felt like smooth rock covered with the softest material. She caressed him lightly at first. As his muscles ticked and pulsed, she used bolder strokes. He kissed her lips, neck, and shoulders. He palmed her breasts, teasing her nipples with the rough palms of his hands. His blue eyes darkened with need, and he rolled, nudging her legs apart and positioning himself between them. His long, hard cock brushed her slippery lips. Wild sensations loosed a storm inside Desiree, and she lifted her hips to invite him closer. In all the times he had used his mouth to worship her body, he had never let her touch his cock, and he had never let his cock come into contact with her skin. None of them had. Now that their union had been blessed by the highest authority on the island, nothing could stop Desiree from making these men completely hers. Reaching between his hard body and her soft one, she dipped the rounded head of his cock into her wetness. The contact

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felt so good, even better than his fingers and tongue. She purred and slid his cock through her folds, teasing them both. Flynn held his weight above her. His arms trembled with the effort it cost to let her explore him the way she wanted. Taking pity on him, she situated him at her entrance and lifted her hips to urge him forward. He kissed her tenderly and brushed a strand of hair away from her forehead. “I love you, Desiree. Forever and always.” Too many emotions and sensations competed inside Desiree. The love she felt emanated from her eyes, and she knew he recognized it because he surged forward, entering her with one quick thrust. Once buried completely in her, he stopped. Desiree took a moment to get used to what it felt like to be stretched and filled. This was what had been missing. This was what her body yearned for all those times they had teased, only penetrating her an inch or two with their fingers and tongues. She gripped his shoulders. “Oh, Flynn, this is wonderful.” He breathed a brief sound of amusement. “Honey, you feel so good.” Marius and Demetrius flanked them. They had left her alone, content to watch the action. Now they pressed closer. Marius claimed her lips, devouring her with a hunger he had hidden before now. Flynn withdrew, and Marius swallowed her whimpered protest. Then Flynn thrust into her, and she cried out, breaking her kiss with Marius. Demetrius pressed smaller kisses to her neck and nibbled at her earlobe, but Desiree was too focused on the heat that coiled tighter with every movement Flynn made. He loved her with infinite care, and she felt the mingling of their souls as their bodies became one. Tiny suns exploded in her bloodstream, bathing her body with liquid pleasure. She shouted her joy, and Flynn pulsed inside her, matching the celestial rhythm. He withdrew, rolling to the side and collapsing.

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Before the climax had time to slow down, Demetrius took Flynn’s place. He kissed her with the same hunger, unabated from earlier, as he slid into her warmth. She tilted her hips to welcome him. This time, she understood more about what her body craved. She planted her feet on the bed and met each of his powerful thrusts. Her hands roamed his body, never quite content to rest. The pulsing inside her lengthened, coming harder and faster. This climax caused her body to tense and arch. Demetrius gripped her hips and thrust into her until she screamed her release. Only then did he allow himself that same climax. Marius took his place. She reached for him, grasping with both hands and pulling him closer. He kissed a trail along her collarbone and worked his tingling heat up to the sensitive places behind her ear. “How are you doing, my treasure? Do you need a break?” She felt his hot, hard length resting on her thigh. Wrapping one hand around his thickness, she pumped her hand up and down him. “No, Marius. I want you more than I’ve ever wanted anything in my life. I need to feel you inside me. I need to share this with you.” He entered her slowly, taking infinite care to be gentle. He made love to her with a reverence that left her breathless. It took a bit longer, but he coaxed her to climax, and then he spilled his seed inside her. “Now,” she said as she caressed each of her exhausted men, “we are complete. We are truly one.”

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Chapter 7 Flynn rushed to the front door and flung it open, something he’d only ever done before in anger. Having the early shift never bothered him. Usually, he lingered at the diner in town for a late breakfast or an early lunch. Today, he rushed home. The day stretched ahead of him, bright and full of possibilities. The number one possibility on his mind was a little woman who had bewitched him in all the right ways. Marius had taken her to sleep with him the night before, which made complete sense to Flynn. Poor Desiree had been too exhausted last night. No doubt Marius wanted his chance with her the moment she awakened. What an incredible woman. From the first brush of his lips against hers, he knew something special existed between them. He knew the moments of his life had finally culminated and he’d met the woman he would love for all eternity. It was a little early to admit to such strong feelings, but this was all new to Flynn. He’d liked women before. He’d regarded more than a few with affection. However, nothing had prepared him for the way he felt when he was with Desiree. It was as if pieces of his soul had been missing his whole life and now he was finally complete. Sappy movies finally made sense. The house was curiously silent. The sound of Demetrius’s car pulling into the driveway didn’t cause him to pause. “Desiree?” He looked around the living room and kitchen, but she was nowhere to be found. Then he rolled his eyes. If she had spent the morning with Marius, she was probably sleeping.

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Following his nose, he headed toward Marius’s room. He expected to find her curled up under the sheet, her body soft and relaxed. The light was turned off, but the window shades were open and strains of late fall sunlight streamed inside. Desiree was on the bed, but she was awake. She sat with her knees pulled to her chest. Her arms hugged them close to her body. The sheet draped across her knees. It had slipped down her torso, revealing her naked chest. Profound sadness weighted her shoulders and drooped from her eyes. She lifted her head and stared at him, but she didn’t say anything. He frowned. This wasn’t the spirited witch he’d met the night before. Had she changed her mind? What had Marius done? “Desiree? What’s wrong?” She shrugged. “Your brother chained me to the bathroom sink, and then he left without feeding me breakfast.” She shoved the sheet back away from her foot, enough for him to see the thick leather cuff and the chain that held it shut. Flynn frowned. He came closer and sat on the bed next to her. It was from the set of chains they used to keep their mother from giving in to her compulsion. Why would Marius do this? Flynn had no doubt Marius did this. Only Marius was hotheaded enough to do something this stupid, and Desiree had already proven she didn’t have a problem pushing his buttons. “I was getting ready to use magic to remove it because I’m starving.” She sighed. “I don’t suppose you would remove it? Or get something for me to eat? Maybe a glass of water while you’re at it? I don’t know if you’ve got a bondage fetish the way Marius seems to.” Flynn stood. “I’ll be right back.” The key wasn’t far away. They usually kept their mother chained in the basement, though they did hide the key. The last time she escaped, they ended up with four younger siblings. While his mother loved children, she was tired of raising them. His older sister had raised that batch.

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Being the even-tempered one of the bunch, people often mistook Flynn for an idiot. Before he freed his one true love, he needed answers. He paused in the doorway. “Why did Marius chain you up?” She shrugged. “Because he’s a jerk? I woke up this way.” He regarded her with a neutral expression, endless patience at his disposal. Apparently, she also dipped in the same well. She laid her head back on her knees, her face pointed away from him. He gave her a verbal nudge. “I smell magic.” She didn’t respond. No slight tensing of her muscles betrayed evidence of having heard his accusation. “Desiree, I can’t release you if you aren’t honest with me.” The front door opened and closed. Demetrius’s scent filled the house. His footsteps headed straight to Marius’s bedroom. Flynn stepped farther into the room, questioning his decision to force an explanation from the small naked woman on the bed. Desiree was already resistant to opening up to him. Something had happened between her and Marius, something that left her sad and left the lingering odor of magic in the room. Demetrius sniffed the air and pointed a question at him in the form of a wrinkled brow. Flynn shrugged. Desiree sighed and lifted her head. Demetrius gasped. He crossed the space and slid onto the bed, sitting next to her. With one hand, he lifted her chin to look at her face. “You’ve been crying. What did that bastard do to you?” Flynn expected Desiree to use Demetrius’s obvious bias to further gain his sympathies. She laughed instead, a distinctly unhappy sound. “Besides chaining me to the bathroom sink, he didn’t do anything I didn’t want him to do to me.” He fingered a lock of her hair. “Honey, why did Marius do this? You don’t know him too well, but he’s a pretty rational person.”

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Again she laughed. “I can’t smell magic, but I can feel it. I felt it when I woke up. He wanted to know what I did to you two. I told him I didn’t do anything. We fought and he left. I don’t know if he meant to leave me chained up, but I don’t think he meant to starve me. My blood sugar is very low and I’d like something to eat.” Demetrius looked at Flynn, silently asking his opinion on their next course of action. Flynn nodded. They couldn’t very well starve her. He just couldn’t free her without figuring out where the magic originated. She watched Demetrius go, her eyes lighting with hunger. Then she turned back to Flynn. “It’s my magic. I just don’t remember doing it.” Her hand wandered to her neck, pressing the skin and frowning. She threw back the covers and leapt from bed. Flynn admired the swell of her breasts. They were small, but he had never been partial to anything too large. He longed to lick the barely noticeable ridges where her ribs curved. Her hips flared, creating a heart shape with her legs forming the tapering point. She paused, gesturing to a chest of drawers on the far side of the room. “Is there a shirt in there I could wear? It’s a little chilly in here.” It took a minute for her request to penetrate, but then he set into motion. He snagged a flannel shirt from Marius’s drawer and handed it to her. She smiled her thanks and disappeared into the bathroom, closing the door behind her. **** Desiree fingered the spot on her neck where a bruise had been that morning. It was a little tender, but all evidence of an injury had vanished. She searched her memory, but all that came to mind was the look on Marius’s face when he jerked Flynn’s mouth away from her neck.

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A little magic wouldn’t be noticeable. She had been injured, and that injury had triggered a healing spell she kept on herself. It came in handy with small cuts and the bruises she always managed to get from walking into various pieces of furniture. Her mother used to keep cold packs around the house for when Desiree banged her knee into the kitchen table or jabbed her hip into the corner of something sharp. In general, she was just klutzy around the house. As she got older and she learned to cast spells, this was one of the first ones she did. She cast a charm to contain the magic, and then she sent forth a small burst of power. In the privacy of the bathroom, nothing she did would be seen by anyone except the reflection in the mirror. “Show me the injury.” Yellow and green spots became purple with fresh blood. Twin dots, puncture wounds, appeared in her neck. It happened quickly, a flash, and then it was gone. However, it was enough for her to see that someone had bitten her. Most likely, Marius had done it while she slept. That explained his possessiveness and why he behaved so prickly after they had sex. His confrontation had been driven by guilt. Her stubborn lover had caved rather quickly. Joy soared briefly in the face of her easy victory. However, there was no way he could allow himself to be okay with the loss of control that led him to bite her. No doubt he wondered how the wound had healed so fast. They were going to want an explanation. She shrugged and watched the image in the mirror shrug back. They might not like her answers, but she had every intention of being honest with her wolves. After all, once she became pregnant, she planned to leave. Too many lifetimes filled with disappointment and rejection had colored her view of love. She would take what she could get from them now, raise the children they were sure to make in the next few weeks, free them all from this curse, and die happy in the knowledge that she would never have to see Marius, Demetrius, and Flynn again. Pain tugged at the edges of her heart, but she ignored it. She would never be stupid and naïve again. Her lovers had been predators

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longer than they had been wolves. She donned Marius’s flannel. It fell almost to her knees. She rolled up the sleeves and buttoned the front. Emerging from the bathroom, she found Demetrius setting a tray on the bed. She snatched up the sandwich before she sat down, sinking her teeth into a succulent ham and cheese with mustard. She wolfed it in five bites. Demetrius handed her a glass of water. “You’re going to choke if you don’t slow down.” She gulped the water and eyed him critically. “That’s damn fine smoked ham. Did you make it?” He shook his head. “My sister has us over for dinner every Wednesday. That was the last of the leftovers.” She stared at him, taking in the changes. It always took her some time to get used to their new faces and bodies, though she seemed to acclimate to the name changes pretty quickly. Like before, he had dark hair, though it was wavy now instead of curly. It fell to his collar, the ends curling just a bit more than the rest of it. His blue eyes sparkled with amusement. “I figured out where the magic came from.” She bit into an apple he had been thoughtful enough to slice into wedges. “I keep a spell on me that heals me when I get injured. It’s really no different than what you guys have with that super-fast healing thing you do, only I had to cast my spell. Yours is automatic.” Flynn flinched as if she’d struck him. His mouth turned down in a frown. “We hurt you last night?” Desiree shrugged and chewed another bite. The apple was a bit tart. She craved some peanut butter for dipping. “Most likely a bruise. You weren’t gentle. I’m not complaining, just remarking. It will probably happen again.” She looked from Flynn to Demetrius. “From the looks in your eyes, I’d say not too long from now.” She finished the last of the apple and moved the tray to the nightstand. Flynn sat in a wooden chair positioned next to a small round table wedged under the window a few feet from the bed. Two

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steps put her next to him. The weak sunlight infused his blond hair with a sedate glow. She lifted a few locks to let the soft, silky strands fall through her fingers. In all these incarnations, Flynn had never been a blond. This was one of the changes to which it was taking a bit longer to acclimate. Slowly, she lifted one leg and placed her foot on Flynn’s thigh. The shirt she wore rode up, revealing everything in one tantalizing burst. His gaze wandered up her calf, drank the distance from her bent knee to her pussy, and stopped there. Before he could move, she jangled the chain. “Flynn, I’m not into bondage. I do like when you’re all dominant and demanding or when you just take what you want like you did last night, but I’m really not into being tied up or chained. This does nothing for me.” The key had been sitting on the table out in the open, but she didn’t want to be the one who used it. Being freed by Flynn was an act of trust she felt compelled to force. Maybe it was wrong to push him like this, but she wasn’t here to build a lasting relationship. She was here to get knocked up and get out. She would enjoy the process and she would nurse her bleeding heart for the rest of her life, but she wasn’t about to feed herself lies and fantasies about these men she loved. His fingers rested over the key, and he looked up, meeting her gaze. She watched as he realized that she could have freed herself with or without the key. He inserted it into the lock and twisted it, springing the catch with a soft click. The heavy cuff thudded on the pine floor. “Why did the Shadow Man send you here?” His quiet, subdued tone belied the hunger growing in his eyes. Desiree slid forward, dropping her leg down to one side of Flynn as she straddled him. “He didn’t say why I had to come here, just that I had to come here.” She didn’t mention that Caiden had been quite explicit about her purpose for coming here. He missed Circe, and he

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wanted her back. Though he loved Desiree as he loved the rest of his daughters, she was the means to an end. He slid a hand up her thigh in a soft caress. “What if he didn’t mean for this to happen?” Desiree leaned close, pressing her breasts against his chest and grasping his thick arms for balance. “If he didn’t want this to happen, he wouldn’t have made you so damn attractive. Looking at you gets me hot, Flynn. This isn’t an issue with every man I meet.” She met his gaze and dropped her barriers so he could see the depth of her attraction. “I don’t make a habit of leaping into bed with men.” She trailed off, unwilling to finish her statement with anything more than a shrug. The last time she had leapt into bed with a man, it had been the three of them. They weren’t strangers. They were the loves of her life, whether or not they admitted it. He slid both hands up her thighs, pushing the flannel out of the way as he went. She hissed when he cupped her ass. Not only did the caress feel divine, but the heat of the spanking Marius had given her hadn’t quite abated. Her healing spell wouldn’t go to work on it because her soul didn’t consider it an injury. Behind her, Demetrius gasped. “Desiree, what did Marius do to you?” She twisted to throw a grin in his direction. “We had a fight. He was losing, so he spanked me, fucked me, and then he ran out of here with his tail between his legs.” He spread is hand to indicate the mess on the floor. “You threw things at him?” Her grin turned wicked. “It was a good fight.” Flynn squeezed her ass, digging his short nails into her tender flesh. Fresh cream rushed to her pussy. Her ass was one plump erogenous zone. She surrendered to the desire blazing through her system. Turning back to Flynn, she unbuttoned the flannel, her fingers moving languidly from button to button. His eyes followed the action. When

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she was finished, she opened the shirt, baring her body. Smoke infused his blue eyes with a tinge of grey. His hands came up to cup her breasts. He played with her nipples, rubbing his thumbs over them lightly, and then switching to pinch and roll them between his thumb and forefinger. Desiree moaned and let her head fall back, but it didn’t go far. Demetrius stood directly behind her, and she ended up resting her head against his ripped stomach. She raised her arms. It had the twin effect of thrusting her breasts out for Flynn and letting her capture Demetrius to pull him down. His lips devoured hers in a kiss that left her whimpering for more. He gave more. Flynn’s hands explored, caressing the lines of her ribs and moving to her core. He spread the lips of her pussy and pressed the palm of his hand against her clit. She moaned into Demetrius’s mouth and tightened her grip on his shoulders. Demetrius held her upright even as he let his hands roam her upper body. Flynn ran his fingers through her sopping folds and slipped two inside her welcoming channel. He thrust into her, curving his fingers to hit her sweet spot just right. She cried out, a series of sharp little sounds, and Demetrius ended his long, demanding kiss. His lips moved to her neck and shoulder. He drew the flannel away from her body and peppered her back with kisses. Flynn’s legs parted a bit, opening her wider. Demetrius reached under her. His touch mingled with Flynn’s, but not for long. He coated his fingers with her cream and drew them back to lubricate the tiny puckered rosette of her ass. She moaned, knowing exactly what he planned. They were preparing to take her together. It was thoughtful, really, but unnecessary. Desiree had always known what they would want, and she had used toys to prepare herself. However, she wasn’t about to tell them that.

