Climbing the Ladder (4 page)

She refused to look at either one of them, refused to consider whatever horribleness they

wanted to bring her out into the wilderness. Whatever they wanted, she’d fight them. And she

wouldn’t be scared, damn it.

Mesa squatted down behind Kody, hands on Kody’s shoulders, rubbing as if the big

bastard had the right to. “We had to get you away from your house for your safety. I know you

don’t believe it, but it’s true.”

She arched one eyebrow. “My safety. From my dangerous house. I’ll take my chances,

thanks, though.”

They were going to do something to her. Something awful. Something like a chainsaw

massacre. Could one dead banker constitute a massacre?

The big guy sighed. “She’s snarky, huh?”

“She’s scared.” Kody looked so worried.

“I’m pissed off.”

“So am I.” The Mesa guy shook his head. “Your parents should be ashamed.”

Her eyes went wide. What unmitigated gall! “I’ll make sure to let them know.”

She got her other shoe on, trying to gauge how to get out of here.

“That was a stupid thing to say, Mesa. She doesn’t know.” Kody reached out, tried to

touch her, and she backed away. “She was a foster. They left her.”

“Left her? How?” Mesa started making this weird sound that made her shiver. It was like

the growl of a big dog, the kind you only heard in TV sound effects. “How could they leave

her?”

“Kody!” That was almost the worst betrayal. She didn’t tell anyone about her past, about

how no one before Kody had ever wanted her, permanently. None of her foster parents had even

tried to adopt her.

“I don’t know, Mesa. I never will.” Kody’s eyes looked weird, intense.

“It had to be drastic. We don’t leave our own. The whole Clan had to be dying. Either

that or the female was a runner, died giving birth.” Mesa stared right into her soul. “We don’t desert our own. Never have, never will.”

“Never will what?” She was screaming, now, so hurt, so angry. “What is this bullshit

about not leaving me? You already have!”

“No.” Kody shook his head, long hair like an amazing curtain around his shoulders. “I

never will, no matter what anyone says—you, your friends. It doesn’t matter what they say.”

“Is that what this is about? Did somebody mess with you?” She’d beat all those assholes

who pretended to be her friends.

“No. No, you just don’t understand.”

“I don’t understand what? That I’m a stupid girl who listened to my crotch instead of my

head? I know. They know. Everybody told me.” In fact, that information had been clearly passed to her when she’d told them she’d eloped.

Kody looked so hurt. Like he had a right to be, in fact. It was maddening.

“Look, you want Kody, right?” When Mesa nodded, she did too. “Good. Take him. I’ll

go home. Simple as that. Have a nice life. Don’t call me.”

“So you won’t even fight for him?” Mesa raised a brow. “You really care, huh?”

She’d loved Kody more than she’d believed she could love anyone, not that that mattered

right now.

Kody bristled, bumping chests with the big guy. “Mesa, that’s enough. She’s the innocent

one here.”

She stood up, refusing to cry. “Get out of my way. I need to pee.”

“I’ll take you.” Mesa glared at Kody, shook him a little. “There’s no guilty party here,

baby. No one has done anything wrong.”

“I will not go with you.” She was going to throw up, her head hurt so bad. “Get out of my

way.”

“No.” Kody moved, and Mesa touched her arm. “You’ll come with me.”

She shook her head, a weird pressure inside her. “Don’t…”

“Just breathe, Sam.” He met her eyes, his dark and serious, somehow mesmerizing.

“Come with me.”

“Kody?”

“It’s okay. He’s not going to hurt you. I swear.”

“My head hurts.”

“I know.”

“I’m just going to keep you safe, Sam. I promise. No one will hurt you.” Okay, she could

see how this guy had convinced Kody to make with the kissing. He was convincing.

“I have to go.” Now. She was starting to get a little hysterical.

“Come on.” Mesa pulled at her, took her outside. All she could hear in her head was,

don’t run
.

How stupid. Of course she should run.

She should.

But she didn’t.

She went behind a set of trees, peed, cried a little, thought very hard about throwing up.

“No puking. Come on, Sam. Come talk to us.”

“I just want to go home.” Have a glass of wine and a hard cry into her pillow.

“Me, too.” He sounded so wry.

“Okay. It’s a deal. You go, I’ll go.” She wanted to lick her wounds a little, in private.

