Authors: Alanea Alder
Damian was smiling as he ate his muffin.
Caleb and Bran had been looking back and forth between the two of them.
Caleb turned to Damian. “Did you understand any of that?” he asked. Damian turned bright red.
“Looks like he did,” Bran said, groaning.
“Hey, if you three go at it again, I get to videotape it,” Rian said.
“Like hell!” Bran said.
Rian just pouted. Caleb, catching on, winked at Rian.
“I don’t know, Bran, we do owe him for protecting the boys,” he said seriously.
Kate bit the inside of her cheek to keep from laughing. Bran’s mouth dropped.
“Seriously?” Bran whispered, his eyes wide.
Caleb couldn’t take it anymore. He threw his head back and laughed, which triggered the twins. They started giggling, sounding like little old men. Kate couldn’t take it anymore and began to laugh so hard she couldn’t get a breath in. Her chest just moved up and down as tears streamed from her eyes.
Kate started to see spots when Rian leapt from his chair and whacked her on the back. This caused her to inhale deeply and then loud, deep laughter burst forth. She fought to draw in breath and ended up sliding out of her chair under the table, laughing. Rian ended up beside her as they rolled around, giggling and laughing.
“It’s not funny,” Bran said, seriously, his mouth twitching.
Caleb slapped him on the back. New howls of laughter were heard from under the table.
“I am the Alpha, you know,” Bran said, peeking under the table.
“Stop, it hurts!” Kate said, holding her stomach.
“No more, Alpha,” Rian said and they both started laughing again.
“Well, I guess they’re done with breakfast,” Caleb said, elbowing Bran in the ribs, winking. Immediately the laughter stopped and two heads popped up from under the table.
“Hey, we’re still hungry!” Kate said. On her knees, she extended both hands over her muffin, guarding it.
Rian swiped his then sat back down, out of sight, to scarf it down.
“Aren’t you glad we only have the twins to raise?” Bran said, smiling.
Caleb chuckled and then resumed feeding the boys.
“For now. I wouldn’t be surprised if Kate ends up pregnant with a litter,” Rian said from the floor.
Kate, who had just taken a huge bit of the chocolate muffin, began to choke. Damian jumped up and handed her a cup of coffee. She cleared her airway, looked up, and saw Bran and Caleb were pale and looking at each other. Kate cleared her throat.
“Ri I’m afraid that’s impossible. I don’t think I can have children,” she said quietly, fingering her new necklace.
“Kate, what are you talking about?” Bran asked.
“We’ve been having unprotected sex for over a year and nothing. Fate mates us to a man with two sons. Do the math. I think it’s her way of compensating for me.” She picked at her muffin.
“You’re wrong,” Bran said.
“You just don’t want me to be right,” Kate said.
Caleb cleared his throat. “Let’s cross that bridge when we get to it. For now, let’s focus on this perimeter problem. What did Ma mean last night about killing the one responsible? I was so angry I think I was only hearing every other word.” Caleb desperately wanted to change the subject.
“The person who invited the hyenas into town would have had to physically walk them over the border, knowing that they would cause harm.” Bran explained.
“It wouldn’t work if a townsperson were kidnapped or forced to walk alongside someone. The townsperson would be able to cross and the perimeter would block the aggressor. But, if a townsperson willingly agreed to let someone in, knowing they would cause harm, the perimeter would be breached. As long as that person lives, the perimeter would be down for not only the small group that had walked through but also their entire clan. We have to be absolutely sure because once this person is found it’s a death sentence to secure our borders again.”
The joy and laughter of the morning seemed to evaporate.
“Rian is right. I’ll sit in on the interviews with you,” Caleb said, removing the boys’ bibs.
Bran nodded.
“I’ve lost my appetite. We might as well get started.” Bran stood.
Rian and Damian walked around the table to pick up the boys. Bran and Caleb left the dining room, heading to the office leaving Kate with Damian, Rian, and the boys.
“We have a big day planned, boys. First, a bath to get breakfast cleaned off you. Then a nap. Then we will work on our letters and then I have a wonderful educational video for you,” Rian said, rubbing noses with Lucas.
“Educational videos? Letters? Rian, they are barely eight months old,” Kate said.
“You can never start too early,” Rian said.
Kate walked over and kissed each boy on the head. “Don’t tell Bran, but I’m shifting and sniffing around the border to see if I can find where they crossed. My wolf needs to get out. She wants to eliminate any threat to our young.”
“Katie, I don’t know,” Damian hedged.
“I’ll be back before lunch, promise,” she said. “Guard them with your lives.” She nuzzled Landon.
“We will,” Rian said, firmly.
“Be back.” She walked out of the dining room.
* * * *
Kate waited until she was out of sight of the house before stripping down. She folded her clothes and left them hidden in a bundle near her favorite tree before shifting. It was the tree Bran had claimed her under. In her wolf form, her fears for the boys came roaring to the surface. Her wolf was not happy. Her young were being threatened. That threat needed to die. The wolf in her needed to rend flesh with her teeth and watch the threat breathe its last breath.
She took off running to the southeast, staying close to where the town’s magical perimeter extended. She had been running for about an hour and heading toward the southlands when the scent of hyena burned her nostrils. She had located their entry point. She wanted to follow the trail, but she knew that it would lead to the road where the scent would disappear, indicating that the hyenas had probably gotten into a car. She walked around, nose down and under the smell of snow and cold was the scent of pack. This was the scent of the betrayer. Try as she might, she could not identify a scent that would single any one pack member out. It only served to confirm her worst fear—that someone in the pack had indeed betrayed them.