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He gently massaged her cream into the tight muscle before easing past it. Little sparks joined those already coursing through her body, but she had to laugh at his tame approach. “Demetrius, darling, you weren’t nearly this nice last night.” “Sorry.” He scraped his teeth along the back of her neck, sending shivers down her spine. “I’ll make it up to you.” She didn’t want him to make it up to her. She might have said so, but Flynn resumed his rhythm, crashing into the place that made her gasp and lurch forward. Demetrius inserted a second finger, stretching her wider as he rubbed her sensitive tissues. Her climax came on suddenly, blinding her with unexpected intensity. She collapsed backward, leaning against Demetrius’s chest. Through lazy, half-closed eyes, she watched Flynn lift his fingers to his nose, inhale her scent, and lick his fingers clean. Pure ecstasy lit his face, and she wanted to make him feel more. She wanted to give him something to remember when she was gone. Their predicament was less his fault than it was Marius’s, and she couldn’t deny she loved them both with her whole heart. Demetrius rose to his feet and lifted her from Flynn’s lap. Flynn stood, trapping her between two hard bodies. He kissed her softly. She shivered at his tenderness and pushed at his clothes. In seconds, she had stripped him bare. She pushed him toward the bed as Demetrius disappeared in the direction of the bathroom. Flynn sank onto the high mattress, bending his knees over the side. His powerful thighs captured her interest. She explored his long, lean muscles with eager hands, following her forays with her lips and tongue. When she came to his large, thick erection, she licked him, wetting his length. One hand cupped his balls, massaging gently until he moaned. She wrapped her other hand around his base and she took most of him in her mouth. He moaned and flopped back on the bed, his hands lost in her hair. Behind her, Demetrius pushed at the small of her back, lifted her ass

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higher, and urged her feet apart. He positioned his cock at her entrance and pushed inside. She was so wet, he didn’t need to ease his way inside. She worked her mouth up and down Flynn’s cock, letting him set the pace with the light touch he kept on the back of her head. Demetrius angled his thrusts, inciting a riot in her blood that traveled throughout her entire body. She felt her soul expand, merging with Demetrius’s and Flynn’s, one being suffused with pleasure and love. She hadn’t meant for it to go this far, and now it was too late. They felt it, too, and there was no going back. Flynn exploded in her mouth. She gulped his seed, greedily memorizing his taste and texture. Her pussy clenched around Demetrius’s hardness. Her mouth popped open, releasing Flynn’s semi-soft cock, and she cried out as the waves of her orgasm crashed over her. Demetrius lasted for only seconds. He came with a satisfied howl that was lost in the roaring that filled her ears. She felt herself lifted and moved to lie between Flynn and Demetrius. For a while, neither of them moved. Since she was also unable to muster the strength to move her limbs, she let her eyes drink in the sight of Demetrius. His looks weren’t as blatantly gorgeous as Flynn’s angelic masculinity. He definitely commanded attention with his rugged appearance. Even naked, he was all planes and angles, sexy skin stretched over bone and muscle. He would make a magnificent, fierce wolf. Instinct took over, and she reached up to touch his face. Her muscles weren’t yet back under her command, so she made it as far as his stomach. It would do. She explored there, running her fingertips over his abdomen and leaving trails of gooseflesh in her wake. He closed his hand around hers, halting her exploration. “Why do you make me feel this way?” Though she knew exactly what he meant, she decided to direct the conversation elsewhere. While Marius would fight loving her with

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every breath in his body, Demetrius and Flynn were liable to realize the celestial truth, and that would lead to them getting hurt. “You’re ticklish?” He grinned, a soft sparkle lighting his sapphire eyes. Allowing her the evasion, he angled his head and kissed her, silently communicating all the things she didn’t want him to say out loud. His hand splayed over her lower back, pulling her so that her front pressed against his length, and his other hand tangled in her hair, massaging her scalp. The kiss deepened. He tasted her teeth and licked the roof of her mouth. He wrestled with her tongue and sucked it into his mouth, claiming her in small ways. It was as if he knew that claiming her in an overt way would send her running in the other direction. She planned to run anyway, just not at the moment. Flynn’s hand caressed the curve of her hip and moved down her leg. His chest pressed against her back, and he nibbled kisses all over her neck and shoulder. In seconds, the insistent pings of pleasure ricocheting through her body chased thoughts of anything else away. She moaned as Flynn lifted her leg and the tip of his cock nudged her opening. He slid inside, taking her at a leisurely pace. She tried to move her hips, to meet his thrusts, but he and Demetrius held her in place, preventing her from moving. Demetrius slid one hand between them. He found the swollen bud of nerves near the top of her slit. His eyes watched her face as he searched for and found the exact rhythm and pressure that drove her out of her mind. “You’re so beautiful,” he whispered, the words falling from his full lips. “I could drown in your eyes. They’re so soft and expressive. Come for me, Desiree. Show me your secrets.” The tension coiling tighter with each of Flynn’s slow thrusts burst in a shower of sparks she hadn’t known he ignited. Desiree gave Demetrius what he wanted, watching helplessly as his eyes widened in shock at the flashes of memory and feeling she couldn’t control.

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Unlike Marius, Demetrius didn’t fly into a rage. Flynn thrust one last time, his semen bathing her cervix in several short bursts. She broke the connection between her and Demetrius, concentrating on making her body as receptive to his sperm as possible. The changes to her DNA would take a few days, but enough of the process had begun for her to begin making babies. This was a magic of sorts, but it would be disguised by the sexual energy permeating the room. Flynn withdrew and Demetrius rolled so that she straddled him. She knew he was lost in the feelings running through his veins. The wolf parts of him needed to claim her even as the human parts of him reined in that urge. This primal expression of dominance represented the compromise. Her slick channel welcomed his wide, hard cock. Behind her, gripped by the same primal urges, Flynn positioned himself between Demetrius’s legs. He pushed her until she lay flat against Demetrius’s chest. Curly dark hairs pressed their softness into her skin. It always amazed her that her wolf-men weren’t covered with body hair. In each incarnation, they’d always possessed a slight sprinkling, not even a hint at what would sprout from their bodies once they shifted into creatures of the moon. Demetrius pressed a kiss to her temple. “He’ll be nicer than he was last night.” She snorted. “I liked what both of you did to me last night, so stop beating yourself up about it, okay?” Flynn parted her ass cheeks and rubbed some of her own cream into the tight ring of muscles. The tip of his cock, still coated in her own thick juices, nudged her opening. She exhaled, relaxing, and he eased inside. “Oh, fuck, Desiree. You’re so tight. I might not last very long.” Desiree had stopped listening to either of them. The fullness inside her was nothing like what she felt when she fucked herself with her vast array of sex toys. The heat alone nearly drove her over the

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edge. She had forgotten the visceral reality of being loved by two men. For the first time in far too long, she surrendered to the physical sensations dancing in mosh-pit fashion inside her. Then they moved. Demetrius retreated while Flynn pushed fully inside. They set a rhythm they liked, and she went along for the ride, a malleable mass willing to take the pleasure they dictated. Cries filled the room. Her body bucked between them. She felt every place where they touched her. Demetrius’s belly rubbed hers. Flynn’s thighs slapped hers. His fingers dug into her hips. Demetrius lifted his knees, bending them to force her forward and to corral the wild undulations of her body she couldn’t control. Tears blurred her vision, and she came hard, her pussy squeezing Demetrius so hard the shock waves milked Flynn. And they pounded her harder. Their rhythm changed. Now they worked together, thrusting and withdrawing at the same time. Screams, demands for more, harder, and faster rent the air, and Desiree recognized the timbre of her voice, but not the ragged, animalistic quality that infused it. She climaxed again and again, losing count because the pleasure stretched into one, impossibly long orgasm. Then she collapsed against Demetrius and the world went black. Dimly, she heard and felt each of her lovers climax, but consciousness was too far away to acknowledge their pleasure.

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Chapter 8 Desiree showered and dressed in Marius’s big flannel shirt. She found a length of fabric to use as a belt, and the shirt became a moderately cute dress. The bag of clothes and personal items she had packed remained in her car, safely stowed off the main road near the tree imbued with her sister’s essence. She could ask one of her men to get it for her, but that would be playing her trump card. As long as they didn’t know where her transportation was located, they couldn’t take it away from her. If she showed signs of leaving before they were ready to let her go, she had no doubt they would use everything in their arsenals to make her stay, including disabling her car. No, she would make do with the things she had on hand. At least they all had longish hair. That meant they had brushes and hair care products. Of course, three men living together left a crust on the bathtub that meant she wouldn’t be taking a bath anytime soon. She vowed to clean it and invite whoever pitched in to help to take a relaxing soak with her. She headed for the kitchen. This room, as well as the living room and bedrooms, was surprisingly clean. It must be only the bathroom to which they objected cleaning. She rolled her eyes. No surprise there. Their wolf senses probably enjoyed a bit of gross funk. Hers did not. The changes were becoming noticeable. Her sense of smell had sharpened, and her vision marginally improved. She didn’t think enough time had passed for her eyes to silver when she became upset or excited, but she wouldn’t chance it. Staying even-keeled around Flynn and Demetrius presented problems only when they fucked her.

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Remaining moderately tempered around Marius would try the patience of a saint. She could do this. She had to do this for another seven-to-ten days. Once she had her babies and found her sister, they could set the events in motion that would break the curse on them all. This would be her last lifetime, the last time she had to endure the broken heart she had nursed for too many millennia. By the time Marius came home, the tantalizing scents of pot roast and potatoes filled the house. He found her immediately. She didn’t know if he was drawn to the kitchen by the scent of cooking meat or by her scent, but she knew by the way his nose twitched he had followed that organ. “Good evening, wolf. Dinner will be done in about twenty minutes.” She concentrated on slicing a cucumber instead of lifting her head to see him standing on the other side of the small island bar that bisected the kitchen from the dining area. She could see him from the corner of her eyes. For now, that’s all the attention she wanted to give him. He didn’t say anything. His hands came to rest on the counter, curling into fists before relaxing and pressing the palms to the smooth marble countertop. She popped a cucumber slice into her mouth, enjoying the mild watery flavor with an appreciation brought about by her enhanced senses. “Flynn and Demetrius are asleep in your bed. I think I wore them out.” “You convinced them to free you.” Now she glanced up, not bothering to hide the derisive smile curling her lips. “You bit me. I thanked you for stopping Demetrius, and you didn’t bother to tell me that you couldn’t stop yourself.” A muscle on his jaw ticked, but a blush stained his harsh features. Desiree decided she liked the rugged handsomeness of his face. The harsh planes and the dark eyes hinted at wickedness and sin, two vices she knew he didn’t harbor. Pity. It would have been easier for her if his intentions matched the outcome of his action.

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“The magic, which I didn’t do on purpose, came about because I have a spell on me that automatically heals me when I’ve been dealt an injury. You triggered it by biting me without my knowledge or consent.” She wasn’t angry about it, but she needed him to misinterpret her calm, so she kept an edge to her voice. She watched as he struggled with a code of ethics tattooed to his soul. This wasn’t the first time she witnessed one of his struggles, but it would be the last. A bit of sadness crept in to taint her relief at having the finish line in sight. “I’m sorry, Desiree. I couldn’t control it.” She nodded, accepting his apology. Looking down at the cucumber slices on the cutting board, she remembered what she had been doing. Using both hands, she scooped them up and dumped them into the salad. “I don’t think you should mention this to Demetrius or to Flynn. I’ll be gone before the next full moon, and they don’t need to know.” He came around the counter, slid his arms around her waist, and rested his forehead on her shoulder. “There’s no need for you to leave. We’ll take care of you.” She had grown to hate his misplaced sense of responsibility. Fury made her body shake. She struggled to control it, knowing she wasn’t ready to trigger a full-scale change. She wasn’t in control of the wolf yet, so she had to keep all manifestations of it suppressed. “No,” she said. The denial came out much gentler than she expected. “Unless pack customs have changed significantly in the last seven hundred years, we both know I’ll never be accepted here. Your village and your pack are the most important things in your life. You’ve dedicated your life to protecting them. You couldn’t survive ostracism.” As it was, they needed more lettuce, tomatoes, and toilet paper. If she ran to the store, the shopkeeper would refuse to sell anything to her. Being a witch and a hybrid wolf were reason enough to kill her. Refusing service was insignificant next to that.

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He didn’t argue. Instead he released her, backing away to let her move between the stove and the island. “What did you say to get them to unlock the cuff?” She checked the roast, lifting the lid to marinate the chunk of meat nestled in a circle of red potatoes. “I told them an abbreviated version of the truth. I must have been injured, and my auto-healing spell kicked in.” She lifted her eyes to meet his gaze. “I dislike lying, Marius, but I don’t want to incite anything between the three of you. Flynn assumed he had been too rough with me. He was more careful this afternoon.” He leaned back against the counter and pulled her between his legs. He kept one hand on her hip while he played the other up and down her spine. She submitted to his show of domination and contrition. He brushed a kiss against her lips. It was soft and bittersweet because she knew he was thanking her for understanding why she was only a temporary diversion in their lives. A lazy yawn from the doorway broke their kiss. “Smells good.” Demetrius snatched her from Marius’s embrace and pressed a loud, smacking kiss to her lips. “You didn’t have to cook.” She smiled up at him and ran her hands over his flannel-shirted chest. “I like to cook.” “I’ll set the table.” He released her to cuff Marius lightly upside the head. “You left her without feeding her anything, dickhead. Don’t do that again.” “I thought she was going to choke, she wolfed that sandwich so fast.” Flynn joined them. His greeting kiss involved a tongue duel that left her wet and wanting. When he released her to get the drinks, the floaty feeling with which Flynn and Demetrius had left her vanished as she locked eyes with Marius. His stony expression hid his pain from his brothers, but not from her.

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She approached him slowly, taking his hands in hers. “I’m okay, Marius. This is why there are three of you. Left alone, you’re a mess. Together, you’re pretty spectacular.” His grip on her hands tightened. He pulled her against his chest. “Before you leave, I’ll have it out of you, Desiree. I’ll know what you’re not telling me. I’ll find out why the Shadow Man sent you here.” With a laugh, she pushed him away and bent to extract their meal from the oven. “I think it’s pretty obvious. This was meant to happen.” She set the roasting pan on top of the stove. “I’ll enjoy this dinner, and then I’ll enjoy the three of you tonight.” She flashed him an inviting smile. “Now I’ve told you everything.” That was the general outline of her plan. He didn’t need to know the complicated details and the reasons why. “Mmmm. That smells good.” Flynn leaned over her shoulder. His attention centered on the large roasting pan she just opened, but his firm body pressed against hers and his hand cupped her ass. “I’ll carve it up.” Desiree pointed to a serving platter on the counter next to the stove. “Use that. Make it look nice.” His hand didn’t move from her ass. “You’re going to have to let go of my ass if you’re going to carve that thing.” Demetrius spun her from Flynn’s grasp and wrapped his arms around her. He burrowed his face into her neck and kissed the hollow of her throat. “When you say it like that, honey, it’s a challenge. If I hadn’t saved you just now, he would have tried to do it all onehanded.” She giggled. “Then I guess you just saved dinner.” Marius swore under his breath. She was about to tease him and include him in the banter, but Demetrius lifted his head. The expression on his face transformed from playful to wary. “Tiffany’s here.”

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Desiree stiffened, more at the name of a strange woman than at the tightness in Marius’s voice. “Tiffany?” Demetrius released her completely. “I’ll set another place.” He moved away and opened a cupboard. She didn’t want to ask again, so she didn’t. The back door opened and closed. The woman who entered defined beauty. Long blonde hair, full of natural highlights, fell almost to her waist. Her oval face managed to be both strong and delicate. Tall and beautiful, this wolf’s presence made Desiree feel small and drab. Marius came to stand next to Desiree. She recognized the defensive position. This woman might pose a threat. Was this an exgirlfriend, a current girlfriend, or maybe a wife? Flynn rounded the island with the serving platter in his hands. “Hi, Mom. What brings you out here on this gorgeous day?” Her expression didn’t alter in the slightest, and it didn’t stray from Desiree. “Your neighbors keep calling. I see you have a guest.” Marius’s arm crept around her waist, a show of possession. “I don’t see where that’s any of their business.” Tiffany drew her brows together. “You can’t bring a witch here, Marius. It’s not like bringing home a stray animal. A pet or two might annoy the neighbors, but they’re not likely to organize a pack to hunt it down and kill it.” Being cast in the role of pet in the analogy didn’t suit Desiree at all. She didn’t care if this woman was their mother or that Marius seemed to be on high alert. “I’m not a pet or an ‘it.’ My name is Desiree. I’ve made a roast for dinner. You’re welcome to join us if you’d like.” “Desiree, huh?” She mumbled under her breath, never taking her eyes from Desiree. Reflexively, Desiree held up a hand and projected a quick spell. She recognized Tiffany’s power immediately. Marius growled. “Damn it, Desiree. I said no magic.”

