Three’s a Clan (13 page)

“I think we should just get on with the other things we need to talk about.” Amber pulled from her mate and put herself in the middle of the semicircle that had formed. She tugged the leather pouch free and held it out in her palm.

“Are you wanting to open it? Go ahead.” Alpha’s hands left his pockets and crossed his chest. Confrontational body language at its finest.

“Maybe this is something we should do in private? I mean, this is kind of personal to do in front of an audience.” Trevor stroked the satchel’s twin in his hand. He wasn’t addressing anyone in particular. His eyes were on the little bag. Had he never opened it?

“I am here with my blood and my Clan. I’d rather they be here. I don’t know what’s in these things, but if it’s something painful, I’d prefer not to have to retell the story over a chocolate soda.” Amber untied the strings and looked up, waiting for us to agree with her.

“Not everyone here falls into that category.” Mary had really grown a pair. “And how do we know the odd woman out with the super-miasma brain won’t go giving sensitive information to her own Family? I’m not saying you would do it intentionally, Shelly, but we need to talk about that.”

All eyes were on me as I let them know, “I’m leaving the Family.” My attention turned to Richard and that crushing brow twitched. “I came here because I will help take down the Matheo. Then I’ll leave. If you don’t want my help, I will tell you what I know and be gone.”

Trevor started to stutter. His mouth flapped open and closed. Rick just walked up to me and put an arm around my shoulders. His scent encompassed me. It surrounded me, and my hard and fast decision to leave faltered.

“Shelly stays for now. She’s been nothing but honest with us. And let’s not forget, Amber might not be alive today were it not for her. Just open the damn bags. We’ve carried Lily’s secrets”—he glared at Trevor—“and each other’s, around long enough.”

Trevor cast his eyes down in submission. This wasn’t about being Beta to his Alpha, this was about keeping vital knowledge from a friend. He and Amber stepped toward each other. They opened the bags.

“Well, that’s anticlimactic, isn’t it?” Craig got a punch in the gut from his mate for that one. But I had to agree with him.

What we were expecting, I can’t say, but the small stones that were exposed didn’t seem worth the fight. It was two halves of an oval. Blue lapis lazuli, from the look of it, was cracked down the middle. The outer edge of each was smoothed out with what looked like coin silver when considering the lack of shine.

Amber was quiet when she held up her treasure. Doc mirrored her movements and it was clear, at least to me, that they were two halves of a whole. We were all silent as Trevor grabbed Amber’s hand and forced the pieces together. I suddenly felt panic that wasn’t mine. Cold washed over me.

“Wait!”

But my words weren’t heard. The stones touched and a spell of power thunder-clapped through us all like the reverb of an explosion. Amber and Doc collapsed. Their hands still held the stones together.

Chapter Twenty

Trevor

Lily told me the stones were important. She told me that they would bring us back together. I felt the world melt around me and for the first time, I thought being reunited with a dead love might not be the smartest thing to pursue.

I never felt myself fall, but I opened my eyes and saw feet in front of me.

“Not who I thought would be brought here, but I am glad to get another moment with my daughter. I can’t believe my flesh and blood became the stars.”

Lily. It was Lily. I was here with her. The joy I felt at seeing her again was crushed when I looked around and realized Richard wasn’t with us. Shouldn’t it have brought us all together?

I had taken his last chance to see his wife from him.

“Don’t look like that, Trevor. I should know better than anyone that the future can be predicted, but it can’t be planned. Your Alpha is right where he should be.” Lily waved a hand that painted a living picture on the nothingness around us. Shelly’s arms surrounded the Alpha of my Pack. My body and Amber’s were on the ground, and Mary was waving everyone away. No doubt, she was explaining this place we’d gone to. She was trying at least. She kept them back, telling all of the others there was nothing to worry about.

“I’m so glad Mary found you, Amber. She is going to try and explain the dream walk to the rest. If only they would listen.”

In the movie, we saw Richard growl at Mary until she cowered and then Craig growled back.

Shelly was the one to pull Richard away from the situation. She held him. And in that instant, I felt both guilty for being here without him and jealous of where he was. This was not normal.

The images whirred together in a frenzy of speed. The world we left behind was on fast forward. My head hurt trying to find a spot to focus on.