She turned, made her way back to her tree, and shifted. She loved the way her body felt right after a shift. In the summer the warmth of shifting was almost uncomfortable, but in the fall, winter, and early spring, standing naked in the snow as heat radiated from her body felt exhilarating. Smiling, she unburied her clothes and slowly got dressed. By the time she had her socks and boots on, she was starting to get cool. Carrying her coat she headed back toward the house.
Kate eased into the back door and looked around. She stepped into the kitchen and made her way down the hallway toward the office. She saw Riley standing guard outside.
“How are they doing?” she asked.
Riley sighed. “We started with the Raymonds, but unless they are pathological liars, they weren’t involved. So far no one we have interviewed has been.” Riley leaned back against the wall.
“Are they with anyone now?” Kate asked. Riley shook his head. She patted his arm and walked past him to open the office door and walk in. She shut the door behind her.
“Where have you been?” Caleb asked from the leather high-back chair that was normally on the other side of Bran’s polished cherry desk. It now sat beside Bran behind the desk. She could tell they had done everything they could to appear as a united front.
“She’s been outside,” Bran said, narrowing his eyes.
She nodded. “My wolf wanted out. I found the entry point on pack lands, south of here.” She walked over to where they sat. Caleb opened his arms and she took her place in his lap and Bran swung her legs up and on to his thighs.
“That was a foolish thing to do, Kate. There was no way for you to know if they were still out there.” Bran removed her boots and rubbed the arches of her feet. He knew they would be sore after she had been running for a while. Caleb rubbed her shoulders.
“I wish I had found hyenas out there,” Kate growled. The very thought agitated her wolf again.
“I want to bury my teeth in their flesh and snap their necks. I want to destroy them all for threatening my young.” She growled low and both men froze.
Bran’s eyes widened. “Kate, your eyes.” He leaned forward.
“What about her eyes?” Caleb asked from behind Kate.
“They are shifted.” Bran growled and pulled her legs apart and dragged her off Caleb’s lap to straddle his waist, pulling her flush against his body and nuzzling her neck.
“She needs to be punished for putting herself in danger,” Caleb said, standing. He walked over to the door and flagged Riley.
“We’re taking a break. Can you let the others know we’ll resume interviews in about an hour? ”Caleb said.
Riley smirked. “Open a window if you’re going to fuck because I doubt you’ll get accurate readings off the pack if they are amped up on your Alpha sex pheromones.” Riley headed toward the kitchen.
Caleb nodded, shut the door, and locked it. When he turned around, Bran and Kate had stripped and she was lying down on the couch between his legs and her head was bobbing up and down on his cock. Caleb went to the window and opened it.
“Good idea,” Bran said and then moaned as Kate took him all the way down her throat.
Caleb started pulling at his clothes, desperate to get some relief. He walked up behind Kate and pulled her hips up so that she was on her knees, ass in the air between Bran’s legs.
“Please tell me you have some lube in here,” Caleb said, practically begging. He was getting waves of pleasure from both Kate and Bran.
“Drawer…on the…left,” Bran said between pants.
Caleb raced around the desk, found the small tube, and picked up the metal ruler before returning to the prize Kate presented to him.
“Kate, stop for a moment.”
She raised her face and Bran’s engorged head popped out from between her lips. She looked over her shoulder and smiled.
“You need to be punished, sweet baby. Continue what you were doing and don’t hurt Bran.” He looked at her heatedly and she winked at him and lowered her head back over Bran. Her hair fell forward and the only way Caleb knew she had resumed was the low growl that Bran gave.
He drew his hand back and brought the cold metal ruler down over her ass. The sharp smack and her inhale were the only sounds that filled the room. Bran groaned.
“Fuck, man, whatever you did, do it again. She is going wild!” Bran exclaimed.
In quick succession, he rapped out two more strikes, leaving pink bands on her creamy skin. Her head came up and she cried out.
“Head back down!” Caleb ordered.
She looked back at him, her eyes glazed with pleasure. She lowered her head and took Bran back into her mouth. By the fifth spanking, Bran pulled her off him, panting loudly. He pulled her body up his until she straddled his waist. She eagerly lowered her dripping pussy onto his massive dick. Caleb traced his fingers up her spine before wrapping his hands in her hair and pulling her head backward. Her head tilted back as she moved her body over Bran’s. She closed her eyes and lifted her lips. Caleb leaned down and struck hard. His lips were relentless as they tugged and pulled hers into submission. When they broke apart, he was breathing hard. He took the tube and poured the clear gel over his fingertips. He pulled her ass cheeks apart and gently rubbed the gel over her dark hole. He poured more on his fingers and eased two fingers into her tight channel. Her body stilled.
“Too much?” he asked.
She shook her head. “It’s perfect, but I would prefer your cock.” She rocked her hips. He smiled.
“Soon, lovely baby.”
When two fingers became three and she still hadn’t protested, he knew she was ready. Placing one knee on one side of Bran’s and Kate’s legs and the other between them, he eased his body forward until the head of his cock popped past the inner muscles of her ass.
“Please!” she begged.
“Please what?” he asked as he held his body still.
“Please fuck me,” she said.
He put his hand flat on her back and pushed her forward. She lay her head down on Bran’s chest. He pulled out and hammered into her. He grabbed her hips with both hands and simply let his wolf loose. He rode her hard, moving her body so that she rode Bran hard as well.
“Caleb!” Bran breathed out, letting the man know he was about to go.
Caleb reached forward with his right hand and bowed Kate’s body backward by pulling her hair. Bran leaned forward and took her left nipple in his mouth and sucked the hard flesh in between his teeth. Kate screamed as her body exploded and both men gave low groans as both of her needy holes milked their cocks. Bran released her breast with a loud
pop
of his lips and collapsed back against the couch. Carefully, Caleb eased his softening prick from her body. When he slipped out, she gave a sigh and relaxed on top of Bran. Caleb sat back on the couch, his legs shaky.