Werewolves and Chocolate (5 page)

“Who’s teasing who now? Gods…you’re going to
make me come right here.”

“No way, not ‘til you are inside me.”

“Baby, if I fuck you now, I’m not going to
stop.” Jake pulled back, his breath shuddering a little. “Though, I bet you’re
a little warmer.”

“A little,” she said with a harrumph as Jake
backed away.

“You tempt me sorely.” He took a deep breath.
“All right, the heat’s up a few degrees. Should be better soon.”

She pulled her coat off and nodded.

“If you get bored or hungry, come on over to
the house. We’ll try to check back in.”

“All right.”

Ellie pulled back the thick comforter on the
king size bed and began pulling off her shoes, then undoing her jeans.

“I’m going before your clothes come off. My
willpower is fading.”

Grinning, Ellie blew him a kiss, and he
hurried outside. Ellie dragged her backpack into bed with her and pulled out
one of her textbooks. Nothing for it; she had to get some studying done while
they were on the trip from hell.

CHAPTER FIVE

Kyle looked up as Jake returned to the
meeting while Matthew was grilling Taggert.

“So you heard the Hagalaz talking to a
contact?”

“Yes, and unfortunately, I had to either follow
the Hagalaz or his contact.”

“You didn’t think to call anyone?”

“It all happened fast, Matthew. Once the
Hagalaz found out I was trailing him he attacked. After the attack, I didn’t
have a cell signal. And I was, you know, fucking bleeding out from a gut wound.”

“Yet you remembered where we lived,” Kyle
offered dryly.

“You were the closest safe house.” Taggert
sniffed the air when Jake sat beside Kyle. “For fuck’s sake, can’t you leave
that piece of pussy alone for five minutes? Gods, she has your dicks wrapped
around her—”

Kyle’s hands were around Taggert’s throat.
“Go ahead and finish that sentence.”

Matthew stood up and pounded the table. “Kyle!”
He growled a warning.

Snarling, Kyle released him. Taggert made him
see red, he was so pissed. Jake gave him a look and he tried to breathe and let
it go.

 Matthew resumed his seat. “The problem, if
everyone can focus for a goddamn minute, is the Hagalaz seem to be mobilizing
for something.”

“Doesn’t this mean they’re weakened, that
they lost a bunch of their warriors?” Kyle asked.

“It does, but it also means they are up to
something. They wouldn’t have offered up their own to a Faerie lord without
something significant in trade. They wouldn’t have taken the risk unless there
was a considerable reward.”

“We should talk to the wereleopards,” Cassia
said with some frustration.

“Cassia, I told you I don’t like it.”

“Their shaman asked me for help. I wasn’t
able to, and then you demanded I not speak to them.”

“The leopards have never been allies.”

“They haven’t been enemies either, Matthew.
Not like the Hagalaz.”

“The Hagalaz are still blood!” he cried out.
“For the love of the Mother, look at what is happening to us. We can barely
find mates. We have no children.”

“Would you mate with a Hagalaz?” Cassia
asked, arching her eyebrow.

Matthew’s heavy eyebrows drew together, and
Kyle was curious to hear his answer. “If it came to it, yes. We need mates, and
even across all the Uruz clanholdings, we are too closely related. Or,” and he
offered an apologetic look at Jake and Kyle, “mated to humans.”

“Matthew, I don’t need your permission to
contact the wereleopard shaman and find out what happened. It’s my prerogative.
But I’d like for us to be in agreement. I deferred to your judgment before, but
with this knowledge about the Hagalaz, I must disagree with you, with respect.”

Grumbling, Matthew sighed. “I concur. Make
the contact and find out what you can.” He turned to Taggert. “You get some
rest. Once you are healed up, I’m sending you up with a few of our warriors to retrieve
your wrecked car and the body.”

Taggert nodded.

“You two, a word if you would.” Matthew drew
Kyle and Jake to the side. “You’ve both been distant from the clanholding. Is
everything all right?”

Jake nodded. “It’s fine. We have been focused
on settling into our new life in Minneapolis. And, we wanted to give Ellie time
to adjust.”

“How have things gone?”

“It has gone well. Better than I expected.
She was, as you can imagine, hesitant to mate a werewolf. Much less two.”

