Betraying the Pack (14 page)

Unsettled by his words, she
pushed from him and stood, noticing when she did her nude state. Slapping hands
over body parts, she tried to cover herself, which made Wyatt chuckle. He stood,
and her eyes widened as she took in his naked frame. What a lovely eyeful that
was. It directed her thoughts to things other than her new Lycan status.

“I think it’s rather late for
modesty,” he said, reaching out to grab her hands and pry them loose.

She resisted at first, but his
greater strength peeled her hands away, and he reeled her in until she stood
against him—flesh to flesh. Oh, the decadent heat and hungers that roused in
her. The presence in her mind seemed to whisper to her,
Bite him. Mark him. Make him ours.
It frightened her.

“Why is this happening to me,
Wyatt? Why now? Why me?” she asked, staring at the hollow of his neck, trying
hard to control the tears that threatened.

“I don’t know, sunshine. Maybe
being with us triggered it, or maybe you were always meant to change. I guess
we’ll ever know why. The important thing is you are not alone. I know that
first time was real scary, mostly because you weren’t prepared. It will get
easier. We’ll help, all of us, in any way we can. You’re pack now. And pack
sticks together.”

“I’m so scared,” she whispered
before burying her face against the smooth skin of his chest, reassured by the
steady beat of his heart, although it did nothing to stop her tears from
wetting him.

“You’re not alone,” he
murmured, his big hands stroking up and down the skin of her back.

It took his soothing touch for
her to realize the pain of her change no longer troubled her. In fact, she felt
great. On the heels of those realizations came a shiver as she took notice of
her position. Naked, her skin brushed against Wyatt’s, and where it touched, it
began to burn, not the painful kind, but the type of heat that made her cleft
moisten. She waited for the wolf in her mind to ruin the moment with some weird
possessive claim, but she remained silent, nothing to distract her from her
growing arousal.

As if sensing the change in
her, Wyatt’s hand tilted her chin up, and he stared at her with dark eyes, his
desire clear to see. She could see the question in his gaze, and in that
moment, the answer was easy.

“I’m ready,” she stated, so low
she thought he might not have heard. He stood rock still for a few seconds, and
then, her words must have sunk in because his lips swooped to claim hers in a
heady kiss that made her reel.

Hunger flooded her, and need, a
need to feel him sinking inside of her. A need to reaffirm she lived.

She twined her fingers in his
hair, opening her mouth to let his tongue sweep in and drag along hers, making
her tingle. A hard and thick thigh inserted itself between her legs and rubbed
against her pussy. A gasp escaped her, caught by his mouth, as he dragged his
limb across her sensitive cleft, teasing her.

“Wyatt,” she keened.

“More?” he teased. His lips
lefts hers, and bending her backward slightly, he trailed them down to her
chest, circling around her globes. She panted, her fingers curling and digging
into his muscled shoulders. As if sensing her impatience, he chuckled, and his
warm breath feathered across her nipples, making her shiver. He caught one of
the tight buds in his mouth, sucking it and then biting down on it gently. She
cried out as it sent a jolt right down to her sex.

“Like that, did you?” he
murmured and then did it again. Her hips bucked, and she mewled in need. He
didn’t let go of her nipple, instead inhaling it deeper into his mouth as his
leg left the warm cradle of her thighs. But she didn’t mourn its loss for long
because his fingers took their place, alternately stroking then plucking at her
clit, driving her wild.

When he finally stopped the
torture to grasp her buttocks and hoist her, she was more than ready. Her legs
wrapped around his waist, but his cock ended up missing her cleft and sitting
below her buttocks. She squirmed, and Wyatt chuckled.

“Impatient, sunshine?”

“Wyatt . . .” She drew his name
out on a frustrated sigh that had him adjusting their position until the head
of his shaft butted against her sex. Tightening her limbs around him, she drew
him into her body and sighed as he stretched her passage.

A low groan rumbled from him,
and his fingers tightened on her ass once he ended up fully sheathed. “Oh,
damn, sunshine. You feel so fucking good.”

His words made her plaster her
mouth against his, wanting the taste of him to fill all her senses. Still
standing, a position he handled with ease even given her curves, he began to
thrust in and out of her. She gasped. How incredible it felt. He tortured her
by pulling his shaft out halfway, only to then slam himself home, jolting her
and making her pussy tighten convulsively around him.

