The Wolf Pack, page 7
“Let them come. I relish the opportunity to beat some sense into them. It was a good ploy and I applaud the effort. My brother has never been a good study of history. It’s a bit of a surprise to see him fall on the word of law. He’s not a fighter but his words can be weapons when used correctly.” There was no wasted motion and Callan was systematically taking him apart.
This was all happening in my name and I felt solely responsible. I stepped out before he went in for the kill and walked with a confidence I didn’t feel.
“That is more than enough,” Those five words had the weight of the chosen one behind them.
Chapter Ten
At least they weren’t fighting anymore although the awkward silence was deafening. I sat there trying not to look but I could feel each one of them staring at me.
Both Donovan and Callan were nursing their wounds, giving each other the evil eye. The fire was warm to the touch and the sun had gone down leaving me in the company of at least a dozen men. It would’ve been flattering had it not been the most terrifying moment of my life.
The flicker of the flame drew me to it but I wasn’t sure what to say after I had interrupted what was supposed to be a fight to the death. They were obviously waiting for me to say something and were quite surprised by the backbone it took for me to stand up against what they considered tradition.
My mind was trying to comprehend everything that had happened including the death of Daniel.
Clover was hurting and I could tell he wanted to lash out, yet nobody was giving him the opening he was looking for. Each time he grumbled, he got the response of every person twisting in place to glare at him. I think in some small part the rest of them thought it was funny how I had overpowered him when he was supposed to be the cream of the crop.
“Somebody is going to have to talk about the elephant in the room. This was not the way we wanted to meet you. The Black family has been attempting to monopolize your time and I imagine it goes beyond a protector status. If I were to hazard a guess they have been influencing you for quite some time with their telepathic link. They are the only family who holds that certain power and they never let us forget it.” Donovan was strong and I could see his natural leadership qualities shining through.
“That is oversimplifying things. We all know there is one family in every generation who has that gift. It’s not my fault I was born into greatness. Protesting the natural order of things isn’t going to get you anywhere. I admit to being a little selfish but I will grudgingly step back to let her make an informed decision. However, we do have the right to ask for first counsel.” I had no idea what that meant, yet it seemed to get underneath the skin of every man in attendance.
“We will give you a twenty-four hour reprieve. We are the next in line of succession. Also, I would be remiss if I didn’t mention the rogue faction. They are out there and they want to destroy our way of life by any means necessary. I give you my word we will abide by her final decision.” Donovan was practically biting his tongue and I could tell it was killing him inside to make any kind of concession.
“I have people positioned to make sure the rogue faction doesn’t get close to her. I thought they were a myth but I have recently learned of their manipulation. Killing her will send the community into a tailspin we might never recover from. As much as it pains me we must work together using our vast resources to make sure that doesn’t happen,” Callan proposed and then proffered his hand as a sign of some kind of respect which I still didn’t fully understand.
Everybody was waiting on pins and needles to see how Donovan was going to respond. I hadn’t said a word and they were speaking for me which was slowly making my blood boil. I was strong and capable, and for them to believe their interests coincided with mine was preposterous. I was still having a hard time resolving the issue of werewolves being real. It made me question everything and wonder about what other things might go bump in the night.
“I don’t like being ambushed like this. Killing you and making her see me and my family as her only option was the plan. It has always been about strength. Banding together sickens me, although it does make sense on paper. I will never forget how close you were to killing me. You have always been a hard man to kill and this was no different,” He turned and stood there in front of me, with his shadow blocking out the fire I was staring at.
“I really don’t know what you expect me to say,” I uttered trying not to make eye contact. However, I was feeling compelled to see the softness behind his eyes.
He knelt at my feet on one knee and I looked at him startled when he took my hand and kissed the back of it. I felt the warmth of his tenderness and his smile was disarming. I cracked a smile briefly before wrenching my hand away from him in an attempt at self-preservation. I didn’t know him but I was reminded about how I could say the same thing about those voices in my head.
“We will meet again and, hopefully, under better circumstances. There are only a few hours left. They should have been more forthcoming to prepare you for the inevitable. The rest of us didn’t even know about you until a few days ago. Unfortunately, the same thing can be said for the rogue faction. They have taken a vested interest in destroying you. They call themselves the enlightened ones. Their mandate is predicated on religious nonsense.” He walked away, bowing slightly and my heart skipped a beat realizing my eyes had strayed a little further south to the flexing evidence of his arousal.
Something was happening. My libido was highly charged and getting stronger by the second. I felt a desperate need to climb onto the next available warm body.
Callan became a beacon of light, shining brightly, with his body becoming a sought after commodity and my mouth watered with anticipation.
The group of men dispersed and I watched them collect the dead body of Daniel in a sign of respect. I heard them talking about a proper burial and traditional ceremony. It would be nice to pay my respects and I wanted to be present at that moment to find closure.
I was left with Callan on one side of me and Wesley on the other.
