Seduced by Wolves

Seduced by Wolves By Kristina Lee

© Copyright by Kristina Lee, June 2012 © Cover Art by Eliza Black, June 2012 ISBN 978-1-60394-706-0 Published by New Concepts Publishing Lake Park, GA 31636 www.store.newconceptspublishing.com

This is a work of fiction. All characters, events, and places are of the author’s imagination and not to be confused with fact. Any resemblance to living persons or events is merely coincidence.

Chapter One Her heavenly scent—a mixture of earthy spices that brought to mind sinfilled nights under the full moon—allowed Zane to track the unknown female, wolf and man frowning in unison as they traveled deeper into a garbage strewn alley under the cover of night. “Shit,” he breathed to his partner as the unmistakable scent of blood rose up to mingle with her delicate one, propelling him faster through darkness. Her terrified scream shattered all hope of reaching her before the rogue did. His wolf howled to be unleashed, to protect the mate he sought to find and claim. He’d be damned if he’d lose her now that he finally located the lass. Rounding a corner, he growled a last warning to his lost Packmate. Rage exploded from within as the woman’s attacker sent her sailing into a wall, her head connecting with a brick. Zane attacked before her crumpled form could hit the cold, wet ground. The rogue sliced out before Zane could shift into wolf form, claws sinking into his hardened chest and slamming him back into the alley wall. He ignored the bloody pock marks on his skin, having long since learned to isolate pain, connecting his fist with his enemy’s snout and driving the wolf off. Size wise, they were evenly matched despite him not shifting.

And strength? He hadn’t become Alpha of his Pack by lacking in either the muscle mass or his fighting skill—having never been bested yet. But he possessed no pity for a fellow Pack member that turned and preyed on humans. “Come and meet death,” he snarled at the circling rogue. The wolf growled, razor sharp teeth glinting beneath the sickly yellow beam of the single alley light. Whatever reason this woman strayed so deeply into the alley in the thick of night, painting herself in vulnerability, would be addressed. From this moment on she was his to protect. The rogue hissed, sprinting forward and jumped for his neck just like Zane anticipated. Battle tested instinct had him twisting his body to the side, deflecting the bulk of the attack by using the concrete wall behind him. One paw clipped his face and he grabbed it, pinning his opponent. With preternatural speed he swung his other elbow back, easily crushing the wolf’s head into the concrete and ending his life. The rogue fell to the ground, his body already beginning to resume human form in death. He turned his back on the creature, immediately relieved to find his partner tending to the petite woman across the alley. “Is she okay?” Zane swiped at the bleeding wound on his cheek, no doubt rubbing more dirt into it in the process as he glanced at Cory and the unconscious girl, fear twisting his gut into a violent knot. He struggled to find enough air. “Looks like she hit her head fairly hard but the blood is just a surface wound.” Gut-clenching panic lingered just below the surface, second only to his rage at not preventing this woman harm. He fought to suppress the desire to shift fully into wolf and tear out the dead rogue’s throat. As Alpha of the ShadowRidge Pack, no one would question his decision. “A scratch,” Cory added firmly when he couldn’t take his gaze from the pair of them. Only when his lover stroked a roughened hand across her pale face, tenderly cradling her in his arms did the icy grip of doubt release him. Satisfied she

was at least receiving sensory comfort from one of them, he bent to retrieve her purse, rifling through it until he located her wallet. “Her I.D. identifies her as Selena James, twenty-six. Says she’s five foot four and one hundred twenty pounds.” Cory grunted and he caught the scowl on his chiseled face, a lock of his toolong chestnut hair covering one hazel eye. “Shit, she’s practically still a child. So small.” Zane shrugged, studying the pair of them sitting on the wet, garbage filled ground. Cory now had her entire body scooped into his strong arms, petting her back softly not much different from the way always he soothed Zane in and out of bed. Of the two, Cory exuded more tenderness, effortlessly giving the touch their kind craved. But tonight, Zane desperately ached to be the giver. Never had one woman’s beauty brought the powerful wolf to his knees but Selena damn near did it even now—unconscious. Blood rushed through his tense body, mingling with his adrenaline from the hunt. “Small but not too small.” He smiled at Cory’s shock before the virile male’s face lit in a devastating grin. Turning, Zane nudged the dead rogue with the toe of his boot, not eager to take his eyes off the injured girl and his lover but knowing clean-up would be necessary. If Pack started leaving their dead in the alleys, law enforcement would start asking questions, demanding human-style justice. “That’s the third damn rogue this week, Zane.” He nodded and dug in his pocket for his cell phone. Pretty awful considering it was only Wednesday. “Hopefully now that we found her, we can stop this unnecessary bloodshed.” Flipping the slim metal device open, he punched in a text message to one of his fellow hunters giving location and quick details. By the time he returned the phone to his pocket, he could taste Cory’s growing unease, the foreign bitter flavor on his tongue unexpected from the seasoned warrior and intimate friend.

He raised an eyebrow toward them, silently waiting for an explanation. Cory never needed much prodding. It was part of the reason he treasured his relationship with the other hunter. “You really think she’s the one?” Cory asked abruptly. Surprised by his lover’s doubt, he took three easy steps and arrived at their side, kneeling on the cold ground and placing a warm hand over Cory’s. The other male’s tension eased. “Her scent is like a poison to my senses. One I’d willingly die for a taste of.” Zane skimmed his hand away from Cory’s and through the silken strands of Selena’s hair that broke free from her binding. Her delicate scent had his blood boiling, his cock hardening and fear filling him all at once. Yes, she was the one. “Besides, Lance sensed some connection too otherwise he wouldn’t have let her live as long as he did.” Having touched her once, Zane couldn’t seem to drag his hand away as he slowly outlined the slender bones of her face, learning every minute detail from the high cheek bones to the small, button nose and the inch long scar just below her ear. She was beautiful, but would she accept him for who he was? Would he even give her the choice not to? “But she’s human.” Cory whispered, doubt still thickening his voice. “As we partly are too,” he stated. The local humans lived in coexistence with their Pack for years now. They socialized, married, mated and bred. Zane leaned forward over the pair and brushed the errant strand of hair out of his eyes, startled he hadn’t anticipated this reaction from his partner. He wasn’t going to allow Cory second thoughts now. He wouldn’t lose his lover to placate the Pack. Cory shrugged, his shoulders relaxing. “If you think this wee thing can heal our pack then I trust you.” Still kneeling on the ground, he reached underneath her slender body and took her from Cory, cradling her to his chest and struggling over the thickness of emotion raging at seeing her so vulnerable like this. She was

light and slim but he sensed a strength within her that even now soothed his beast. “Do you not like her, love?” He ran his fingers down the exposed column of her neck, feeling the proud beat of her heart. Yes, she was strong. He itched to enjoy a thorough exploration of her creamy skin. “She’s pleasant enough on the eyes,” his partner grunted. Zane continued to caress her, granting himself the liberty of petting over her breast, stomach and thigh. She wore simple hospital scrubs that reeked of antiseptic and a bare jacket not sufficient enough for the chilly weather. Even unconscious his touch warmed her, a rosy heat flooding her pale cheeks. Yes, she was easy on the eyes. A blonde bombshell custom made for him. He closed his eyes and inhaled the essence of her, easily picturing her tiny hands on his chest, her gentle human nails scratching his roughened skin as he brought her to orgasm over and over. It was the first time in ages his imaginations hadn’t included Cory, and the subtle change in temperature told him his lover had noticed. “Will you welcome her into our bed?” he asked softly. Opening his eyes, Zane watched the pained expression of his longtime lover shift into one unreadable. The handsome lines of his face Zane always admired contorted as he pushed to stand. “She’s your mate.” He ground out caustically. Zane stood also, wrapping his injured mate tightly in his arms, closing the distance between them. “No more or less than you are.” He knew Cory hated the fact this new connection didn’t involve all three of them. For years it remained the two lovers, the Pack aware and accepting of their Alpha’s lifestyle. But as Alpha, the Pack’s needs came first and Selena was key to helping the survival of his Pack. It was a choice he didn’t want to make. One he hoped he wouldn’t have to. “If I was your damn mate, we wouldn’t need this tiny lass to unite our Pack, would we?”

He stood still, letting Cory vent his growing frustration. His uncertainty was a liability, breaking his focus. He fully intended to soothe his lover’s doubts just as soon as they returned home and tended Selena’s wounds. He scraped his eyes over Cory’s chiseled frame, lingering on his favorite spots. Tonight he would love Cory in a way that eliminated his fear, sucking, biting, and pounding his way right back into the other dominant male’s heart. Cory stepped closer, brushing against his side and laying a hand across Selena’s flushed cheek. “Aye, I’ll share our bed with her. Though I doubt very much the wee thing will take us both.” His lips tilted into a devilish grin feeling every bit confident the petite vixen would have no troubles whatsoever. He took care of his own—always. Cory did likewise. Together, she wouldn’t stand a chance. “Then let’s take her home.” The sooner Selena accepted her position in the Pack, the better off they would all be. As an Alpha’s mate, her presence would heal, comfort those in need. Something his Pack was in desperate need for as more youth began thirsting for blood. In return, Zane and Cory would make sure her every need was met. “It’s time we show our mate what loving two wolves is all about.”

Chapter Two Selena curled up in bed, tugging the heavy comforter over her throbbing head to block out the morning light. Groaning, she snuggled deeper into the soft flannel sheets, savoring the comforting sensation of the worn material against her bare skin—a true luxury to sleeping naked. Burying her nose into the feather pillow, she inhaled the exotic aroma of spicy aftershave and damp forest, the intriguing scents triggering her to remember pieces of last night’s erotic dream. The voice had been pure sin—all rich, deep and velvety—reassuring her she was safe, that she would only know pleasure now in his bed. She hadn’t seen him in her dream, it was too dark, but she trusted his decadent voice. Had even thought at the time his thick words alone would be enough to bring her to orgasm. Ridiculous, really. But then sometimes dreams were.

But there had been nothing preposterous about the hands stroking her body when he spoke in that soft bedroom voice. Firm and warm, they melted her where she lay. In fact, it was the last thing she remembered. Licking her lips from the lingering foreign scents, it took another three breaths for her mind to suppress her libido—fear paralyzing her beneath the sheets. There shouldn’t be aftershave on my pillow, she wanted to scream as her heart scrambled in her chest. And I don’t own flannel sheets, she sobbed silently as she started hyperventilating, too shocked to open her eyes. The horror of the prior night replayed in fast-forward in her mind. The desire to help the injured, her poisonous fear once attacked. Running her hand over her quivering stomach, she said a silent prayer of thanks she was still alive. Naked, but alive. So where was she? Forcing herself to believe she couldn’t possibly still be with the attacker— after all there was that peculiar dream—she carefully fisted the sheets, bunching the fabric in her trembling hands until she could peek through. “Good morning, Selena.” Eyes wide, she stared at the handsome stranger almost disappointed he didn’t own the commanding voice from her dream. He towered above her next to the bed, a mouthwatering combination of long, lean muscle and tanned skin. Her heart tripped as she scanned down what seemed endless miles of bare chest. He chuckled softly right about when her perverted gaze reached the dusting of hair just beneath his navel and she blushed, her eyes locking back on his hazel, amused ones. “Please tell me I’m still dreaming,” she breathed. He bent beside her in one fluid movement, reaching out to run his fingers through her tangled hair. She bit back a deep sigh. “Having a pleasurable dream, were you?” he asked as his lips curved into an unmistakably hungry grin.

“Well, there was this voice.” She bit her lip, shocked by her admission not to mention complete lack of fear. The hand in her hair slid down the side of her face, tracing the outline of her lips until she parted them for him. He brushed the soft pad of his forefinger against her tongue and she nearly drooled. “I could make you forget all about that voice, Selena.” It was an erotic promise she had no doubt he could easily fulfill. Only greedy—starving—sex fiend she was, she wanted him and the voice. Sign number one you’ve lost your marbles—flirt with dangerous strangers. He dipped his head, teasing the sensitive skin of her throat with his firm lips, his teeth playfully nipping at her quickened pulse. She shivered from the intimate touch but caught his hand just before it pushed the covers low enough to expose her tightened nipples. “What’s your name?” she asked, breathless, wondering if a name would make the situation seem more like reality. Recharge her common sense. Twining his fingers with hers, he tugged her hand high and pinned it by her head. Still, he sampled her flush skin, the heat of his tongue leaving her in a state of mindless pleasure. Sign number two—allow said strangers to touch you without reproach. “Cory.” His breath was a hot pulse over her mouth. Her lips trembled as she resisted the urge to lift her head the centimeter separating them and taste him back. “Do you always try seducing strangers who find themselves unable to remember how they wound up naked in your bed, Cory?” He laughed again, the masculine chuckle skittering down her spine until it collided with the already pooling puddle of growing desire. Voice or not, she wanted him, and feared they both knew it. “Not usually,” he whispered deeply, easily slipping his free hand beneath the soft sheet and caressing over the tight peak of one aching breast. “But then this isn’t my bed.”

Shocked by both his statement and the very deliberate brush of his fingertips over her moist sex, she swallowed too hard and coughed. Her cheeks burned. “It isn’t?” she choked out. A warning sign that you’re marbles are never coming back—relish the wicked touches of dangerous strangers. He shook his head gently, strands of his tawny hair brushing over her neck. For a moment, his hand paused on her thigh as if deciding whether to cop another feel. Please do! Her body shouted. “Well, not all the time.” Confused, turned on and not nearly as afraid as she should be, she propped herself up on her elbows, gripping the sheet to her chest in one last ditch at propriety. “Then exactly whose bed am I in?” she whispered as Cory’s eyes darkened, his large hand squeezing over her hip. “Mine.” Selena turned, the truth slapping harshly against her, tightening her throat. The voice from her dream, the realization that it probably wasn’t a dream, and the intense physical desire to jump up and run into the stranger’s arms like he was a treasured lover she feared she’d never see again. Cory’s fingers closed tighter on her, snapping her back to the present. “I didn’t think you’d wake so soon after the night you had.” She wondered vaguely whether he referred to the attack or the bits and pieces she remembered of being on the receiving end of his heavenly touch. Dear Lord, what had she done? I’d let that voice seduce my marbles away any day, she thought with the detached amusement of one without marbles. “Selena?” She heard the unmasked concern in his thick voice but found it impossible to focus on. Like Cory, he wore no shirt, his glorious, chiseled body a feast she ached to run her hands—and mouth—over. Her heart raced as something shifted inside her, an indescribable sense of rightness. The knowledge that no harm would come to her here. Just like he had promised.

Selena shook her head. What in the world was wrong with her? Was she really lusting for both of these dark strangers? “How are you feeling, Selena?” Hearing him say her name—like he whispered it seductively in her ear and not from across the room—left her trembling. Cory stroked his fingers over her thigh, teasing her by nearing her throbbing sex as if reminding her not to forget him. Like that was possible. She touched the tips of her fingers to his, giving reassurance and trying to find something to ground her from getting lost in his stare. “Um, I ache.” She muttered dry-mouthed. Eyes the color of dark chocolate, a perfect fit with the decadent voice soaked her in. Every inch lower his gaze traveled heated another foot of her body as if she would start on fire from the intense sensation if he didn’t stop soon. She studied the angles of his chiseled face, searching for recognition but finding none. Yet a strange sense of familiar clung to him. Warning signs might have gone off in her head had her marbles not been stolen. “I imagine. You took quite a blow last night.” Reality knocked her backward with similar force to the blow he referenced. “Yeah, about that.” Suddenly all too aware of the liberties she allowed Cory, of how inappropriate her actions were, she scooped her legs to her chest and curled herself into a ball. Just because one bad guy was out of the picture didn’t mean these were golden boys either. No matter that her body all but screamed for her to give into this invisible tug of desire. “He’ll never harm you again,” the new stranger assured with almost too much confidence. She looked first to the man standing across the room and then sideways to Cory. “Did you—” She choked, the words refusing to form. Dear Lord how she wanted to lean into the radiating warmth of the virile man beside her, to be held in one of their strong arms and forget the whole scenario ever happened. Almost an erotic dream come true.