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Desiree snorted and moved away from his protection. “If she’s going to throw a spell of suggestion at me, I’m going to counter it.” She crossed the kitchen to stand before Tiffany. The woman towered over her, easily as tall as her sons. She scrutinized Desiree with blue eyes that revealed a grudging admiration. Desiree indicated the place at the table Demetrius set. “I don’t plan to stay for very long. I know my kind isn’t welcome here. Your spell isn’t necessary, and I’m far too powerful for you to be able to use either magic or force against me.” With a slow smile, Tiffany sat down. “Smells good. Flynn, I’ll have some red wine.” They took their seats. Marius situated Desiree as far from Tiffany as he could get her, and he sat right next to her. She squeezed his hand under the table to assure him she could handle herself. No wolf had bested her yet. Tiffany helped herself to large servings of everything. From experience, Desiree knew how draining using aggressive magic could be, especially for a novice. Thousands of years gave Desiree practice almost no other witch possessed. Tiffany’s powers, which she had to have stolen from a dying witch, might rival a normal witch, but she could never hope to prevail against a Daughter of Circe. For the first ten minutes, the clank of silverware and glasses provided the only soundtrack. Desiree searched for conversation topics. “So, the neighbors called you? Do they make a habit of tattling on your kids?” Mirth sparkled in Tiffany’s eyes. “I’m the captain of the guard, which means these three work for me. I’m really the only person they can tattle to.” Tiffany had the double authority of being their boss and their mother. Desiree grinned, and the two women bonded a bit. “How many other kids do you have? I can’t get anything out of these three.”

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This time, Tiffany shrugged and shook her head. “I stopped counting years ago. A lot of my kids have moved to other towns, especially my girls, but these three stayed right here, tied to my apron strings even though they’re pushing sixty.” Demetrius rolled his eyes. “You’ve never worn an apron in your life.” “One of our sisters raised us.” Under the table, Marius put a hand on her thigh, a warning gesture. “Tiffany isn’t the mother type.” “No,” Tiffany agreed, “I’m not the mothering type. However, I am closer to these three than I am to any of my other kids. I always have been. And they’re uncommonly close with each other. They were born that way. Whenever someone tried to take one of them away for any reason, they all howled and threw fits until their missing brother returned.” Desiree knew why they were close. The bonding ceremony had fused their souls together with each other as much as it had bonded them to her. This wasn’t something she could explain to Tiffany, though she wasn’t sure Tiffany cared. She sounded awfully callous for a mother. “It might just be a boy thing,” she said instead. “Both of my brothers were fit-throwers when we were little.” Tiffany studied Desiree with a knowing eye. “These three never threw fits for any other reason. They were quiet. They watched everything, and they always seemed to know more than they should. They have old souls. You can see it in their eyes.” She wiped her mouth with her napkin and threw it on the table next to her empty plate. “That’s why this surprises me.” Demetrius leaned forward, his brows drawn together in a look that almost managed to be menacing. “Tiffany, leave it alone. You can’t win.” Tossing her luxurious mane of hair over her shoulder, Tiffany matched his look. “Look, Mitri, she’s a lovely girl, but she’s a witch. In case you haven’t noticed, she’s a Daughter of Circe. Even when

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she’s not using magic, power radiates from her. Everyone knows you have a witch in the house. It’s just a matter of time before this becomes a huge problem.” “Then it’s our problem.” Flynn’s tone put steel to shame. “We’ll handle it.” Tiffany shook her head. “I’ll stand by you, Flynn, but you have to know you can’t win this. Even if people look the other way, she’ll never be part of our pack. Look what happened to Shade and Torrey. They had to flee. Nobody knows where they are now.” Desiree’s hope deflated a bit. She had hoped to find a clue as to her sister’s whereabouts. At least she had a couple of names to go on. That’s more than she had before. Demetrius growled. “We’re not giving her up.” “No,” Flynn agreed. “We’re not giving her up.” Tiffany nodded. “So be it. I’ll protect you for as long as I can, but you’re going to have to face facts sooner or later.” She made sure to catch and hold the gazes of each of her sons. When she came to Desiree, an understanding passed between them. Tiffany’s mouth relaxed a little. Marius, Desiree noted, stayed silent throughout the exchange. When Tiffany finally took her leave, Demetrius and Flynn cornered Marius as he scraped dishes. “What the hell is wrong with you?” Demetrius handed a plate to Marius, who scraped the remnants into the trash. “You didn’t say a word in Desiree’s defense.” Flynn took the scraped dish, rinsed it, and put it in the dishwasher. Marius scowled. “I thought you covered it fine. What, exactly, did you want me to add?” “Don’t.” Desiree came to stand beside Marius, protecting him the way he had protected her. “No fighting. Your mother didn’t say anything we didn’t already know. My time here is finite. Let’s enjoy it while we have it.”

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Demetrius lifted a brow. His mind had already shifted topics. “Did you have anything specific in mind?” In response, she untied the makeshift belt on her dress and roped it around his neck. She pulled him closer, inhaling his scent. It had grown stronger, more male and more pungent. Her clit throbbed. Oh, but she was enjoying the sharpened senses brought about by her impending change. “Yeah. I have something very specific in mind.” Before she could seduce him with her planned kiss, she found herself lifted. Marius tossed her in the air, spinning her. He caught her around the waist and slung her over his shoulder. Air whooshed from her lungs as his shoulder dug into her stomach. A loud crack rent the air before she could protest his alpha male behavior, and fire shot through her system. The floor moved under her so quickly her vision blurred the images. He headed out of the kitchen and down the long hall that led to the bedrooms. He slid his hand beneath the soft flannel of her shirt to caress the spot where he had spanked her. The tingling pain bloomed into heat, and he smacked her again. “I told you not to use magic. You just couldn’t resist.” Desiree squirmed, but he just held her tighter. “It was selfdefense.” Behind them Flynn tsked. “Desiree, we would have protected you. No harm will come to you in our home.” Marius threw her onto the bed, turning her to lie on her stomach before she could bounce from the impact. She couldn’t let the promise of an impending spanking distract her from winning this fight. “Marius, be reasonable.” Demetrius lifted her torso. She thought he might be her salvation until she realized he and Flynn were working together to rid her of the makeshift flannel dress. Marius’s hand came down on her left cheek hard. She jerked, but the scent of her arousal permeated the room, giving lie to her apparent objection.

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Well, she wasn’t going to go down without a fight, not if they were going to be so damn aggressive. With all of her strength, she twisted and squirmed, growling and hissing as Flynn and Demetrius tried to placate her. Marius delivered several more blows. A few more, and she was going to climax. “Damn it, Marius. You always expect me to play the weak, simpering fool to your dominant alpha-male bullshit. It’s not who I am.” Suddenly, they released her. Fighting against nothing, her movements stilled. A brief glance up determined they were in Demetrius’s room. Still in the center of the bed, she knelt up, resting her butt on her heels, and stared at each of the men lounging on the bed. Demetrius propped himself up with one elbow on a pillow. Flynn’s position at the foot of the bed mirrored her own. Marius sat on the edge of the bed across from Demetrius, one leg bent over the edge. They didn’t say a word, but they didn’t have to. Their disapproving looks said it all. Her mouth opened and closed soundlessly. The ache of rejection rubbed against the raw anger she’d carried for thousands of years. She had expected this, just not so soon. The wrong kind of pain came then. She’d tried so hard to keep distance between them and her. Though she was relatively certain they hadn’t yet fallen in love with her, she was already too far gone. She had come into this already loving them. She dropped her gaze, turning her attention inward. The changes from Marius’s bite had already caused her to hyperovulate. But those eggs still needed fertilization. She swallowed a sob. To come so close and fail only extended her torment. While her single remaining sister greeted each new incarnation with joy and optimism, those emotions had long ago died in Desiree. She didn’t want to come back again. It had taken Caiden all he had to convince her to give it one last chance. If she gave up, then they were all doomed.

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The gentle caress of fingers down her cheek pulled her away from her thoughts. She looked up and caught the determination reflected in Flynn’s blue eyes and the set of his jaw. “Desiree, we want you. I thought we made that abundantly clear when we openly defied the captain of the guard. I don’t know why the Shadow Man brought you into our lives, but I don’t care anymore. What we have is special. Sacred. This isn’t some fling or fantasy. This is for real. This is forever.” His words stabbed at something she had thought safely hidden away. He had said it wasn’t a fantasy, but it was. Though she knew this wouldn’t last, she couldn’t help wanting the dream so long denied her. She moistened her lips and prepared herself to swallow the pain that came from lying to Flynn. Her head bobbed with tiny nods, minute wishes. She wanted to agree with him. She wanted it to be true, but she knew it wasn’t in the stars. “Then love me, Flynn. Show me what it means to be loved by all three of you.” Marius reached for her, but Flynn growled. “Keep that aggressive shit for when you’re alone with her. Mitri and I won’t play those games.” In all of the years she’d been with these men, she’d never heard Flynn challenge anyone, much less Marius. Her head swiveled to see Marius’s response, even as her muscles tensed in anticipation of the two of them shifting shape to establish dominance. He nodded, and the hand that had been poised to wrap around her arm now dropped to caress her hip. In moments, three sets of hands skimmed her flesh. Three mouths joined in, teeth and tongues working with hands to move her body so that no part of her escaped their exploration. As she gave herself over to the sensations they evoked, she lost track of who touched where and of who kissed her where. Fire raced through her veins and arteries. Electricity sparked along her neural paths. Her breasts grew heavy and her nipples begged for more from

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the two sets of mouths that laved and tugged at them. Tension spiraled to her core. She felt her body lifted and turned. Her legs parted, and she straddled Flynn. Trembling made her knees too weak, and she pitched forward. Flynn caught her. “I got you, honey. I’ll always catch you.” He threaded his fingers through her hair and drew her down until their lips met. She opened for him, submitting to the demands he made. He ravaged her mouth with his tongue, plunging into her as someone positioned her pussy over his cock and pushed her down until she sheathed him fully. The fullness, the feel of him stretching her and of the head of his cock brushing her cervix, fulfilled the profound need she tried to keep buried and forgotten. She reveled in his possession, resolving to save the tears for later when she was alone. A finger massaged oil into her anus, and another followed. She tensed, knowing it was Marius. He always set her on edge. She wanted his love and acceptance, and she hated herself for it. The bitterness nearly disappeared when she regarded Demetrius and Flynn. They hadn’t any choice in what Marius had done to her, to them all. Damn loyal bastard. Flynn spread his legs, spreading her wider to allow him deeper into her and to open her for Marius. The thick head of his cock rimmed her anus, rubbing drops of pre-cum into the tight muscle there. Then he eased inside with a tenderness that choked her. When he was fully seated, they stilled, giving her time to acclimate to the feel of these two thick, long cocks stretching and filling her. Flynn reached between them and fingered her clit, brushing his fingers through her thick juices until she moaned. Then they moved, each thrusting to their own rhythm. Pleasure bloomed, a heat that would soon consume her. Except something was missing. Her body cried out for more.

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Strong, tapered fingers turned her head, and she smiled at Demetrius. He brushed a kiss across her lips before rising to his knees. His erect cock bobbed in front of her, an invitation and a challenge. Desiree opened her mouth, needing to be filled with each of her lovers. Demetrius pressed his hips forward, sliding home slowly to wet his throbbing length with her saliva. She wanted to use her hands, to fondle his sac and give him her undivided attention, but she couldn’t. Marius and Flynn pumped into her, demanding their due. Desiree relaxed, giving herself over to her lovers. Demetrius wrapped one hand around the base of his cock and used the other to keep her head where he wanted it. Since he wanted her closer to him, it knocked Desiree off center. Marius and Flynn caught her as her arms gave out, holding her suspended between them. The sensations overwhelmed everything else. Marius’s thighs slapped against hers. Flynn’s pelvis ground against her clit. The fullness inside sent heat spiraling out of control. Demetrius claimed her mouth. Hands dug into her hips while other hands caressed her skin and tugged at her nipples. Desiree reveled in the feelings they evoked and the way they overrode all of her other emotions, rendering them inconsequential. As the feelings of completeness and love enveloped her, she felt her soul mingling with theirs. It was the inevitable connection they would always make, the one that kept her coming back for more and the one that kept them falling at her feet. She floated in a bubble, insulated from everything that wasn’t Demetrius, Flynn, or Marius. As she climaxed, the little moans vibrating against Demetrius’s cock in her mouth turned to fullthroated screams. He came, shooting jets of semen to the back of her throat. It contracted, and she swallowed, gulping him greedily. The throbbing in her pussy grew, even as her body ceased being able to function. Flynn’s thrust stabbed against her sweet spot, and Marius rubbed her from the other side of the soft tissues separating

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the brothers. Both brothers lost their rhythm as their climaxes overcame them. Hot streams bathed her insides. Marius thrust twice more and collapsed next to Flynn. Desiree flopped onto Flynn’s chest when Marius released her. She lay against him, boneless and liquid, her head nestled against his shoulder and his cock going semi-soft inside her. A hand stroked her arm. She closed her eyes, resting for a moment. Demetrius would only give her so much time before he pulled her from Flynn and claimed her again.

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Chapter 9 3,000 Years Ago The morning sunlight streamed through the open window, but Desiree didn’t need the warmth. Nestled between two of three warm male bodies, she never wanted for heat of any kind. Awareness of a new day seeped into her consciousness, but she didn’t rush herself to wakefulness. Never a day went by that she wasn’t greeted with kisses and intimate caresses the moment one of her lovers gained consciousness. Sometimes, they woke her before they were fully aware of their actions. She loved the sleepy smile that accompanied a morning climax. Now two sets of hands wandered her body. Marius rolled her onto her back and dipped his head to suck her nipple into his mouth. She watched through the fringe of her eyelashes as he played with the tip, bringing it to a stiff peak, and then he sucked the areola into his mouth. Desiree moaned and arched into the pinch of pain as he stretched her nipple and captured it between his tongue and the roof of his mouth. Wetness flooded to her pussy and smeared across her thighs. Demetrius captured the other nipple. He was only slightly less rough. Her hands came up to grip their heads and hold them there for a while longer. She loved this kind of attention. Flynn crept up from the foot of the bed, shouldering her legs apart. He threw a grin at her, which she could barely see, as his thumbs slid along her weeping slit. She trembled at the sensation, and she closed her eyes when he pulled her swollen lips apart. His tongue

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licked long trails through her wetness, teasing around her clit as he tasted her. Each of them loved to pleasure her with their mouths, but Flynn seemed to derive a special glee from the act. Even if he didn’t bring her to completion, not a day went by when he didn’t sample her at least once. He thrust his tongue into her hole, lingering inside her while he flicked strategic spots with the tip. When she writhed under him, Marius and Demetrius held her down. With no other outlet for the energy gathering inside, she exploded. Her hips lifted, but Flynn knew her reactions before they happened. He lifted with her, sucking her tight bundle of nerves into his mouth and sending her into a new round of spasms. When she came down, she found herself positioned on her hands and knees over Marius. Demetrius knelt behind her. His thick fingers stroked her pussy, spreading her moisture to her rosette. He slid his cock into her pussy, stretching her quivering tissues around his length. She kept still, knowing he wasn’t there to stay, and enjoyed the brief thrill of him pumping into her core. He withdrew, and she didn’t mourn his loss. Marius slid the rounded head of his cock through her wetness. He caressed her by gliding the underside of his erection along her slit, working it between the lips of her labia and rubbing against her clit. At some signal she still hadn’t worked out, Marius and Demetrius positioned the heads of their cocks at her two entrances. They thrust together, stretching her impossibly wide as the thicker crowns pushed into her waiting body. The first prick of pain receded, blooming into the sweetest pleasure. Wanting to hurry them, Desiree rocked back. She whimpered as the pain intensified, but she endured it because she knew the effect would ripple into a higher pleasure. Marius grabbed her hips. “Honey, I told you not to do that.” He brushed a curl away from her face, his blue eyes capturing her

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attention. Concern and love etched deep furrows between his brows, and Desiree felt guilty. She didn’t want to cause him any kind of stress, so she didn’t tell him the extra pain brought her extra pleasure. She nodded briefly and forced her body to stay still. They began to work themselves into her, alternating their thrusts. She divorced herself from the mounting pressure of her impending orgasm and looked around, searching for Flynn. Their eyes met, and his warm, honeyed smile almost sent her careening toward completion. “I want you,” she said, panting with the effort. “I need you.” Though Marius and Demetrius were more than capable of giving satisfaction, she didn’t feel complete unless the three of them came together. Flynn knew this. He pumped his hand up and down his length, twisting slightly each time he came to the head. Desiree licked her lips, and finally Flynn gave her what she wanted. She relaxed her jaw and opened for him, knowing he liked to control the action. He worked himself into her, wetting his cock with her saliva until it glided in and out smoothly. Then he let passion take over. He thrust hard and fast, fucking her mouth with the same tender viciousness Marius used with her pussy and Demetrius used with her ass. The sounds of moist skin slapping against skin filled the air, competing with the moans, grunts, and sighs spilling from Desiree and the men she loved. As had happened since the ceremony, their souls expanded, mingling and joining until they existed as one being. Having forgotten all boundaries, Desiree floated free of her body. Urgent caresses and softly whispered words of love poured from her men. She soaked it all in, spiraling toward the next unimaginable climax. When it burst over them, it happened at the same time. The air grew hazy and heavy, liquid around them as Desiree became liquid inside. The essence of the sun suffused her body, feeding the heat and prolonging the pulsing of her orgasm.