They both touched a knee and began squeezing. It felt right and wrong at the same time to even consider anything physical with them. The most unnerving part of it all was that my body was screaming at me to jump their bones. I refrained out of principle, quelling the desire, with the heat between us enough to feel stifling.
“I regret this is the way we met face to face. I’ve been watching you from afar, following from a distance after what happened with Crosby. He is making a remarkable recovery recuperating from his injuries,” He informed me and his hand remained steadfast on my knee.
I noticed his injuries were healing faster than humanly possible.
“My head is swimming with everything I’ve learned, no thanks to you and your brothers. I’ve been known to hold a grudge and keeping me in the dark hurts me deeply. It disappoints me to think you couldn’t trust me with the truth after all the time we've spent talking to one another. How can I possibly trust what you have to say when you haven’t given me the same courtesy?” I questioned and found my hands on theirs, feeling an electrical charge of energy making my thighs twitch noticeably in my khaki pants.
“That’s fair and I take full responsibility,” He conceded. It took a big man to admit his mistakes.
Wesley was amazingly quiet and it obviously came from years of practice in several meditative arts. He had shared with me some of his knowledge. It wasn’t enough to stop the building of anger inside of me, but I probably would have made a scene without it, and I thanked the calming influence of Wesley’s words that kept me from doing something I would have regretted.
“I do feel I know the three of you in some small part. Your voices have been a never-ending comfort to me. Each of you gave me different tools but the one thing I wanted the most was the truth. I really did think I was losing my mind. It took a lot for me to come to terms with hearing voices in my head.” I thought about Daniel and how his death had been glossed over, like they were willing to sweep it underneath the rug.
I was never going to let them do that.
“The others don’t need to know how long we have been communicating. It was like you were screaming at us for help when you turned sixteen. It was my intention of weaning you into learning of your position of becoming the chosen one. Time has this funny way of slipping through your fingers like sands through an hourglass. It appears some of what Wesley has been preaching has rubbed off on me.” Their hands were gradually and almost imperceptibly climbing up my legs causing them to spread in an unspoken invitation to get a little closer to the heat of my crotch.
I was fighting and my willpower was falling short, until Callan took it upon himself to turn my lips toward him. He leaned forward and my lips quivered when his tongue circled the shape of my mouth. He had my undivided attention while pulling down the zipper of my pants to snake his fingers into the opening.
My panties were soaking wet and I could feel him tracing the outline of those lips through the material. I didn’t need the drama and everything was temporarily forgotten, including them holding the information about me being the chosen one over my head.
He kissed me lightly at first touching my lips with the tip of his tongue. I sighed deeply and my mouth parted to encourage his bad behavior. He delved deeper tickling the roof of my mouth and igniting those nerve endings sending signals below my waist. I shifted nervously on the rock and my legs spread a little wider with another stronger presence finding its way between my legs.
They were both struggling to peel back the layer of fabric separating them from the heat of my core. It was a pure choice and there was no mistaking the hungry need to consume them. It was almost instinctual like breathing and his tongue in my mouth poured fuel to the fire. I moaned when they both penetrated me with a finger at the same time. I opened up like a blooming rose with the petals widening for their tactile inspection.
“God damn…you are so fucking wet.” Wesley’s words conveyed his desire and he converged until he was on his knees with my thighs pressed up against his ears.
Callan had his hand on the back of my neck, scratching lightly at the surface of my delicate skin. His fingers made me succumb, he had somehow cracked through the wall of my resolve. My whimper of submission was captured within his mouth and my toes curled inside my shoes, when Wesley applied the right kind of pressure to those lips.
The flutter of his tongue was simply something I couldn’t ignore. The kiss on both pairs of lips had me spending my energy on trying to refuse their advances. It was impossible to say no when everything in my being was screaming yes.
I felt the stabbing motion of Wesley’s tongue. He was well informed about what it took to touch a woman in the right way. Those buttons became my weakness and I could feel his fingers stretching the opening of my zipper for better access.
My legs curled around his neck locking my ankles in place. Being seduced by two men wasn’t something I had consciously thought about but my dreams could be rather naughty when left to their own devices.
A hand came in contact with my breasts and two fingers pinched my right nipple. The added stimulation had me squirming, with the sound of Wesley’s sloppy exploration of my flesh quite vivid in my mind. I was a blazing star and those fireworks behind my eyes had me throwing my head back, temporarily letting go of the pair of lips which seemed to have a mind of their own.
I wanted more and they were willing to satisfy my every whim. Callan attacked my neck and my low guttural moan echoed in the night air. Wesley was tapping his tongue to my clit with two fingers guided by my greedy little hole. He was touching me in a way to ignite the sensation of my G-spot giving it the required attention to make it explode.
I was about to see God but I had the good sense to push them both away before it was too late. I could’ve easily allowed them to overpower me right there on the ground.