“He was a rogue wolf determined to kill you.” Her eyes widened, her hands automatically flying to cover the gasp fleeing her mouth. Wolf! But then that meant—“You’re wolves too.” When they both nodded, she dropped her forehead to rest on her knees, closing her eyes as if she could be like Dorothy and wish this all away. First the attack, now she was surrounded by wolves, men who were—quite successfully--eliciting the most sexual of responses from her with just a slight whisper of their voices. She stiffened when what she assumed was Cory’s hand stroked down her bare back, slow and smooth. Within seconds she responded to the gentle touch, relaxing from the intimate petting. No matter how outrageous the situation, Selena still couldn’t shake the overwhelming sense of rightness that cloaked the three of them, and easily found herself becoming content once more. “That’s better,” Cory’s voice whispered against her hair. “You have nothing to be afraid of here, Selena. Zane and I just wanted to make sure you were alright. Safe.” Oh, how she wanted to believe them. Despite the horrifying circumstances that brought her to this place, she had never felt more cherished or loved. And all in the span of minutes. How many years had she spent chasing after that elusive feeling only to uncover it in the most unlikely of places? It was a drug to her starved senses, a euphoria rivaling any produced during sex. Selena wanted to bottle every moment of this bliss to carry with her when she left. Because the people that brought joy into her life always left. She looked up, startled such minimal time could bring these deep emotions rushing to the surface. And that’s when she noticed the puckered marks on the newcomer’s—Zane’s—chest. He had been on the receiving end of that rogue’s claws. He had been injured because of her. Knots twisted her stomach. “You were hurt!” Selena sprung from the bed before rational thought intervened to remind her of her nudity, desperate to soothe the pains of those brave enough to

put their necks on the line for little old her. These men who already seemed to care about her—deeply. And who in all likelihood never intended to return her marbles.

Chapter Three Unlike Cory, Zane never spent much time lingering over the sight of a woman’s breasts when they invited one to bed. He much preferred a shapely ass he could spank. Therefore it was a considerable surprise when he couldn’t drag his gaze away from Selena’s modest chest as she scrambled to his side. Creamy white skin was offset by the dark pink of her areolas, her nipples already tight, evidence of Cory’s success at arousing her. His mouth watered for a thorough taste. “They’re just scratches, Selena,” he hissed out as she ran her smooth fingers over the scabbing claw marks on his chest. They weren’t the first or last. Her delicate scent—the intoxicating signature of his one and only mate— coupled with the casual brush of bare skin to bare skin sucked him into a vortex of need. Thick, delirious, overpowering desire. He ached to bite her, to claim her as his own and two of the three people here knew it. Selena’s gentle touch continued to torment his control as she slid her hands higher to where the bastard sliced his face. She gasped, her fingers trembling but not pulling away. “You need stitches,” she whispered. Zane lifted his hand to hers and slowly, smoothly, drew her fingers down his side. By accepting her rightful place as his mate, she would become the Pack healer, and knowing her immediate concern for his wounds was genuine reinforced the desire to make her his. She could help his Pack gain so much. “It will heal with a little more sleep. Wolf, remember?” She nodded, the warm heat of her skin lighting a fire in his groin. He held her hand, unable to let go but unwilling to force anything on her no matter his hunger bordered on out of control. And when her green eyes met his, he knew control was the last thing he wanted to have.

“Right,” she said, licking her full pink lips in a slow, sinful move. He scented her growing arousal, a heady aphrodisiac, as she became more aware of the intimacy of her actions and less concerned with his minor injuries. As expected she pulled away, only he didn’t release her from his hold. He couldn’t. Heat colored her cheeks. “Stay,” he insisted softly. Selena nodded and he knew she felt the pull of their mating bond. In some basic way it reassured her all would be well as it did the same for him. It helped her to trust his words, his actions. And if she accepted her rightful position in the Pack—as his mate and Cory’s—all would be well. She licked her lips nervously this time, her soft, moist tongue teasing him. His hunger raged, a fire burning to be quenched by her alone. Slipping his hands possessively behind her slender back, he leaned down and pulled her into him. The tips of her nipples grated against his flesh. “I’m going to kiss you,” he warned on a growl before crushing his lips against hers in a fiery explosion of raw, primitive need. Her full lips were soft and pliable as he greedily pushed his tongue past them, eager to lick every inch of her. She tasted like warm honey and everything sweet in life. Selena gripped his waist frantically as he deepened the kiss, exploring the depths of her delicious mouth with unmatched fervor. Every inch of her fit perfectly against him, leaving no doubt in his mind she belonged to him—or would soon enough. Her pulse pounded in her chest, beating in rapid synchrony with his. All his senses focused on her as he ravaged that delicious mouth, thankful Cory had left it untouched for him to discover first. Though he knew the other wolf had been tempted. Her arousal cloaked them, as his hands trailed over smooth, bare curves. The air shifted suddenly and he felt Cory’s solid presence a moment before the other man placed his roughened hands on his shoulders. The familiar touch shocked him from his insatiable hunger allowing control to temporarily reestablish.

On a growl he pulled away from the sensual poison of her lips and drew a ragged breath. Her satisfied sigh filled the silent air before Cory’s smooth voice wrapped around them. “I can leave you two be.” He shivered as Cory’s fingers weaved down his spine and over his ass but turned to reach for his lover’s hand before he could walk away. “No, stay.” He stated much like his plea to Selena only moments ago. Cory, however, wasn’t drugged by the mating pull. He cupped his hand on Zane’s shoulder and pushed him lightly away as he shook his head to decline. “She’s not ready.” “Ready for what?” Selena whispered as she slipped her hand out of his. A noxious fear, similar to the one they had tracked her by last night, filled the space between them. Groaning, he raked a hand through his short hair before blowing out a frustrated sigh. This was just fucking purr-fect. Stepping slowly toward Selena, he bit back an agitated growl when she backed further away until bumping into the bed once more. He stopped, both seeing the fear in her widened green eyes and sensing her sudden tension. Zane retraced his steps back to Cory, horrified his mate could possibly fear him. Cory smoothed a hand over the small of his back, not nearly enough to compensate. The notion sickened his stomach as Selena repeated louder now, “Ready for what, Zane?” She grabbed the nearest piece of clothing—his oversized t-shirt—and threw it over her tempting body. “What’s Cory talking about?” she demanded, her anger masking any lingering desire. Not that he scented any. Zane sensed Cory’s solid presence beside him, steady but doubtful. Selena needed the truth in its entirety right from the beginning. But evidently giving it to her meant he needed to convince both his mates it would succeed. Failure and the resulting downfall of the Pack was not an option for him. “You have nothing to be afraid of, Selena. I promise you can trust me.” Green eyes closed momentarily as a soft breath escaped her full lips. Lips still swollen from his harsh, demanding kiss. Lips not nearly explored

enough. She opened her vibrant eyes and stared at him through partially lowered, long lashes. “I trust you some. You saved my life last night.” The fear dissipated into the air a bit. Good. Of course she didn’t know—yet— that his sole purpose was to bring her pleasure, but his wolf might have tore from its cage had she continued to be frightened of him. Turning, he reached for Cory’s receding hand. The other dominant male shook his head, his shoulder length hair brushing the sides of his face. Fighting the urge to demand his touch, he waited, pleading with his eyes for his lover to accept his decision. He would not take Selena as his mate alone. He had no intention of isolating Cory, the man meant too much, was ingrained into his soul too deep. His plan would work. On a low growl, Cory acquiesced. The second their roughened hands clasped together, he pulled Cory to his side, reveling in the comfortable slide of their bodies and turned back to the fiery healer. He smiled. “I asked Cory to stay because he’s my partner.” Uncertainty flashed across her emerald eyes and she wrapped her arms tight around her chest, the sight of her petite frame dwarfed in his shirt intoxicating. He hungered to lick every sinful inch of her. “Oh.” Her voice was soft, his true meaning still eluding her. When Cory smoothed a hand across his bare chest, wrapping around his side to press close, she took a step back, recognition dawning instantly. “Oh!” Heat colored her high cheeks as she worried her delicate lower lip between white teeth. “But you just kissed me.” Zane watched the struggle to piece it all together play across her face even as he sensed Cory withdrawing from him. Not physically yet but emotionally he was locking himself up. He tugged him harder to his side, not willing to part with either of them. Yet. Ever. “I kissed you because you, love, are my mate.” She shook her head, golden strands of hair swishing around her. Her fists clenched against her stomach as if the very concept appalled her. Anger spiked in his gut.

“Mate? That’s impossible. I’m human.” Surprisingly it was Cory who ground him back in reality when he raked his nails over the bare flesh at his waist, soothing the panic of his beast and restoring balance. Knowing his lover could reassure him even when Cory doubted the viability of his mating threesome plan, squeezed his heart like only Cory could. He kept his gaze on Selena, determined for her to understand. Determined to return to the desire she suddenly kept carefully concealed. “Shifters and humans mate and marry all the time.” She fingered the hem of his t-shirt while pondering that truth, the sight of her near his bed delectable. His cock stiffened in anticipation, his body wound tight with roaring hunger. Selena was his mate whether she believed it yet or not. Eventually he would have her in his bed. But not without Cory which meant dealing with ghosts from his lover’s past he hadn’t anticipated. “But you just admitted you’re gay.” Selena blushed when she spoke and he took a step forward, aching to lick the heated trail down her neck. “And I love Cory very much, have now for years.” When Cory tugged the waistband of his jeans to slow his movement, he pulled the other wolf right along with him, his desire to touch Selena raging out of control. With a reverent stroke, he brushed his fingers through her silken hair, pushing the wavy length off her shoulder. “However, no matter how strong my feelings for him are, I cannot ignore the bond between us.” Eyes the color of lush summer grass searched his. He massaged the nape of her neck, needing to touch her, nearly losing himself in the sight and smell of her. Dear God she was perfect. And she was his. It was a strange mixture of desire—one he’d never imagined having with anyone other than Cory. “Can I ignore it?” Cory growled beside him before her denial even registered. Zane stroked his lover’s back, the contact an attempt to soothe them both. The notion she might not feel the same drugged pull left him unsettled. He dropped his

fingers from her shoulder while Cory slipped one hand beneath the waistband of his jeans to slide over his ass. “Do you really want to?” Cory asked with that rough seductive whisper that always tightened his balls. The same one that promised pleasure was in short order. Thankful his lover was willing to fight for this, for him, Zane waited to see what he would do. Perhaps he misinterpreted Cory’s hesitation earlier. Perhaps the tragedy of their past wasn’t skewing his willingness to love Selena with him. “When you said I wasn’t ready, you were implying to be with both of you.” The rose-colored heat now spread across her cheeks and neck, dipping out of sight beneath the collar of his t-shirt. He itched to tear it off, to expose her soft, supple skin to their view. Cory stepped in front of him, leaning back to rub his ass against Zane’s cock, the denim barrier frustrating the hell out of him. “Yes.” Cory finally answered Selena. Zane’s fingers dug at Cory’s waist, prolonging the teasing moment, taking the edge off his hunger for Selena. But the second he peered over his lover’s shoulder into her soft eyes, the burn was back, ripping through his very core until he didn’t think he could resist the temptation any longer. “How can you be so sure I even want to stay here with one of you?” Her low whisper roared in his sensitive ears, but instead of dampening his desires her words ratcheted his need even hotter and he pushed closer until all that stood between her and him was Cory’s muscled frame. “You haven’t spent much time around us wolves have you?” Both Cory’s raw, masculine scent and Selena’s gentle perfume tangled to intoxicate him. “Why do you say that?” She pushed her fingers behind her and he watched as they crawled across the wall, enjoying the thought she had nowhere left to go. “Because

otherwise you’d know that we never back down from a challenge, especially one as succulent as you.”

Chapter Four Selena couldn’t close her gaping mouth fast enough. “I—” Two wild pairs of hungry eyes devoured her with heated glances, their looks all but promising sinful hours to come. Feeling exposed despite the almost knee-length t-shirt, she worried her lower lip and struggled to contain the heat racing through her blood. And ignore the moisture now coating the tops of her thighs. “What’s the matter, little one? Wolf got your tongue?” Cory moved to her right, his skilled fingers caressing past the thick material of the shirt until he reached bare thigh. Then he slipped them up a long inch, touching the moisture dampening her thighs and smiling. At the same time, Zane moved to her other side, his hands stroking the blush she knew covered every inch of her face. His touch sizzled, burned hotter than anything she’d ever known. His fingers were callused, and his strokes firm but the way he learned her face with each measured caress cracked at her resolve to—what? Suddenly she couldn’t remember her reasons for not wanting to revel in this erotic encounter. If the tenderness she witnessed in these men earlier wasn’t enough, the fact that they seemed bent on worshipping her pushed her clear over the edge of craving everything they wanted to offer. She whimpered when Cory smoothed a finger across the slick folds of her sex, Zane using the opportunity to dip closer and taste her lips once more. The thoroughness with which they touched her bordered on out of this world possession, her senses screaming from the erotic overload. Still that didn’t stop her from greedily drinking in Zane’s taste, running her tongue past his lips and over his teeth. With each passing second she grew hungrier, needier, as both men continued to assault her senses. The more she pushed at Zane, the rougher he grew, nipping her lips, grazing over her cheek and neck. Cory moved his

thumb higher to toy with her clit, and she bucked against them both aching for a touch more satisfying. She tilted her head toward the ceiling, dragging much needed air into her starved lungs as four hands lit her body on fire. Her skin sizzled as if on fire, the burn spreading outward to encompass every inch of skin that touched theirs. Zane tugged hard on her nipples the same moment Cory’s finger sunk deep inside her hot, wet core. She whimpered and sagged against the wall, the pleasure buckling her knees. It was as if the duo acted as one, their attentions to her pleasure single minded. Teeth scraped over the tender flesh of her breasts, Zane’s hot mouth sucking one tightened peak in. Cory added a second finger to her pussy, his thumb more forceful with the erotic circling of her clit. She began to pant in earnest now, need and fire colliding deep in her belly until there was nothing left but to explode. Selena screamed as the first orgasm crashed through her, an alien sensation after ages of dry spells. Her body buckled against Zane’s, held up by his hands while he continued to devour her sensitized breasts. Only when the last wave of pleasure subsided did either man slow their devotions. “So maybe I want both of you after all,” she sighed. Zane growled against her throat, flicking his tongue in a sinfully erotic move over her throbbing pulse point. Just when she thought she’d combust a second time with a few more seconds of their duo of pleasurable tactics, Cory pulled his hands away and stepped back. She scrambled forward to pull him back but failed. “Right now you should be with just one of us. As your mate, Zane’s the obvious choice.” It didn’t matter that she’d only held the attention of these two men for mere hours, as Cory stepped further away from where she needed him to be her heart trembled over the sudden loss. Zane’s heat enveloped her as he pulled her tight to his chest, easing the shocking change of momentum.