“I am glad you have both found the bliss of a
mate. Truly I am. So many of us yearn for such a blessing, myself included.
However, I know you understand my concerns about diluting our bloodlines.”

Kyle shrugged. “Mating works in the ways it
works.”

“I am more concerned that you’re living away
from the clanholdings. It does put you at risk.”

“For the moment it’s non-negotiable.” Kyle
folded his arms. “We made an agreement with Ellie. We promised Ellie was she
could live her own life, finish her degree.”

“In another circumstance this would be
reasonable, but with the Hagalaz acting up, we need every wolf we have.”

“If there’s a fight, we’ll be here. But, we
can’t involve Ellie in this. We swore a vow to her this wouldn’t impact her
life, her dreams.”

Matthew snarled. “You’d defy me for a human?”

“We’d defy you for our mate.”

“Far be it from me to drive a wedge between a
mated pair. Triad, rather. We have precious few of you as it is. However, for
right now, I need all three of you to stay put until we know more about what’s
going on.”

“You’re grounding us?”

“Seriously?”

“No way we are staying here. We promised.”

“Would you defy me?”

Matthew’s face went half feral and Kyle
swore. “You motherfucker!” Kyle nearly split his skin right there. Jake hauled
him back. “Easy. Easy, Kyle. Breathe.” Jake glared at Matthew and then dragged
Kyle out the door.

~* * *~

“What the fuck!”

“Kyle, breathe.”

“I’m breathing, I’m breathing. Just…I can’t
believe this shit. No wonder my parents moved to Bloomington.”

“It’s going to be fine.”

“Not if Matthew demands we stay.”

“We don’t have to obey him.”

Kyle gave Jake an incredulous look. “What do
you mean?”

“I mean, we can leave the pack. If we have
to. It’s been done before.”

“It won’t come to that. It can’t come to
that. I won’t betray the pack.”

“It’s not really a betrayal if they force us
into it. If Matthew’s being so stubborn—”

“No. I won’t abandon them. Not if they need
us.” Kyle turned to Jake. “If it comes to it, you get her out of here.”

“Kyle, you jackass, we’re not leaving you
here.”

“I mean it. If they try to force the issue,
I’ll stay and hold them back. I’ll volunteer for whatever fight needs fighting.
You get her out.”

Jake’s teeth lengthened and he snarled.
“Fine. Only for Ellie.”

“We got her into this mess. We have to keep
her out of it.”

“Agreed.”

Kyle shuddered. “I’m too wired to sleep after
that.”

“Let’s run the woods. It’s rare enough we get
to just freely run, much less amongst pack.”

Kyle nodded. “I miss it, you know. Not all
the time, but….”

“I know.”

~* * *~

Hours later, the two of them snuck into the
empty kitchen and made a few sandwiches, packing some for Ellie, and eating
theirs during the walk to the cabin. They crept into the cozy wooden cabin as
quietly as they could, shutting the door against the cold. Ellie was tucked
under the blankets, the comforter pulled over her head. Jake caught Kyle
smiling at her with the same goofy grin he was sure he sported.  “Let’s get
some sleep, while we can at least. If we have to book out of here, at least
we’ll be a little rested.”

Kyle grunted as he shucked his sweater and
shoes, and undid the top button on his jeans before curling up behind Ellie.
“Like I’ll get much sleep with her pressed against my crotch.”

“There is that,” Jake murmured, also doffing
some of his clothes and laying on Ellie’s other side. “Want me to get you off
so you aren’t so on edge?” Jake stroked his arm down Kyle’s where he already
held Ellie’s hip.

“I can get my damn self off if I need to,”
Kyle grumbled.

“Suit yourself.”

~* * *~

Ellie woke warmer than she had expected, then
realized her two lovers were cocooning her. That was definitely one of the
perks of lovers who had a higher-than-average body temperature. She always had
a place to put her cold feet. She had no idea what time it was; the light
through the windows told her it wasn’t yet night but she had the sense it was
fairly late in the day.

She laughed as both of them reached for her
at the same time to pull her closer. Jake woke up first. “Hey beautiful. You
sleep ok?”

“Yeah. Sorta. What time is it?”

