Stealing Their Harley, page 5
He reaches behind his back and starts to pull his shirt off, but I stop him quickly. “Not necessary!” All I need is to see him shirtless. He’s the only one I haven’t thrown myself at and if I see him without a shirt, all bets are off. Plus, I don’t think I could handle seeing another of my dream guys turn into something furry.
“Why don’t you have a seat and we can explain everything.” Kacen gestures to the chair Dawson had been sitting in moments ago. Taking his own seat back, Kacen orders, “Dawson, go get changed.”
“You mean into a person or his clothes?” As idiotic as the question sounds, it’s a fair one. How am I supposed to know what he means?
Kacen’s brow rises in amusement as Alekai answers me. “Both, actually.”
Wolf-Dawson snorts and picks up the shredded clothes he’d been wearing with his powerful jaws, then stomps out of the room. I didn’t know wolves could stomp or pout until now.
“Don’t mind him, that was one of his favorite shirts. He’s just pissy it’s ruined.” Alekai winks at me and I blush all the way down to my toes. He clearly notices if the widening of his permanent smirk is any indication.
To distract myself and buy a little bit of time, I slowly stride over to the chair and fold myself into it. If I was smart, I’d be running for my life. Good thing I never claimed to be smart. It sounds crazy, even in my own mind, but I still trust these three wolf-men. I don’t understand why, but I’ve never been one to run from my fears and I won’t start now. I have the insatiable urge to learn everything I possibly can about them, to uncover all of their secrets and truly know them.
Bracing myself, I plow ahead full force. “I need you guys to tell me everything.”
Chapter 6
Dawson reenters the office, as a human this time, and sends me a sheepish grin. I giggle internally at the pun. Wolves and sheep. I crack myself up sometimes.
“I’m sorry about earlier. You startled me and I didn’t think before I reacted.” Dawson scratches the back of his neck nervously. “I hope I didn’t scare you too badly.”
“Not really,” I admit with a shrug. “You surprised me more than anything. I was sort of eavesdropping and heard you guys talking about keeping secrets from me. I didn’t like it and I meant to tell you all just that. I didn’t expect to startle you enough that you turned into a wolf. That’s new.”
“Not to us, it’s not,” Alekai retorts and offers me a smile
“Touché.” I smirk back and settle into a more comfortable position in the chair. After all, explanations might take a while. “So, you’re werewolves, I’m guessing?”
“We prefer the term wolf shifters.” Kacen steeples his fingers in front of his mouth, resting his elbows on the arms of the chair. The movement stretches his shirt taut against his chest. I can’t stop my gaze from tracking each perfect indentation in the fabric. I’m practically drooling at the pure display of masculinity. “But essentially, yes. We can shift into the form of a wolf.”
I try to focus back on the conversation. “Does it hurt?” I imagine changing your body from one form to another would be incredibly painful.
Dawson comes up behind me and rests his hands on my shoulders, massaging gently. As always, I soften under his touch. “The first few times we shift it hurts like hell, but after that, it’s as natural as breathing to us.”
“When did this happen to you guys?” I wonder while leaning myself closer to Dawson. I curl my legs up under me, and relax further under his hands. The man was born with a magical grip.
“It didn’t happen to us, Harley. We were born shifters,” Alekai explains. He gives me a once over and tilts his head. “Nice outfit by the way.”
I blush for the second time because of him, ducking my head to hide my burning cheeks. Dawson’s hands fall away at the motion and I regret it instantly. “I have no clothes; I needed something to wear after my shower.”
“Please, feel free to wear my clothes all the time. They look good on you.” Alekai winks and smirks once again as I peek up at him. I’m beginning to enjoy his playful nature. “Unless, you prefer wearing nothing at all.”
“Ass,” I mumble at him, but I can’t stop my own smile from breaking out. “Moving on. Tell me what you mean about being born shifters. I thought you had to be bitten or something. That’s what all the books and movies portray. Please tell me they got that part right at least.”