“Cory.” Every muscle she brushed against strained with his single word. But regardless of the anger coating his deep voice, she thought he struggled with the same sense of loss she did. She shook her head, fearing she’d lose her mind if she dwindled on that thought. Looking back to Cory, his light eyes were rimmed with familiar emotions. Ones she had spent a lifetime battling herself. Doubt. Fear. Rejection. Certainly he couldn’t be worried she’d turn him down after all but orgasming twice from his finger’s alone? “But I just said—” He shook his head when she stepped once more toward him, raking one hand through his wavy hair. His sigh echoed deep inside her, squeezing her heart. “I know what you said but I can’t do this.” Confused over the sudden shift in his personality—one that seemed strikingly familiar to her own mantra of never putting herself out there emotionally—Selena was grateful for Zane’s solid presence beside her and eagerly accepted the comfort of his firm embrace. “Cory this isn’t the same.” Zane stroked his hands through her hair and down her back, curving to her body as if she were an extension of his own skin. She shivered from the possessive petting, her mind struggling to clear away the dense fog of uncertainty and mend whatever fear Cory let dictate him. So what wasn’t the same? “Sorry, Zane. I’m not willing to take that chance.” She turned, startled by the raw misery in his raspy voice, her healing nature needing to comfort his obvious pain. However the moment their eyes locked he turned from them, striding from the room with brisk, clipped steps. **** “Damn.” Zane fought through his rising anger as he pulled Selena tighter to his body, breathing in her refreshing aura. They had talked about claiming Zane’s

mate together—at length—and not once had he thought his lover would acquiesce. Cory pushed him harder than he’d ever allowed anyone to push him into seeking out his mate. His temperamental lover had another thing coming if he believed for one second that a little spat would change Zane’s mind on the matter. He intended to have them both, greedy bastard he was. “Do you need to go after him?” Her warm breath tickled his bare chest, reigniting the fire in his belly. “If only it were that simple.” Cory’s past—their past—would never be a topic open to discussion. At least not a productive one. In the ten years since Cory’s mate’s death, he could count on one hand the number of times they’d ever mentioned that fateful week. It was clear Cory still believed their love for each other played a part in Linnea’s untimely death. And that continuing to love each other now would possibly impact Selena in a similar fashion. “Will he be okay?” Selena smoothed her soft hands over the rough ridges of his spine, working her way up to his shoulder blades and pressing closer. Her genuine concern melted his heart, her soothing touch just the right blend of comforting with a hint of need. “Will you?” she whispered between kisses across his chest. Distracted by her quickening caresses and the sizzle of the mating pull, he nodded when she lifted her startling eyes to his, his cock tightening right along with his throat. Now, even more so than before, he needed Selena’s touch, craved the opportunity to lose himself in the ecstasy that waited between her legs. Swallowing hard he broke the heated contact, walking them to his bed and settling down on the firm mattress. When she sat beside him, her legs brushing his and her fingers idly toying with the healing claw marks on his chest, he sighed. He never believed there was a woman capable of being his perfect match—just Cory. But here she sat and he couldn’t bear to lose either one of them. “You must understand something about wolves, Selena. We never share.”

**** Selena ignored the sizable tremor snaking down her spine. Possessive didn’t even begin to cover either of these men. If she wasn’t careful, they’d brand her before she knew it. “So Cory believes anything outside of just me and you is doomed from the start.” When the blissful visions of four hands, two mouths and—she swallowed— two cocks loving her subsided, she could easily follow his train of thought. But then why find her in the first place when it was clear the love these two men shared flowed deeper than any she’d seen? “Cory believes that I should let him walk away.” Snapping her gaze to Zane’s, she smoothed one hand up over his wide shoulder cringing with each bitter word. She shook her head. There was no chance in hell she would be the cause of their love’s demise. “All because I’m your mate? I mean that’s a lot of pressure on someone you just met.” She’d never paid much attention to the women in the hospital who dated the shifters and she didn’t know truth from fiction when it came to mating, laws or their social skills. But when Zane rolled the back of one hand over her heated cheek, pausing to slide his thumb across her parted lips, she knew she belonged right here. His was the only thing she wanted to be. “Does it feel like we just met?” He continued his sensual journey, tickling the sensitive skin by her ear before moving to cup the base of her neck. He inched her closer. “But we hardly know each other!” Her words lacked any real argument, her body too distracted by the promise of another kiss to muster up a solid complaint. Such a wanton lush. His warm exhale tortured her senses and she leaned forward all too ready to get to know him—intimately. “Perhaps, but my wolf accepts who you are—an integral part of my soul.” Her heart pounded frantically in her chest. His words were so touching she nearly choked on her own tongue. She’d let him wax poetic all day long.

“Can you understand that?” he asked with his mouth brushing hers, his tongue toying with her as if worried she’d need more convincing than his heartfelt words alone. Her skin tingled with new energy as his hands pushed beneath her shirt to caress the quivering muscles of her thighs and stomach. “So you mean forever, just like that?” Saying the word out loud, did nothing to dampen her hope, nothing to jar her back to reality. She spent a lifetime believing forever with a man was unattainable, that this ultimate commitment would never be hers. Hadn’t seeing her parents walk out on her as a child taught her that? “Forever.” Zane’s words caressed her fears, soothed the aching doubt even as his hands skimmed higher, bunching the shirt until her breasts were exposed to his view. At the moment she wasn’t sure which made her the bigger fool— believing the tenderness in his voice that he would treasure her always or not believing and walking away from something with the potential to be supremely satisfying. “Just.” He pushed the t-shirt over her head and leaned into her until she fell backward onto the rumpled sheets. “Like.” He dropped his head to her stomach, grazing her belly with his lips and teeth, searing a path of liquid heat everywhere he went. “That.” Zane lifted his hands to her heavy breasts, massaging the still taut peaks between rough fingers. Selena trembled beneath his touch, need coursing through every vein and filling every pore. She bucked when Zane nipped at the tender flesh of her waist, moaned as his tongue teased lower toward the light patch of curls, and cried out when he pinched the tender tips of her breasts. “More!” Shifting his hands down her sides, he laughed against her sex as he pushed her legs apart which only made her squirm more frantically. He blew against her moist opening and she fisted the sheets, panting in anticipation. Never had she desired a man like this, never ached to with such intensity. The heat burning inside her made her sweat—hopefully something along the lines of pheromones.

And still he had yet to touch her with his tongue. “Zane?” she pleaded on a whimper as his breath teased the hot swollen nub of her clit. She jerked against him when he finally slipped his tongue inside her, his hands restraining her from lifting off the mattress while he drank her in. She lifted her hands to run through his thick hair, pushing him closer, aching for something thicker, heavier inside her. His finger caught her off guard and she cried out as he pumped it inside her alongside his tongue, never slowing his frenzied pace. Need coiled tight in her belly, spiraling her higher and higher until she thought her body would snap at the waist from the building pressure. When he nipped at her clit she shattered, unable to breathe or move as fireworks danced across her nerves, flashing behind closed eyelids and shooting her over the edge into bliss. “I could lay here and lick you all day long.” Too satisfied to blush, or maybe too hot for anymore color to fill her cheeks, she sucked air into her lungs, carefully unclenching her fingers from his hair. Within in seconds he was flush against her, his pulsing shaft throbbing against her still quaking clit. When he dipped his head to hers, she licked his lips, tasting her juices and seeing the fire flash in his dark eyes. She counted her blessings she religiously took her birth control because she didn’t have the heart to ask if he had a condom, knowing the answer was probably no seeing as how he made love regularly to a man and somehow figured with his promise of forever, he wouldn’t see the point. On a nod her body silently screaming yes, more, now, he slid his cock inside her, sinking until they were hip to hip. Complete. Zane growled and something primitive inside her responded to the seductive, low noise. Gripping the hard curves of his ass, she raked her nails along his bare flesh moving higher as he began a fast dance with their bodies. “God you fit me perfectly.” She bit the skin just above his nipple—the highest point she could reach— trying not to laugh at how unfitting his description was. Zane pounded into

her faster, driving her need higher and higher at an unprecedented speed. She could feel his firm muscles work and vibrate against hers, his skin nearly too hot to brush against. When he lifted above her, undulating his hips in furious, rough scrapes against hers, Selena scratched his chest surprised by the wild impulses he drew from deep within her. Zane growled again, his voice deep, gravelly and on the next thrust she crashed over the edge, this orgasm mingling with the aftershocks of the first two. “My. God. Zane.” Reduced to a shivering, quaking, sated form, she felt Zane stiffen inside her, enjoyed the hard scrape of his fingers and nails as he pulsed one last time and spilled his seed before lowering himself to cradle her in his arms. The intimacy brought tears to her eyes and she fought to swallow the sudden lump in her throat. He lifted his head, his eyes confused, puzzled and kissed the moisture dotting the corners of her eyes. “Did I hurt you?” She shook her head, the fear in his voice only adding to the sense of rightness she found in this stranger’s arms. How could one hour in his company leave her this tied in knots, this certain she could love him forever like he promised to do her? “Then why are you crying?” He wrapped her further into his arms, still remaining deep inside her. A protector to the core. Selena took a deep breath, savoring every second of this blissful interlude, committing every minute detail to memory. She smiled when Zane nudged his nose against her cheek, prodding her for an answer. “I’ve never been so complete, so happy in my life.” His smile melted the rest of her that hadn’t combusted from making love to him. Genuine, devilish, it was a grin that promised more wicked hours to come. Long, pleasurable nights of passion. “Then I better have a box of tissue handy because nothing will compete with the fulfillment of loving two wolves.”

Sliding out of her and moving to lie against her side, he slid his fingers across her shoulder and side, as if touching her anywhere relaxed him. The thought brought a smile to her lips, remembering the extreme sensations of both their hands on her body, teasing, taunting. Yes, she wanted to taste them both. “Do you really believe Cory will change his mind?” Catching the swirl of uncertainty in Zane’s dark eyes before it dissipated, her spirits dampened by the obvious pain she’d witnessed when he walked away earlier. It filled her with questions about the pair, their lives together, and their relationship. But when Zane finally answered the only question that remained was how could she help fix a love she might be responsible for breaking. “Seeing as how I have no plans to lose him, love, yes I think he will.”

Chapter Five Not even the brisk wind swirling off the hillside dampened his lifting spirits as he watched Selena laugh with a group of female shifters out walking their young ones. The deep worry lines he feared would be etched permanently on their faces started to smooth. Selena’s presence here already soothed his people even if she didn’t know it. As his mate she would become Pack healer. Her nursing background was a plus but her giving, gentle nature was her true virtue. His people needed balance, comfort. She was the perfect fit beside his commanding presence. Selena would smooth many rough edges, not just his. His chest tightened as she rocked the newest addition to their Pack in her tiny arms. Madeline Roch just turned three months last week. She was old enough to know Selena wasn’t her mommy but the intimate way they snuggled as another gust of wind blew and the sparkle lighting Selena’s eyes would have fooled most anyone. And he knew if giving her children kept such immense joy on her face, he’d do so in a heartbeat. “For a man who spent months searching for her, I’m surprised you haven’t marked her as your own yet.”

Zane tore his gaze from Selena, fighting through a drugged moment before turning his attention to Jesse. “It’s complicated,” he told one of his closest hunters and friends. Jesse looked toward his wife and daughter standing beside Selena, then past them to the narrow street lined with modest homes. “He’s been in the gym all morning, working himself ragged but I think he’ll come around soon enough.” Zane waited, thankful to know where and how Cory faired, knowing his fellow hunter hadn’t stopped by to ease his worry over that. “Go ahead and speak your mind, Jesse.” The other hunter crossed his arms over his chest, still watching the interaction between his wife and Selena. “Just think you might be asking for more than Cory can give, is all.” Zane breathed in the fresh, crisp air. While thankful his men trusted him with their thoughts—challenged him even—he wasn’t one to break under the scrutiny. The decisions he made as Alpha were respected. Without that, you had dissent. The beginnings of which were stirring in the pack youth. “Cory knew what I would demand in return for him searching Selena out.” He watched the open curiosity on the faces of the Pack youth as they passed Selena. His scent would be on her, a protection and warning of sorts, but not enough for them to understand she was his permanently. His wolf howled in his mind, aching to finish the bond. “A three way bond. Is it even possible?” Zane knew everyone had doubts but his research spoke of the possibility and he’d cling to that for all he was. Cory had been in his life for as long as he could remember. The richness of their history—sexual and otherwise— was so thickly intertwined there was no other way. He was a stubborn bastard who wasn’t letting anyone go. He gave Jesse a long stare, the end of the conversation clear. His fellow hunter cleared his throat. “In the meantime I thought you might like to know that Aden went missing last night.”

Sliding his hands deep in his jean pockets, Zane ignored the impulse to shred something with this latest piece of awful news. Aden wasn’t a Pack youth coming of age and unable to control the bloodlust. He’d been vocal about his displeasure with the Pack, a man they thought might actually be organizing the youth to try and stray. “Want me to put Cory on it?” He shook his head, knowing Cory was in no shape to track the possible rogue today. And if he was honest, he selfishly wanted to keep Cory close because he had no intention of mating Selena without his lover present too. Something that needed to happen soon so she had the full protection of the Pack. Not to mention once she officially became his mate her soothing nature could further ease the undercurrent of tension the growing number of rogues were causing. Her very presence a catalyst to soothe. “You and Jenkins go. Scope out his home and check the latest surveillance videos of the last known rogue hangout. Let me know what you find.” The early winter wind swirled around them again, carrying Selena’s potent scent and awakening the beast within. The wolf wanted to claim his mate, demanded he mark her as his own. When she turned and smiled and began to walk toward them, he felt the electric charge surge through him, mesmerized by this unseemly pull her presence caused. “I’ve got a bad feeling about this, Zane. Him vanishing at the same time your mate arrives stinks something royal.” The wolf clawed the confines of his mind, eager to find the solution to the growing number of rogues that kept multiplying despite him and his hunters work with the youth. They had no solid evidence that Aden had turned rogue, no proof that he was guilty of anything more than meeting with the now dead rogues sometime within a day of them turning. He held out his hand when Selena neared and wrapped her into the crook of one arm. “Leaving Pack protection only draws more attention to his activities. Not a smart move on his part. No matter what it coincides with.” Jesse took off toward his wife and daughter while Zane used the opportunity to steer Selena in the opposite direction. He slowed his pace, matching her short strides, reveling in the intimate moment of two lovers walking

together. She shivered against him when the wind picked up, wrapping the heavy wool sweater he lent her tighter around her slim frame. “Not a winter person?” He smoothed his hand down one arm, drawing her close, already aching to turn around and take her back to bed. “I’d hibernate if I could.” He smiled at the pleasant image her statement conjured, pictures of Selena curled up in his bed, his body wrapped around hers, Cory on the other side. Sex in the air. “You could.” He stopped them in front of the vacant, fenced lot, tipping her chin up to so he could lose himself in the sparkle of her eyes. “In our bed.” Our bed. It didn’t matter whether he meant his and Selena’s or Cory, his and Selena’s. Within the span of twelve hours, she already owned part of it. Just as she owned part of him and would forever now. It didn’t matter that officially he hadn’t mated her yet. Once he had a chance to speak to Cory, to soothe his lover’s doubts, together they would. “So why are we out braving the cold today?” Zane looked across the lot, empty but for a row of benches and storage lockers along one edge. The tangy scent of sweat and blood clung to the area. “Training day.” Selena turned into him, sliding her chilled hands beneath his sweatshirt and around his waist. Burying her head into his chest, she murmured. “Maybe try putting it in non-wolf speak.” He smiled. With his mate beside him, the one woman it felt like he’d known forever, it was easy to forget she wasn’t a shifter, wasn’t aware of their society’s rules or activities. He tangled his fingers through her unbound hair, keeping her close, listening to the comfortable beat of her heart against his chest. “Once a week I invoke a fighting circle and let the Pack youth take turns sparring with me.”

Selena pulled back as far as he’d let her and peered up at him. Her delicate scent filled his nostrils, invigorating him, heating his blood even as she worried her lower lip between white teeth. “Sounds dangerous.” He shook his head, knowing whether she understood the importance of this training activity today or not was less important than her accepting his participation. Of not being afraid for the rowdy teenagers when he pushed their boundaries and taught them self-control. “Far less dangerous than what would happen if they didn’t learn to control their beast. As wolves we possess greater strength than most and it’s important they learn their limits now in a controlled environment before one provoking on the streets cause them to snap.” She slid her hands higher up his back, as if trying to burrow into his skin. Whether she attempted for warmth or just because she needed the physical contact didn’t matter. He went hard within seconds. “Suppose that makes sense. So why am I here?” When she lifted her angelic face to his, slowly rubbing her belly against his throbbing shaft it was all he could do not to turn around and carry her back to his home. “Because I can’t resist the opportunity to show off.” He teased with a cocky grin. And I don’t want you out of my sight until we’re fully mated. “I suppose I might be able to swoon a little for you.” She batted her eyelashes in mock appreciation. “Of course it will be because my feet went numb.” He swallowed his worry as he led her into the lot where various teens and some of his fellow hunters gathered. The foreign emotion threatened to choke him enough lately as it was. “I really want you here and you’ll see why soon enough.” He guided her to one of the benches and settled her atop it, pulling a wool blanket out from a nearby bin and laying it across her lap. Leaning close, he kissed the tender spot beneath her ear, heat rushing through him at her small shiver and whispered “Besides, getting you warmed up later will be all kinds of fun.”