Lily turned from the movie playing out behind us. She took my hand. I could feel her. She felt solid, and normal, and warm. I could touch her. Amber’s realization hit a split second after mine, and we both surrounded Lily in a hug. Amber’s arms went around her mother and my arms held them both. The pleasure I took from this might have been wrong, but I couldn’t help but imagine a world where we’d all been human and I could have been with Lily like this all those years ago. Or we could have all turned, but I wasn’t brave enough to try. It took a lot for us to pull back. The only reason we separated was the push from the woman I used to love.

“I created this talisman to bring the men I loved together. I am so happy to see you sweetheart, but I expected this to bring Trevor and your father to this plane.” She snorted. It was the most musical snort. “Funny thing about the universe is that sometimes your dreams realize in ways better than you could have ever hoped. I’m so glad you found Shelly.” She smiled at us, but her form blipped. She was already fading away.

“I didn’t have much magic inside me. I wasn’t a powerful witch, but I had a powerful love for both of the men in my life. I knew there was reason for my love of a man I could never tame. Thank you, Trevor, for saving Amber and Richard. Now, share the love with him for someone who can be enough for both of you. I had wanted to transport both of you here and let us see if we could be together away from the rest of the world’s influence. I just died before I could take that chance.

“I poured all of my magic into those stones. It was enough to keep this plane open to me, but as we use up this magic, listen to me.” Lily gripped both of my hands. I could feel her. I wanted to hold her again, but it didn’t seem right without Richard here. “You are complementary souls. A woman between you is what you need. Be honest—does it feel right to be here now without him?”

“No.” It was hard to admit, but I was connected to my Alpha through the women we shared. It was more than a friendship. We needed to be near each other, but there was always something missing.
Someone
was missing. I never wanted physical intimacy with Richard, but there was a strong mental connection that held us together far beyond what was typical for a Pack.

“Well, he doesn’t seem to mind while he is sticking his tongue down Vampire Barbie’s throat.” Amber’s distaste hit my stomach.

The images had slowed again. The picture had my dick hardening and my gut rolling over on itself. Richard held Shelly and kissed her like she was all the air he needed. Of course, he wouldn’t be very happy about Amber getting a bird’s eye view if I told him. I would save that for one of those days he exerted his authority just a little too much.

“I’m not calling her Mom.”

Lily released one of my hands to grab hold of Amber’s. “No, but you need to call her to circle. You carry my blood, Amber. You carry the magic I had. You are part of the circle. And your words will help bring the group you need together. I am so proud of you. I won’t be able to stay around like this any longer. The talisman was the last little part of what held me to this world.” Lily’s image faded further. The outline of her body began to ripple like waves in a small pond.

“You all have my blessing to be happy. And my sincere desire that you take advantage of the love you already know you need.”

The world around us lost its hold. We began to fade from this reality. As we all existed only as shadows, I felt Lily one last time. Her words were not in my ears, but echoed in my head.

“Love is not something you choose. It is something that finds you. The mating call is special, but you fell in love with her long before your wolf found her. So did Richard. You gave up on loving me once, because it wasn’t what you thought was right. Hold on to love now that you know what you need. Tell Richard to be happy too. It’s not about honoring my wish, it’s about realizing what you need, and taking it.”

The swirling smoke became airy whispers. The forest floor became reality beneath me again. I was back. I jumped up and raced toward the movie I saw in the dream. I had to find Shelly and Richard. Lily’s words pushed me forward. We were fighting with each other when we should have been fighting
for
each other.

“Doc! You need to come back. We need to get this plan going.” Mary’s words chased me.

There wasn’t time for what I wanted, but if we failed, I knew there would never be time. I needed them both to know what I knew.

“Mary, something amazing happened. We need ten minutes. Then we go. I promise. Amber, are you okay?”

She didn’t look like she was. Tears in her eyes made the points of her starburst gaze wobble under the flood of pain. “I will be. I got what I always asked for. Another chance to say goodbye. What a stupid request. Saying goodbye just reminds you of what you are losing. Take the time.” Amber kissed her mate’s hand as he helped her steady herself. “We leave in fifteen to fight for those we still have left, and all of us will live. All of us need to be free from this threat. I’m not saying another goodbye.”

Jake’s arms surrounded her. Mary pulled support from her mate. I went deeper into the woods to find the place where I belonged.