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Everything turned white, and when she became aware of herself as a separate being again, she found herself in Marius’s arms. Demetrius lay next to her, a huge grin plastered on his face. Flynn lay on the other side. His fingers splayed across her back, a point of connection that made her feel cherished and safe. She lifted her head and smiled into Marius’s blue eyes. “I love you.” He lifted a hand to caress her face. “I love you, too, honey.” “Happy anniversary,” Demetrius mumbled. His lips barely moved. Now it was Desiree’s turn to frown. “Anniversary?” She turned the word over in her head and tested it on her tongue once again. The bed dipped as Flynn shifted closer. His hand played up her spine. “We’ve been here for the completion of sixty-five full moons.” Desiree sat up, straddling Marius’s stomach. Her frown deepened as she thought. She wasn’t one to keep track of the passage of time, as it had no real meaning for her. Once she had reached physical maturity, she ceased to age. However, she happened to know they had been with her for far longer than the sixty-five moons they assumed. Time worked differently on Circe’s island, and she had never fully explained that to her lovers. She knew she should correct them, but Marius disliked when it became apparent he didn’t know as much about something as she, so Desiree let it go. She smiled, an encouragement for him to continue. Flynn’s eyes glowed with the pleasure of a man about to explode with a secret. “We have something for you.” Desiree clapped. She loved surprises, though she didn’t always recognize what they gave her. The last time they’d given her a surprise, it had been a chessboard they fashioned from driftwood. Desiree had never seen one before. It didn’t take long for her to become good enough to win as many games as she lost. She never minded losing a game to anyone, as simply playing the game brought joy.

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They bathed in the pool Demetrius and Flynn had made from a natural spring that ran near their small villa. Though they had rooms at Circe’s palace, they often stayed in the makeshift hospital where Circe had quarantined them when they first arrived. It overlooked the sea, and her men loved the sea. In their free time, they had been reconstructing a boat from the smashed pieces of wood that had washed ashore with them. Time and tide had extracted their tolls, and most of the wood was unusable. The island had plenty of trees, but Circe only frowned when anyone mentioned harvesting those slices of nature. After the bath, which was never a short excursion, Desiree draped loose fabric around her body to form a dress. Her men had adopted the style of island dress favored by her fathers—a simple wrap at the waist that left their well-muscled chests bare. In the intervening years, many more men had washed ashore. They seemed to come with increasing regularity. Some of them had made soul matches with her sisters. Most of them had not survived. Circe maintained that being shipwrecked was detrimental to human life. Even though some of the bodies that washed ashore still had life in them, saving them all proved impossible. At the quick funerals, Circe would wipe the tears from the cheeks of her daughters and soothe them with words of destiny. Only those meant to be immortal could survive on the island. Regular humans had no chance. Something about the magic here killed them eventually. Demetrius covered her eyes with one hand as he and Flynn led her to the beach. Scraping and scuttling gave her no clue as to the nature of the surprise. When Demetrius finally removed his hand, she gaped at the small boat on the sandy beach. Longer than it was wide, the boat sported four benches. The middle area, where the boat widened, remained bare. A long pole rose from the center. Scraps of canvas had been cobbled together to form a small sail. On the hull, she spied her name, the letters neatly formed.

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Uncertain of the nature of this gift, she cocked her head to the side. “You made a boat for me?” Marius grinned. “We made a boat for us all. We named it after you.” Mixed feelings whirled inside Desiree, among them the knowledge that Circe would not like this. She often warned that leaving the island meant death. Creatures of magic weren’t meant to mix with humans, and even witches who could command water could not command the sea. It was too vast, too powerful, and completely untamable. On the other hand, this gift meant the world to Marius, Demetrius, and Flynn. At heart, they were seamen. Most of the men who washed ashore claimed the sea as their mistress. Even after they chose a mate and settled in, they often gazed longingly at the vast blue expanse. Desiree’s men were no exception. She wanted to like the gift. She understood its importance, but she couldn’t quell the trepidation growing inside of her. Marius tapped the hull. “It’s seaworthy, Desiree, my love. Want to go for a sail? It’s just a short excursion.” Everything inside her cried out against consenting to get on the craft, but Desiree could only smile at the glee lighting Marius’s blue eyes. She nodded. Demetrius and Flynn helped her into the boat. Desiree wasn’t too worried about it sinking. She was a good swimmer if it came to that. She gripped the bench as they scooted the craft into the slow waves lapping the shore. The essence of the boat whispered warnings that made her heart pound. Panic overtook the urge to please her lovers. “Stop.” She stood and stepped over the benches until she was at the front of the boat. She climbed out. Flynn reached out a hand to steady her as she jumped ship. The water swirling around her ankles brought peace, strength, and calm.

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Flynn’s eyes flared with concern, but Demetrius and Marius watched her warily. “This boat is cursed. It brings death.” As soon as the words escaped her lips, Desiree wanted to take them back. They were too much like one of Circe’s dire predictions. Marius often chafed under Circe’s unchallenged rule. His eyes narrowed and his lips thinned. She clapped a hand over her mouth to prevent more warnings from spilling, and there were many more inside her head. Desiree’s visions were nothing compared to Circe’s. She saw bits and pieces. Sometimes knowledge of the future came to her, but only in small glimpses that were often puzzling. Circe saw whole events. “Desiree, it is safe.” Demetrius tapped his foot impatiently. “Give it a chance. You will like the freedom of being out in the sea where no one can tell you what to do.” Unlike the men, Desiree and each of her sisters understood the reasons for Circe’s rules. They might not make sense on the surface— what harm could come from harvesting a few trees?—but they made sense with regard to the mysticism of the island. That mysticism reached deep into the core of each of Circe’s daughters. It was a part of them. They understood that chopping down a tree killed pieces of themselves. Desiree shook her head. “Please don’t go out there. Bad things will happen.” Marius’s flat lips twisted wryly. Disgust crossed his features, the expression causing Desiree’s heart to pound painfully. “You wish us to remain prisoners here forever.” “No.” She shook her head. She appealed to Demetrius and Flynn with her eyes, but they wore expressions similar to Marius’s. “You aren’t prisoners here.” “Circe makes dire predictions every time we mention leaving. It scares the hell out of you and out of all the people here. That fear makes us prisoners.” Flynn ran his fingertips down her arm. “Desiree,

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we don’t belong here. We want to leave, to make a new life with you somewhere else. Somewhere we can be free.” Tears pricked Desiree’s eyes. “You would leave me?” “No, honey. We want you to come with us.” Flynn’s softly spoken plea tore at her heart. Salt drops ran down her cheeks. Desiree peered up at him. “Flynn, I am a part of this island. If I leave it, I will die, and so will the island.” “We have no plans to leave today,” Marius said. “Today, we just want to take it out for a ride. It’s been far too long since we felt the waves roll beneath our feet.” Desiree nodded. Circe had warned her that sailors needed the sea. She had uttered the warning with infinite sadness as she had arranged Desiree’s hair for the bonding ceremony. She took one step back away from the boat. “I will not stop you.” **** Sunset found her in the garden at Circe’s palace. Desiree stroked the tiny petals of a chrysanthemum, delighting in the silky feel of them brushing her fingertips. “They are beautiful flowers, are they not?” Desiree turned, an automatic smile on her lips as she regarded her mother. The flower’s beauty paled in comparison to Circe. As the daughter of the sun, her olive skin glowed with inner warmth. Long, shimmering golden strands of hair fell to her waist. She wasn’t a small woman, but neither was she large. Her delicacy came from the goodness and magnificence of her soul. The imposing demeanor derived from a vast pool of inner strength and her ability to commune with nature. Circe settled on the patch of dirt next to Desiree. “Things will change, my daughter. Change isn’t always bad, but it’s often difficult to accept.”

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She didn’t question how her mother knew Marius, Demetrius, and Flynn wanted to leave the island. Circe had a way of knowing everything. “I don’t wish to leave. I love it here.” Her mother drew Desiree closer, urging her daughter to rest her head in Circe’s lap. “You were always meant to leave here.” “But I’ll die. We’ll all die.” Desiree, strangely, didn’t fear death. She feared being apart from her men. “And then what?” “Nothing lasts forever, my darling daughter. Our isle is enchanted through me, but the world of man is ever-expanding. One day soon, they will arrive on our shores in much larger numbers, and it will change everything. I’ve lived for many, many moons. I’ll be sad to see this life end, but I will take heart in knowing my soul is eternal.” Circe smoothed her hand over Desiree’s curls, seeking to provide comfort and calm. The motions soothed Desiree, but the words struck terror into her heart. “But that means you will be separated from your husbands.” Circe’s liquid motions stumbled. Her hand stilled in Desiree’s hair for a moment before resuming action. “I do not look forward to that. Like your men are part of you, mine are part of my soul. I take comfort in knowing that I am equally a part of their hearts, and we will find one another in the next lifetime. Destiny is destiny, my child. It changes for no one.” Pushing herself up on her arms, Desiree regarded her mother with an intensity she’d never experienced. “Mother, are you saying I should sail with them? That I should leave this island and never return?” Circe dropped her gaze and her shoulders slumped. Shock coursed through Desiree and her mouth dropped open. “The boat is cursed. Those who sail in it are destined to die. I felt the violence when I sat in it.” “I know,” she whispered. “But whether you go or not, the violence and death will come. I have seen it far too many times to

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doubt the visions. Be good to nature and use your gifts, Desiree. They won’t always save you, but they will preserve your soul.” **** Over the next few weeks, Desiree pondered the weighty words of her mother. Never once was she tempted to share them with Marius, Demetrius, or Flynn. As much as they were exposed to the magic of the island and to the truth of Circe’s prophecies, they still harbored skepticism and disbelief. Finally, she gathered the tendrils of her courage and tied them together. The men had developed a habit of taking the boat out in the morning. Often, they included the lovers of her sisters in their short trips. Desiree and her sisters didn’t mind, as that gave them uninterrupted time to talk frankly about the peculiarities of the opposite sex. One overcast morning, Desiree dressed early and waited on a large rock near the boat. Marius approached first. His mouth set in a mutinous line when he spied Desiree. She knew the cause of his upset. For the first week, she had begged him to not sail away from her. He thought she didn’t trust him to not abandon her. It never entered Desiree’s thoughts that he would consider leaving. She stopped speaking of the boat after that. “Desiree, don’t. Please don’t do this.” He bent to stow his gear in the boat. It looked as if he planned to do some fishing. She jumped down and came to stand next to him. “I was going to ask if I might join you today.” Surprise flickered over his face, and wind whipped his pale hair, separating a strand to cross his forehead. He brushed it away. “You’re not angry?” Desiree shook her head. “I was never angry, Marius. I was afraid.” “And now?” He knew her too well to think she suddenly changed her mind.

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Her mouth twitched. Why could he not just accept her change of heart? “And now I am still afraid, but I want to do this. It’s important to you.” He drew her close. His lips slanted across hers and the heat of his body penetrated the fibers of her clothing. She sighed into his embrace, and she lifted her arms to slide around his neck and tangle in his hair. Sweet sparks trailed through her body, tapping into their infinite bond. At last he released her. “I love you, Desiree. I love that you’re willing to do this for me. Let me run back to the hut and get a few more things. Demetrius and Flynn should be along soon.” A whirlwind of activity commenced. Desiree had no hope of ever figuring out what they were doing. Though she did have a special affinity for water, she hadn’t conquered it in any meaningful way. This element gave her strength and energy, but she had no control over it. In no time at all, Demetrius helped her into the low boat and the four of them set sail. The roar of the wind competed with the orders they called to one another. Desiree found that the sail did more than she thought. By manipulating some levers and such, they were able to use it to steer the craft, which is what she called it after Marius’s face darkened one time too many and Flynn finally informed her of her mistake. Boat, craft, the terms were of no consequence to Desiree, so she settled on a term that didn’t threaten to install permanent lines between Marius’s brows. Though the residue of evil permeating the boat never diminished, Desiree did become fairly comfortable. Her men obviously knew what they were doing. As they had done so many times before, they opened a new world for her, one she had never dreamed existed. She liked to think she did the same for them, but sometimes she wasn’t sure. Marius moved to the rear of the craft and scooted onto the bench next to her. “So, my love, what do you think?”

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A smile had lit her face for some time now, so the question was rhetorical. “I still don’t like this craft, but I think I like sailing.” She expected him to scowl and move away, but a patient frown dipped the corners of his mouth. He thought for a moment, his eyes taking in the craft and the woman sitting next to him. “We’ll make another, my sweet. I know what it cost you to come out with us today. I don’t want you to think we take you for granted, Desiree. You’re the best thing that’s ever happened to us.” “Ship!” Demetrius’s excited cry interrupted a moment that could have turned quite sensual. Desiree looked where he pointed. In the distance, the outline of a ship was barely visible against the haze of the horizon. She looked behind her to find their island out of sight. Dread pooled low in her abdomen. “They’ve seen us,” Flynn said. He moved to stand at the bow with Demetrius. “They’re turning this way.” The insistent pressure of Marius’s hand on her chin forced Desiree to look at him. “I know you’re afraid, honey, but you must trust us to protect you. We won’t let anything happen to you.” His assurance would have been enough if Circe hadn’t already confirmed the worst of Desiree’s intuitive feelings. She managed a weak smile. Fate was a cruel mistress. “I know, Marius. I trust you.” The ship took forever to close the distance, and yet it happened entirely too quickly. It rose from the surface of the sea, casting a mighty shadow over their tiny craft. A man, grizzled and hirsute, leaned over the side. “Ahoy, friends. You’re a fair distance from land to be out in such a small sloop. Are you lost?” The words he spoke were in a language Desiree had never heard, yet she understood him anyway. When Marius, Demetrius, and Flynn had first come to the island, they had spoken the same tongue. It didn’t take long for them to acclimate. Now they used the language Circe learned from the sun, as did they all.

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Demetrius waved back to the man. “We are not lost. Our island home is yonder.” He gestured behind Desiree. She turned, but she saw no sign of land. The man in the ship must not have seen anything either. He grunted. “I think you’ve been in the sun a bit too long. Tie up your craft and come aboard. We’re heading to port. Should be there in three days.” Desiree frowned. No human settlements were close. Circe had chosen the island because it was so distant from anywhere humans could travel. The amount of magic infused into it meant it also existed just outside of human reality. Flynn laughed, and Desiree thought his laugh sounded a bit too happy. “Thanks, friend, but we are close to home. May I ask to what port you are headed?” He named a place that made Marius sit up straighter. A row of crewmen had lined the side of the ship. Though they gawked at the four people on the boat, most of them stared at Desiree. Suddenly, her clean garments felt dirty. This was an alien feeling, something she’d never experienced. Marius looked up, his eyes scanning the men gathered there. He turned to peer behind them at the rest of the men, and his breath caught. The heavy feeling of impending doom grew. Desiree followed Marius’s gaze, and found a man who looked very much like Marius. His hair glowed golden just as Marius’s did, and the expression on his face mirrored Marius’s in so many ways. Was this another brother? None of her lovers spoke of where they had come from very often. It was a painful subject, and Desiree was loath to bring it up. Sometimes they told her small things about their childhood or their homes, but never enough for her to create a complete picture of where they lived before they landed on her beach. “Father?” Marius stood. “Xander? Alexander? Is that really you?”

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Disbelief and recognition lit the man’s blue eyes. Demetrius turned, as did Flynn. Both of them peered up at the man Marius seemed to know. An oath escaped Demetrius. Xander’s eyes lifted, finding the source of the oath. He leaned a little farther over the side. “Uncle Demetrius? Uncle Flynn?” The offer to come aboard was extended again. This time, her three men scrambled up the rope ladder. Marius went up first. By the time Flynn helped her over the side and onto the larger ship, Marius had the man enclosed in his embrace. Having three fathers of her own, Desiree knew who Marius was to this man. A piece of her deep inside stung that she hadn’t been able to give him children. Circe maintained it was because her men were still partially human. Once they were fully converted to immortals, then they could have a family. Why hadn’t Marius ever mentioned having a son before? Was this a part of his past he tried to forget? How did one go about forgetting a child? She wanted to hit herself. No wonder Marius had been so insistent about leaving the island. Demetrius gaped at Xander. “He was just a boy of eleven summers when we left. He should be no more than sixteen now, yet he looks as if he has as many seasons as us.” He hadn’t been speaking to her, so Desiree remained quiet. She was hesitant to draw attention to herself. A son meant a mother. Flynn and Demetrius crowded around Marius and his son. Desiree hung back, staying next to the rope ladder leading to their small craft. She felt more confident in her ability to swim back to the island than in her ability to pilot the small craft. She watched the reunion. They each hugged Xander tightly. “How is it you look exactly the same as when last I laid eyes upon you?” Xander touched Marius’s face, searching for clues. “Twenty summers have passed and you aren’t a single day older. What magic is this?”