**** Cory hadn’t intended to walk within half a mile of the training circle today. Teaching the youth was a task Zane personally oversaw, leaving the rest of the hunters to focus their attention on tracking rogues and keeping their quiet Pack safe. But when he scented Selena’s soft fragrance on the breeze, her delicate signature not woven with that of his lover, rage overrode common sense. Zane was wasting precious time by not mating her, fooling with a bond as sacred and old as time itself. He and Selena belonged together. The two of them. Period. Anger weaved through his every cell as he strode to the vacant training lot. Each quick step closer brought the familiar scents of Zane to him as well as the overwhelming sweetness of his mate. The hurt over losing Zane now, over losing Linnea all those years ago riled his temper further. Marching right up to the fray, he stopped, ignoring the startled stares his presence evoked. “Ian, go have Selena check your wound,” Cory growled as he waited impatiently for the teenager to exit the fighting circle, fury racing through his blood. The second Zane remained in the ring alone, Cory sprinted inside, resisting the urge to let his claws loose as he shoved him forcefully with both hands. “What the hell is the matter with you, Zane?” His temper escalated further when the Alpha refused to defend himself. “I’m sure you’re about to tell me, love.” The near smirk on his lover’s chiseled face fueled a hot rage and Cory shoved him once more, this time letting his claws out to scratch Zane’s bare chest. His partner finally retaliated, slamming his fist across his punching shoulder and driving Cory backward. Regaining his composure, he stepped right back into the Alpha’s space. “You didn’t seal the bond with Selena, dammit.” He all but shouted on a vicious growl. “And everyone here with a working nose scents your indecision. You’re hurting your Pack.” He slashed outward again, Zane easily sidestepping his lethal claws.

“I told you I want you there with us.” Zane grated, as they circled the ring, drawing a crowd. Their relationship was no secret in the close bonds of their Pack but never had they fought against each other even in training. Cory ignored the wide-eyes of the teens around them. His soul had nearly been lost all those years ago when Linnea died. He wouldn’t put himself through the torture again. Wouldn’t subject Zane to a similar fate. “I said no, Zane. Accept it.” When Zane shook his head, sweat flinging from his face, Cory lunged. Dropping low, he swung his leg in an arc, knocking Zane flat on his back. A few stunned onlookers hollered, having never seen their Alpha downed but Zane rolled and sprung back up. Before he could turn, Zane connected his boot with the back of Cory’s knee. He roared in agony as he hit the hard earth. The feminine shriek startled him and he lifted his head off the ground, his eyes locking on Selena’s tear streaked face. Damn. Ian had his hands around her waist, holding her back but just barely. She was a fighter, he’d give her that. When he shook his head, mouthing it’s okay, she stilled. Zane’s thick-soled boot pinched one clawed hand to the ground as he bent low and fisted Cory’s too-long hair in his hand. He leaned close enough for him to scent the raw essence of his lover beneath the sweat and dirt from the training session. On any other day he would welcome being able to scrub it off Zane’s body, but not today, possibly not again for a long time. Cory could hear the quickened beat of his heart, no different from when they made love. He groaned in miserable frustration, his mind and body torn about doing what it wanted and what was right. “If you force me to choose between you two,” Zane whispered into his ear low enough the other wolves wouldn’t hear, “I’ll ignore the mating pull no matter how destructive I become. I won’t give you up. Take Selena with me.” Outraged Zane would place the burden of Pack survival on his shoulders, he ripped his hand free and brought Zane back down beside him with a swift chop of his arm. The metallic scent of blood coated the air as he rested his claws directly beside his lover’s carotid. “You’re a bloody idiot, Zane.”

He watched the normally warm brown eyes of his partner turn cold as they narrowed and waited. A detached piece of him knew he’d pay for insulting his Alpha in public. “She’s your mate,” Cory pointed to Selena with his free hand. “Yours.” He growled. The sacred mating bond existed between two individuals. No threesome possible. No matter what trash Zane mouthed, he craved Selena, needed her to stay in his life. Cory wouldn’t ruin that by tarnishing their time together. It took a certain kind of woman to accept two powerful, demanding men and she wasn’t it. And he knew firsthand that hoping for it to be otherwise would end up in disaster. “She’s either both of ours or neither of ours. Your choice, love.” Gritting his teeth against the hunger he experienced as the Alpha refused to exclude him, he shook his head and growled. His wolf wanted to believe. To trust their leader. When another of Selena’s whimpers carried to his ears, he pulled his claws back, fearful of scaring her away. The Pack desperately needed her healing touch. Zane took the moment’s reprieve to knock him sideways and scramble to his knees. “Mate her,” Cory demanded roughly. Zane leaned back on his haunches, retracting his claws to swipe at the blood dripping from his hard chest. Cory knew he was furious as hell for fighting him here, for dragging their private matters in front of the Pack’s impressionable youth with Selena watching. But dammit, their stubborn, thick-headed leader needed to address this. “Make me,” Zane taunted with a devilish grin, clearly enjoying a win in their tête-à-tête. Ignoring the rules governing the training circle, Cory shifted into his wolf form, fully intending to do exactly what Zane asked despite the pain numbing his hands and legs from breaking the magic of the circle. Before he could prowl closer, Selena burst into the ring, throwing herself between the two predators. “Knock it off this instant,” she shouted, her face flush from either fear or anger. More likely a healthy combination of both.

Chapter Six Selena peered down at the magnificent wolf before her, her anger cooling as she probed the depths of Cory’s remarkable gold eyes. They were hauntingly familiar to those of the man and the pain clouding the edges squeezed her heart. “Show’s over boys,” Zane’s voice was hard steel behind her. “Ian, get them out of here.” She waited while the group of boys shuffled away, never taking her gaze from Cory’s. She knew they fought over her—hell, every youth and hunter here did—and couldn’t believe how ridiculous the whole situation was. Claws, blood, snarling teeth. Sometimes men made no sense at all. But as she stared into the concerned gold orbs of the man who drove her delirious this morning with mind-blowing pleasure, she understood his anger. Zane’s firm hand stroked down her back, resting at the curve above her hip. She shivered at the possessive touch, her body waking for more. From him. He leaned down and nipped her ear lobe before resting his forehead on her shoulders. Her stomach clenched. “Are you hurt, Zane?” Her voice cracked with worry, fear evident in every soft syllable. He squeezed her hip, drawing her tight to him. Possessive. Hungry. Like a dominant lover comfortable in his own skin. “No,” he whispered, breathing hot puffs of air across her exposed neck. Selena stepped away from his comforting presence, simply knowing what it was that needed to be done. “I’d like to talk to Cory alone then.” Surprisingly, Zane pulled back, trailing his fingers down her arm before stepping away. The loss of his heat was substantial, but she stood still wanting to make this right. Needing to. When she finally tore her gaze from the wolf, she was shocked by the tenderness in her mate’s dark eyes. It was almost possible to believe he admired her, loved her even. Just like that. Fate.

Forever. “I’m going to wash up,” he said after a silent moment. He turned to Cory. “Be stubborn all you want but don’t leave her alone. That’s a fucking order from your Alpha if you need clarification.” With that he left the training area, leaving Selena standing beside a beautiful gray and white wolf nearly as tall as she. Hands on her hips, she narrowed her eyes. “Shift back and let me see your injury right this minute, Cory.” A marvelous flash of sparkly white followed her demand and in the next second Cory knelt on the hard ground, naked as the day he was born. She blushed a crimson red taking in every inch of tanned, hardened muscle sculpting the man before her. And there was plenty to feast on. “I didn’t realize you’d be naked.” She whispered, breathless. Expecting a teasing smile, she was disappointed when he pushed his bloody hand toward her without a word. Frowning at the tension vibrating like a ticking bomb between them, she asked “can I clean it or do you just want me to touch the wound like the boys did?” Selena had been surprised by the young wolves’ requests. Naturally they healed faster than humans and Zane had been careful to just surface scratch most of them but they all requested she touch the wound. It was as if they believed her warm contact would help them heal. “Both.” She retrieved a nearby water bottle and dumped a generous amount of cool liquid over his skinned hand to clear both blood and dirt. Using her shirt, and old one of Zane’s, she wiped carefully at the wound, tears burning the corners of her eyes. His pain was her fault and knowing that horrified her. “I’m sorry, Cory.” She lifted his injured hand to her lips, placing a slow, tender kiss across each of the jagged ridges of his knuckles. The gashes sliced across the length of his hand but it was clear Zane hadn’t held him too tight. She couldn’t bear the thought of them beating each other up further. This wasn’t what I meant when I dreamed of being the center of their attentions.

“You have nothing to apologize for, little one.” He lifted his uninjured hand to her face, catching her tears from rolling to her lips. She shivered as his rough fingertips lingered, leaning her cheek into his palm and sighing. “I’ve upset things between you and Zane.” Biting her lip to keep back a sob, she pulled a bandage out of her pocket and distracted herself by wrapping it around his marred hand. Cory continued to smooth his fingers over her face as she worked, catching the tears that just wouldn’t stop. Both he and Zane cared so deeply about her feelings, her comfort and security. She’d never experienced such a connection before, no matter how hungry she’d been to find one. Their tenderness moved her like nothing else. “It was bound to happen sooner or later, Selena. We both knew you were out there.” Selena closed both her hands around Cory’s bandaged one, letting her warmth soak into him. He closed his eyes and she watched him take a deep breath. This powerful, handsome man fought over her. For her. Trailing her fingertips to his, she let go. “Why were you two looking for me?” Cory opened his eyes slowly, as if her touch left him drugged. But her warmth hadn’t placated his pain as it did with the others. His hazel eyes, rimmed with sorrow, tormented her. Her desire to comfort rushed back to the surface. “The Pack is hurting, Selena. An Alpha’s mate fills the role as Pack healer. Not just our physical wounds either.” His words were a hoarse whisper, and deep down she knew he’d done everything in his power to make it otherwise. Moved, she closed his fingers in hers, squeezing against his hurt. “When you touched the boys today, you soothed something inside them. I can’t wear those shoes.” She stared stunned until Cory scanned the vicinity around them. Certainly this powerful, considerate, passionate man didn’t find himself inadequate? Yet the sheer misery in his voice could not be ignored. With gentle strokes, she smoothed her fingers higher, past his wrists and over the roped muscle of his forearms.

Whatever guilt he carried, whatever doubts he had over his ability to be the man Zane needed and she wanted, Selena would purge because nobody had ever cared so deeply for her or treated her with such tenderness. She would not let anyone leave Cory behind—the sadness and fear of having been in his same situation hardening her determination. But if she was meant to be the Pack healer, then—“Would Zane mate me just for duty?” Cory dropped his gaze back to hers, the gold flecks of his eyes shimmering. As if sensing her inner struggle, knowing that his answer could very well be the straw that broke the camel’s back, he lowered his lips to her forehead and gently kissed her heated skin. She shivered against the explosion rocking her insides from the tender touch. He wrapped his firm arms around her. “Zane’s job is to keep the Pack healthy and safe. But you’ve captured a piece of him, Selena. One he’s never shared with me.” Too much hurt, fear and doubt in the both of them, she thought. Snaking her arms around Cory’s narrow hips, she splayed her hands over the tight muscles of his ass. “He wants to share it with you, Cory. He’s hurting without you.” After being together with Zane for multiple years, wasn’t Cory able to decipher Zane’s ferocious need for him? In the span of less than twenty-four hours, Selena already picked up on the deep bond these two men shared. As easily as she picked up on their simmering tension. “I won’t come between you two,” she whispered into the warm skin of his chest. Cory stiffened and stepped away, scrubbing his eyes with his hands. When she stepped forward, he backed away, shaking his head. “You don’t realize what you’re asking.” His voice was rough, shaky, as if at any moment he would simply fall apart. “Have you ever been in a threesome before?” Was he simply over-concerned for her? She shook her head softly and took another step, reaching out and circling his wrist with her thin fingers. “You’re worried you’ll hurt me.”

He let out a cynical laugh, his eyes blazing with some dark emotion she didn’t understand. She pressed closer, determined to abolish his lingering doubt, to secure this man in her life because suddenly she knew it would never be the same without him. “More like start a jealous feud when you decide later you don’t want to share his love” he grated through clenched teeth. Selena frowned before sliding her tongue over his collarbone, the highest point she could reach without him bending lower. Every word had been torn from him, his heart still bleeding from whatever happened in his past. “You forget I’m not a wolf. Share is in my vocabulary. And I’m fairly certain there’s enough of this particular Alpha to go around.” Cory shivered against her then gripped her arms tight and tugged her off him. The look in his quickly darkening eyes burned a hole right through her. “Don’t say that, Selena. I’m serious. I love Zane to death and if you didn’t enjoy both of us that first time, it would kill him. He will not willingly let either of us go. Ever.” Slipping his hand lower to twine their fingers together, he stepped away and began pulling her across the deserted vacant lot. He paused when they reached the property line, rifling through a series of storage benches until finding a pair of jeans his size. Heat flooded her cheeks as she watched him pull the rigid denim over his tanned, sculpted calves and thighs. Warmth pooled at the apex of her thighs as she raked her gaze over his hardened shaft, the tip glistening with promise. She swallowed as moisture soaked her panties. Cory’s gaze was near feral when he snapped it back to hers. It took her a moment to realize he could scent her arousal. If that was the case then certainly he would understand that she wasn’t afraid of either of them, right? If only he knew how desperately she ached to be loved so thoroughly, to bask in a ray of the love they shared for each other. He slipped on a pair of jogging shoes before standing upright before her. When he held out his roughened hand, Selena extended hers and immediately found herself tucked against the hard planes of his bare chest. Despite the cool weather, his skin burned hot. “Could you ever love me like you love Zane?”

She shivered as his fingers pushed up her spine to tangle into the thick ends of her long hair. Pressed so intimately together, she could still feel his erection throbbing behind the barrier of denim. His hesitation to answer only intensified her worry. What would she do if he said no? She couldn’t come between him and Zane which left only one alternative. She swallowed the panic shooting through her suddenly icy veins. After what seemed an eternity, he brushed his firm lips over her neck, her ear, his thick voice sent straight from heaven. “Aye. How could I not love someone who gives whole heartedly?” Sinking against him, she gasped as he swooped her into his arms, easily carrying her toward Zane’s nearby home. With anyone else the action would have been over the top, outrageous, but coming from Cory, it only solidified her fast growing love for the dominant male. His heart pounded furiously against her chest as he carried them closer to home. Home. Funny how an attack on her life and two very possessive men could alter her reality. Cory kissed the top of her head, a tender gesture that sent sparks of whitehot need plummeting through her. A few minutes more of that and she’d erupt. “Zane needs you in his life, Selena. You, not necessarily me.” Selena shook her head, absorbing his doubt as she wrapped her arms tight around his neck and squeezed herself closer to his warm body. She would not be the cause of separation between Cory and Zane, would not ruin something as beautiful as their love for one another. Cory would see that soon enough, she believed that as much as she believed night would soon fall. But until then, she’d reinforce that it wasn’t just Zane who needed both of them. “But I need you both.” He swallowed as he reached Zane’s heavy wooden door and slowly let her slide down the length of his muscled body until she could stand once again. His eyes gave away his uncertainty, his stiffened cock his desire. Skimming

her nails down his bare chest, she paused at his waist. “Come inside with me, Cory. Let me heal you too.”