He laughed a little, and the sound shivered right down her spine. “Come on, Sam.”

“Look, just be straight with me. Are you two planning on killing me or something?”

“What?” He seemed genuinely surprised, actually stepping back a bit. “No. God, no.

Kody is just freaked out, and you have no idea…” He ran a hand through his shock of dark hair.

“No one is going to hurt you.”

She didn’t think that last was true. She was pretty hurt already. “Okay.”

Mesa moved closer, his hands on her shoulders. He kissed her forehead, his lips warm in

the cool night air.

It was like a jolt of electricity, straight down her spine. “You…”

“Shh. There’s so much you have to learn, love. Just breathe, remember?”

“You kissed me.” She blinked at him.

“I did. I’d like to do it again, but Kody is waiting.”

“You can’t kiss me. I’m married.”

“So is Kody.” He squeezed her shoulders. “Back to the tent, Sam.”

“No. No, I don’t want to. I need to go home.”

Kody came out, sniffing as if he had a cold. Not that she cared. “Sammy? Please. Just

listen?”

She stepped away from both of them, that headache pounding on her. She didn’t let on,

though. She crossed her arms and stared. “So? Talk.”

“Mesa and me, we grew up together in the Clan. We were pups together, in each other’s

pockets. When I became an adult, I had to get away. I couldn’t stay there any more and just wait to…I don’t know. I just don’t, but the universe was calling to me, telling me to find you.” She arched an eyebrow, but Kody kept going. “No, really. And I did. I left. I came all the way here for you. Then Mesa passed the trials and now we’re together.”

“Yes, I know. I saw.” She bit out the words. At his best, Kody didn’t make a lot of sense.

Stressed out Kody was a blitherer.

“No, honey. He means all of us together.” Mesa guided her back toward Kody.

“Uh. No. I mean, here, now, yes, but only until I get in the car.” She was not staying.

“We can’t go back to the house right now, Sammy. After we’re all together, you’ll need

to run.”

“Run? Kody, are you on drugs?”

“No!” He blinked, then laughed a little. “I bet it would be easier to think I am.”

“Well, given that my other options are insanity or…” She pursed her lips, stomped her

foot. “Shit, Kody. I don’t even have an or.”

“You’re gonna go insane once you figure out what he’s trying to tell you.” Mesa grinned.

It was predatory at best.

“So tell me for fuck’s sake! Just spit it out. Give me whatever fucking excuse you have

and let me go home.” Samantha was done with Kody’s games.

Mesa glanced at Kody, who moved closer. “You’re a werewolf.”

Her mouth opened. Closed. Opened again. “Come again?”

“You are. So is Kody.”

“Okay.” Great. Psycho LARPers. This was what happened when you married a man you

met at a Ren Faire.

Mesa shook his head. “She doesn’t believe me. How bad is she gonna freak out?”

“On a scale of one to ten?” Kody shrugged. “Seventy? Eighty?”

“I’m leaving.” She didn’t even care at this point where she was going. Borneo had to be

better than this.

“No, you can’t.” Mesa was holding her again, her skin tingling where he touched.

“Stop touching me!” She pulled out of his hand, ignoring the flash of pain the motion

caused.

Kody caught her before she could run. “Sammy. I love you.”

“Don’t. Don’t hurt me anymore, okay?” She wasn’t going to cry. She wasn’t.

“I’m not trying to. I’m not. You have to hear this.”

“What do you want? What do you want from me?” She was half a second away from

total meltdown.

“We want you, Sammy.” Kody smiled, like that made sense.

What was this? Some weird-assed role-playing polygamous cult thing?

Mesa chuffed softly. “You have to stop thinking, honey.”

“I’m leaving.” She was done. Finished.

“Kody.” Mesa grabbed her and held out a hand to Kody.

Kody hurried toward him, and Sammy gasped, the urge to run so strong.

“Don’t. Don’t do this. Please. Don’t do this.” She didn’t even know what she was asking

for, why on earth she would be so scared.

“Sammy, we have to. It will be easier, after.” Kody was looking at her, hands reaching

for her, and she shouted, the pain in her head unbearable.

There was this noise. This screaming, blinding, tearing noise in her mind. She sobbed,

willing to do anything, anything for the agony to stop.

Luckily for her, the world went dark and it did stop.

* * * *

“Shit.” Mesa caught Sam as she fell. “Do you think we ruined her?” That would suck.