“Actually, wolf shifters can be made but it’s so rare, most born shifters can go their entire life and never meet one.” Alekai swings his feet around and leans back on the desk. “The only way to make a wolf shifter is for a human to survive a wolf bite. It’s next to impossible for that to happen.”
I cringe at the thought of being bitten by the powerful jaws I saw on Dawson earlier. “So, don’t let you guys bite me. Noted.”
The three of them exchange loaded glances and I freeze. “What? Are you planning on eating me or something?” I feel myself tensing up, unsure of what their answer will be. Would they really tell me if they planned to eat me? Or would they hide their true intentions and one day, I wake up with one of them standing over me with an ax and a crazy-ass smile.
When Alekai bursts into laughter, Dawson chuckles, and Kacen cracks a smile, my body relaxes but I’m left feeling a tad bit ridiculous. “No, Harley. You’re safe with us. I promised you that and as I said then, we keep our promises. That’s also part of our kind. We take our word very seriously.”
“Is that why you won’t let me go? Because you promised my father you’d keep me here?” I know the answer already, but I’m hoping if I fish enough, I’ll get more information on where my dad is and what happened to him. I feel like I deserve to know every detail. After all, it’s my family and even if I find these three men attractive, they did kidnap me.
“If you want to know what happened to your father, all you have to do is ask.” Dawson goes back to massaging my shoulders and I groan loudly at the sinfully delicious sensation. People would pay good money to get their kinks worked out by this man. Pun intended. I groan out loud again, shifting my body slightly in the chair when he finds and starts working on a knot.
A low growl sounds from behind the desk and my head snaps up, my eyes meeting familiar silver ones. At least now I know I’m not crazy and the strange eye color-changing-thingy isn’t my imagination. “Kacen? Are you okay?”
He shakes his head and squeezes his eyes shut tightly. I notice his upper body is tensed up, and his hands are gripping the sides of the desk like they’re a lifeline. I worry for a minute that he will snap the wooden trim off. “Sorry, I just need a little time to get used to this.”
“You?” I bark out with an incredulous laugh at his words and unwrap my legs from underneath me. “I think I could use a few months to get used to this crap. What the hell do you have to get used to?”
“We’ll explain that later,” Dawson assures me, pressing harder into a knot in my shoulder and effectively shutting me up.
I sit there silently for a moment, just enjoying the attention. At my next moan, Dawson speaks up again, his words rushing out. “Do you want to know about your father?”
“Mmmhmm,” my hum of confirmation turns into another groan and this time it’s Alekai cursing under his breath.
“This is a long and complex story, but I’m going to simplify it as best I can for you if that’s all right?” Kacen waits for me to nod before he continues. “Your father is a wolf shifter.”
“Excuse me?” I choke and sit up straighter in my seat. What the hell did he just say?
“Way to just blurt it out there, Kacen,” Alekai reprimands him. He runs a hand through his curly locks, throwing them in further disarray. “You could’ve been a little more delicate.”
Dawson stops his ministrations on my shoulders but doesn’t remove his hands. He leans forward and whispers in my ear, giving me delicious chills down my spine. “He may have come out of the gate too fast, but he will finish a little slower. At least, that’s what the ladies say.”
Dawson’s attempt at a joke has me laughing. He is great at distracting me from my problems. When my laughter finally subsides, he continues, “Joking aside, let him finish, love. It’s a lot to handle, but it’s easier to just hear it all at once.”
I snort. “A lot to handle… That’s what she said.”
The guys burst into laughter even as Kacen gives me an incredulous look.
“Okay, okay, sorry,” I whisper, distracted by the perfect cupid’s bow of his lips. I lick my own lips and then blush as I hear a cough sound from in front of me.
Kacen gives me a measured smile before he starts over. “I suppose the most important bit of information you need to know is that wolf shifters have packs. Always. If you walk away from your pack without permission from the Alpha, you’re a traitor and a rogue. Your father did just that and even though he believed he had a good reason he didn’t have permission from his Alpha.”