Chapter Seven Cory scented Zane’s fear and distress but more importantly his potent anger before Selena even opened the door. Stepping through behind her, he caught Zane’s abrupt halt from where he paced the far end of the room. Worry pinched his gut knowing his mixture of dangerous emotion went far deeper than their lover’s spat—no matter it was the biggest they’d ever had. “You came back.” With three powerful strides Zane reached their side and his chocolate brown eyes darkened almost near black as he slid his gaze over the minor injuries from their fight. Selena knotted her fingers with his, covering his bandaged knuckles. “Zane?” he questioned, sensing the tension riding down his stiffened spine and growing more wary by the silence. Zane tilted his head in a half shake, his hands sliding up Cory’s bare chest to rest on his shoulders. He knew his Alpha needed sensory comfort, and wanted it from him right now, not Selena. Cory also knew no matter how surprising the gesture, Zane would never ask for it. An Alpha never showed weakness. Refusing to part with Selena’s soothing touch, he held her hand steady against his stomach with one hand while lifting the other to Zane’s neck and pulling him closer. Cory crushed his lips to his lover’s, drinking in the adrenaline he’d missed since their love making last night. Zane gripped him tighter as their tongue’s mated in a fiery dance, and Cory knew he’d easily washed away his partner’s distress, the hunger growing rapidly inside them. As he cupped Zane’s neck, pressing him closer, Zane’s hands slipped lower, grazing over his bare chest and down to where he held Selena’s hand to his stomach. He reached around and pulled her other hand across his side, so she hugged him from behind.

Hot sparks raked down his spine as the dual heat of both Selena’s supple, soft body on his back and Zane’s hard chest against his front enveloped him. In the space of one moment, he lost the upper hand with Zane, their rigid cocks pressed against each other as his lover continued to assault his senses. He slid his tongue over Cory’s teeth, before pulling back to nip at his lips and graze his teeth down his stubbled jaw. Energy surged throughout his body, all racing to the throbbing tip of his hardened shaft. He pulled back and gasped for air. “You don’t need me now,” he rasped. The air around him was a suffocating mixture of everything he loved. Zane’s raw, masculine scent. The distinctive comforting mix of worn leather and fresh earth. Selena’s gentle perfume—a scent that brought to mind the freshness of dew covered grass. He ached to breathe it in as deep as possible and hold it there, hungered to grab onto both these people he loved and forget his misery in their welcome embrace. Only he was the outsider now. Selena was Zane’s mate. Not his. And Zane belonged to her now. Not him. Aware of his heartbeat racing like thunder in his ears, he calmed as Selena began stroking the ridge of his spine with the pads of her soft fingers. Even softer lips caressed over the hodgepodge of scars and scrapes on his exposed back, and he relaxed to lean forward onto Zane’s firm chest. Together they would be the death of him. “I can’t lose you.” Zane grated. “Either of you.” Zane brought his arms up and closed them over his shoulders, fisting his fingers into his thick hair and kissing the top of his head. No matter that he knew it did no good to prolong this comforting embrace, he hesitated, needing the strength of his Alpha, craving the touch of his lover. Zane’s breath tickled over his ear. “Come to bed with us, Cory.” He whispered so soft he knew Selena’s human ears would never hear. “Claim our mate.” Cory squeezed Zane’s waist, wanting to believe it possible, desperate to be included. He had loved Zane for years now, but always knew this day would

come. There were no three-way mating bonds. Their love existed with an expiration date. Yet he sensed an urgency in Zane’s low whisper that had nothing to do with the need to claim his mate. Did something sinister still grip his mind or was he simply struggling to keep Cory the same way Cory struggled not to lose him? Selena’s hands trailed off his back as she pulled away, the loss of her heat a mild form of torture. He turned before reason stopped him, instinctively pulling her back. “It’s okay, Cory. I’m just going to take a quick shower and banish the chill.” Zane’s fingers snaked down his corded arm and over the pair of theirs. Heat shot outward from the intimate tangle of fingers before Zane gently curled Cory’s into his own, releasing Selena. She walked into the adjoining bathroom, leaving the door wide open and soon the soothing rhythm of cascading water filled his ears. “You’re an integral part of me, Cory. A part that she will need too.” He swallowed the lump in his throat, staring at the open doorway to the bathroom. How many times had he made love with Zane in that same shower? “I wish I believed you.” Zane’s smile tightened his chest, made him ache to press his lips to him again. With a shoulder, Zane nudged him toward the bathroom. “Take a shower with Selena. If you still don’t believe me afterward, I’ll stop fighting you.” Fierce hunger burned in his stomach, spreading through his limbs until he knew there wasn’t any way in hell he could resist his lover’s offer. He wanted Zane in his life, wanted to make him and Selena happy. But did she truly want them both? He took another step toward the bathroom, figuring he was about to find out. **** Despite the steam fogging the shower stall glass, Selena watched Cory enter the tiled bathroom, her eyes glued to the endless tan, lean muscle as he

stripped off his worn jeans. Her breath caught at the sight of him naked, her gaze following the barely visible line of burnt gold hair to his rigid shaft. Her stomach clenched even as her mouth watered. She was nuts for thinking this would work. Crazy for believing she could find happiness in the arms of two men when all her life she’d struggled to find her way into anyone’s arms. Only she knew including Cory was more important to Zane than saving the Pack. She nibbled her lower lip thinking that Cory might even be more important than she was—giving a voice to Cory’s fears. So why was it she was the one convincing Cory this would all work out? He slid the glass door open, steam whooshing out as he stepped inside. Water pelted her back as if pushing her toward him, willing her to close her arms around him and comfort. Love. She swallowed when his hazel eyes raked up her body, pausing at her firm breasts. His gaze burned, tightening the peaks further. Finally he lifted his gaze to her face and stepped into the warm mist, closing his body around her. The skin of his chest burned as hot as the shower spray, his words thick like the steamed air around them. “I don’t want to hurt either of you.” Her hands slid down his back, dipping over the curve to his tight ass. She dug her nails into firm flesh, felt as if they were drifting in the same boat together. Lost. “Neither do I, Cory.” Lifting her face to his, she struggled to lock away her fears and doubts as Cory caressed her beneath the gentle spray of water. The past twenty-four hours were surreal, outrageous. But for the first time in her life she possessed what she always craved—doubly so. Selena knew she needed both men in her life because they were each unique, different. Two halves to one whole. But would both keep her? “What worries you, little one?” he asked, his voice a deep rumble against her hair.

She shivered as he ran a bar of soap across her back, closing her eyes against the intimacy of the moment. She kept her mouth shut knowing there wasn’t anything to say. Both men welcomed her into their lives as if they’d been anticipating her arrival, eager for it. She had no reason to fear rejection from either of them. These wolves were not going to abandon her like her family. His hands soaped over her hips, lifting higher much to her delight. “Perhaps I should just take your mind off it?” Selena nodded, remembering how confident Cory had been the day before, positive he could make her forget Zane. As his nimble fingers slid over the tight nubs of her breasts, she moaned, her thoughts lost. “That’s better, sweetheart.” Cory whispered, lathering soap in small circles around her nipples. Her nails scratched over his hips, her eyes screwed shut, stars exploding behind the lids. As his fingers moved lower, his lips grazed hers, sparking a sharp current of need deep inside her. Wicked desires, heavy passion hummed alive for him. His tongue lapped the beaded moisture off the corner of her lips before slowly, purposefully slipping inside the warm cavern of her mouth. Rising onto her toes, she pressed back, hungry for something more substantial, her body aching as if it just received a violent electric shock. Cory’s fingers slipped inside her moist sex and she gasped. Her eyes flew back open, catching his devilish smile. He stroked with slow purpose, his pace steady, delirious. Heat pooled low in her belly, spreading outward like molten lava, consuming her. Selena sighed as she fell forward against him. “Feels so good,” she panted into the river of water streaming down his hard chest. He chuckled as his thumb rolled over her clit, circling the swollen nub as shivers racked her very core. “Yes you do,” he admitted in her ear, sucking the tender flesh into his mouth and flicking his tongue across it. His thick shaft throbbed against her belly and she hungered for a more thorough taste. “More,” she breathed.

For a moment Cory’s fingers stalled, and she cried out when he pulled away. Glancing up at him, she saw Zane standing immediately opposite the glass door, watching. His eyes were nearly black with hunger. Feral. Her fingers trembled against Cory’s back as she stared into the depths of Zane’s darkening eyes, believing at any moment he would crash through the glass and devour her. Cory nibbled her neck, never turning, never stopping his thorough tasting of her flesh. “Relax, Selena. He won’t bite.” Cory slid his tongue down the length of her neck, pinching the tender flesh over her pulse point between his teeth. “Not yet anyway.” He pushed her further into the spray, rinsing the remaining soap from her body before backing her up further until she hit the tiled shower wall. Water poured down Cory’s chiseled physique, the tawny strands of his drenched hair brushing his shoulders, begging to be touched. She indulged, digging her fingers into the thick waves of wet hair, breathing in the heady smell of him. Even now he smelt of damp forest floor, of pine needles and earth. He kissed her damp flesh, licking the rivulets of moisture from her while meandering lower until capturing one taut nipple in the heat of his mouth and tonguing it. A moan tore from her lips as she fisted his hair, shocked by the intensity of that one small flick. A low growl wrapped around them as Zane paced away from the shower door. “Is he angry with us?” For a moment, her delight subsided, driven by the instinctive knowledge that she would do anything to prevent Zane from hurting. He wanted her to be the Pack healer but above all else, she wanted to heal him. To heal Cory too. Because they’re finding a way to heal me and my heart. Cory teased the underside of one heavy breast with his tongue before nibbling lower, pausing to dip his tongue into the indent of her belly button before pushing her legs apart as he knelt before her. Fire burned across her skin, the anticipation of knowing what he intended to do—and do while Zane watched—nearly scorching her. Still she gripped his thick hair. Cory’s whisper vibrated across her most sensitive flesh as rough fingers parted the folds of her sex for his greedy mouth. “If he is, then he’s a bloody hypocrite since he is the one who asked me to stay.”

Selena closed her eyes, no longer taking any comfort from the cool tile behind her. Cory’s tongue slid the length of her opening, flicking across her clit much like he had done to her nipples before slipping inside her. She bit the inside of her cheek to keep from crying out, white hot heat racing through her veins. “I asked you to stay too, Cory. I want you as much as he does.” She gasped, barely able to suck enough air into her lungs to force the words out. She knew her confession pleased him when his hands gripped her ass tighter, his mouth kissing her sex like no one ever had. Every swipe of his tongue, every soft bite of his teeth sent waves of sensation crashing through her. She gripped his shoulders and curled forward, trembling from the madness of need pulsing through her as he continued to push her inexorably closer to blissful release. Even before she opened her eyes she sensed Zane nearby, his gaze sizzling across her aching flesh. She glanced his way, shocked to find him pressed to the glass, every muscle tight as he watched Cory lap her senseless. Brazen, she thought at the erotic picture they painted. And when Cory’s whispered “come for me” brushed against her swollen sex, his tongue dancing inside her with a frenzied pace, she burst over the edge, screaming from the sheer intensity of her orgasm. Water poured over her neck and back as she rode the endless wave of pleasure streaming through her. When he finally lifted his face to kiss her thigh, she fell down, her legs too weak to keep her upright. Selena pulled Cory to her, dragging breath after breath into her burning lungs for what seemed like hours until he finally reached up and turned the shower off. Not even the silence seemed awkward. Cory brushed the clinging strands of wet hair from her face, his warm eyes so full of desire it melted her heart. Only then did she realize she hadn’t satisfied him. He spoke before she could struggle free. “He needs you, Selena. Go on.” Confused, not sure why Cory would push her away when mere minutes ago he’d been willing to stretch Zane’s patience to the ends of the earth, she

shook her head even as he pushed up on his knees, breaking the intimate embrace. A chill sunk into her bones. “He needs both of us.” She couldn’t bring herself to tell him she needed them both again too, not when it seemed positive Cory would push her away. Her will was only so strong. He stood, closing warm fingers over her trembling ones and pulled her to her shaky feet. “I’m not abandoning you, little one. Go to him.” Sliding his hand over the curve of her rear, he guided her to the shower door, opening it in one smooth push. Zane stood on the other side, eyes blazing with wicked intentions, a towel spread open between his hands. “Enjoy yourself?” he teased in a terse voice, need evident in every prolonged syllable. She nodded, heat fanning over her skin as Zane’s eyes soaked in every wet inch of her before wrapping her in the soft towel. He reached for another and sponged the moisture from her hair, touching her with near reverence. Despite the desire thrumming in her veins, she couldn’t catch the sigh from escaping her lips as Cory secured a towel around his lean hips and strode from the bathroom, his hardened cock evident beneath the flimsy material.

Chapter Eight “He’s not going anywhere,” Zane whispered against her satiny smooth skin, enjoying the masculine scent of his soap on her. He sensed the mild distress his mate felt over seeing Cory walk away, hell even he was disturbed by the distance Cory continued to place between them. But he would stay and make love with them. Of that Zane was one hundred percent sure. When Selena lifted her face to his, her green eyes still sparkled with satisfaction. Satisfaction he had nearly died from watching. The scent of her orgasm clung to the moist air, all but making him quake with need. For her. For Cory. He couldn’t live without them both.

Dropping the towel so thick waves of golden hair framed her delicate face, he growled against the madness demanding he take Selena now and to hell with Cory. His hunger burned hotter than any fire he’d ever known. There was no softness in his need for her like Cory had managed to use. He would be demanding, rough. Every bit sinful. Four fingers smoothed over the healed claw marks of yesterday’s attack before she pressed her palm against the thundering beat of his heart. “Was it painful to see me with Cory?” Zane watched her stroke each mark with one soft finger, the soothing touch calming the raging beast inside him. He pulled his thoughts inward, shielding them from his intuitive healer. “No more difficult than it was for you to see Cory and I kiss earlier,” he rasped. Selena blushed a beautiful crimson before glancing away. He had easily picked up on the tumultuous swirl of emotion their intimate kiss had pulled from her. Awkwardness, curiosity, arousal. Knowing his feelings for Cory turned her on left him more eager than ever to take her to bed and claim what was rightfully his. Because she wanted them both just as he did. Selena tongued one tight nipple, breaking his thoughts. “Liar, liar,” she teased. He shook his head but the emotions slipped out anyway. Oh, it hurt to see her and Cory together. Hurt something fierce. Zane was overprotective of his long-time lover, the idea of sharing so alien a concept to his wolf. Now not only was he sharing Cory but it damn near drove a stake through his beating heart watching his mate with another man. No matter he’d mate the man in a heartbeat if possible. A growl rumbled low in his throat. “You already know sharing isn’t something us wolves do well.” Her nails scratched against his bare chest as a small panicked gasp reached his ears. “But you’ll share me with Cory, right?” Zane stroked his hands down her body, tugging the soft fabric of the towel loose until there was no barrier between them. Her fear angered his beast, especially because she had nothing to worry about. There wasn’t a

snowball’s chance in hell he was giving either up and after the mating bond was created, she’d never leave his side again. He’d love her until he died. The same applied to Cory. “I’d share my soul with both of you if I could. I need each of you, Selena.” His shaft throbbed against the smooth warmth of her belly. She was petite but to him, perfect. Already Zane knew he would never get enough. “And we both need you,” she whispered into the hard planes of his chest. His hunger spiked as she wrapped her body around his. He slid his hands over her ass and scooped her into his arms determined to sink himself inside her wet heat and pound out his endless need. He would erase her doubts, her fears that their union would be less than perfect. No matter what, he would make it so. Striding from the room with her cupped against him, he lifted an eyebrow to the pillows Cory had stacked against the headboard. Seeing his lover’s tantalizing profile beside the bed made his mouth water for a taste, the remainder of his blood rushing to his thickened shaft. Cory’s smile stopped his heart. Gently, he lowered Selena onto the bed, propping her upper body against the mound of soft pillows, her pale skin illuminated atop the dark sheets. “Boys?” she questioned shyly, the red on her cheeks deepening until it spread like a slow fire down her neck to the top of her full, firm breasts. Beneath her nervousness, Zane sensed her building excitement and knew he had made the right choice to claim her with Cory present. He knelt on the bed before her, dropping one hand to either side of her shoulders. “Relax, my little healer. We only want to please you.” He brushed his lips across her neck, grazing her chin and cheek until reaching her mouth. Her lips were soft and full, and quivering just like he wanted them. The bed shifted little as Cory moved behind him and slid his hands over his back. “I want to please you too,” she whispered against his lips before he claimed them, crushing against her mouth in an explosion of undiluted need. The