Chapter Twenty-One

Shelly

How had we started kissing? The cold didn’t bother either of us. Normally I would just restrict the blood flow through my body, but the man chewing his way down the column of my throat kept me hot with blood pulsing through my extremities. I had to pull him away to stop him from suffocating. I was damn good, but he needed air. He panted. His eyes turned molten gold. His nails scored my scalp as he gripped my hair. I had to do something to calm him after watching his kid and Beta hit the deck.

“At least they’re not dead like you thought.” I petted his hair back. The brown strands slipped through my fingers. “They are just off in LaLa land. The person who pulled the others there can break it. They will be back.”

“Is that your miasma telling me what it knows?” He lowered his head and concentrated on making my eyes cross with his tongue against my neck. “Or is this you trying to reassure me?”

“I am trying to reassure you, but that doesn’t change the truth.” Or my insides igniting. “They will go do their thing, and be back.”

“And when are we going to do our thing, Shelly?” He gripped my hair harder as his voice lost all but scant traces of humanity. “I’ve chosen you. My wolf has chosen you. I want you to wear my mark. I want you to carry my scent. I want you bent over to take my seed whenever I want. I want you to be mine, Shelly.”

How horrible was it that after that profession of love, I only wanted to ask about Doc?

“That kiss looked amazing.”

Isn’t the old saying,
ask and you shall receive
? There is a reason that has been repeated. The man I wanted to enclose me in heat and love spoke from just a dozen feet away. I tried to turn my head, but Richard held me too tight.

“Glad you aren’t dead. But we were having a moment.” Richard’s words were telling his Beta to go away, but I noticed his shoulders drop half an inch and his voice lost some of the feral timbre. His fingers loosened their grip on my head, and rubbed little circles where they touched my scalp until the small bruises healed. He kept rubbing and guided my head forward again. Richard’s forehead touched mine. He kept talking to Doc just like that. The words were a warm fan against my face.

“We will be back to the tower in a minute.” He kissed the bridge of my nose. “Or thirty.”

Trevor snorted. “Well, we storm the castle in fifteen. So I say we cut the bullshit and take advantage of this time.”

I got the idea that he wasn’t talking about stretching our muscles to stay limber. Well, maybe he planned on stretching some of my muscles. Internally. With various extremities of his own.

“You sound like you want to share. I’m not feeling much like sharing with someone who keeps things from me for a lifetime.”

“It was a human lifetime, not a wolf’s.” Trevor moved closer as he talked and his presence let Richard gain back his control. “I didn’t know how to tell you. And it’s been chaos lately. You needed to be strong for our Pack and those who joined from Chicago.”

Before Richard’s fingers could tighten back up, I started unbuckling his pants. It’s not easy to shock a werewolf. The only other time I had seen a wolf this stupefied was when I left my
Teen Wolf
DVD in their mailbox. Watching that had been a blast. Watching Richard’s erection jump from its confines was even more fun.

“Shelly, what…we can’t…we…oh sweet gods.”

I started to stroke him. The near misses and almosts that we had gone through had us all ready to explode.

“Trevor, get out of here. I need this. You owe me this.” The force of Alpha was heavy in his words.

I lifted my eyes and saw Trevor struggle to not turn tail and leave. I lifted Richard’s shirt and bit his nipple.

He pulsed in my hand, and his command to his Beta turned from a push to a pull. Trevor exhaled and rolled his shoulders back, and he found his way toward us. Richard might not want to want Trevor here, but that didn’t mean he didn’t get harder in my hands as our duo became a trio.

A giant wall of wolf pressed to my back. Alpha cock pressed against my stomach. I moved my shirt up and held that sizzling beast against my bare skin. He thrust his hips up and back. The slide of that velvety head had my knees weakening and my overactive brain liquefying. It was amazing. Surrounded by Paulson wolves, I’d never felt more at ease. Then hands began to pull at the side zipper on my linen pants. Plastic teeth separated and each notch that opened lit another erogenous zone on fire.

“Fifteen minutes.” Trevor said. “That’s all the time we have.”

My pants fell to the ground. As I stepped out, my panties were ripped from my body. I gasped at the wash of open air to my wet lips. My pussy ached. I tried to press my legs together, but Richard kicked them apart and Trevor slipped his feet to the inside of my arches. He held me open.