I shake my head and squeeze my eyes shut, trying to imagine my father as a man who could turn into a wolf. When I open them again, I find Kacen watching me. “Okay, say you’re right. Say my father is a werewolf—”
“Wolf shifter,” Alekai corrects, his expression serious.
I shoot him a menacing glare. “Does the verbiage really matter right now, smart ass?”
“I mean, a little bit.” He shrugs and bites his lip to hide a grin. Dammit, why is that so sexy?
Instead of kissing him senseless like I want to, I roll my eyes heavily. “Anywayyyy,” I draw the word out dramatically. “If he is a wolf shifter, then what does being a rogue mean for him? Why did he leave? What does this have to do with him abandoning me and my mom?”
“Slow down, turbo,” Alekai says with a chuckle. He hops off the desk and kneels in front of me, taking my hands in his. “All of your questions will be answered.”
His eyes flick from my eyes to my lips and back again. He licks his own and I find myself leaning forward. Just a taste. What could it hurt?
“To answer your questions,” Kacen calls loudly, breaking the moment with Alekai, and I jump back in my seat. I can’t believe my mind won’t stay out of the gutter. I’ve never had trouble controlling myself before. What the hell is wrong with me?
Kacen continues, drawing me away from my inner thoughts. “Going rogue for your father is dangerous because of the pack he was part of. In our pack, a rogue simply wouldn’t be allowed back into the pack, ever. Our pack is more progressive than your father’s old pack though. His pack is made up of a bunch of pricks who enjoy killing for fun. Being labeled a rogue in their pack is as good as a death sentence. Your father has been hiding you and your mother for all these years to keep you safe. I can guarantee you, we will continue to keep you safe, though, Harley. We won’t let anyone get to you.”
I notice a barely controlled possessive glint in Kacen’s eyes when I look his way. It makes me wonder if he thinks I should only be attracted to him. In reality, I shouldn’t be attracted to any of them, but that doesn’t stop my heart and body from wanting all three of them on such an intense level, it nearly knocks the breath right out of me.
Something Kacen said registers with me and tears instantly spring to my eyes. My voice shakes as I ask the question I don’t want to know the answer to. “So, my mother is dead?”
“No, baby, no.” Kacen springs from his seat and rounds the desk quickly while Alekai tightens his hold on my hands and Dawson’s hands come to rest on my shoulders. Kacen kneels to my right side and pushes my hair behind my ears, and then cups my face. His thumbs swipe at the tears that leak from my blurred eyes. “Don’t cry, baby. Your mom is alive. I know she’s alive.”
“H-how do you know?” I sniffle and curse the tears that won’t seem to quit.
Alekai answers for Kacen this time. “Because the Dawnfall pack needs your mom alive to get to your dad. They know he’ll come for her. They want him more than anything. You and your mom are just bait. They’re are using her to lure him out.”
“It’s the reason he left you guys,” Dawson adds quietly, patting my shoulders. “He thought if he left the way he did you two wouldn’t try to find him and he could somehow lead the Dawnfall pack away from you guys. He told us he was sure it would only take him a few weeks then he could come back to you guys and beg forgiveness. He never expected to be gone for as long as he was.”
The news stuns me. “He’s been running from this Dawnfall pack for almost a year?”
Alekai squeezes my hands. I’m surrounded on all sides by warmth. “Yeah, he refused to go back home until he knew it was safe for you and your mother. The both of you are all he talks about. You two are his entire world.”
“What I don’t understand is why they want him so badly,” I wonder aloud. “Why did he go rogue in the first place?”
“Simple.” Alekai shrugs and a stray curl falls, resting on his cheek. I reach out and gently push it back behind his ear “He fell in love with your mother.”
“Is that not allowed?” I frown and place my hand back in his.
Kacen cringes and looks like he doesn’t want to answer. “That’s complicated.”
“Simplify it,” I snap and immediately regret it. “Sorry, I just… I need to understand all of this.”