In and out he pumped, driving
her desire up and up, until she keened breathlessly, waiting for that moment
she’d fall off the edge. At the periphery of her pleasure, she could feel the
alien presence, her wolf. It threw her for a moment, but the pleasure soon made
her ignore it, and then forget it, as her climax hit and sent all thought
racing out of her head.

With a scream of pleasure, she
came apart in his arms, her body trembling as her sex milked him. Lost in the
moment, and vulnerable, her new inner friend pushed forth and made her sink her
teeth into his shoulder, biting hard enough to break skin. Almost immediately,
Wyatt reciprocated, biting down on her shoulder.

Blood hit her tongue, and she
swallowed without thinking before wrenching herself away with a cry.

It didn’t matter at that point.
She heard an almost audible snap as some kind of esoteric circle shut and bound
her to Wyatt, just like it had with Gavin. When Wyatt released her sated body,
letting her feet hit the ground, she looked up to see him beaming
uncharacteristically.

He kissed the tip of her nose,
and whispered, “Thank you, sunshine, for choosing me. I promise to cherish you
forever.”

Suddenly fighting tears, she
threw herself at him for a bone-crushing hug.

Okay, whether I intended to or not, I think I just married my second
husband.
The idea didn’t
freak her out as much as it should have.

Gavin breathed a sigh of relief
when he came across Bailey and Wyatt, thankfully unharmed, the cries he’d heard
those of the mating kind. He slapped Wyatt on the back as he curled an arm
around Bailey’s waist.

“Congrats.”

A blush pinked her cheeks, and
Gavin laughed as he kissed her to show her that he wasn’t bothered by her
newest mate. “Relax, darling. I’m not going to go into a jealous fit and
challenge Wyatt or anything.”

“That’s good,” she replied
softly. Then her expression turned morose. “How’s Jaxon? Wyatt said he’d be
okay. Is he very angry?”

“A better question is, should
he be punished for letting you run off in the first place?” Gavin growled,
still not over his anger when he’d found out what happened after he dispatched
the rogues and returned to camp.

“It’s not his fault,” she said,
jumping to his protection. “Nobody knew I was going to-to . . .” Her voice
trailed off, and she bit her lip.

“It’s not an embarrassing
disease, sunshine,” Wyatt supplied in the silence. “Or do you think there’s
something wrong with us?”

“No, of course not. It’s just”—she
paused and looked at each of them—“my whole world has collapsed around me. I
don’t know what to believe anymore, or what’s going to happen. I’m scared of
changing again, terrified, actually, of the pain. Wyatt says I can learn how to
control myself, but what if I hurt someone again when I do morph? It’s great
Jaxon healed, but what if he’d been human?”

“This is why we need to get
home, the sooner the better. There are people there who are better suited for
helping you to understand the things happening within your mind and body as you
adjust to sharing yourself with your Lycan side. It’s also a safe environment
for you to shift and learn some control.”

“If you say so.”

Gavin could see the doubt still
in her eyes, but he didn’t have time to quell it. They needed to get moving
before more rogues arrived. He and Parker might have dispatched the stragglers
the previous night, but the last one to die had, for a moment, turned into a
puppet for Roderick who’d taunted him with a, “Run, run as fast as you can.
I’ll still catch you because I’m the bogeyman.”

The mutated childhood rhyme
still made him want to shiver. He wouldn’t feel safe until Bailey resided safe
and secure behind the fortification of the pack’s compound.

He and Wyatt took turns
carrying her back to camp despite her protests. Seeing as how she found herself
barefoot and naked, he didn’t want her getting scratched up and bruised even if
he knew she would heal. And women claimed chivalry was dead.

When they reached camp, her
body tensed in his arms. Knowing words would mean nothing, Gavin tilted his
head to Jaxon, who held out his arms so he could hand her over.

A gasp escaped her, and Gavin
watched as her eyes dropped, still fearful of Jaxon’s reaction—and condemnation.
But if he knew Jaxon, he would turn her misery around in no time.

“Sweet cheeks! You’re back, you
sexy vixen you,” Jaxon exclaimed.

“I’m so sorry,” she managed to
choke out.

“For what? Getting frisky? No
worries. I wish I’d known you liked it rough. I would have brought my
handcuffs. Besides, it would take more than a beautiful she-wolf nibbling on my
man parts to bring me down,” he joked with a waggle of his brows.

“But I tried to eat you,” she
whispered, not ready to forgive herself.