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Marius shook his head. “No magic, son. A storm took the ship, smashed it to bits. We washed ashore, and this woman rescued us. She nursed us back to health.” Xander regarded Desiree with understanding and hatred in his eyes. “You stole my father from my mother. Sorceress! You bewitched my father and my uncles. You held them captive in your spell. They have no idea how evil you are.” Fear ran hot through Desiree’s veins as all eyes turned to her. She bit her lip, unwilling to say anything to help or hinder Circe’s prophecy. Laughter bubbled at the thought she could actually do something to stop what was about to happen, but she successfully squelched it. Immortality was a misunderstood concept. Everyone possessed elements of immortality. A soul lasted forever, just not in the same form. Being the daughter of the sun, Circe had access to ancient magic stemming from her celestial parent. She used those powers to enchant the island, to tamper with time and biology. As long as they remained on the island, nobody would age and nobody would ever become ill. The fear that made Desiree tremble had its roots in reality. She knew without doubt that she would never leave the ship alive. Too late, her men realized the danger. Witches were tolerated in few places, but sorceresses were considered completely evil. These trickles of knowledge came to her from a source she didn’t question. It didn’t matter anyway. The way the crew regarded her, she knew the end of her life was near. Rough hands seized her, digging into her shoulders and twisting her arms behind her back. They pushed down, forcing her to lie facedown on the deck. She lifted her head and found Demetrius only a few feet away from her. He struggled against hands that held him captive. Flynn and Marius faced similar situations. Too soon, huge knives were held to each of their throats. Someone jerked Desiree’s head

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back by the hair. The sharp pricks of pain brought tears to her eyes. She blinked hard, trying to make them disappear. A display of weakness only hurt her pride, and that was all she had left now. A knife point pressed to her throat. She felt her skin give way as her captor pressed it too hard. Perhaps he meant to wound her this way. Ropes bound her wrists and ankles, and they dragged her to her feet. Demetrius eyed the captain. “She isn’t a sorceress. Her mother is the one with the power.” Now tears escaped. With one statement, Demetrius had sealed the fate of her mother and sisters. Her eyes met his across the small space, and she saw the moment he realized his mistake. “To the brig with them. Leave her on deck. Hold her tight.” Desiree didn’t bother to memorize the faces or voices of those who spoke. She watched as her lovers fought against impossible odds, and she was powerless to stop them. As Demetrius had disclosed, Circe was the one with the power. The magic Desiree could work paled in comparison. She could help a flower to bloom or cure a sick plant. She could speak to the birds and feel the ancient strength of the earth. But she could not stop a crew of men from their destructive path. The crew wasted no time. Her execution was to be swift. They were too afraid of her to defile her body while her soul still occupied this shell, though the suggestion was voiced. An arm held her head still and sunlight flashed from the blade in his other hand. She searched the faces of the gathered crewmen for the one that looked the most like Marius. The pain and anger in his eyes brought her no comfort, so she closed her eyes and let the end come.

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Chapter 10 Darkness had fallen while she dozed in the warm circle of Demetrius’s arms. Desiree vaguely remembered his low growl when Marius tried to take her to his bed. Not enough moonlight streamed through the window for her to make out more than his general shape. She didn’t spend much time watching him. Thirst and a full bladder demanded attention. She snagged a shirt from the floor and took care of half her problem before heading to the kitchen for a glass of water. Her men knew how to exhaust a woman, but that was nothing new. In a house full of predators sensitive to changes in light and sound, she didn’t want to turn on the hall light. It ended up not mattering. In the living room, she banged against a table so hard that things fell to the floor. She thanked her lucky stars there wasn’t a lamp on the table. That would have been too ironic for her tastes. A soft laugh came from across the room as she rubbed her thigh. Her head came up, but the light from the window was still too dim for her to see more than an outline. “Marius?” “Why don’t you turn on a light?” She snorted. No doubt he could see just fine. “I didn’t want to wake anyone.” “Flynn and Demetrius had an early morning and they expended a lot of energy all day. Unless they scent danger, they’ll be out for the night.” He spoke quietly, in a low tone that seemed a bit sad. “I’m heading to the kitchen for some water. Do you want anything?” She whispered, confident he could hear her just fine.

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“Thanks, but no, I’m fine.” Once she filled it up, she took her glass to the living room and sat down next to Marius. “Can’t sleep?” He looked over at her, watching as she sipped her water. She’d left the kitchen light on, and the soft glow spilled into the living room. She marveled at how he could look out at her from a different face with brown eyes instead of blue, yet there was nothing different about him. His soul shone in his eyes. He was her Marius, the man she’d loved. The man she hadn’t really known. He sat with his back against the cushion and his hands clasped in his lap. He wore boxers and a white cotton T-shirt. His knees fell open against the edge of the seat cushion. Though at rest, the muscles in his thighs were clearly defined. Tucking her feet under her, Desiree hooked her elbow on the back of the sofa and gave him her full attention. That way she would concentrate on what he said, not the physical attractiveness sucker-punching her in the stomach. “I was thinking about you.” She made a sympathetic noise. “Marius, nothing has changed. I know I have to leave soon.” “Demetrius and Flynn are in love with you. If you stay, they would claim you for their mate.” Shards of regret cut deep, but there was nothing she could do to change the circumstances. She wasn’t welcome in Lyton, and they weren’t going to volunteer to leave with her. She dropped her gaze, focusing on the water through the clear glass. “I know.” His hands separated, but they tightened into fists. “I’m in love with you, too.” Nothing would induce her to say the words, especially not to him. She knew perfectly well how deeply she loved Marius, but she wasn’t going to reduce herself to begging for crumbs of his affection. That was all he had to give, no matter what emotions resided in his heart. “I’m sorry.”

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“You’re sorry.” He shook his head and leaned forward, pressing the heels of his hands into his eyes. “You knew this would happen.” Desiree shook her head, even though it was a lie. Deep down, he knew her. The brain in his current body might not remember her, but his soul did. “I knew you would hate it if it did happen. The mighty wolf brought low by his feelings for a witch from the wrong side of the tracks.” He gaped at her. “You think this is funny.” “I assure you, I find this neither fun nor funny.” “You enjoy baiting me. Tell me, is it just my presence you find objectionable?” His dark eyes searched hers for something. Desiree knew what he sought, but she wasn’t about to give him anything. “I’m not baiting you, Marius. We agreed that I would stay for a little while and then I will leave. A witch doesn’t belong in a werewolf town, and a half-witch, half-wolf woman would be even less welcome.” He took her glass of water and set it on a magazine on the end table next to him. Hooking one arm around her waist, he pulled her onto his lap. “When I first came across you, I thought you were spunky and daring. Confident. I thought I saw your spirit. Maybe you are those things, but with me, you use them to keep me at arm’s length. Flynn noticed it tonight, how you reserve the worst of your venom for me. Why, Desiree? Why do you hate me?” Confronted with the quiet desperation of his questions, the firmness of his body under hers, and the heat emanating from him, Desiree struggled to come up with an answer. Finally, she decided on a question. “Are you married, Marius? Do you have kids somewhere? Or maybe a girlfriend who is feeling neglected right about now?” His head jerked back in surprise. “No, Desiree. If I had a mate already, I would not be here with you.” She wasn’t so sure about that, but she wisely kept her mouth closed. A shouting match would only awaken Flynn and Demetrius. He had taken a wife in many of his incarnations. Sometimes it kept

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him away from her, sometimes it didn’t. Desiree didn’t feel guilty because she considered the other women to be interlopers. “Answer me, witch. I deserve an answer. Why do you hate me so much?” She sighed and looked across the room, trying to make sense out of the shadows. “I don’t hate you, Marius. I’ve never hated you. But you can’t expect me to give you my heart when our time together is so short and fleeting. If I let you, you’ll take everything I have to give.” He turned her face back to him with the insistent pressure of his fingers on her jaw. His other arm came across her back, and he pulled her tight against him with a hand on her hip. “Let me show you, Desiree. Let me convince you I’m not the kind of man you seem to think I am. There’s something precious between us. I know you feel it, just as you feel it with Demetrius and Flynn. You were meant to be ours, and we were meant to be yours.” The declaration tore at Desiree’s heart. She wanted to believe him. She wanted to surrender to the promise shining from his eyes and vibrating on the rough waves of his voice. Self-preservation made her keep the longing from showing in her eyes. He had said pretty words to her on several occasions. She had died a violent death each time. When he kissed her, she melted into him and surrendered to the love she couldn’t deny. The fresh scent of coconut and almonds greeted her nose. Flynn had informed her that their sister often did the shopping, and they suffered through whatever shampoo and soap flavors caught her fancy. It was better than doing the shopping themselves. On Marius, it mingled with the masculine scent of his skin and combined for a heady effect. She stroked the hollow of his throat, loving the place where his growls vibrated. He was quiet now. Only the greedy sounds of his kiss filled the room. He tightened his grip on her hip and slid the other hand between her thighs. Desiree parted her legs, but he only brushed the barest

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caress with the backs of his fingers. It didn’t matter. Her body responded to his touch, his nearness, and the promise in his eyes. For the longest time, he toyed with her. His lips never left hers, but even his tongue’s forays were slow and sweet. Desiree knew what he was about, but she didn’t want to be worshipped by him. She could do without reverence. That kind of touching brought back vivid memories of when she was young and innocent, and she had reveled in his tender caresses. She had grown up after that first time. Being murdered with his son watching, a gleeful gleam in his pale blue eyes, did that to a soul. When she had grown into an adult and the memories returned, those first few lives had been difficult to live. She had been terrified of falling in love with them again, yet she had to find them if she was to free Circe, her fathers, her sisters, and their mates from this curse. And it was always too late anyway. She was born loving them. At least Circe gave her sixteen years without memories each time. Desiree rose up, shifting her legs to straddle him. She wore a shirt and nothing else. Her spread legs made the hem ride up, exposing her pussy to his gaze and to his touch. She lifted his shirt, and he let her pull it over his head. Given his position as the head of his family, she knew he was fighting his nature to let her take the lead. Even when he had been human, he had been a dominant force in and out of bed. She let her hands wander, exploring this chest of his and mentally comparing it to others he’d inhabited. His pecs were broad and flat. The smooth muscles covering his ribs tapered into a neat six-pack over his abdomen. Light hair sprinkled his chest, almost disappearing below his nipples. It picked up again in a whorl under his belly button, and it thickened as she followed it into his boxers. A hiss escaped from between his lips as she closed her hand around his cock. Already semi-hard, it grew in her hand. He lifted a hand and caressed her face. His thumb traced her eyelids and her lips. She opened her mouth and nipped at the pad.

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She hooked her fingers under his waistband. He lifted them both so she could ease them down his legs. She didn’t remove them completely. She didn’t need to. Grasping his thick cock in one hand, she positioned it at her entrance. His brown eyes glowed silver, and she could see the cost of his struggle to let her have her way. The imp in her needed to push him until he lost control. She eased down him by degrees, pulling almost completely away each time her juices coated fresh flesh. He felt like silk-covered steel inside her, and she loved the way he stretched her channel. At last, she sank down on him. Because he was sitting, her clit brushed against both skin and his rough little curls. Desiree groaned. She wanted to sit there until he took over, but her burgeoning orgasm wouldn’t let that happen. Her body knew what it wanted and it wasn’t going to listen to her head. She moved, grinding back and forth and in circular motions. Too soon, she reached that peak. Her rhythm suffered, but Marius gripped her ass and moved her body, pushing her to completion. She climaxed in a great, shuddering wave. Her body stiffened, and she cried out. Marius pulled her against him, cradling her head against his shoulder. He stroked his hands over the flannel shirt she wore, tracing paths up and down her back. Her fingers flexed, curling into a half fist before splaying out over his shoulder. “You didn’t come.” “No, honey. I let you have your fun first.” The words were rough and growly. Desiree raised her head to peer into his face. She should have known he was merely biding his time. That was the Marius she knew and loved. He lifted her, splitting her ass cheeks wide as he scooted himself into a casual slouch. When he brought her down again, he impaled her hard with his cock in her ass.

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Shards of pain shot through Desiree. She closed her eyes against it. The violent entry and the position combined to bring sweet pain where she hadn’t expected it. Marius didn’t move a muscle. The pain bloomed into heat, and tingles of pleasure radiated through her body. She opened her eyes. He waited, watching her reaction. No doubt he listened to her heart rate and her breathing as well. When he felt she had come down, he grinned at her. “Flynn thinks you’re such a delicate little thing. You like to be that woman with him, don’t you?” She did like to be a lot more dainty and feminine with Flynn. He brought out the princess in her, and he made her want to be gentle and generous. She nodded, knowing he didn’t want excuses or explanations. He smacked her ass cheek with just the right amount of pressure. Heat spread immediately. She gasped, and he smacked the other side. “You’re relaxed with Demetrius. Perhaps the closest to being your real self.” The two of them met on equal terms. Demetrius didn’t have to fight his beast in order to let her have her way with him. The contest didn’t exist because he would touch her just as much as she touched him. “And you save your aggressiveness and anger for me.” He lifted her. The crown of his thick cock popped out of her and rested against the ring of tight muscles. Most of his rounded head kept her split wide open. When he let go, she knew it would hurt, and she welcomed the pain because she knew the pleasure that lay just behind it. “I would give you my love, but you won’t have it.” Her mouth opened and closed. She wanted to speak, but her coordination was compromised. After far too long, she regained the ability to speak. “You love this,” she said, panting to catch her breath even though she knew it was pointless. He wasn’t going to let her catch up.

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She tried again. “You want this.” He flipped her onto her back and shoved her knees high, splitting her wide and holding her helpless. His eyes glittered silver in the scant moonlight that managed to penetrate the trees out front to stream through the window over the sofa. “I want it all, Desiree. The princess, the imp, the bitch. I want your friendship and I want your love.” He thrust into her hard. This new position eased the worst of the discomfort, and now he brushed her exposed clit as he rocked back and forth. Liquid fire raced through her body, and her climax came hard and fast. She jerked and convulsed under him, the only movement he allowed. His climax followed. Hot semen jetted into her ass, claiming her in such a primal way she had no choice but to surrender. In that moment, he got at least half of what he wanted from her. Marius collapsed on top of her. He didn’t bother to catch himself on his arms to save her from his weight, but he did shift to let her legs free. Desiree lay beneath him and stroked his silky hair. His eyes had gone completely silver and his canine teeth had elongated. His ragged breath puffed moist steam against her collarbone and his heart thundered against her chest. “You make me lose myself like no other woman ever has, Desiree. I’ve known you for less than two days, and yet I feel as if you’ve been part of my life forever. It’s not just that I’m comfortable with you, because I’m not.” He lifted his head and claimed her with the heat in his eyes. Fear laced icy and hot through her veins. She couldn’t meet his demands, and yet she didn’t know if she could deny him. He kissed her, searing a path from her mouth to the core of her being. “It’s not magic, but it’s magical. Tell me what’s going on, honey. I know you know. I know the Shadow Man told you much more than he told me.”

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Her hand trembled as she stroked his shoulder and arm. “He told me nothing more than the location where I’d find you and what your names are.” He hadn’t needed to say more. Desiree knew what she would find. The tree imbued with her sister’s essence had been a bonus find. No longer silver, his eyes narrowed, hard and determined. A thrill ran through her as she read the promise there. “I won’t let you go, Desiree. None of us will ever let you go.” She looked away, breaking his hold over her. “I don’t belong here, Marius. Lyton is Lycan Town. Places like this are detrimental to the health and well-being of my kind. You won’t even leave me alone in your own home for very long because you know your neighbors will kill me the moment they think it’s safe.” As always, her kind didn’t mix with his kind. Before he could respond, a heavy hand smacked Marius’s shoulder. “Motherfucker. I should have known you’d come after her while I was sleeping.” Marius eased his soft cock from her ass. It wasn’t significantly smaller in this state, and he was much gentler than he had been when he began. Demetrius snatched her from beneath Marius, scooping her up in his arms. He planted a solid kiss on her lips. “Did he hurt you?” A grin spread her lips wide. She loved the way he hurt her. “I’m a little sore, but nothing serious.” Understanding glittered in Demetrius’s eyes. He shifted his attention to Marius. “Don’t push her too far. Brother or not, if you scare her away, I will kill you.” Marius rolled his eyes and stood, fixing his boxers and snagging his shirt from the arm of the couch. “She’s not afraid of me. If I’m too rough with her, she knows how to tell me to stop.” He looked at her, his glance warning he wasn’t finished digging for answers.