kiss was every bit as raw and rough as he was but she matched his fervor, pressing her tongue back into his mouth, feeding his hunger. When Cory slipped two fingers inside his ass, he bucked in shock, having been lost in the ecstasy of Selena’s mouth. Slick with cool lube, the fingers probed deeper, the sensation increasing the blood flow to his groin, building his impatience. When Selena nipped the exposed column of his neck, flicking her tongue over his Adams apple, he growled. Yes, he thought. I will have them both and they me. I will be their lover and their Alpha. Passion so fierce it clawed his insides erupted inside him and he dropped his head, biting, licking and teasing the swollen flesh of her nipples. The air around them was thick with their trio of desires, driving him faster, harder in his quest to join them all. He tugged one taut peak between his teeth and Selena whimpered, bucking up against him. He scented her arousal just as he felt her juices against his aching cock. She was so hot, so ready. He needed to be inside her, needed to claim his mate and end this madness. Cory’s fingers pulled out, his hands suddenly gripping Zane’s waist as if sensing his distress. In a move almost as natural as breathing, his lover eased his hardened shaft into the tight opening of his ass, slowly filling him until their thighs brushed each others. Clenching his fist, he fought off the urge to roar, the sense of homecoming overwhelming. Scenting both of them, being able to have them together nearly made him come on the anticipation alone. Curling over his back, Cory used his hands to push open Selena’s legs. Cory’s head rested against his shoulder blade, his words a hot pulse on his sweat slick skin. “Claim our mate, Zane. Take her now.” Groaning, giving in to his basic instincts, he plunged deep into her moist heat, burying his cock to the hilt. Selena arched against him as she gasped, her hands flying up to grip him but reaching Cory instead. His partner cursed but pressed back. Riding the rising surge of adrenaline pounding through him from touching the two most important people in his life, he rocked inside Selena, shivering

as her tight muscles gripped his thick shaft with each outward pull. Cory mimicked his movement, his cock sliding through the tight channel of his ass in nothing short of bliss. Careful to keep their weight off her fragile body, he moved faster, need coursing through his stiff body. “Dammit Zane, claim her.” Cory’s rough voice grated along his spine and he gazed down into the endless green depths of Selena’s gentle eyes. She panted beneath them, lost in the beginnings of ecstasy. He flashed his eyes quickly to the pale skin on her throat before watching her eyes again. Zane ached to seal their bond, craved his life mate more than he did his next breath or another release. But he needed her acceptance, wouldn’t force her into this. When she nodded softly, her hands cupping his neck and pulling him lower, his control was lost. Selena cried out in shock as his sharp teeth raked across her exposed neck, biting the tender flesh until he tasted just a hint of her sweet blood. His muscles trembled as he licked her wound, sucking and tonguing the mark that would forever bind them together. Sinking deeper inside her, he surrendered to his desires, pounding a furious rhythm into her hot, wet sex. Selena’s release was immediate, her cry piercing the thick air around them. Zane continued to move faster, deeper, driving every inch of his shaft inside his mate until he no longer knew where he ended and she began. Zane growled when Cory’s sharp teeth sunk into the firm flesh above one shoulder blade, and he nearly fell on top of Selena as his lover matched Zane’s stride, pumping hard and fast inside him. They stiffened together, Cory’s teeth and nails gripping Zane in a combination of pleasure and pain while Zane spilled his seed inside his new mate. The heat of Cory’s firm body above him and Selena’s soft, supple frame below enveloped him, completing him in a way that sucked the air straight from his lungs. On a sigh Cory pulled out of Zane, rolling to lie beside Selena on the bed. Zane did likewise, sinking down beside her and draping an arm across her middle, twining his fingers with Cory’s. His lover looked wary, but curled himself tight to her side. And Zane had never been more thankful for anything in his life.

The Pack had always accepted his alternative lifestyle and in his heart, he knew with time they would understand his need to have both Cory and Selena. The only question was, had he successfully convinced Cory the risk was worth taking?

Chapter Nine Selena awoke snuggled between the warmth of two slumbering men. Two lovers who each continued to possess her in their own way, even in sleep. Zane’s chest pressed like an impenetrable wall against her back, one thick arm holding her to him just beneath her breasts. Her demanding mate. Cory still held himself apart from them in his own way, barely an inch of his splendid body touching hers aside from one hand that cradled her head in his palm. Reassuring her as always. A masculine healer who didn’t have a proper place among the Pack hierarchy. It amazed her the depth to which she understood these men in such a short time. She smiled thinking of Zane’s promise of forever, felt the tingle of his mating mark as the erotic act replayed in her mind. If these men weren’t so thorough in their devotions, it might give credence to the doubt swirling like mist through her sated brain. The wolf might accept forever, just like that, but how did the man? How could she? How did she? And then there was the growing curiosity, coupled with a heavy dose of panic, at the thought of taking both these virile men into her body together. An act so foreign to her limited sexual experiences, she couldn’t quite place words to what exactly worried her most. As if sensing her growing distress, Zane stirred behind her, the muscles of his arm tightening to shift her impossibly closer. Firm lips brushed her shoulder, followed by the graze of sharp teeth. Her nipples pebbled against his arm, her sex dampening. “Talk to me, love.” No preamble, no bedroom talk. An Alpha expecting the truth—no more or less. Selena delighted in the uncomplicatedness of her mate.

“I don’t want to wake, Cory,” she whispered. A truth and stall tactic all in one. How could she talk about her uncertainty of an intimate act without seeming weak—a trait she couldn’t bear to be in front of this powerful man. Rough lips tickled the tip of one ear, his whisper sending a shiver of delight down to her toes. “He sleeps like the dead here. His wolf trusts his Alpha to keep him safe.” Trust him, her mind shouted. “What if I—” Zane squeezed her tighter to his warm body, his erection nestling firmly in the crease of her ass. She shivered. “What if I don’t like it?” she finished on a swallow. His breath continued slow and even on her neck, his only response to her uncertainty. She struggled to remain composed, watching the slow rise and fall of Cory’s chest in the silence that began to stretch between them. Zane slid his hand from beneath her breasts, fingers trailing across the tips. The shock of feeling the rough pad of one finger sliding down her ass almost had her smashing forward into Cory’s slumbering body. Zane’s chuckle was sinful as it was soft. “Does it feel good to lie between our bodies right now?” She hummed her confirmation, another shiver racking her body as his finger probed further with a firm touch. He circled the tight opening, her whole body tensing from the unknown. “Did you enjoy both our hands pleasuring your hot body?” Selena sighed as Zane’s words awoke fresh need inside her. Of course she’d been in heaven then, her body assaulted with pleasure she’d only had been able to dream of before. Two tongues, four hands, on her body with one purpose. Zane pulled away on her sigh. “How about my cock plunging deep inside you?” He rubbed his thick shaft in a rhythmic motion, moisture pooling between her legs. “Tell me you liked that.” She lifted one of her legs to rest on top of his, restless for relief. “I’ve never known more bliss.” Zane’s finger returned, one now slick with cool lube. She gasped as he slid the length of it inside her without warning, the unfamiliar sensation lighting

a fire in her belly. Still snug inside her, he circled the base of his finger, widening her and hitting every sensual nerve. He began to slide the finger in and out until Selena couldn’t fathom anything but rocking back to meet each small thrust. “This will be no different.” A promise. A wicked assurance. Zane added a second finger, stretching her tight channel, unleashing an un-realized hunger from the core of her. “Oh,” she panted. Zane growled behind her, his free hand snaking beneath her shifting body to capture the firm peak of one nipple. “I can’t wait to sink into your tight ass, little one.” Using Cory’s pet name for her brought her mind back to him. A man more wounded than her. Zane must have sensed her withdrawal, pinching her nipple. She groaned. “Does Cory want this too?” Selena cried out as two fingers sunk deep into her wet opening in response. “I’ve never craved a woman more.” A purr of satisfaction left his lips before he drew them across hers. Cory devoured her mouth, tongue tangling with hers in a slow sinful slide. The stark opposite to Zane’s firm, quick strokes in her ass. The dueling sensations collided inside her; fire burning a fierce path across her skin until no part of her was left untouched. She ached to have these men inside her. Cory’s fingers began to thrust faster, his rhythm matching Zane’s strong one. Panting, Cory’s lips dipped lower nuzzling the tender skin of her neck where Zane had placed his mark. Her desire coiled tighter within her, her body bucking between two powerful men. Someone’s fingers always sunk deep in her. “Take her,” Zane growled. Every bit confident in having his commands listened to. She whimpered as Zane’s fingers popped from her body, his hands helping roll her atop Cory’s chiseled frame. Cory used his to knead her breasts, cupping and squeezing in fluid movements as Zane helped guide him into her.

Immediately she recognized the tenderness with which Cory touched her body. Though both men were devout in their attentions, Zane operated on a take no prisoner’s roughness whereas Cory had a soft spot a mile wide. She smiled as Zane’s firm hands molded around her ass cheeks, working her faster on top of Cory’s shaft. In seconds, Cory’s hands were lower, covering Zane’s, easing him away until he could lean her upper body down to his mouth. He pressed both her breasts together, his tongue flicking rapidly between the two. She screamed as the first orgasm tore through her entire body. His mouth clamped over the two pebbled peaks of her nipples, sucking them deep into his mouth. Lightening shot behind her closed eyelids. The world around her, lost. “Cory,” she stuttered out when his mouth continued to feast on her breasts, his hands working over her ass and spreading her cheeks. She jumped when cool fingers circled the puckered skin of her ass, fell flat against Cory’s muscled chest. “Zane,” Cory murmured. A single word filled with uncertainty, with unasked questions. She stroked the whisker roughened skin of Cory’s jaw, littered small kisses across his collarbone. Two lost souls still drifting together. “I ache for you both,” was their Alpha’s response. “I need this.” Instinctively, Selena angled her body back, her fingers clawing into Cory’s shoulders. Her non-verbal cue all the permission needed, Zane inched his wide cock into her anus. She immediately tensed, pulled herself forward until her lips brushed Cory’s. “Push back gently,” he crooned before sweeping his tongue in her mouth for a sensual dance. His hands—and Zane’s—closed over her hips to push her back as Zane slowly sunk deeper. By the time he buried his full length inside her, every inch of her screamed from the tightness. Then they moved. Selena struggled to find enough air to breathe in past the overwhelming pleasure seizing her every muscle. Zane leaned forward to rest his hands on the bed, teeth raking along the sensitive skin of her neck. Cory kept his

hands on her hips, maneuvering her in a slow rhythm back and forth between the two men. Sandwiched by raw masculinity, she could only follow the lead provided, drugged from this new poison. “It feels…” she gasped as Zane flexed his hips to move faster, both men tight inside her together. Cory groaned beneath her, his hazel eyes shining bright with feral hunger. “Unbelievably tight now,” his thoughts mimicking her own. She blushed as he ran his tongue along the spreading heat, nibbling a wet path to the lump in her throat. Her body started to spasm, the first stirrings of a powerful orgasm spiking into the remaining pieces of her last. “You’re perfect, little one,” Cory crooned. Every inch of her skin became sensitized from his words, his soft touch. Zane moved behind her, her breasts slapping against Cory’s chest with each thrust of his massive cock. Tears stung the corners of her eyes. The fulfillment rocketing through her shattered body too outrageous to hold back. She was vaguely aware of Zane’s hand trailing down her back between their bodies. She felt him cup Cory’s tightened balls, heard the hiss escape Cory’s parted lips as he pumped faster beneath her, his face tense with need. Zane’s ragged breath reached her ear. “Mine!” he growled. The bite was fierce and hard and Selena cried out before collapsing on Cory’s chest. Her entire body spasmed as wave after wave of bliss crashed through her. Cory growled as he followed her swiftly over the edge into oblivion. Her body continued to react to the stretching, continued to quake atop Cory’s in delight as Zane pounded mercilessly now. Gently, Cory pushed at her shoulders until she held herself on all fours, Zane cocooned over her back like the pelt of a mighty animal. The loss of one partner inside her left her trembling, her mind focusing solely now on Zane’s pleasure.

The Alpha. The most dominant male among them. One of his hands reached for her nipples. Tugged. Selena cried out. “Now, Zane.” She moaned thinking how little her mate was ever challenged by anyone. “Finish now,” she commanded. Her powerful mate came on a roar, his seed hot in the tight—supersensitized—channel of her ass. If not for his hands around her chest, she would have collapsed against Cory, spent. As it were, Cory lifted himself to take her in his comforting embrace when Zane pulled himself out. Every limb in her body felt as firm as jello. Then they began to pet. She melted into the searing heat of Cory’s chest as they each took turns running firm hands down her body from head to toe. Their touch branded her—marked her further as belonging to these two sexual creatures. She was far beyond the point of no return where these men were concerned. It had to be both of them now. “Sleep,” Zane’s warm whisper rippled across the tender flesh on her neck. And she found in the presence of her Alpha, she could easily do just that. **** “What do you suggest we do now?” Zane watched from the couch while Cory paced furiously in front of him, the news of Aden gone missing impacting him like he suspected. “We do what we always do. Hunt.” When Cory came to an abrupt stop, he ran his eyes over the length of his partner’s naked body, enjoying the tell-tale twitch when his gaze slid over his slightly erect cock. “You’re not seriously thinking about leaving Selena here alone?” Cory shoved his fingers through his hair and turned away, his fists connecting with the nearest wall.