“I understand, Harley. Don’t be sorry.” Kacen grins as he stands and backs up to rest his hip against the desk. “Wolf shifters have mates, one person who they’re meant to be with forever. That mate is supposed to be a wolf shifter. Not a human.” He shares a look with each of the men before continuing. “Sometimes there are multiple wolves mated to each other, but there’s always someone. It’s forbidden in all packs for wolves to be with humans for several reasons, but this is the biggest reason. Imagine falling in love with someone only to have them leave you because they meet their mate. That’s what would happen to a human. Eventually, the one they love will find their true mate and will leave to be with them, never looking back.”
“Plus, humans aren’t supposed to know about us and it’s extremely difficult to keep that a secret,” Dawson adds with a gentle squeeze of my shoulders. “Your dad should get an award for managing to keep his secret for so long. He told us he never told her because he was terrified she’d be afraid of him and leave. Then you came along and he knew he could never live without the two of you, which reinforced his need to keep his secret.”
I snort and roll my eyes. “If he’d told us the truth, maybe we could’ve helped. He should get a swift kick in the ass.”
The guys chuckle at my comment, but I’m only sort of kidding.
A thought occurs to me as I mull over the information they’ve given me. “Are you sure he didn’t find his mate and run off to be with her?”
“Impossible.” Kacen shakes his head. “His mate died when he was younger. They met when they were teenagers. She was killed a few months later. It’s a miracle he survived it. I can’t even imagine the pain he was in. His story actually prompted our pack to institute a new rule back when he left to be with your mother.”
“What’s the rule?” I ask, too intrigued not to.
“We will allow a shifter to leave the pack to be with a human if they choose. They are not, however, allowed to tell any human about our kind. That’s a major rule we don’t take lightly to when broken.”
“Erm…” I raise my hand like a child in school. “You told me. Does that mean you’ll get into trouble?”
The guys exchange loaded glances. Kacen is the one to finally answer me. “No, baby, we won’t get in trouble.”
“But, I’m human,” I remind them. “Which reminds me, how is that possible? If my father is a wolf shifter, how am I just a human?”
Alekai drops down onto his butt from his kneeling position in front of me. He crosses his legs and leans back on his hands. “That’s another reason humans and shifters are forbidden in some packs and frowned upon in our pack to be in relationships. Any children they have together will be fully human. Any offspring would be just another human who can’t know the secret of one of their parents. Another human who could potentially be abandoned if the shifter meets their mate.”
“If what my father did is frowned upon in your pack, why are you helping him?” I ask no one in particular. “Won’t your pack be pissed at you for helping him?”
“They can’t be too angry with me,” Kacen grins mischievously and leans forward to feign a whisper, “I’m their Alpha.”
“You’re the Alpha? Isn’t that like the king of the tribe or some crap?” I’m in awe of him. He’s like wolf royalty. “What the hell are you doing here?”
“I didn’t plan on staying, to be honest.” He gives me an apologetic smile, but I don’t understand why. “I was only going to be sure Alekai and Dawson had everything in order before I went back to our pack house. The two of them are my betas. We’ve been best friends since birth, and I chose them when I stepped up as Alpha.”
“He most certainly isn’t the damned king, though,” Alekai adds with a disgruntled glare at his friend. “He’s more like a giant pain in the ass.”
“Aren’t you sweet,” I giggle at Alekai. “You two sound like me and Rico. He’s a shithead, but I love the hell out of him.”
At the mention of Rico, the mood in the room sours. What is their problem with Rico? They’ve never met him and he didn’t do anything wrong that I know of. Maybe it’s a wolf thing.
“So, one thing still doesn’t make sense to me,” I venture, desperate for a change in subject. “Why would you help my father when he was part of a pack you clearly dislike and he broke the same rules your pack has?”
“Because the Dawnfall pack does a lot of shit we don’t approve of. When he came to us, he offered his life in exchange for our help,” Kacen tells me.
I gasp in horror. “You guys are going to kill him?”
Dawson’s arms come around my shoulders and he hugs me tightly. “Of course not. We would never kill someone over something like this.”