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Desiree looked up at Demetrius. She ran her fingers through his thick mane of dark hair, loving the way it felt. Coarser than Marius’s silky locks, yet still soft. “Will you take me to bed, Demetrius? I’m tired.” He snorted and headed toward the hallway. “I bet you are.” **** The rest of the week passed too quickly. Neither Demetrius nor Flynn openly declared their feelings for her, but they never missed an opportunity to show her what she meant to them. They talked, they prepared meals together, and they made love multiple times each day. Desiree knew the moment each conception took place, and she cherished the four embryos growing inside her. This was truly the last time she would be forced to endure the kind of heartbreak her men brought. At least she would have these pieces of them to get her through the next sixty or eighty years. The weather outside grew cooler. Some mornings were downright frigid. Exactly nine days after Marius threatened Desiree in the glade, the morning dawned with a spring warmth lingering in the air. Seeing as November was days away, this unusual weather brought people out in droves. For the first time in over a week, cabin fever struck Desiree. She had to get out of the house. Demetrius and Marius had to work, so Flynn accompanied her into the yard. She wandered the perimeter, but it wasn’t enough. The men didn’t keep any plantings that lent themselves to gardening, and their yard was nothing more than a small patch of grass. “The woods are just behind the house,” Demetrius said with a patient grin on his face. “We go for runs there.” Desiree gazed longingly at the thick growth of spruce that came to an abrupt halt yards from the back door. Marius had carried her through there when he had first brought her to his home. Soon, she

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would be able to shift like them and run, naked and free, through the dormant foliage. “Do you want to go for a walk? We can’t go far, Des, but you’ll be safe with me.” She zipped her jacket and slipped her hand into his. “Let’s go, Flynn. As fun as you guys make it, I’m so tired of being cooped up in the same place.” They wandered for some time, stopping at a brook that would become much more in the spring. Desiree tugged her hand free from Flynn’s and crouched down among the rocks and boulders marking the water’s path. She stuck her hand into the icy flow and wiggled her fingers in the muck and sand coating the bed. Feeling left her skin relatively quickly, but strength flowed into her. At her home in St. Paul, a park nearby held a natural pond. She went there regularly to recharge. Flynn’s large hand covered her shoulder. “Des, you have the same expression on your face you get when you have an orgasm.” She laughed, but she didn’t look up. The sight of the brook brought her as much joy as touching it did. Besides, the babies clinging firmly to the walls of her uterus needed to know their roots. This was as much for them as it was for her. “I’m a witch, Flynn. I need water and earth to be whole.” When she at last withdrew her hand, it ached with cold. Flynn took it between his own hot hands, sharing his warmth with her. “It’s a good thing you have a fire creature nearby. Your skin is ice.” She looked up at him. A stiff breeze ruffled his shaggy blond tresses, and his body emanated as much heat as a blazing hearth. “Yeah, you definitely light a fire in me.” He pressed her hand to his chest and wrapped his arms around her waist. He dropped a brief kiss on her lips. His breath feathered along her cheek as he moved to bury his face in her neck. The words were muffled, but she heard them clearly anyway. “I love you, Desiree.”

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The shaking she couldn’t stop had nothing to do with the cold or the now-warm hand pressed between them. Reality slammed into her, and she hated it. Though she knew how he felt about her, as long as he hadn’t uttered the words, she could pretend it was a temporary thing. “I’m sorry, Flynn. I don’t want to hurt you.” He lifted his head and stared at her, his blue eyes sparkling with determination. “You won’t hurt me, Desiree. You might not say the words, but I know you love me, too. I feel it every time I touch you, and I see it every time you look at me.” She didn’t bother to deny it. “This is temporary, Flynn. I can’t stay here with you forever. I can’t even stay much longer.” Tiffany had visited again, concern wrinkling her brow as she warned her sons that the townspeople’s patience was wearing thin. Twice, Marius and Demetrius had come home with dried blood on their clothes, though they had refused to say what caused the altercation. Her wolf senses had developed enough so that she could tell it wasn’t theirs, and she could smell their upset. Flynn nodded. He curled a tendril of her hair around his finger. “It’s not safe for you here. We’ll go somewhere else.” Breath left her body and hot, salt tears stung behind her eyes, but she never got the chance to respond. The earth rumbled, and an S wave made Desiree glad Flynn was already holding her upright. A scream, high-pitched with fear, interrupted anything she might have said. Flynn lifted his face to the sky, turning his head to find the source of the distress. Without asking her permission, he scooped her up, threw her over his shoulder, and bounded off in the direction of the cry. Desiree didn’t protest. Though the person in trouble was probably a wolf who wouldn’t welcome her help, she would try to do what she could. Before long, the flutters and murmurs of worried people chattering disturbed the stillness of the forest. She smelled the distinct

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scents of Marius and Demetrius. Her heart beat faster for the moment it took her to ascertain they weren’t in danger. Flynn set her down and hugged her close. Desiree ignored the negative energy emanating from the crowd gathered around what looked like a pit in the ground filled with trees. “What happened?” Flynn asked. Marius pressed his lips together, looking from Flynn to her. “She shouldn’t be here, Flynn. We have enough to worry about already.” Tree roots had ripped from the ground, leaving scars extending much wider than the radius of the sunken circle. Desiree crouched down, spreading her palm over the disturbed earth at her feet. Her connection, which usually penetrated the Earth to its molten core, didn’t extend very far. “It’s hollow under here.” She scratched her forehead, as if the gesture would bring back the rote knowledge her geology teacher had drilled into her in high school. The Appalachian Mountains were riddled with caves, both of the natural and mining variety. Standing, she regarded Flynn. “It’s a sinkhole.” “Yeah,” Demetrius said. “And our niece is down there somewhere. They were playing tag, and she got caught.” Marius shook his head. “It’s full of trees. I can smell her down there. She’s bleeding, but not a lot. I hear her crying. She’s alone and afraid. Getting down there is going to be tricky. We don’t know how far down it goes, or how stable it is, and the fucking trees just make this even more complicated.” Already, several men and women were cutting the trees from where they clung to their roots in order to remove them. A woman with Marius’s dark good looks knelt near the edge of the hole, calling motherly reassurances to the girl. Desiree concentrated her energy. The ground shook, rocked by S waves that were the inevitable result of the massive movements Desiree commanded. One by one, the trees lifted. People moved back from the hole, which was good because she needed somewhere to

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drop the heavy trunks. She knew their level of alarm increased exponentially. The hatred she felt earlier had been diluted by their fear for their young pack member. That was no longer the case. She struggled, falling to her knees in the loamy, churned earth at her feet. This would be so much easier if they sent positive thoughts in her direction. Hate and distrust sapped her energy. “I see her!” A shout came from across the way. Desiree concentrated her efforts on that side of the hole, but it was too much like a game of pick-up-sticks. Disturbing the wrong tree could cause a chain reaction that could be deadly. Demetrius shook her hard. “Desiree! You can stop. They see her. We’ll climb down and get her now.” She peered up at him, the fog of exhaustion clouding her vision. She understood him, but she lacked the energy to respond. Flynn scooped her up in his arms, cradling her body close to his. She welcomed his heat once again. The fire blazing from Marius wasn’t the kind that brought comfort or happy thoughts. “I distinctly forbade you to use magic.” “Marius, her injuries are worse than you think. She’s bleeding on the inside. You can’t smell that, but I can feel it. She needs help now, not in however many hours it would take for you guys to clear the trees enough to get to her.” The long speech bled her strength so much that she couldn’t hold her head up. It lolled against Flynn’s shoulder. Demetrius cupped her cheek. “Marius, don’t yell at her. She did this to help Phoebe, and it’s exhausted her.” The direction of the blaze snapped from her to Demetrius. “Are you an idiot? Look around. There’s bloodlust in more than one eye here. While Soren might be grateful that Torrey got rid of a few of his demons, everyone else here still hates witches. Having a compulsion is a sign of strength and honor, something so few of us possess. They didn’t see his lust for power as something that needed fixing.”

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Demetrius lifted his hand from her cheek and wiped it down his face. He nodded, but his lips compressed into a line. “Flynn, get her out of here. Take her home.” She wanted to ask why they weren’t coming with them, but the answer occurred to her before she could gather the energy. They were the law in these parts. They were needed to manage and carry out this rescue. The ground disappeared beneath Flynn’s feet. When he came close to the brook, Desiree raised her head. “Stop here.” He shook his head, his eyes darting around and his nostrils flaring to make sure they weren’t followed. She loved watching his wolfish ways come to the fore, but this wasn’t the time to admire him for that, or to regret never seeing one of her lovers shift into a magnificent beast. “Flynn, I need to touch the brook again. I need to recharge in a way that sleep and food can’t begin to address.” Finally, he slowed and set her down on a dry spot near the bank. She reached down, burying both hands completely in the muck. The water reached to her elbows. If she thought he’d let her, she would strip naked and immerse herself in the icy water. This would have to do. Long before she was fully recharged, he plucked her from the ground and resumed his mission. It had been enough so that her body no longer threatened to drop into a deep sleep, but not enough to restore full energy. Back at the house, Flynn dropped her onto his bed. He rummaged in a drawer a bit before lifting a handgun. He tossed two clips on the mattress next to her and pressed the gun into her hand. “Do you know how to use this?” Desiree nodded. Her father and brothers had taken her to shoot at targets several times over the years. It wasn’t enough experience to

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know more than how to hold and what it felt like to squeeze the trigger. “Shoot anyone who comes in here, Desiree. None of us will send anyone to retrieve you. We’ll come ourselves.” She stared at the two clips at the foot of the bed. “You’re expecting them to abandon Phoebe to come get me?” Flynn’s lips compressed into a grim line. “Once they realize not everyone can help, I think they’ll be looking for something to do. We may be the law in this town, but many will think you’ve bewitched us. That’s all the permission some will need.” The news was dire, but it wasn’t anything Desiree hadn’t already deduced for herself. She tried for a wry smile. “Are they silver bullets?” He kissed her temple and started out of the room. “Hollow point. Much more effective.” The idea of killing anyone didn’t sit well with Desiree. A few of her lives had ended violently, and she didn’t wish that kind of end on anyone. She listened until Flynn was out of hearing, and then she slid from the bed. Today, she happened to be wearing the clothes in which she’d arrived. Ten days with her beloved men had been long enough to turn her into a wolf and plant four babies in her womb. This had been one hell of a vacation. Having learned her lesson eons ago, Desiree wasn’t going to wait around for death to come to her. Hindsight illuminated the fact that she should have been a bitch and refused to go sailing with Marius. Or she could have insisted he keep land in sight. A small sigh escaped as she once again reminded herself that nobody could escape destiny. She pressed her hand to her neck, the feel of the blade slicing her skin still fresh in her mind after all these years. Then she pressed her hand to her stomach. Grief hung heavily on her shoulders. She had known from the beginning that she couldn’t make a life here with her lovers.

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Jerking her jacket from the hanger in the hall closet, she stifled a sob. In the distance, she heard the distinct sounds of too many werewolves heading in her direction. These weren’t the neighbors heading home for lunch. Given that her hearing wasn’t that great yet, they were close. How had they eluded Flynn’s detection? She pushed those kinds of questions away, once again blaming fate. She tucked the gun into the waist of her jeans and scooped up the keys to Marius’s Corvette. The lithe red thing was completely impractical for the terrain found here, but he cherished the damn car so much he didn’t allow anyone else to drive it. Well, she wasn’t going that far, only to where she’d left her own vehicle. As she slammed it in reverse to back out of the driveway, the first wolf appeared. Many had already shifted into the form that would give them more strength in an attack and a little more resistance to the influence of magic. He was magnificent, but then she had a genuine appreciation for the species. She gunned the engine in warning before shifting into gear, hoping the wolf behind the car would move. He did move. He jumped to the low roof, his tremendous weight causing the plastic ceiling to bow. Desiree didn’t want to know what they had planned for her. She backed out of the driveway and left black tire prints on the pavement as she hit the gas hard. The wolf on her roof had the sense to jump down. Even a quick shift into a man wouldn’t have guaranteed a way to hang on up there, not at the speed this car would definitely be attaining. It didn’t take long for her to find the little hidden driveway where she’d tucked her car. Caiden had suggested it, saying that nobody used it anymore. She threw the gun into the glove box and locked the doors to the Corvette. The keys were inside. Either Marius was going to need to go back for his second set of keys, or he was going to have to break into his own car.

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In the end, she left with what she came for, but she also left something behind she hadn’t meant to lose again. Tears rained from her eyes, but at least this time she escaped with her life. She cupped her hand over her abdomen. No outward signs appeared to indicate the preciousness she carried inside, but she could feel those four hearts beating, and it was enough.

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Chapter 11 The spring snows melted enough to make everything wet, but the cold remained. Desiree didn’t feel it. Not only did she have four little combustion engines churning in her uterus, she was now a fire creature as well. That first full moon had been interesting. Not having been a wolf for almost a thousand years, she forgot exactly how exhilarating it was to shift. Colors popped. Her senses, already keen, sharpened immeasurably. She had prowled the frozen, forested expanse of a northern Minnesota state park, where she had not stumbled upon a single soul. Five months had put a definite bump on her stomach. She looked like she was closer to seven months pregnant, but the doctors had assured her this was normal for a woman carrying so many fetuses. They wanted to put her on bed rest, but she refused. She had also refused to allow them to take blood and urine samples. Who knew what parts of her altered DNA would give her away? The last thing she needed was to be poked and prodded because she was an anomaly. On her way home from work, she stopped at the park. She badly needed to touch the naturally flowing water. A shower, with water that had been corralled and contained, only went so far to rejuvenate her. If she lived in the country and had well water, then it would be enough. But St. Paul was a large city, and the water was chemically treated. Ugh. She sat under the large spruce near the bank. The high point overlooked a sharp drop to the river where some exposed roots rustled

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in the wind. Although temperatures had risen and were now in the fifties, Desiree boiled from the inside. For most of the winter, she had donned a light jacket only to keep the stares away. The extreme warmth combined with the pungent scent of pine needles and the dampness in the air to almost put her to sleep. Almost. She had avoided twilight sleep for so long just to keep Caiden away. The blame for her broken heart lay squarely at his feet. If he hadn’t convinced her to give it one last try, she wouldn’t be here now. He tapped into her semiconsciousness as soon as she let down her guard. Sunlight filtered through the thick canopy and birds chattered all around. Desiree’s comfortable jeans with the stretch panel in front and her oversized shirt were distinctly out of place in his paradise. If she had been pregnant in this place, she would have draped herself in flowing robes, or she might have spent a lot of time wearing nothing at all. The heat was worse here, and the discomfort made her irritable. Okay, the fact she couldn’t get rid of Caiden made her irritable. He sat on a white stone bench, his long legs stretched out in front of him. Unlike the Shadow Man, Caiden had retained the physical features he had while alive. Hair as dark as midnight fell across his forehead, accenting his blue eyes and pale skin. “Daughter.” “Don’t start that shit with me,” she said, parking her hands on her hips. “You haven’t been my father in a long, long time.” He shook his head at her obstinacy, but the smile never fell from his lips. “The curse will be broken. Your sister has three little ones already. With your four and the two of you, that’s nine. Once you’re ready, Teigh and I need only to find Circe and our lost husband. Thirteen will be enough to complete the circle and break the curse.” Fear clawed at Desiree’s throat. “And I won’t have to live through this again.”