“I wish,” Jaxon replied with a
heartfelt sigh.

Her head shot up, and Gavin
laughed at the expression on her face. “I told you he was fine. Now, can we all
get moving? I know it’s not quite dawn, but I think it best if we got on the
road and back to the compound ASAP.”

At her urging, Jaxon let Bailey
down, and she looked around, biting her lip. Her cheeks shone a ruddy red.

“Um, I’m all for leaving, but I
don’t suppose I could have some clothes to wear first. I’d really hate to stick
to your leather seats.”

The laughter eased the last of
their tension, and Gavin began to hope that all would turn out all right with
his mate. Her change might have taken them all by surprise, and she might have
some reservations about her newfound status, but he’d seen the strong spirit
she harbored. With time, and affection, she’d eventually accept her inner wolf.
She had two mates who would make sure of it.

The closer they got to their
final destination, the more Bailey’s stomach tightened into a ball. Despite
what she’d learned about the compound, and the reassurances of her lovers, whom
she rode with, she found herself terrified.
Oh
God, what am I getting myself into?

In spite of her fears, she
couldn’t deny she needed to go there, needed to find out what had happened to
her and her body. And, if she were really truthful with herself, she didn’t
want to leave Gavin and Wyatt. Actually, she didn’t want to leave any of them,
and she didn’t have just her new inner wolf to blame for that.

She enjoyed being around them.
They made her feel alive in a way she’d never felt, even when her parents
lived. The passion both Gavin and Wyatt showed her blew her away. The kind of
pleasure she discovered with them was usually reserved for romance books, not
overweight call-center operators, which brought to mind another thing. With
them, she never felt fat.

Tom, her scuzzy ex, had enjoyed
making snide remarks about her size, and while it hurt, she’d put up with it
because she’d harbored those same self-doubts. However, Gavin and Wyatt made
her feel beautiful. They desired her and showed her proof of their appreciation
for her curves with every touch and heated look. Even more amazing, they
weren’t alone or an aberration. Jaxon and Parker held the same admiration and
weren’t afraid to show it. Acceptance for her as she was made dealing with
other things, like, say, her new canine side, a little easier to bear. Of
course, she might think differently the next time she went through the pain of
the change or tried to take a chunk out of someone else.

Her relief when she’d
discovered Jaxon was none the worse for wear after her inexcusable mauling
eased her fear somewhat, but the fading scars on his body reminded her that her
new life was fraught with dangers, and not all of them external. But she could
learn.
No, I will learn.

It was the only way to keep the
wonderful and fascinating men in her life.
Men
who are about to see me puke,
she thought, slapping a hand on her mouth as
her stomach lurched, her unease tripling as the SUV went through some gates
into what had to be the compound.

“We’re home,” Gavin announced,
turning to smile at her.

She could only nod her head
sickly, trying not to embarrass herself.
There’s
nothing to fear. There’s nothing to fear.
She kept chanting that mantra as
they helped her out of the truck. Wyatt slid an arm around her waist, while
Gavin talked in a low tone to Parker and Jaxon, who had parked alongside them. Her
rah-rah chant died when a dark-haired beast of a man, flanked by two almost
equally imposing men, came striding toward them sporting a formidable glower.

“Did you have any more trouble
on the way?” the stranger barked.

Bailey flinched and tried to
move back. Wyatt peeked down at her and frowned. “There’s nothing to fear,
sunshine. That’s just Nathan, our pack alpha and council leader.”

“You forgot blunt idiot,” said a
woman’s voice dryly. Bailey lifted her head to see a trim blonde step out from
behind Nathan and the pair of men at his sides. She slapped the guy Wyatt called
alpha, then came toward Bailey with her hand held out. “Ignore him. His manners
seem to disappear in matters where Roderick is concerned. I’m Dana, by the
way.”

Bailey held out her own hand,
and the woman clasped it with a smile that softened her brusque tone. “I’m Bailey.”

“Hi there, Bailey. Welcome to
the pack. From what I hear, you’ve had a rough time of it. Why don’t you come
with me, and I’ll get you settled in while these lugs hash things out.”

As Dana pulled her away from
Gavin and Wyatt, Bailey threw an uncertain look over her shoulder.

Gavin sent her a smile meant to
look reassuring. It didn’t help the knot of fear in her stomach. “It’s okay, darling.
Dana doesn’t bite, and we’ll be along in a bit.”