They looked at me sheepishly and there were the makings of a smirk on their faces by how easily they had played my body like a musical instrument.
“I want to go home. You’ve given me a lot to think about. I’m starting to understand there’s no place that I’m going to be safe from the two of you. I get overtaken by this need and you are taking advantage of it. I can’t blame you and I’m practically giving it away. There is only a little while left and I can’t let what happens here influence my decision. I’m still trying to figure out if this is what I really want and being with the two of you is clouding my judgment.” I walked away from them and they chased after me without saying a word to defend their actions.
I made my way back to the truck with them hot on my heels.
I got in the truck with the keys I had taken from Daniel’s body. They were in my rearview mirror standing there looking confused but still smiling like idiots. I shook my head in disbelief. It was no wonder they hadn’t wanted to get close to me before, when we couldn’t seem to control those animal urges.
Chapter Eleven
I needed some time to think with everything weighing heavily on my shoulders. They had bombarded me with too much information and finding my happy place in the forest away from everything gave me time to find perspective. Camping in solitude was my way of getting back to what was considered normal. It was too bad I didn’t have Daniel around but I couldn’t seem to stay mad at him. His death caught me by surprise and his betrayal was like a cold slap to the face.
None of that mattered and I couldn’t speak ill of the dead. It was nice to hear him speak candidly about his reluctance to play along. Daniel was a good man at heart and I felt we could have had something special but it was ruined because of the awakening.
I could still feel how Callan and Wesley had somehow known what I needed in that moment. It was like we were connected, tethered together in some kind of dangerous game. The result was uncanny and the physical need to touch them was almost too much to ignore. They had this ability to drive me crazy with only a few short hours until my birthday was on the horizon.
The fire was warm to the touch and the flicker of the flames reminded me of their ritual. I could live relatively comfortably with nobody around for miles. I sighed with contentment but there was one thing missing. I needed a warm body and the feeling of being subdued for the sake of pleasure.
Wesley was quite the wordsmith but he had another use for his tongue which had opened my eyes to possibilities. All three of them were my best friends growing up but I could see it turning into something more with only a feather-like touch to fan those flames.
Smoke drifted into the air and the stones kept the flames from expanding to the dry forest. There was a frost advisory and I could feel the drop in temperature. The night was my friend and I wasn’t afraid of what went bump but maybe I should have been. Understanding was half of the battle but it left me shaking at the prospect of what they were expecting of me. I didn’t want to admit it and I would deny it, but dying for any one of them was foremost on my mind and sacrificing everything to protect them was ingrained into my psyche.
I knew without a shadow of a doubt they felt the same way.
“I have questions and nobody to ask. Hearing them out loud takes away their power. Talking to you is therapeutic but I have to wonder if my words get lost in translation.” I had stripped down feeling more natural without any fabric of clothing touching my skin.
They were right there piled beside me.
Those three guys had this way of getting to the meat of the matter with very few words. I suspected they were watching and waiting for me to come to terms with my fate. It didn’t matter how far I ran, there was no escaping my destiny. This was my neighborhood with only the sound of wildlife scurrying in the distance. A bubbling brook was nearby and this was my favorite spot to get away from it all.
“I thought you could use a friendly face,” I turned with the homemade walking stick clutched in both hands ready to defend myself.
It was crafted from a piece of driftwood from an old boat sacrificed to the sea.
“I was wondering when you were going to make an appearance. It’s interesting, you’re not exactly what I envisioned from your voice. Walk into the light of the fire. Crosby, it’s nice to finally put a face to the voice.” I lowered the walking stick but didn’t try to cover up, knowing that he had probably been watching for quite some time before making his approach.
“I would’ve come sooner but I think you know the reason why I didn’t. I just want you to know that I wouldn’t have done anything differently. My injuries kept me on the shelf. I shouldn’t even be here but I felt you needed to hear from me in person. I respect whatever decision you make.” He was a different breed of an animal, wearing a hunter plaid jacket and black leather driving gloves.
His black jeans were form-fitting and his masculine presence was literally mind-blowing. I stopped from hyperventilating by taking long and deep breaths. I had this license to touch them and they were waiting for me to jump their bones. Crosby had the same dark hair but it was naturally curly without any product. His physical attributes rivaled his brothers and there was the faintest sign of a very long blood red dragon tail ending at his neck with the rest hidden underneath his shirt.
His blue eyes were able to see right through me. The man wasn’t shy about licking his lips and fanning the flames of desire between us. He grimaced slightly and his teeth clenched with his hand holding onto his side. It didn’t stop him from coveting a physical relationship with me, even though I was most likely going to have to do all the work.
“You don’t have to repeat what your brothers have already told me. I have a few hours to make peace with my decision. I want to gather the Clan alphas. They want their chance to plead their case and I feel it’s necessary to hear them out.” I wanted to scream at the top of my lungs to be heard but soft-spoken with a little bit of honey would go a long way to soothe the savage beast.