Zane fought to remain seated, struggled not to wrap his lover in his arms and soothe his anger and grief from him. Demand him to let it go, for fucks sake. “Let me hunt Aden alone. Stay with Selena.” The worry in Cory’s hollow eyes clawed his insides. Why was it he was willing to fight and possibly die to protect Selena and him but would rather live in this state of hell than to simply be with them? He rose from the couch in one furious stretch, reaching Cory in two strides. “Like hell. We’ve always hunted as a team, Cory. I’m not letting you put your neck on the line without me.” Grabbing his lover’s wrist, Zane tugged Cory to him, wrapping his arms behind his waist and holding him close. He loved Cory with everything in him, wouldn’t have his fellow hunter fighting his battles alone. It was his job as Alpha to protect his Pack, protect his mate, and protect his lover. Cory shoved away on a growl. The calm after this morning’s storm between the two of them came to an abrupt end. “Dammit, Zane. You can’t keep protecting us both. And I’m not the one who needs your help should a rogue strike. He’ll go for the heart of you. Your mate. You know this.” They both took a quick glance at the cracked bedroom door where they’d left Selena sleeping. The second she’d fallen asleep—purring from the sensual strokes—Cory had risen from the bed, as if fearful of forming an attachment from remaining too long. Zane refused to let him slip so easily from his emotions. It was time he took ownership. “Stop pushing me away, Cory.” Cory strode to the far side of the room, shaking open his jeans before stepping into them. His gaze, when he finally returned Zane’s, was razor sharp, as violent as his tongue. “Then get your head out of your ass and realize what an idiot you’re being.” Boxing him in again as he stepped closer, Zane’s wolf wanted to slash at being prodded. He ignored the impulse and ran his fingers through Cory’s

thick hair. The other wolf stilled and leaned toward him. A silent apology in his own way. Zane lowered his voice. “Insulting me won’t change anything. Besides, Selena needs to go back to work tonight. As much as I’d personally like to oversee the crew that will shadow her there, I’m better fit to lead in the field. Hunting a rogue will take my mind off of worrying.” Zane refused to sit on his hands and wait while Aden slipped further from their grasp. Time was not their friend. The information Jesse uncovered this afternoon was grim at best. Whether or not the rogue intended to divide the Pack in hopes of overthrowing Zane or for the desire simply to cause chaos, it was a mute point now. As far as Zane and the hunters were concerned, the tapes linking him as an accomplice in two of the hospital murders sealed his fate. Cory’s hands on his chest pulled him from his dark thoughts as he brought his lips to his lovers, enjoying the hard slide of their firm mouths, the slick moisture of his tongue. No matter how strong his love for Selena grew, he would never sacrifice Cory, never willingly let their passion go unanswered. Their love ran too deep. Cory turned his head to break the dizzying kiss, his breath a hot sting on his skin. “Fine. In the meantime I’m going to do some preliminary scouting, talk to family, etc.” As he stepped away, Zane caught his hand, giving a firm squeeze. “Everything will be fine, Cory. I promise.” Words he wished like hell hadn’t needed to be spoken to Cory, one who trusted him without fail. He knew Cory still teetered on wanting to run away from this new beast, sprint as fast as he could away from the love the three of them were beginning to share. But everything was intertwined now. Their lives, their love, and soon the mating bond. “Says the man who’s drunk from finding his mate.” Zane growled low, having run out of patience for being pushed by the other male. “Cory,” he warned, his skin heating with his rising anger. Cory shook his head and ignored Zane’s narrowed gaze, one of the few wolves who could without consequence. “I know what it feels like to lose

that happiness, that endless sunshine, Zane. Don’t prevent me from doing all I can to make sure yours never dies like Linnea’s did.” The soft feminine gasp had both their heads turning to the bedroom door which now stood ajar, Selena’s petite frame covered in one of his t-shirts. Despite the vestiges of sleep that still clung to her gentle features, her eyes widened with shock as she rushed into the room and straight to Cory’s side. His wolf pawed with pride over the little healer at work. Cory stiffened as she placed a gentle hand over his heart, but he sat back wondering if his mate could offer Cory what he’d never been able to. Sufficient reassurance. Her scent wafted around them in the room. A soft, sweet hint of who his woman really was. Who their woman was. Fresh spring mornings and lazy afternoons basking in the sun. Cory’s growl had him on his feet and by her side a second later. “Do not pity me.” His words a violent verbal slap Selena recoiled from. His gaze momentarily found Zane’s. “Either of you.” In a rush of unnatural speed, he shoved away from Selena’s outstretched fingers, leaving both of them to stand and watch as he bolted from the room, slamming the door behind him.

Chapter Ten The darkness would be oppressive if not for the men she sat between. The drive from Zane’s house to the hospital was almost an hour, three quarters of which they spent in silence. The tension between Zane and Cory still radiated like a violent charge in the warm air of the truck cab. She held a hand with each of them but otherwise they were all lost in their own thoughts, the mood clearly as dark as the moonless night they traveled in. The closer they drew to the city, the worse her nerves tightened with anxiety. Zane was dropping her at the hospital entrance and picking her up there but still she couldn’t shake the eerie memories of last night’s attack— the feral eyes of the wolf that tried killing her, the haunting howl when she thought she’d die.

Both men squeezed her hands together in sync, drawing her focus off her own personal nightmare. “You’ll be perfectly safe at work, little healer.” Zane’s smooth voice reassured her on an elemental level and she believed him instinctively. Everything would be fine, she told herself. Despite the bizarre series of events that transpired in the past day, she’d found the love of not one but two incredibly strong, protective men. Their love wrapped her in a cocoon of sorts, dampening most of her worry. The team of hunters that would be watching the hospital tonight took care of some of the rest. “But will you two be safe too?” “We’ve hunted together many times, Selena. This isn’t anything we can’t handle.” Only she felt the tension ride up Zane’s arm, knew he was worried about something tonight too. Something beside her. Before she could speak her concerns out loud, Cory’s hand slipped past the elastic waistband of her hospital scrubs and panties to draw circles around her clit. She gasped. “So many easy opportunities for Zane and I to take your mind off things.” Too shocked to respond, she dropped her head back on the seat, writhing when Zane slid his hand through her curls and together they each pushed a finger deep inside her. She bucked when their thumbs pressed against her clit, rubbing alternating patterns not quite in tune. “That’s more like it.” Cory’s seductive whisper grated across the exposed skin of her neck as he leaned close, pulling his hand away from her moist sex to push up beneath her sweatshirt and tug on her aching nipples. Selena whimpered as Zane added a second finger, thrusting them inside her no less demanding than if it were the powerful movements of his cock. For a moment she marveled he could keep the truck on the narrow road but when Cory licked the tender mark at the nape of her neck, she melted to the seat, all thought lost. Gone were the chills of the night air as her body greedily drank in everything they offered. An insidious heat spread from her belly outward, scorching every inch of her skin as it consumed her. Cory continued to toy with her

beaded nipples, pinching them through the fabric of her bra and making her cry out. His kisses were like fire as he grazed over her cheek, her chin and neck. Resting her head on Zane’s shoulder, she dug her nails into his thigh, the pleasure tightening every muscle inside her. “Bite her,” Zane growled. Cory stiffened beside her, his hands gripping her waist as his breaths came out ragged against her cheek. As if sensing the torture his withdrawal caused, Zane pumped his fingers deeper inside her, his thumb teasing the swollen nub of her clit with precision. She opened her eyes to watch Cory, saw the deep, old wounds he couldn’t hide. “It’s alright,” she panted. “You don’t have to.” Zane growled beside her, his fingers curling wickedly to hit her most sensitive spot, a form of punishment for her speaking against him. “Bite her, dammit. Make her ours.” They entered the edge of town, the streetlights flickering into the cab of the truck to illuminate the pinched worry on Cory’s angled face. She didn’t need to know about the losses of his past, didn’t need to experience his hesitation to want to comfort him. Raising a trembling hand, she cupped his cheek, lifting off Zane’s shoulder to feather her lips over his. His mouth was firm, his lips unmoving but she teased her tongue across his teeth and stroked his hair with her fingers until he relented, softening just a bit. When his nails scratched at her waist, his grip almost too tight to breathe, she whispered “I want this, Cory. I want to love you both.” He shook against her whether from restraint or need she couldn’t tell. Zane’s fingers worked faster inside her and she rocked her hips too close to the edge to hold it back any longer. With amazing agility Cory leaned over her, one hand tilting her head to the side, baring the unmarked side of her neck. He tongued the heated flesh, kissing and sucking the smooth expanse of skin until she was crying with need. “Please!” “Forever, little one.” His sharp teeth pierced the skin of her neck the same moment the first shattering waves of her orgasm rolled through her. Her

cries echoed through the small truck cab as Cory pinched the tender area harder with his teeth before sucking the aching flesh into his mouth and flicking it with the tip of his tongue. Zane pulled his hand from her, the aftershocks of her climax still rocking her back and forth. He lifted his hand to gently ease Cory’s mouth from her trembling body. She found herself tucked into Cory’s powerful arms, his ragged breath against her neck the only sound audible. The truck jerked to a stop in the empty back parking lot of the hospital and Zane wrapped both his arms around her, pulling her from one lover’s embrace onto his lap. Cory watched with hooded eyes as Zane stroked every inch of covered skin, branding her with his own possessive heat, helping her unwind after the intense earthshaking bliss. “Promise me you’ll wait inside the hospital tonight until one of us comes in for you.” Selena nodded, leaning her head on Zane’s solid chest and letting out a sigh of contentment. The love these two strong men doled out pushed away her worries, her fears of being abandoned to live alone once again. She wouldn’t jeopardize that by risking another attack, certainly not when Cory and Zane hadn’t given her many details about how much danger she was still in. “You have our cell numbers if you need anything.” Tilting her chin up to his face, she smiled into Zane’s rough kiss. Wrapping her hands around his neck, she teased him with her tongue, silently promising to return the pleasurable bliss later. “Stay safe.” Cory popped open the truck door and slid out. Selena slipped off Zane’s lap and followed his lead, finding herself pressed against the open door as Cory boxed her in, his mouth capturing hers in a gentle, slow dance. These men were night and day, truly two opposite halves to the whole. And she wouldn’t have it any other way. Cory ran his hand over his fresh bite mark, the skin tingling from the rough pads of his fingers. When she shivered, he pulled back, concern filling in his light eyes. Selena shook her head and drew one hand to his cheek. “Sssh. I’m okay. You stay safe too. Patching more of your wounds isn’t my idea of fun later tonight.”

His wickedly charming grin brought a smile to her lips as he walked her the few short steps to the employee secured entrance, but it didn’t take long for her mind to return to the activities her two lovers intended to partake in tonight. “See you in a few hours, little one.” Cory wrapped his arms around her, taking her key card and swiping it through the security box. “Promise?” He pulled open the heavy glass door and she lingered against his solid frame, soaking in his endless warmth and memorizing the beat of his fierce heart. Finally, he eased her inside. “Promise.” **** “Sometimes you can be real jackass, Zane.” Cory kept his gaze on the deserted streets and his nose tilted toward the cracked window of the truck but he still picked up his Alpha’s tension with ease. “You were going nearly feral for a taste of her, love. All I did was prod you to take what you wanted.” Cory laughed, the cynical chuckle echoing between them in the truck cab. “What I wanted was for you to mate Selena and save the Pack. What I wanted was to walk away with a little dignity so you could give her what she needs.” Zane’s hand smoothed over Cory’s denim clad thigh and rested over his knee. The warmth of his touch did little to soothe his anger, especially when he knew the stubborn Alpha had never intended to let him walk away. It was the sole reason for going along with his plan in the first place. Zane wouldn’t have found her otherwise. And her soothing presence in the Pack had immediate benefits. “She needs us both.” His words were meant to be reassuring but instead they unlocked a pit of nightmares and despair hidden deep within him. Hadn’t he believed Linnea

could love them both ten years ago too? Her death would forever stain his hands, his love for Zane severing the mating bond back then and eventually resulting in her suicide. Losing his mate had shredded his soul. Zane had salvaged him somehow. He was a man Cory loved throughout it all, a man he’d been willing to sacrifice his happiness for now in order to help him do what was right. Despite himself he smiled, knowing they had each other for eternity now. “Well, she’ll get us both now whether she needs us or not.” He was still mad as hell Zane stripped his choice but nothing could have stopped him from tasting Selena’s flesh once she begged him so sweetly. He didn’t know how a double bond was possible but he recognized the sheer ecstasy thickening his blood from the mark. Selena was his mate. Which made Zane his too. “When Linnea died, a piece of me went with her. I didn’t think I’d ever be whole again.” He twined his fingers with Zane’s, enjoying the rough tangle of fingers. “Until tonight.” Zane’s slow smile squeezed his heart. Dark and smooth. He was a true Alpha—demanding of everyone but helping the Pack members find and receive what they needed. It just took Cory longer than most to accept his help. “Felt that good, huh?” Zane drawled, turning onto an ill-lit back alley they’d recently tracked two other rogues to. “Selena’s so sweet I nearly came in my pants.” Zane’s hand slid higher, cupping Cory’s still thick shaft through his jeans. “I could fix the nearly part.” Cory dug his nails into the leather door handle as Zane stroked his cock with the precision of a man who knew exactly how he liked it. Firm. Slow. His head was just hitting the seat back when the perturbing odor wafted to his nose. “Stop the truck.” He growled, instantly on alert. The truck slammed to a quick stop beside a nasty looking abandoned building, the yellow light of a single lamp giving an eerie glow to the thick shadows. “Do you smell him?” Cory asked, hyperaware of the tension

radiating off Zane even though he still remained relaxed against the bench seat. “If he’s seeking to divide the Pack, chances are he’s not alone. Even if we can’t scent the others.” Cory nodded, adrenaline spiking his blood, leaving his skin tingling and fingers itching to end this and keep the Pack safe. Keep Selena and Zane safe. He grabbed his wallet and cell phone from his pants pocket and shoved them in the glove compartment. “Good point. No sense in losing these during the shift.” The fact they would be letting the wolves out unquestioned. Zane thought on that a moment as if leaving his phone wasn’t worth it before tossing it alongside Cory’s. Without another word Cory pushed from the truck and into the frosty night, eager to catch this damn rogue, return home to Selena and lose himself in mindless bliss. Forever wouldn’t be long enough.

Chapter Eleven Zane waited for Cory to round the truck before following Aden’s stench and not surprisingly, one of death. The putrid smell sickened his stomach no matter he’d long since adjusted to it as part of his job duties. He didn’t have to peer in the nearby dumpster to know a body rotted inside but it came as a surprise when Aden himself stepped around the other side. The red glow of his eyes damned him as rogue. They were blood eyes. A symbol of a wolf that’s killed a human. A trait that marked him as fair game for Zane and his hunters. “Imagine that, Zane. Aden wants to give himself in.” Cory stood a few steps behind and to his side, his cocky attitude usually a welcome distraction from the physical brutality that usually followed on a rogue hunt. Only tonight he wasn’t looking for distractions. Aden had been organizing meetings with the wolves who were on the fringe of dissent for weeks now. Youth and adult alike who were killed for their roles in attacking innocent humans as Aden would be killed too.

The question was what had he hoped to gain? A following large enough to overthrow Zane’s hunters? The only thing Aden succeeded at was scaring his Pack. Not a single member wanted humans to start retaliating for the kills. Enough blood had been shed over the years. A new fight was not in their interests now. “The only thing I intend to give you queers is a quick and painful death.” As Alpha, he picked up on the other wolves’ scents long before Cory was able to, his wolf recognizing each of them as someone he’d fail to keep safe from this blood thirst. Unable to do much in terms of positioning, he allowed themselves to be boxed in. His fists clenched, the single outward sign of concern. “Have a problem with your Alpha’s sexual orientation?” He lifted one eyebrow, forced slow breathes into his lungs as he gave Cory time to adjust to the newcomers before the fists—more likely paws—started flying. “It’s one of many problems I have with you, Zane. But I don’t anticipate it being an issue much longer.” Aden’s lips curled into a sneer, his gaze flickering past his shoulder. Zane couldn’t risk a look without exposing himself to attack and only hoped Cory was taking care of it. Seconds later when Cory’s back brushed against his and he could feel his lover’s muscles straining, he knew whatever left Aden so overjoyed meant bad news for both of them. “So tell me,” Aden drawled. “Did you give your wench a final kiss goodbye?” The explosion knocked him off his feet and Cory landed on his back before they both rolled to the side. Taking one quick glance at his now flame engulfed truck, his rage intensified beyond control. “Can you handle them?” he grunted as he rocked to his feet, watching Cory do the same. “Easy prey.” Cory’s face hardened as he scanned the three rogues closing in. They spent hours a day in the gym honing their bodies for these fights and though outnumbered, the rogues were no physically stronger than a normal wolf.

He sprinted off toward where Aden watched from the side, his claws breaking through the skin of his knuckles, eager to wipe the satisfied grin from the cocky bastard’s face. “You know the rules, Aden.” Aden’s claws slashed outward in warning as Zane neared, delaying the attack for only a second. “And I’m looking forward to taking you out.” Zane narrowed his focus to Aden alone, blocking out the growls and grunts of the fight Cory immersed himself in behind him. There was no room for distraction, no place for emotion in the hunt. He circled the dirty rogue, his wolf itching to be let loose to end this. “Then bring it on, rogue.” Aden swiped first, not throwing a punch like expected but rather sinking his claws into the flesh of his forearm and shoving him sideways. Growling against the numbing pain shooting through his tendons, he sidestepped the next swipe, ducking beneath claws and fists and swinging his leg out to buckle his opponents. Aden rolled before he could strike on the ground, his claws hitting concrete. Zane turned as Aden lunged having just enough time to sink his claws into the other man’s arms and roll backwards to toss him to the ground behind him. Spinning with practiced precision, he easily pinned the man’s claws with a steel-toed boot and hand and used his free hand to grip Aden’s neck. The rogue was as good as dead. “What the hell were you hoping to gain by killing those women, Aden?” Aden’s eyes glowed a disgusting red as he smiled despite the pressure Zane exerted on his air pipe. Zane needed to know if it was just a personal vendetta against his sexual orientation or if it extended somehow deeper. Would the threat to his Pack’s safety die with the sick ass crushed beneath him? Aden snarled from the ground, struggling to free his hand. “Even if you kill me, another will rise up. Mark my words the Pack is sick of following your direction.” Zane released his pressure on Aden’s hand and the rogue rolled from beneath him. Fury over this personal grudge surged through him, and he kicked out, connecting with Aden’s side and throwing him another few feet on the ground.