A snort sounded from the
handsome blond who’d arrived with Nathan. “Doesn’t bite! Ha. That’s what you
think.” At Bailey’s wide-eyed look, he grinned. “But don’t worry, she saves
that particular pleasure for her mates.”

“Idiot,” Dana muttered, her
affection clear despite the rude name. “That’s Kody, by the way, one of my
mates, along with the ogre, and John, our handsome resident doctor.”

Nathan made a face at her
remark, but this time it didn’t frighten Bailey, for she saw the humor and love
in his eyes for Dana.

“You have three mates?”

“Yup. I hear you’ve got two,
with two more waiting in the wings, hoping real hard you’ll pick them.”

A blush stained Bailey’s
cheeks. “Um, yeah. Gavin and Wyatt are both my mates, apparently, but Jaxon and
Parker have kind of hinted they’d like to be as well.”

Dana whirled and pierced her
with a searching gaze. “You got a choice, though, right? They didn’t force
you?”

For a moment, Bailey almost
blurted out what Gavin had done to get her to go with them. However, seeing the
hard-eyed stare of this no-nonsense woman, Bailey hedged the truth. “I am happy
to be their woman, even if it is a really messed-up practice.”

A smile curved Dana’s lips.
“Tell me about it. I ran away from the pack when I was young to avoid having to
mate with a bunch of horndogs, but as fate would have it, I came back and ended
up caving to pack law by joining with three.”

“Do you regret it?” Bailey
almost bit her tongue as the presumptuous question popped out.

Dana didn’t seem to mind, and
her smile widened. “Never. I discovered there are a lot worse things in life
than having three men willing to love me and lay down their lives for me. And
the sex is wicked,” she added with a wink.

Stunned at her comment, Bailey
couldn’t help the giggle that turned into full-blown laughter as Dana joined
her.

In that moment, she discovered
not only a friend—or so she hoped—she also found relief. Perhaps things would
turn out fine after all.

After that icebreaking moment, Bailey
started to pay attention to their surroundings as Dana led her on foot through
a well-organized village. Dozens of houses, some covered in vinyl siding, while
others appeared shingled, dotted the area. Gravel paths, wide enough for two
vehicles, made up streets. Dana waved at the slim-figured women and rambunctious
children out and about walking, playing, or gardening. Most of them smiled, and
all but a few gazed upon Bailey with interest.

Dana didn’t stop to chat, which
relieved Bailey, as she didn’t think she could handle meeting a boatload of
people and trying to remember names. It did encourage her, though, to see what
looked like regular life going on despite their
unique
condition.

The compound also appeared
larger than expected, and Bailey mentioned that to Dana.

“It’s grown a lot in the last
few years. It’s already doubled in size since I came here over three years ago,
as we’ve started to bring in the smaller packs without proper gated communities
to merge with the larger established ones. Too many Lycans were going missing,
at the hands of Roderick, we have no doubt. Now we’re accelerating the merging
process because initially, Roderick only went after the weak, one at a time,
when they left the security of their packs, but in the last few years, he’s begun
attacking the smaller enclaves.”

“Who’s this Roderick you keep
mentioning?” The name seemed vaguely familiar, but Bailey couldn’t place it.

Dana sent her a puzzled look. “Roderick
is Nathan’s father. Or he was. Nathan challenged him for rule of the pack after
Roderick went insane and began killing humans. The council at the time claimed
to have sentenced him to death, but in truth they sent him as a gift to the
vampire queen.”

A short laugh escaped her.
“Vampires? You’re pulling my leg.”

A solemn look dropped over
Dana’s face. “I wish. We didn’t know they existed either until a run-in with
Roderick a few years back. After that unpleasant fiasco, Nathan turned pack law
against the council for their conspiracy and crimes. They were executed, and
Nathan became the new head of council.”

Bailey swallowed hard. “You
guys don’t mess around.”

“We can’t. Not with the
possibility humans would eradicate us if they knew of our existence. I take it
the boys didn’t tell you any of this?”

Bailey shook her head. “Nope.
Why would they?”

“They were supposed to keep an
eye out for Roderick while hunting the rogues in your area.”

“They found some rogues, all right,
but I don’t recall them saying anything about this Roderick guy. So what’s he
after?” For a fleeting moment, it occurred to Bailey to wonder if this Roderick
was behind those rogue wolves who kept attacking her. A vision of red eyes
flashed in her mind, gone again just as quickly, and taking with it her musings
on Roderick.