Richard searched my eyes waiting for some kind of signal. I must have given it to him, because that gorgeous cock kept a rhythmic thrust going. His pants had slipped to his knees while he was busy placing my legs apart like he wanted them. His heavy balls slapped against my clit with each press against my belly. A heavy tap, without enough real pressure to push me into climax was driving me crazy.

I wanted to scream. “If I don’t orgasm within these fifteen minutes, I am going to slaughter you and eat you for breakfast.”

All the thrusting stopped.

“Are you leaving after tonight, Shelly?” Richard held himself motionless as he asked me what I really didn’t want to get into while I was two licks and a suck away from climax.

Those golden eyes were like the most potent truth serum on the planet. Trevor stroked the sides of my hips and licked up my neck. My eyes wanted to roll back into their sockets, but the command of this Alpha wolf held them forward. “I should. But I don’t know how I can leave this.”

“This?” Trevor pressed. “Or us?”

His words sent chills down my spine, but a talented tongue chased the shiver.

Richard’s eyes faded to a bright hazel, eliminating the last of his feral gold. “Do you want us both?”

Watching the vulnerability sneak out from such a strong man had me speechless.

“Yes, she does.” Trevor’s hand left my hip and reached under my bottom. His index finger flicked back and forth against my opening. I whimpered as he pressed that finger to my throbbing clit. If he would just wiggle a bit, I was a goner.

“Don’t speak for her. She needs to say what she wants before we can give her what she needs. What I think we all need at this point. Say it, Shelly.” Richard began that steady thrusting again. His entire body pressed against mine and held his cock snug between us as he rocked his hips. The heat surrounding me gave new meaning to the word
burn
.

It didn’t matter if I stayed for tomorrow. It couldn’t. All I could deal with was right now. So I gave them the truth for right now. “I want this. I need this. Please. Take me.”

That was all it took. Rick broke eye contact and nodded behind me before ducking down. Trevor’s finger stopped teasing my pussy and thrust inside me. First one heavy digit and then two. I felt him stretching me.

My body could take whatever he dished out, but it was obvious that even with a time crunch he wanted this to be all about pleasure. My eyes finally closed as Rick’s heavy tongue lapped at the point of pleasure just above Trevor’s fingers pummeling me. I pulled my own shirt over my head and lost the bra. This was getting serious and I knew werewolves weren’t very easy on undergarments. It was a nice bra.

I tossed it over a branch. Someone must have thought I was trying to get away, because claws held me tightly by my thighs. Trevor’s feet still held me spread apart for them, and now his other hand gripped my nipple.

He pinched the bud that was already puckering from the wash of air. But it wasn’t a hard pinch. Not at first. He held snug and then slowly increased the pressure. I began to wiggle. Trevor added another finger. Richard licked harder. I opened my eyes to gape at the clear sky above me. Sunlight dappled through the trees and small lights that filtered through the leaves were all over me.

Trevor’s hand increased in speed. His grip on my nipple intensified. The pressure inside me built. Then I looked down and watched Richard’s eyes flash bright gold again before he sucked my clit inside his mouth and took a long thirsty draw. Blood pooled in my already swollen flesh and then he flicked his tongue against those nerves with superhuman speed. I shattered. Birds scrambled from the trees as I shouted my release.

As he finally stood again, his cock shone with a single drop of pearly fluid for me and his mouth was damp from my release. Trevor’s hands had gentled. He rolled my abused nipple around his fingers, and slowly rocked in and out of my wet pussy. He kept me warm and let the waves of orgasmic aftershocks keep pleasuring my body.

Instead of wiping with a hand, Richard used his tongue and licked his mouth clean. His cock jumped as he did. “Damn, if that isn’t the sweetest thing I have ever tasted.”

Trevor grumbled, “You aren’t the only one that wants a taste.”

Richard growled back, “You’re not the only one who wants a touch.”

“Well, I hope I’m not the only one who wants to fuck.” I pushed away from Trevor’s talented hands. He tried to hold briefly, but even he knew that I wasn’t about to run.

My hands pushed Alpha’s jeans to the ground and whipped his shirt over his head in a fraction of a second. I laid the clothes out flat.