“If the Pack had issues, they’d take it up with me. The torturing of innocents is unconnected.” Bending over, he grabbed Aden by the shirt collar lifting him from the ground and let his claws sink into the flesh of his chest like he so warmly did him moments earlier. “Bloody hell!” He stiffened at Cory’s voice, unable to see the fray behind him and frustrated as hell for it. In the second it took him to override the fear gripping him, Aden tore a hand free and sunk his claws into his side. “Looks like lover boy is about to get the punishment he deserves.” Zane maintained his hold on the weaker wolf, the overwhelming scent of coppery blood and another string of Cory’s curses, seizing his franticly beating heart. “I love my Pack, would fight and die to keep them safe. That includes my mates, whatever sex they happen to be. It’s time you realize, alternative lifestyle or not, I’m still this Pack’s Alpha.” With a smooth snap of his muscles, he twisted Aden’s neck, dropping him the second the life drained from the bastard’s eyes. The fight was almost too easy. He turned. Saw the carnage Cory had wreaked to give him a fair fight. Then he saw his partner, his life mate and his beast came roaring to the front of his mind. Cory lay on the ground with a fully shifted wolf on top of him, blood pooling on the damp concrete around them. Zane shifted in a flash of white and charged the snarling animal. He’d hunted as wolf many times, as comfortable with his ability to strike and kill in animal form as he was snapping necks as a human. The killing bite took only seconds to deliver and a quick scan showed Cory had already disposed of the other four. Rushing back to Cory’s side, he howled at the sight of blood pouring from his lover’s neck. The eyes that returned his gaze were dull, full of pain. Shifting back he knelt beside him, pressing his hands to stop the flow of thick, red blood. His hands shook with the shock of seeing this nightmare come to life. “Dammit, Cory.”

He lifted Cory’s trembling, cold hand to his neck until he could apply pressure to the wound. Naked from the shift, Zane tore the cloth of Cory’s shirt, twisting it into a bandage he could tie around the wound. Accomplishing that, he found he could barely breathe as he took in Cory’s pale face and drooping eyes. Dear God, he couldn’t lose him now! Scooping him into his arms, he took off down the alley unable to use the truck to get them back to the hospital as fast as necessary or even use his cell phone to call for help. He had failed those most important to him tonight. Had a wedge of doubt the size of Texas over his bringing peace to his Pack stuck in his side. It left him hollowed, vulnerable. “Won’t be much fun explaining this one to our healer.” Stroking his fingers through Cory’s hair as he carried him as carefully as possible down the garbage strewn streets, he shook his head for him to be quiet, to rest. He couldn’t be more thankful when Cory’s eyes drifted shut, preventing him from seeing the horror of his fear as it spread across his face like a virus. Quickening his steps, he prayed for Cory’s safety because he wasn’t quite sure Selena or he would survive now without it. **** The sense of dread in her chest tightened; a weight that crushed the air from her lungs. Selena fisted the receiver of the phone as she laid it back into its cradle and fought back the tears rising to her eyes. A piece of her she didn’t question—the one that was now inexplicably linked to both Cory and Zane—knew something had gone terribly wrong. Leaving the break room, she paced the halls, frantic for fresh air. Her heart ached. Her body grew restless. With a growing horror she found herself traveling the familiar corridor to the emergency room, the buzz of fast-paced activity rising all around her. Each step lifted more hair on her arms, a fine zing of electricity covering every inch of her by the time she reached the nurse’s station. She felt his gaze burning a hole in her back the same moment Jen greeted her by way of “multiple stab victim just in.” Turning, she found his penetrating dark eyes locked on her, his body a solid sheet of tense muscle against the far wall.

Zane was here, dressed in hospital scrubs, which meant… Selena was rushing into a set of wide open arms on her next breath, instantly cocooned in the solid strength that was her mate—her Alpha. Crushed to his chest, she could scent the sweat, blood and dirt. They’d been fighting. Her heart squeezed tighter until she needed to pull away and press the heel of one hand into her breastbone to massage the sudden hurt. “How bad?” she breathed. He cupped one hand over hers to quiet her frantic rubbing. “The mating bond is already letting you know the answer.” Understanding dawned. The sense of dread. The pain in her heart. It all linked her to Cory. “I thought wolves healed faster.” Firm hands stroked down her back, both giving and seeking comfort. She wrapped her hands around Zane’s waist, lifted them under the hem of his hospital scrubs to touch bare skin. Heard a whisper of a purr. “Our bodies are only capable of so much. Cory lost a lot of blood, lost consciousness and continued to bleed out.” Selena eyed the doors that went back to the operating suites. A compulsive need to see him had her pushing from Zane’s arms. The man beside her squeezed her tight, a warning he wasn’t ready to let her go. A silent confirmation that he needed to see her right now too. “But he’ll heal.” A weak statement. One without conviction. Zane’s breath bathed her forehead in warm heat, his words those of a man used to getting his way. “I don’t intend to let him go anytime soon, love.” She nodded and broke the contact, all too aware of the attention they were drawing to themselves in the waiting area. Closing one hand over his, she tugged him along, determined to ease the edgy wolf. He followed without question, and something warm and delicious bubbled inside her. Trust. Her mate trusted her to take care of him. As the new Pack healer she was fast learning that the job description encompassed ailments of both physical and emotional, surface wounds and

scars that ran deep into the heart of them all. She turned into a private area, ushered Zane into one of the staff overnight rooms and locked the door. “Remove the shirt.” He lifted one eyebrow in surprise, his gaze lighting a wicked heat to burn inside her. “I want to clean your wounds,” she admonished all while gathering some quick supplies and dialing the sink faucet to hot. “I can think of more important things you could do with those hands,” he teased. She smiled. She would never grow tired of knowing that this man wanted her. She brought a bucket of warm soapy water and some washcloths back to the small cot he sat on. Her gaze lingered on his magnificent chest, watched the slow rise and fall of each even breath. Wringing one cloth out, she worked it over the rough skin on his hands, gently scrubbing away the dried blood, refusing to think of the pain Cory must have endured to keep them safe. “How is it my presence heals the Pack? It’s not just my touch. It’s my person, isn’t it?” She rinsed the cloth and repeated on his other hand, enjoying the tedious work and the calm that came from lingering in Zane’s presence. She laid a towel on his lap, placed his clean hands there to rest and began wrapping another wet cloth around his forearms, soaking the mixture of blood and dirt for easier removal. “Part of it is the belief that a healthy Pack includes a mated Alpha. With my scent ingrained in you, you are an extension of me. Someone the members of the Pack can trust without question.” She scrubbed away the grime on his arms. His wolf nature had already helped heal most of the minor cuts and scratches so they glistened pink with fresh tissue now that they were clean. “Helps that I’m not gruff and demanding all day long.” Her breath caught at the sight of the swollen punctures in his shoulder, knew if he wasn’t even babying this injury that Cory’s must be ten times worse. His fingers slid across her shoulders, cupping the back of her neck to quiet her movements.

“Look at you, Selena. Your first instinct when you saw me was to soothe by both words and your undivided attention to my care. You radiate calm. Your very nature puts my wolf at ease. As it does Cory’s. And so on throughout the Pack.” She left his side to draw fresh water into her basin, working fast to cleanse the dirt from the nastier wound. Her throat tightened with unspoken emotion, a ball of worry lodged deep in her stomach. For Cory’s safety. For the strength to believe that this new life would last. Fate and forever and happiness and family. All things still too new and fresh in her life to trust. Zane’s kiss on her forehead scalded, her worries charring to ash in the aftermath. Lifting her gaze to his, she studied the handsome lines of her mate’s jaw. “I would take you right now against the wall,” he murmured and Selena knew he’d sensed her darkening thoughts. “But he’s waiting for us.” It took her a moment to understand. Who? Then she noticed the pressure in her chest subsided, the dread had lifted. “I need to see him.” She dried off Zane’s skin with care, determined to have his wound looked at after they greeted Cory and rose, her entire body thrumming with childlike eagerness. “My thoughts exactly, little one. My thoughts exactly.”

Chapter Twelve “This has to be enough.” Zane stalked around the edge of their bed, unable to rest, refusing to lie around while this new doubt festered inside him. Cory watched him from the bed, his face pinched, his bare tanned chest slowly moving up and down with each measured breath. “We are a tight knit Pack, Zane. Deep down you know you’ve done everything you can to make sure of that.” Zane stopped pacing and stared, amazed and frustrated that Cory could relax so effortlessly while he exposed himself with his self-doubt. Had his lifestyle been the cause of this ripple of discontent in the Pack? Was Selena’s presence going to be enough? “Your work with the youth has lowered the incidence of violence between Pack and humans. We have a system in place to deal with those in need.

And we have Selena now. Only a fool would miss the positive changes occurring.” Zane’s fists connected against the wall by the headboard, unable to accept his failure to stop the unnecessary bloodshed sooner. His chest ached as if a giant hand squeezed the air from his lungs and crushed his heart. His Pack was his life. He lived and breathed to keep them safe, to keep them thriving. “I need to purge these damning thoughts, Cory.” Something before I lose my fucking mind. “You’re giving Aden exactly what he wanted.” Sighing when Cory lifted a hand up to pull him to the bed, he watched the other man stiffen from the movement and immediately gentled him to lie back on the bed. “I know. Never in my wildest did I imagine this vulnerability.” Cory lifted his hand to Zane’s neck, drawing him down beside him before trailing his fingers over the bare expanse of his back and resting at the curve of his ass. “Make good on your earlier offer from the truck and maybe I’ll ditch the word pansy from how I describe your behavior to others.” Zane froze as Cory’s lips grazed over his, stiffened as his finger toyed with the puckered opening of his ass. “You want sex? Now?” Gripping Cory’s shoulders, he peered into eyes the color of the setting sun and stared. His partner was healing, true, but he’d given his word to Selena earlier today. No exertion on either of their parts while she was out visiting with Pack. “I want to help get your mind off the situation. You’re our goddamn Alpha, Zane, but I’ve never seen you less confident, less sure of keeping the Pack safe.” Cory let his head rest on the pillow, the stitched together skin on his neck pulling tight as he angled his head back. “It’s a mountain out of a mole hill. Focus your energy on something worthwhile.” Zane relaxed as Cory dragged his nails over the heated skin of his stomach and upward, reaching to twine their fingers together. “Focus on me instead.” Cory pulled Zane’s hand to his cock, closing his eyes when Zane stroked him slowly, his lips tilted into a devilish grin.

The feel of Cory’s thick, hot shaft in his hand, pulsing with each stroke woke his own need. Doubt or not, nothing would change his feelings for Cory. Their connection ran too deep. The pleasure experienced as necessary as breathing. Suddenly sinking his cock into the tight crevice of Cory’s ass sounded like a perfect distraction. “So tell me,” Zane whispered across Cory’s bare chest as he slid down his body, placing a sharp bite near his navel. “Do you plan on having Selena without me?” Zane slid his tongue down the length of Cory’s throbbing shaft, pausing to draw his balls into his mouth before grazing his way back to the tip. He lapped at the tiny bead of moisture that formed. Cory sighed. “Every chance I get if you don’t stop teasing.” Zane dragged his teeth across the tip of his cock, enjoying the shiver that tore through Cory. His own shaft pulsed against his belly, need burning through him like a wildfire. He reached for the lube on the bedside table. “And can I fuck you while she watches?” Squeezing the cool gel onto his fingers, he stroked Cory’s cock with one hand while plunging two fingers in his ass with the other. Zane’s cock throbbed in anticipation, Cory’s sharp, short breathes filling his ears. “You think she wants to see this?” Cory bent his legs and Zane knelt between them, pulling his fingers out of his lover and guiding his cock gently into the tight channel. Zane continued to massage Cory’s cock with his fist, firm, slow movements that mirrored him sinking into his ass. Cory fisted the sheets as Zane sunk the few remaining inches, burying his shaft to the hilt inside his hot ass. Cory’s muscles gripped him, squeezed his cock and damn near had him coming like a quick-draw teenager. Gripping one of his hips for balance, Zane rocked against him, stroking Cory’s cock in rhythm with his stride. His heart pounded like thunder in his chest, his muscles clenching with each smooth thrust. “I think Selena would orgasm from watching this.”

He refused to scold Cory for believing Selena was no different than Linnea. It was something his partner would have to come to terms with eventually and he could only push him so far. But Selena was different. She wanted them both, begged for them both and enjoyed having them both. Picturing her between them, of being able to kiss both her and Cory while they worked her over the edge had his blood boiling. It would take some getting used to but in time she’d take them both. The erotic image brought a smile to his lips. He pumped faster. “Harder, Zane.” Zane opened his eyes, grinned at Cory as he clutched the sheets beneath him. Thrusting his hips faster, he pounded deeper inside him, working his hand along the thick length of his shaft with a tighter grip. When Cory lifted his legs and wrapped them around his waist, he stiffened inside him, growling in satisfaction as he pumped his seed out. The fire in Cory’s eyes sent electricity snaking down his spine and he slid his hand faster and faster over Cory’s cock, enjoying the sudden thickening before his release, the cry that broke from his lips as hot semen coated his hand. Releasing him, sliding from his ass, he propped himself above Cory, capturing his lips in a fiery kiss. Without words he thanked him for what he’d done, for the love he shared with him, for the woman he would care for too. Mating bond or no, Cory was his soul mate. “I thought you two promised to rest.” He smiled down at Cory, his partner’s lips curving in the devilish way he loved. Cory’s hands smoothed down his back, petting him much like they’d done to Selena just yesterday. Two naked, intertwined men laid out for her on their bed. He breathed in the sweet scent of her arousal, his cock already throbbing to sink into her moist flesh. Cory shifted and Zane eased back, the two turning their heads to take her in together. The wolf inside him howled and he heard a small sigh escape Cory’s rough lips. His mate, his lover. Everyone right where they belonged. “I’m pretty sure I tore a stitch or two,” Cory drawled beside him. “You’ll need to come check it out right away.”

Cory closed his eyes and for a moment Zane thought he might have fucked him too hard. Pushed him too quick after the trauma of the night before. Then Cory lips tilted in a delicious grin, his eyes lifting partway to single out Selena across the room. “You’ll get the best view right here,” he ran his hand over the foot of space between his and Cory’s naked bodies. “Come kiss them and make them better,” he whispered. He watched Selena leave the doorstep with caution, as if she was expecting them to jump from the bed and rush her at any second. “You two are incorrigible.” Zane smiled and slid his hands down Cory’s back, cupping his ass and grinning with wicked charm as he thought about exactly what pleasure Cory and him had in store for her. “I probably have a few left you should kiss too.” When she reached the foot of the bed and slapped their feet in mock scolding, each reached out a hand and tugged her down between them. Her arousal drugged his senses, potent and thick in the air around them. “And what’s in all this kissing for me?” she teased. Zane smiled, licking a slow path to her ear, enjoying the quick beat of her heart against his chest. “A thorough devouring by your mates. Something you’ll notice is going to happen every time you come back home to us.” He pulled back to watch her smile, knowing without words exactly what his mate was thinking. Home. The word never sounded sweeter.

THE END

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