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“No, my daughter. You are free to become the shadow creature you long to be.” Existing in the periphery of humanity, a thing of magic hiding in the shadows, sounded like the perfect way to live. No personal relationships, nobody relying on her to break a curse, no need to relive the way her heart broke every time she met her soul mates again. This way, she would be free of everything. Why, then, did her heart pound painfully at the idea of never living a life again? This is what she wanted. This is what she’d worked toward so many times, only to be thwarted by one thing or another. Not this time. She knew they would succeed. She could feel it in her bones. Caiden closed the space between them. In this magical realm, the movement was instantaneous. He folded his arms around her. “You deserve so much more than what you allow yourself to have. Those wolves would have left with you, Desiree.” Leaving their pack would have torn a hole in their hearts, and she couldn’t bear to cause them that kind of pain. It was better that they should remember a few fun days with her than to pine for their beloved pack for the rest of their days. “I named myself Desiree for a reason,” she reminded him. She hadn’t always chosen her names. After a while, her sister had begun the tradition, always giving herself a name that was a clue to what she needed to do to help break the curse in the next life. Desiree knew she needed to prey upon her lovers’ desire for her, and she needed to leave before their desire grew into anything more. She pushed away their declarations of love. Maybe they felt those emotions at the time, but real love took much longer to grow. She’d kept things sexual on purpose. He pressed her head to his shoulder and smoothed her hair away from her temple. “You desire love and companionship. You desire to have a life like the one you originally had, with your family and your

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husbands always nearby. No matter what you tell yourself, those things will always be true.” Tears burned behind her eyes. She blinked hard to keep them at bay, and she shoved at Caiden until he released her. “It’s never worked out for me. It always works out for Torrey. You let most of our sisters fade to shadows, but you won’t let us. It isn’t fair.” Caiden reached out to soothe her with his touch, but she stepped back, eluding his reach. The sympathy in his eyes turned to sadness. “You are a key part of the curse, Desiree. Circe felt you, more than any of your sisters, needed to work this poison from your soul. They all had good lives with their husbands and lovers. Teigh and I eventually figured out that you were the key. Of course, we needed thirteen, and it was too much to ask you to birth seven children for the ritual. Torrey volunteered to keep at it.” He shook his head, acknowledging the futility of his words. Desiree already knew this. She reveled in the times when she and her sister were both free of their human bodies. It was the only time she ever got to be with Torrey. Nostalgia for her sister’s company brought Desiree out of her reverie. “Caiden, I need to know where Torment is.” Being around Torrey while human had never happened before. The two of them had never once been able to find one another. It was only due to the Shadow Man’s interventions that they had ever been able to reconnect with their wolves. Caiden shook his head. “I wish it worked that way, my darling daughter. I’m not of your world. I can visit her, but I can’t tell you where she is in the corporeal world.” Some of those tears fell, grief mingling with frustration. “Teigh knows. He walks in the human world.” Now he returned to his stone bench. This time, he faced away from Desiree. Staring between the trees, he muttered things Desiree could barely hear. “He is a shadow creature. One more century like this, and we are all doomed. He’ll forever be part of the shadows,

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something you’ll see out of the corner of your eye, but when you turn to look, he’ll be gone. I’ll be trapped in this limbo, my surroundings nothing more than the makings of my mind, all alone until the end of time. And Circe—” He pressed a hand to his eyes. Desiree finished for him. “Mother will forever wander the earth, living as a human, completely unaware of who she is and what powers lie just below the surface. And your lost husband will spend his lifetimes searching her out, not quite knowing what he’s looking for.” “I was given limited access to you and your sisters. This was all she could manage.” He would defend her until the end of time. Desiree knew there was no way to argue herself out of what must be done. Circe hadn’t meant this as a curse, but Desiree couldn’t see it another way. She didn’t know why her mother had structured the completion the way she had. Nobody did. “Still,” she repeated, “Teigh knows.” Caiden laughed and turned back to face her. “What Teigh knows and what knowledge he can access are two completely different things.” He lifted a hand, and she nearly felt his comforting caress on her cheek. “I’m sorry, Desiree. You have endured much. Have faith in the blessings of love, my daughter. Have faith in Circe, in your fathers, in your soul mates, and in yourself.” The tears she had tried to hold back escaped at last. Caiden folded his arms around her, and she let herself bask in the safe love only a father can provide. By the time she felt better and her tears stopped, she opened her eyes to find herself seated under the same tree. Evening had slipped in while she visited with Caiden. The lanterns that lit the nearby path reflected in the water below. She pushed against the ground with her hand and lumbered to her feet.

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Something fell to the ground. She would have completely missed it if the paper hadn’t been so glossy. Bending, she scooped it up and took it to the path. The light there revealed a scrawl in ancient Greek. It took Desiree a few minutes to decipher the writing. She couldn’t remember the last time she’d read the language, and it wasn’t completely coming back to her. From what she could tell, it indicated a city and a road in Montana. The last line warned that only a wolf could gain access. Too tired to look it up, she shoved the note into her pocket. Teigh had always favored her. She figured he was her biological father. Though Circe and her husbands functioned as parents for each of the daughters, Desiree’s dark skin and African features clearly favored him. If it helped her to find Torrey, then she would take the favoritism. She went home and slept well. **** Demetrius prowled the length of their living room like a caged wolf with damaged paws. He felt helpless. Grief, anger, and frustration had been constant companions for the past five months. Winter had come and gone. Spring, with all the scents of newness in the air, held no meaning for him. Like Marius and Flynn, he’d given up the job he’d held for more than thirty years. The three of them no longer roamed the area, keeping their pack safe. They no longer mediated disputes or watched for instances of magic to quell. He had rejoiced when they found Marius’s red Corvette parked on the side of the road. At least, hope had filled his chest until he realized she had just changed vehicles, abandoning the traceable car in favor of anonymity. Claw marks on the roof testified to her struggle. The gun Flynn had given her hadn’t been fired. Flynn recalled the way her face had

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paled when he handed it to her. He thought it was because she realized the seriousness of the situation. Demetrius could have told him she would die before she killed another soul. Though Demetrius understood the reason Marius had ordered Flynn to return to the sinkhole, he fervently wished Flynn had disobeyed. If he had, they could have left with Desiree instead of leaving her to flee alone. She must have felt so abandoned. He knew they had no future in the village. Part of him knew his life in Lyton was over the moment he set eyes on her beautiful face and lush figure. Looking into those big, brown eyes had revealed his future. Just like that, it had been snatched away. As they had stared at the spot where her car had been hidden, Flynn had shaken his head. “We don’t know her last name. Humans have last names. We don’t know where she lived. We know so much about her, yet we know nothing at all.” “She’s a hospice nurse,” Marius had growled. “She likes fruit in her salad. She snores when she’s really tired. She’ll argue with me about anything just for fun. Her mother and father are still living. She said her sister lived in Chicago.” Flynn had cleared his throat. “She knew she was leaving. She said she wasn’t going to stay. She told us nothing about her that would help us track her down.” “She left her scent all over the house,” Marius said. Demetrius nodded. It would haunt him until it faded too much, but even then, it would linger in his memory, a cruel joke of fate and circumstance. Though he was exhausted from his part in working to save their niece from the sinkhole, Marius had begun the search for Desiree immediately. He had been gone a week that time. Each foray lasted a little longer. At first, they had taken turns leaving to look for her. When they realized there was nothing left for them in Lyton, they had all

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quit their jobs to look for Desiree full-time. Sometimes they searched together. Sometimes, like this time, they searched separately to cover more ground. Demetrius had arrived home first. Home. He glanced around, his gaze dismissing everything that didn’t hold memories of Desiree. It landed, as it often did, on the sofa. He’d made love to her there. He’d snatched her away from Marius after he’d made love to her there. They’d debated everything from food to what it meant to be true to a loved one’s memory. Several times, he had arrived home from work to find her curled up on the sofa, napping under a light blanket. Even while she slept, she had been biding her time until it was time to leave. The house was curiously clean. Demetrius knew from the residual scent that his sister had been there to clear away the dust and cobwebs that accumulated while they were away. The neat purr of Marius’s car made Demetrius stop his relentlessly aimless pacing. Two doors slammed. Flynn had accompanied Marius. Demetrius stared expectantly at the front door. It opened. Marius regarded him somberly. “We found where she was,” he said. Hope surged through Demetrius. For the first time in forever, the future didn’t look dim. He leapt toward his brother, ready to get on the road, but Marius waved him back. “But she’s gone now. Neighbors said she packed up a week ago, loaded her stuff into storage, and took off.” Flynn flopped down on the sofa. “Nobody knows where she was headed, but we got a last name and some information about her parents and her brother. They all live in St. Paul, Minnesota. When we confronted them, they didn’t even know she had left.” Demetrius sank into a chair. “How could she have known we were coming?”

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Flynn lifted his gaze, searching Demetrius’s face. “Why would she run from us? She’s never been afraid, not for one second. Not even when Marius chained her to the bathroom sink.” The reasons were tenfold. Demetrius was well aware of her romanticized view of the way things should be, and he had belatedly realized she had already decided she could never have that ideal. They had abandoned her when she most needed them. Phoebe would have died from her injuries before they could clear enough debris to get to her. She had saved their niece, and they had repaid her by failing to protect her from the more hateful members of their pack. They hadn’t loved her, not really. Each of them had enjoyed her body, and she had encouraged them to view her as a sexual object. They had fallen prey to her trap, a trap she had woven from strands of fatalism and a low sense of self-worth. Thinking with their dicks had cost them the one woman who truly completed them. Marius sank onto the other end of the sofa, away from both of his brothers. He wiped a hand down his face. “I turned her.” Palpable shock hung so thick in the air Demetrius felt suffocated. “Son of a bitch.” He breathed the words heavily. Marius had stopped Flynn from biting her in the heat of passion only to fold under the same instinctive pressure. “When?” “The first night. Before I chained her up. She was asleep in my bed, and I couldn’t stop myself. I needed to mark her.” Marius whispered his confession, and he didn’t try to defend himself when Flynn launched himself to the other end of the sofa. Demetrius ripped Flynn away from Marius, knowing his brother had already tortured himself for the past five months. Flynn spun away and smashed an end table to bits. When his fury was spent, he faced Marius again. “How could you do that to her? She’s out there all alone. She’s probably scared and running from what she’s become. She won’t know how to handle it.”

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Marius sat forward, pressing the bridge of his nose between his finger and thumb. “She’s not afraid of it. I offered to take care of her, and she told me she could handle it. She seemed…It was like she wanted to be a wolf. I accused her of putting a spell on me to make it happen and she told me it was nothing more than instinct at work. She wasn’t mad or sad or happy or anything like that. It was more like she accepted it as inevitable.” For five months, Demetrius had thought they were merely up against a woman who thought she wasn’t loved by the men in her life who left her unprotected against an angry wolf pack. Now he knew they were dealing with a hell of a lot more. Demetrius headed to his bedroom. “That settles it,” he called over his shoulder. “Even if she wasn’t ours before, she sure as shit is now.” “Where are you going?” Flynn asked. “To pack. We’re leaving in ten minutes, and we’re not coming back.” Twenty minutes later, Demetrius reflected on the fact that his entire life was packed in one suitcase that fit in the lockbox in the bed of his pickup truck. Flynn occupied the seat next to him. His life also fit into one suitcase. All they really needed was the woman waiting on the other end of their trip. Marius bounded out of the house, not bothering to lock the doors. They would not be back. Even if the unthinkable happened—they didn’t find Desiree—they would not return to the town that was no longer their home. For the first time ever, Demetrius understood why Shaden had left after Hope had died. These people didn’t understand him. They rejected key parts of his soul, branding him as deviant just because he didn’t fall in love with the right kind of person. A knock at his window knocked him away from the angry, resentful thoughts boiling to the surface. Demetrius jerked his attention to the side as he rolled down the window. If he had been in

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the moment, he would have recognized the scent of his traitorous neighbor before the man was able to get this close. Without thinking, Demetrius threw open the door. He shifted, his canines and his hands elongating as he formed his wolf shape. His jeans ripped away, and he leapt from the driver’s seat. Aaron had lived in his neighborhood for more than twenty years. Before that, Demetrius had known him because he was friends with one of Demetrius’s older brothers. Once, he had looked up to the older wolf. Now, he wanted to rip his throat out. He would have hunted down every person who left their scent mark at his house that day, but Marius prohibited the killings. And the people who had tried to kill his beloved had stayed away from them completely. This was the first time one dared approach, and Demetrius had no interest in hearing what the man might want to say. **** For a full minute, Marius debated letting Demetrius destroy Aaron. Surrounded by the dark fur covering Demetrius, his glistening teeth shone bright as he peeled his lips back in a snarl. Aaron had shifted the moment Demetrius leapt from the truck. The older man, like most of the townspeople, had avoided them since the incident. Though Desiree’s intervention had been the thing that saved Phoebe’s life, only Marius’s sister, Phoebe’s mother, had thanked the men. Not that they cared about any of that. They had become lieutenants in the militia because each of them was driven by the need to take an active role in keeping the members of their pack safe. Flynn opened his door and stepped out of the truck, his movements casual, as if no fight was being waged on the other side of the vehicle. He regarded Marius silently. Marius knew Flynn would back him up.

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With a brief nod, Marius shucked his clothes and shifted. As far as size went, the three of them were identical. Flynn sported muscles that were a bit bulkier. If he ever seriously challenged Marius, he would win, though the fight would be close and both of them would end up with serious injuries. Aaron, being both older and stronger, presented a formidable opponent. However, against even two of them, he would lose. Marius bounded across the distance. The metallic scent of blood made his nose twitch. Demetrius had drawn blood. Gashes ran down Aaron’s side, and deep punctures wounded his neck. Marius made sure his warning swipe at Demetrius didn’t harm his brother. While killing Aaron might provide temporary balm to the emotions ravaging Demetrius, it would ultimately add to the burden on Demetrius’s soul. Demetrius ignored Marius, so Marius was forced to change tactics. He leapt, pinning Aaron to the ground. Flynn joined the fray, helping to keep Aaron pinned and submissive. Demetrius pounced on Aaron, his teeth poised to finish the man. At the last moment, he flicked his eyes to Marius, seeking permission from his alpha. When he found none, he growled his displeasure and backed away. Sitting on his haunches, he howled his frustration long and loud. Marius and Flynn let Aaron up. The unwelcome wolf backed away slowly. When he was safely on his own property, he curled his lip in a snarl and turned, trotting back to his house. When Marius shifted back, he found Demetrius already wearing a fresh pair of jeans. Demetrius nailed him with a nasty look. “You had no right to stop me.” Marius knew Demetrius thought differently. If Marius had no right to stop Demetrius, then nothing would have halted his actions. “You couldn’t live with yourself if you killed in cold blood, and you know Desiree wouldn’t like it. She ran rather than take the chance she’d hurt him.”

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“She ran because we let her down.” “She’s a healer,” Flynn said. “A witch. I used to think that meant horrible things, but now I know it means she’d rather die than hurt someone else. She’s the embodiment of all that’s good and right in the world.” Marius agreed with a nod. “Mitri, I’m sorry, but we’re going to make this right. You guys follow me. It’s going to take a whole day to get there.” **** Flynn rolled from the passenger seat of Demetrius’s truck. He understood his brother’s need to do the driving the entire way. It made him feel some semblance of control. And Marius never let anyone drive his Corvette. So far, Desiree was the only person who had ever dared. The picture of her sliding behind the wheel of that little red car made him smile. She wasn’t the kind of person who thought twice about possessions and territory. A frown followed the smile. Now that she was part wolf, those instincts would be at odds with her generous soul and free spirit. He swallowed the pangs that came with the thought of her out there all alone during the full moon when she wouldn’t be able to halt the shift. He eyed the neat little house with a realtor’s sign in front. Because the yard had been frozen for the winter, the yellowish grass was still short. The air held a nip that was no longer present in Lyton, so the little dormant blades showed no signs of returning to life. Cold water dripped from hedges that spent most of the day in shadow. The last vestiges of snow had yet to melt. It was empty. Desiree hadn’t been gone for more than a week. Her scent, freshness and light combined, lingered in the air. His nose twitched, and he tamped down the urge to use it to track her down. If she had walked, he could have followed her, but one rectangular spot

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on the driveway, completely cleared of snow showed she had taken a car. When he and Marius first found this place, rage had percolated through Flynn because the scent of fear and depression had nearly overpowered him. He had detected no other scents, but that only quelled his dread that another wolf might have found and killed her. It did nothing to alleviate his worry for her safety. He shoved his hands into the pockets of his jacket. The gesture illustrated his helplessness, not that the March chill affected him. Marius and Demetrius walked around the house, investigating the backyard and peeking into windows. Flynn had done that last time. The endeavor had been fruitless. The lingering scent of magic indicated Desiree had hidden anything she didn’t want discovered. A shadow fell over him, blocking the sun. He knew without looking that this was the man who had changed their lives. “You knew we would love her, didn’t you?” Flynn didn’t bother to look at the man. No features would be distinguishable. Similarly, the man carried no scent, nothing to mark him as real. “You’ve loved her for thousands of years, and she has loved you.” Flynn snorted. He wanted so badly to believe. “But not anymore.” Now he turned to face the man. Despite knowing he would find nothing, he searched the man’s face for evidence of physicality. “Is that why you’re here? To tell us not to bother? She doesn’t love us anymore?” The idea of a sad smile flashed through Flynn’s brain, and he knew the Shadow Man projected the sentiment. “She will always love you. It’s trust she lacks.” Regret and self-recriminations slammed hard. “I left her alone when she needed me.” Soft laughter vibrated the air. No humor tinged the feeling. “She can defend herself against a wolf pack. Circe didn’t leave her daughters unprotected. That’s one mistake she’ll never make again.”

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“She’s part wolf now,” Flynn said softly. “She belongs to us as much as she belongs to Circe.” A hand clapped his shoulder. The corporealness of it had Flynn checking to see if flesh was visible. It was not. “Circe knew Desiree would run from you. It’s why you have such a possessive instinct. Go and claim your soul mate. The four of you deserve a little happiness this time around.” With that, the Shadow Man took Flynn’s hand—as much as someone who seemed more shadow than man could—and then he dissolved into nothing. Flynn looked down to see a piece of paper crumpled in his palm. Unfolding it revealed printing with bold strokes. An address. “Marius, Demetrius!” His brothers appeared next to him, concern wrinkling their brows. Flynn held up the paper. “The Shadow Man came through with an assist.”

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Chapter 12 Desiree soaked in the massive bathtub. It was more like a very large spa than a tub. Shade had installed it for Torrey, making sure it was large enough to fit him as well. A quick, measuring sweep had Desiree doubting all three of her men could fit. Two definitely could, but all three might be pushing the boundaries of brotherly love. Somebody kicked her stomach from the inside. Sharp pain knifed through her heart and burned her esophagus. That bit of agony made Desiree struggle for breath, but it had nothing on the constant ache she carried. She missed her men. She missed Flynn’s reverent caresses. She missed the way Demetrius lost himself in their kisses. She missed the gruff way Marius treated her, and the way it contrasted so sharply with the tender way he loved her. Of course, she missed his roughness, too. More than just their touches, she missed their physicality. With them, she never felt lonely. Each of them sought her out for conversation. They asked her opinion on so many issues. Even when she did her best to steer the topic to something safe, like sex, she hadn’t always been successful. Demetrius had a thing for John Wayne movies. Desiree had never understood the appeal of those old westerns, but she had grown to like The Quiet Man. Thankfully, Torrey and Shade didn’t have a television. Any glimpse of a John Wayne movie would be enough to set off a crying jag. The door pushed open a bit. “Des? Can I come in?”