“Does the princess want a bed?” He smiled at me, and I could see the presence of a fang beneath his lips. I wanted his bite almost as much as I wanted his cock. That thought jumped into my brain before I could catch it, and my steps faltered a bit.

It was all right. I would just take control.

“No. The queen wants an offering.” I knew I was borrowing Amber’s title, but it seemed fitting. “Lay down.”

He growled at me. But he was on the makeshift bed in a second. Sex was the most powerful magic of all. The mighty Alpha was on his back. His cock stood up with more strength than the entire forest of trees around us. He stole that beautiful drop of fluid and used it to stroke himself.

Trevor’s clothes were tossed behind him and he stood mimicking his Alpha’s movements. He wasn’t as thick as Richard was, but his cock was long and pointed directly at me.

“You coming?” I would say I asked Trevor, but really I was talking to the dick I couldn’t take my eyes off of.

“Not before we pump another one out of you, sweetheart. Climb on top of that man. He’s in dire straits.” Trevor didn’t let me go immediately. He pulled me in for a kiss first. Strong warm tongue sought out the seam of my lips and I let him in without a fight. I wanted this too much. I needed them both. And it was now or never. I wasn’t one to go for never.

My head was spinning, and then my body was. Trevor walked me over and helped me spread my legs over Richard. Trevor gripped my breasts and rolled my nipples from behind me as I sank down. My pussy fluttered around Rick’s cock. My body stretched to accommodate his size and he made way inch by glorious inch.

Every time my pussy eased even slightly, he tunneled farther inside me. When he was finally balls deep, Trevor’s hands left my chest and pushed me forward. He held me by my neck and the small of my back and kept both me and Richard from moving.

I began to writhe against the hairy chest beneath my cheek. Then the wiggling became more frantic as I realized he wasn’t going to let me up anytime soon.

“Trevor. Enough.” The sounds rumbling through the chest beneath me were getting louder. “Let her up.”

“Not yet, Rick. I wasn’t prepared for this. I need some lubrication. The longer she struggles against you the wetter she is getting. And I need a lot of that for what we want here. Can’t you feel her dripping onto you?”

All I could do was wait. Well, I could probably beat the shit out of both of them, but the timetable was not on our side. I stuck my tongue out and licked the nipple I had bitten earlier. Richard pulsed inside of me.

“Fuck, yes I can feel her, and if you don’t let her move, she won’t be the only one I tear apart tonight. But you need to be aware of the likelihood of blowing early here after all this buildup. Take your time with her. Just do it quickly.”

I had to laugh at his struggle, but the laughter died as I felt Trevor’s fingers move to my pussy. His digits traced the inner lips and then began to slip in and out around Richard’s cock. I didn’t think there was much room left, but his fingers milked me in the space he created. The rock hard member inside me throbbed, and the fingers swirled at the base.

This was better than any sex toy. It was better than any sex too, because both men were strong enough to realize what I wanted and man enough to give it to me.

“Please tell me he is going for your ass soon. I could live without his hands on my dick, but I want to feel us take you together more than I have wanted anything in decades. I will last as long as I can, but I need this more than air right now.”

“Well, I don’t need any air. So you can have mine.”

He removed Trevor’s hand from my neck and pulled me to his face by my hair. The kiss was another sensation that was adding to them overwhelming my body. Then with the pool of my own wetness on his hands I felt a finger start to press against my ass. The tight ring of muscle held for just a moment before sucking the digit inside. I groaned at the stretch. Richard moaned with me and I felt him throb inside as Trevor’s fingers stroked us both through the thin wall inside my body. We all needed more than just his two fingers inside me.

Don’t get me wrong, those two fingers were busy. They circled my opening and stretched me until I burned. Then the burn became want, and despite Richard’s warning to go easy on him, I squeezed my inner muscles and started to move. His head banged against the forest floor.

“Fuck me.”

“Working on it.” I told him.

“I can’t wait any longer.” Trevor said from behind me. “I think you’re ready, Shelly, but if this hurts, tell me and I will stop. I will cry as I do, but I will stop.”

Then it wasn’t Trevor’s fingers at my ass. The mushroom head of his cock began to press forward demanding passage. I’m not a big woman, and I was so full. I pulled up a bit and let Richard slip from me until Trevor finally breached that first hard ring of my ass.