He’d never seen anyone have a convulsion like that. Kody looked up at him, eyes bright, shining, pure wolf. Mesa blinked. “So. Okay. Did we ruin you?”

“No.” Kody panted a second. “I can hear you.”

“Hear me?” Oh. Oh! God. That was… His body hardened.

“Yes. Mate.” Kody’s growl was sexual, the way his mate leaned down and scented their

female even better. She moaned, lips parted, eyelashes fluttering.

“I—Kody.” Grandma Minnie had never warned him about this. The intense need to finish

the deed.

“Mate.”
Need you
. Kody’s words echoed, ringing inside him.

“Yes.” His wolf rose to the surface, so close, so ready. They were both still touching

Sammy, holding her between them.

Kody leaned down, nuzzling Sammy’s lips. “Ours.”

“Ours.” Mesa pressed down, too, kissing them both. She tasted good. She tasted like his.

He groaned, pushed into the kiss. He didn’t even know her, but he felt her all the way inside him.

His. Kody had chosen her for his Alpha.

Her hands reached up, wrapped around him and pulled him closer.

Oh. Tent. He had to get them back to the tent before the animal inside took over.

Yes
. Kody agreed, licking at his ear, her jaw.
Mates
.

Mesa dragged them both to the tent, needing to be in a den, to be safe before they

exposed their tender parts.

Her eyes were opening, staring, and Kody growled happily, nudging her tank top up,

exposing two perfect breasts, with sweet, dark nipples that were hard, tight, begging to be

sucked. “Kody?”

“Yes. Yes, Mate. Me and Mesa.”

God, she was absolutely stunning. Lovely. Mesa’s mouth was watering.

“Mesa.” Her eyes met his, confused, hungry, glowing.

“Yes, honey. Me and Kody and you. All here.”

“I don’t…” She moaned, shivering in his arms. “I ache.”

Kody moaned, reached for her breast, touched the taut nipple. “Better?”

The pheromones were wild, pouring in the air, and she arched, her chest reaching up.

“More.”

Fuck, yes. Mesa leaned down, scented her, learning her smell, her heat.

Kody’s body was on fire next to his, like a beacon, and Mesa put a hand on Kody’s back

to steady himself. Kody growled and Sammy arched as the connection between them completed

again. Fuck. Fuck, he was shaking, goose bumps rising on his skin, his body about to explode.

Mesa moaned, pulling Kody down with him to the ground as Kody growled and tore at their

clothes, giving all three of them skin.

They wrapped around her, Kody’s hands dragging him close. Mesa’s skin tingled, and in

his head could hear his wolf howling with triumph.

Kody looked at him, eyes still feral, still glowing, still alight.
Kiss her.

God, Kody was in his head. Inside his fucking soul.

Mesa kissed Sammy, taking her mouth deep, loving the taste of her. Sammy’s eyes

popped open, staring at him. So strong. She was so fucking brave. He put a hand behind her

head. His fingers slid into her hair. Soft, heavy, thick—the scent of her filled the air. Then there was Kody. Kody, who was like spice. Cinnamon and cloves. Cinnamon and cloves on an

octopus. Jesus, the man’s hands were everywhere, stripping them all down. Mesa laughed, the

sound wild, fierce in the tiny tent. He kissed Kody then, needing the more familiar touch.

The kiss echoed inside him, his cock aching, needing to be buried in someone.

He touched Sammy, because he couldn’t not, his hand covering her breast, his fingers on

her nipple. Connected.

“What’s happening?” She moaned, her mouth on his jaw, tongue moving toward his ear.

“Connecting. I’m right here, Sammy.” Kody moaned the words into his lips.

“Right here.” Mesa wanted her to accept him, wanted her to need him, too.

“I don’t understand.” Her hand was sliding down his belly, stroking him. Such good

instincts.

“Part of you does.” Her wolf was there, under the surface. Waiting.

Kody nodded. “You’ll run with us. You’ll understand. After. This first. We have to.”

The babble continued, even after Kody’s lips wrapped around one of Sammy’s nipples

and started sucking. Her mouth opened on a moan, and Mesa took it again, kissing hard. She was all fire. She would challenge him, make him crazy, give him amazing babies. Her fingers tangled in his hair, tugging, keeping him close, her tongue warring with his.