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Desiree sighed. For the first time in three thousand years, she and Torrey were together again. They’d seen one another between lifetimes, meeting often in the nothingness of Caiden’s mind. Interacting in corporeal bodies was a completely different experience. “Yeah. You can come in.” Another kick had her grimacing and sitting up to hunch forward. She felt Torrey’s eyes sweep over her. “You okay?” “Somebody thinks my stomach is a great kickboxing target. I hate acid reflux.” Torrey slid onto the counter next to the sink. This time around, Torrey was a little taller, towering over Desiree by four inches. She wore her honey-brown hair long, spilling halfway down her back, because wolves did not cut their hair. Desiree’s own hair looked much different. Her weave had fallen out the first time she shifted. Now she let her kinky curls grow naturally. In the back of her mind, she wondered what her men would think about them. “Ugh. I remember that. At least I only had three in me.” Torrey looked up, catching Desiree’s eyes. Softness and sympathy emanated from her. “But it’s so worth it. Three thousand years, and we’ve finally done it.” The water had begun to cool. Desiree debated filling it with more, but her skin had begun to wrinkle. She pulled the plug and snagged the huge robe Torrey had given her months ago. It engulfed her swollen stomach nicely. Desiree’s dark mood proved impossible to shake. “I don’t know about that. We have my four and your three, you and me, Caiden and Teigh. That’s eleven. No guarantees we’ll find Circe and our missing father. Neither of them knows who they are, so it’s not like they’re looking for us. The idea of having to do this again is the worst nightmare in the world.” Torrey frowned. They needed thirteen to complete the circle that would restore Circe’s memory so she could lift the curse that kept

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cycling their souls through lifetime after lifetime. “That is a problem, but I’m not too worried. This is it, Desiree. This is our time. I can feel it.” A quick search under the sink turned up moisturizer. Desiree applied it liberally. Her skin needed all the elasticity it could get. “On the bright side, we could end up with plenty of grandkids who are the right mix, and we won’t have to come back except to guide them. This is very possibly the last time I’ll have to track down those difficult men and seduce them.” The cloud of sadness she’d been trying to keep at bay broke through her defenses and settled in for the long haul. Torrey touched the back of Desiree’s hand. “You know, there’s no rule that says you can’t be with Marius, Demetrius, and Flynn. They’re good men. I can’t imagine them abandoning you if they knew they were going to be fathers.” Tears fell from Desiree’s eyes. They were frequent companions, and she blamed her hormones almost exclusively. The rest of the time, she blamed Marius. She rested her head on Torrey’s shoulder and let her sister give some solace. “It never ends well, Torrey. Never.” Torrey snorted. “Now that’s a huge exaggeration, Desiree. You ended up with them in many, many lifetimes. This is the first time we’ve both been able to find our mates and get pregnant.” “Honey?” Shade’s call held a hint of desperation. “They all want dinner right now.” Torrey grinned. “He wasn’t at all shocked when I told him this first batch of babies would be all girls. He just shrugged and said he hoped they all looked like me.” She left, and Desiree contemplated the possible reactions her lovers might have to finding out that not only was she pregnant, but she carried four girls. Male werewolves took pride in the number of male offspring they were able to produce. Even if they tried again, the chances of having boys were slim to none. Eons before Desiree had

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ever been born, the sun had cursed Circe and all her offspring to bear girls as punishment for choosing to live with her lovers instead of in the heavens with him. **** Marius shifted back to his human form as soon as the house came into view. He shook his jeans out from the tight bundle he had rolled in order to have clothes when he arrived at his destination. No driveway led to this place. Completely inaccessible except by hiking, the huge log cabin nestled between thick stands of trees looked very familiar. Demetrius shifted next to him. He dropped his clothes to the ground and stared at the impressive home. “It’s Shaden’s house.” “Bigger.” Flynn sat down to pull on his boots. “Desiree is in there. I can smell her.” “Yeah,” Demetrius added, he parked his hands on his hips. “And so are a whole bunch of other people. I can hear ten heartbeats.” Marius finished dressing. He tucked his flannel shirt into his pants. As he did so, the memory of Desiree wearing this shirt flashed through his mind. It had hung almost to her knees. The fabric swam around her luscious curves, making him itch to remove it just so he could uncover those hidden lines. “Do you think Shade will let us in?” Flynn asked. “He wasn’t too happy with us the last time we saw him.” Demetrius slid into his pants. “We told him he should leave the area before the pack got tired of living so close to a witch. He knew he had to go, Flynn. His stuff was mostly packed.” “He’s a reasonable man.” Marius nodded, gathering his courage. Shaden had been his Alpha at one time. He had stepped down after losing a fight with his brother, Soren, but nobody ever doubted that Shaden would be the one to step in if something happened to their leader. Funny how a woman changed things. Torrey had cured Soren

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of his evil ways, but the wolves didn’t want her around. Not only had they lost Shaden because of prejudice against witches, but Soren had taken off for parts unknown. Once Demetrius finished dressing, Marius pressed forward. When they were a few feet from the front porch, the door opened, and Torrey stepped outside. She smiled at them, but it was the regretful kind, not the welcoming kind. Taller than Desiree, she was still a small woman. The top of her head reached just under six feet. Still, Marius had seen her fight before, both in her witch and wolf forms. She was formidable. “As much as I’m craving company right now, I’ll have to wait until my sister visits later this summer.” She folded her arms over her chest, but she met their eyes, holding their gazes one at a time. “She doesn’t want to see you.” Marius stepped forward, prepared to beg if needed. “Torrey, please. We can make this right. We deserve the chance to try. At least let us apologize.” Her head tilted and the corners of her mouth turned down in a frown. “You don’t even know what you did and you want to apologize? You guys always were such pushovers. You know, even if Shade knows what he did to piss me off, he has a hard time apologizing.” “We know what we did,” Flynn said. “We left her to defend herself when we should have stayed to protect her. I should have stayed.” Torrey shook her head, the smile turning to a grimace. “Again. You did the same thing again. I understand why she doesn’t want to see you.” A magnificent black wolf stepped from the cover of the trees. Marius recognized Shade immediately. The wolf bounded up the steps and came to a stop next to Torrey. He nosed her elbow. She rolled her eyes and disappeared inside the house.

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Shade shifted to his human form. Like all wolves, he was as comfortable naked as he was clothed. The only reason they had carried clothes with them had been because they knew the witch-wolf women might not appreciate nudity. He came down the steps and shook Marius’s hand before turning his attention to greeting Demetrius and Flynn. “I’m glad you’re here. There are entirely too many women in that house.” The front door opened, and Marius couldn’t stop himself from looking up expectantly even though he knew it was Torrey. She hopped down the wooden steps and handed Shade a stack of clothes. “Did you want to get dressed, or did you want to shift back so you can escort our guests back to their car?” Shade shoved his shirt over his head and stepped into his jeans. “They’re staying, Torrey. No arguments.” She huffed out a breath. “Do you honestly think that Alpha shit will work with me? I can turn your ass into a cat, and not a cool cat, like a panther. I’ll turn you into a Tabby or a Siamese, and then I’ll have you declawed.” He snaked an arm around her waist and squeezed her hip. “If somebody told me I couldn’t see you, I would rip them to shreds. Don’t you think Desiree deserves to be as happy as we are?” Torrey flushed and studied the ground. At last, she looked up, nailing Marius with a direct, hard look. “It would be so much easier if she didn’t remember the past, but she does. And you don’t. You have no idea why she’s mad at you. You have no idea the things you’ve done to hurt her. Caiden and I had to beg her to come back and try one more time. She didn’t want to be born again.” Marius tried to make sense of Torrey’s warning, but he couldn’t. Shade took pity on him. “Over three thousand years ago, you washed up on the sandy beach of a mystical island and you fell in love with a woman, one of Circe’s daughters. I did the same thing. We lived there in peace and happiness for many years. We didn’t age or get sick. We could have lived forever.”

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The door opened and closed, and Marius ceased paying attention to anyone but Desiree. Dark shadows smudged under her eyes, and her hair was a puffy mass of black curls. Immediately, he decided he liked her better this way. Natural beauty held much more charm than artificial trappings. But his jaw dropped when he saw her belly, distended and swollen. It was the source of four heartbeats. Not only had they failed to keep her safe, not only had he failed to help her transition to being a wolf, but she carried their children alone. She hugged her arms protectively around her stomach. “But you couldn’t stand it. You had to leave. You never told me you had a wife and children. I might have understood your driving need to leave the island.” Marius shook his head. This was ridiculous. He shouldn’t have to pay for the sins of a past in which he wasn’t the man he was today. “Desiree, that wasn’t me. I would never leave you.” Even as he said it, their private conversations, where she assured him she had no intention of staying, replayed in his head. He hadn’t wanted that day to come. In the back of his mind, he knew it would, and he knew he would have left with her. Tears tracked down her cheeks and tore at his soul. He wanted to take her in his arms and wipe them away. When Flynn stepped forward to do that very thing, she halted him with one hand and a wall of magic. “It was you,” she whispered. “We bound our souls together, the four of us. The bodies and the names are different, but the soul, the essence of you, is the same.” Before he could speak to defend himself, she extended her arms. Three lines of energy shot out. Torrey’s shout of No was the last thing she heard as one of them impaled his forehead and held him captive. ****

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Desiree wanted them to know. She wanted them to remember. Torrey tugged at her arms, trying to break the spell. “Desiree, don’t do this. Ignorance is a blessing. It’s a fresh start. Don’t give them this pain.” “Why should I bear it alone?” She spat the words through gritted teeth. Maybe now they would see why this would never work out. From the corner of her eye, she saw Shade streak across the porch. Coming from the side, he tackled Demetrius, knocking him from Desiree’s spell. In short order, he felled Marius and Flynn. They went down like dominoes. Desiree lowered her arms, uncertain how much of the memory they had absorbed before Shade and Torrey interfered. Her heart ached, her body shook, and tears deluged her cheeks. If they didn’t hate her for anything yet, she had just given them enough reason to walk away. Demetrius staggered to his feet and helped Marius up. Shade pulled Flynn from the ground. The three of them stared at her, eyes wide. Without another word, she turned and went into the house. After a short while, she heard them come in downstairs. The guest room in which she slept had no lock, and Desiree had used too much energy already for a magic one to work. She lay down on her right side, curled up as much as she could, and closed her eyes. When the door opened and closed, she didn’t have to open her eyes to know Marius, Demetrius, and Flynn had entered the room. She breathed in their scents, luxuriating in the subtleties that hadn’t been apparent before she fully turned into a wolf. The bed dipped next to her as Marius settled his bulk on the edge. “I know you’re not sleeping, Desiree. Even if you were, I would wake you up. I’ve spent every moment of the past five months searching for you. We all have.” She opened her eyes and drank in the way his flannel clung to his broad shoulders and the way his dark eyes stared from above his

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sharp cheekbones. She wanted to touch him, to bring his mouth down to meet hers, but she didn’t move. Finally, she answered him. “You have nothing to feel guilty for. From the beginning, I made it clear I wasn’t staying.” Flynn got on the bed behind her. His weight caused her to roll almost onto her back. The big belly in front kept her from turning completely. He smiled down at her. “We would have left with you. We have left for you, Desiree. We’re not going back. Not ever.” She breathed out a long stream of air. “I went there with the intention of making one of you turn me. It was my goal to get pregnant. I need these children to help break Circe’s curse. I need them to set us all free. I used you. Go home to your pack. It’s where you belong.” Demetrius laid his hand on the rounded ball that was her stomach, spreading his fingers wide. “This is where we belong, with our soul mate and our children. Wherever you are, honey, that’s where I want to be. This is our pack.” Marius’s hand joined Demetrius’s on her stomach. The babies inside kicked and squirmed, seeming to rejoice at their fathers’ voices. “I love you, Desiree. I love our children. I’m not going anywhere.” The tears that had stopped threatened again. She hated crying on a normal day. She especially hated it now, when she needed to be strong. “You always were such a responsible father.” Marius shook his head and gave a short, rueful laugh. “That man isn’t me, Desiree, and that woman isn’t you.” She opened her mouth to protest, but he put his finger over her lips, silencing her. “Maybe they’re who we used to be, but they’re not who we are. I regret that something so horrible happened to us. I’m sure once we realized they’d killed you, we got our revenge or we died in the process.” She thought about that for a moment. Being murdered had forever changed her. She had lived the rest of her lifetimes jaded and afraid of

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being hurt. This lifetime was no exception. “I can’t love you like that again.” He lifted her onto his lap as if she weighed nothing. Given how much she felt related to a whale at the moment, the feat impressed Desiree. He cradled her in his arms, and she let him. She wanted to be with him so very much. “You never stopped, honey. Maybe you tried, but you failed. And for that, I’m grateful.” Flynn snatched her away from Marius. He set her back on the bed and kissed her face, his lips skimming lightly over her eyelids and cheeks, anywhere evidence of tears lingered. “Besides, you can’t be mad at Demetrius and me. Those men look nothing like us.” She laughed, a short, tired sound. They physical differences had been so difficult to get used to at first. Once she learned to look at the soul and not the body, it became much easier. “You are much better looking now.” Marius touched the back of her hand. “Desiree, our lives together are just beginning. A connection like the one we share is rare. It’s meant to be honored and cherished. I’m sorry I didn’t listen to you all those lifetimes ago. I’m sorry things haven’t really worked out for us before now. Maybe I needed this time to learn how to be the kind of man who doesn’t take you for granted. I assure you, I am that man now.” She stared deep into his eyes, looking beyond the surface for the first time in far too long. Over the years, she had changed. Her soul had altered, matured with each pass through life. Just because he didn’t remember his previous life didn’t mean his soul hadn’t been affected. He didn’t shield anything from her, and she saw the truth of his love. The tension in her soul, thousands of years of fear and anger, left. These were her men. This was her future. She liked it. Demetrius lifted her shirt, exposing her belly. He ran his hands all over it. “I didn’t think you could get sexier, but damn, Desiree. You did it.”

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Flynn bobbed his head in agreement. “We’ll have to keep her pregnant. This is so hot.” She knew her eyes had gone huge and round. They sounded so believable. She glanced at Marius, hoping for sanity. He grinned at her. “Nothing sexier than our woman carrying our babies.” He shucked his shirt from his body and kicked off his shoes. “And you’ve kept us waiting for five months, honey. On the plus side, you won’t have to get out of bed for anything. One of us will get whatever you need.” Heat stirred between her legs. She cradled Demetrius’s cheek in one hand and held the other out to Flynn. Marius joined them on the bed. “I need you,” she said. “Right now.”

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Epilogue The knot of small children strained and broke. Seven kids, all girls, scattered, their fists full of candy, screaming gleefully as they ran toward their parents. The guts of the piñata lay shredded on the ground, strands of pastel papier-mâché littering the patch of short grass visible now that the girls had abandoned the area. Desiree scooped up her oldest daughter, and her husbands gathered the other three in their arms. The remaining three girls, her nieces, clamored up their parents’ legs. A few yards away, Torrey’s sister, Riley, snapped pictures of the girls as they showed off their bounty. This second birthday party for her quadruplets was both louder and sweeter than their first. With each passing day, the love in her heart grew to proportions she could barely believe real. Deciding to take a chance with her lovers had been the best thing she’d ever done. “Time for cake,” Riley called. The kids all squirmed to be put down. En masse, they set off across the lawn, not stopping until they’d claimed every seat at the special picnic table the men had built for them. Demetrius slipped his arms around her waist. Marius pressed a kiss to her shoulder, and Flynn twined his fingers with hers. She favored each with a smile. Flynn kissed her cheek. “Happy, honey?” Her smile grew as she regarded each of her husbands. “Blissful. I can’t remember ever being this happy. Thank you for coming after me.” Demetrius planted a kiss on her lips.

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Marius squeezed her ass. “I have an idea how you can show your appreciation.” Desiree lifted a brow. “Oh, yeah? I have a few ideas of my own. I’ll show you mine if you show me yours.” Marius laughed, his low chuckle rumbling deep in his chest. “That’s my witch.”

THE END WWW.MICHELEZURLO.COM

ABOUT THE AUTHOR Michele loves to write love stories with happy endings. Visit her website, The Steam Room, for details about all of her stories and hints at what’s to come.

Also by Michele Zurlo Siren Classic: Irrepressible Force Siren Classic: Awakenings 1: Letting Go Ménage and More: Awakenings 2: Hanging On Ménage Amour: Awakenings 3: Two Masters for Samantha Ménage Amour: Awakenings 4: Time to Pretend Siren Classic: Daughters of Circe 1: Torment

Available at BOOKSTRAND.COM

Siren Publishing, Inc. www.SirenPublishing.com