“Not sure.” Kyle groaned, reaching his arm
around her so he could grind his hips against her ass.

“Ooooohh….” she moaned. Jake kissed her,
pressing her back against Kyle. “You smell so damn good. Were you playing with
yourself before you slept?”

“A little. I fell asleep before I could
come.”

Kyle laughed. “I don’t know how that happens
to you.”

“I didn’t want to come without you.”

“We are going to make you come so damn hard.
We’re going to make up for our interrupted date.” She felt Kyle grind against
her ass, tugging her jeans down.

“Vigorously.”

“Repeatedly.”

“Yesss.” Ellie was gasping, already swollen
and wet.

Jake reached his fingers down her jeans to
part her, growling when he felt how slick she was. “That’s it, baby.” He rubbed
her in just the right way until she was squirming and Kyle was trying to pull
her pants off.

“Dammit Kyle, have a little patience,” Jake
rumbled.

Ellie helped Kyle push at her jeans. “It’s ok.
I really want you to fuck me.”

“Not yet. I want you so hot for it you’re
burning.” Jake circled his fingers around her clit, his touch drawing up the
sensation of electricity racing across the bottoms of her feet.

“I already am, dammit,” she cried out as Kyle
bit her neck.

“I liked that first night we were together.
You were so hot for it you would have done anything we asked.”

Jake was licking her neck and she took the
opportunity to bite him hard, loving the grunt he let out. “I still pretty much
do.”

Relenting at last, Jake kissed her, circling
his fingers and bringing her closer to the edge. His fiery touch had her nerve
endings humming, her muscles taut. Another minute and she’d go over. Kyle’s
cock was just slipping inside her from behind.

“Dammit, I can’t get your jeans further
down,” he grumbled, trying to press deeper in.

There was a loud pounding at the door, and
then a cold blast of air as it swung open.

Jake and Kyle both growled a warning.

“Ah, shit. Sorry. Really sorry. It’s Liam. Don’t
kill the messenger here. We’re having a pack meeting.”

“When?”

“Now.”

“Go the fuck away then.”

“I’m not supposed to…uh. Leave without you.”

“Close the goddamn door and wait outside or
I’ll rip your throat out.”

Softly, Jake pulled his hand away from her.
Ellie sobbed in frustration. Jake thumbed away the tears. “Sweetheart, it’s all
right. We have to go, but you can stay and finish.”

“Actually…her presence is required as well,”
she heard through the door.

“Fuck.”

Kyle bounced up, his cock bulging in his
jeans in a ludicrous way. He jerked on his shirt and shoes and walked back and
forth, snarling. Jake kissed Ellie and stood up to dress as well. Finally Ellie
stood to pull on her shoes and right her clothes, and tug on her coat and
scarf.

“Let’s get this over with so we can go home.”
Jake and Kyle glanced at each other and she caught their tension. “What?”

“Matthew doesn’t want us to leave.”

“He what?!” The skin all across her body
prickled in a hot rush of anger.

“We’re working on it. Don’t worry, we’ll get
you home.”

“What do you mean he doesn’t want us to
leave?” She grew dizzy with how many directions her brain was buzzing. Her
pulse sped up and she had to remind herself to breathe.

“He’s worried about the Hagalaz doing
something. About our pack members being in danger. Plus if there’s a conflict
he wants fighters.”

Ellie took another breath, trying to plan a
way out of the mess they seemed wrapped up in. “Can he do that? Demand you
stay?”

“Sort of.” Kyle scratched the back of his
neck, clearly uncomfortable. “We can leave, we can disobey, but we’re formally
cutting ties with the pack if we do that.”

“Shit.”

“Yeah, that about sums it up.” Jake tied his
boots.

“Will they try to force us to stay? Am I in
danger?”

“Nobody will harm you, Ellie. You’re our
mate. But they may put up a fight if Matthew gets testy. He is one of our
Alphas.”

“And these are supposed to be the people you
trust? Your family, the people that have your back?”

“Things have gotten tense lately.”

“I’m pissed off too, for the record,” Kyle
said, finally zipping up with a grunt. “But, and I want you to understand this,
I won’t let anyone keep you here. If I have to stay, so be it. But Jake will
get you home.”