Trinity Bound (8 page)

Reed lowered his hands while they all looked at each other for answers.
What was that? Are we going to talk about it?

“We need to find some place to go,” Josh whispered as he looked up toward the sky.

Apparently they were going to ignore the spark. Hannah grumbled inwardly.

She followed Josh’s gaze.
Oh crap.
A blizzard. Just what they needed. Dark clouds moved in overhead and the wind picked up, howling through the trees. Fat snowflakes began to fall from the sky, quickly accumulating on the forest floor. With each gust of wind, the temperature dropped another couple of degrees, chilling her to the bone.

Reed went to Josh’s side and put the other man’s arm around his shoulders. Then he, because Reed was smaller than Josh, leaned in and wrapped his arm around Josh’s waist to lift him slightly off the ground.

“I can walk myself,” was Josh’s disgruntled response.

“I’m sure you can. But we need to get out of here quickly. Let us help you.” Reed’s smooth voice held a hint of nervousness but a calming undertone.

They ran together through the forest. Well, they ran as best as they could with two barefoot people half-carrying an injured human. The snow began to fall around them about twenty minutes into their escape. Hannah panted heavy breaths, praying they would find somewhere to ride out the storm soon. From the looks on both men’s faces, their thoughts ran along the same paths.

But other thoughts threatening to edge out the panic and hope for shelter worried her. What would they do when they got there?

And what would they do about each other? Was she really thinking about a ménage with these two men just because they panted for each other in a few brief moments? How will each of them react? How should she react?

Even as the cold surrounded her, her body warmed to the thought of being loved and touched by these two men. Tingles shot up her body and she didn’t bother to suppress them. They kept the cold from seeping into her bones more than it already had and made her think of a future that she didn’t have before. A future with two men. Could it really work? Did she want it to?

Chapter 7

Jesus, his chest hurt. Reed shook off the burning pain of newly healed tissues and even newer slices and bruises and heaved Josh a bit farther into the forest. He didn’t know why the surviving wolves had left, but Reed thanked whatever the reason. Though he might have been stronger than the wolves that leapt at him with their gleaming teeth and sharp claws, he couldn’t have lasted much longer.

Hannah’s breath came out in fast pants on the other side of Josh. They needed to get to shelter soon. But Reed couldn’t help but remember the way she’d stood and fought by their sides.
Dear Lord, she was amazing.
He’d never seen magic like that, hadn’t even known earth witches possessed that type of power. Add into the fact she was a rare healer and his Hannah was a force to be reckoned with. And damn sexy when she did it.

And Josh. For a human, his fighting and perseverance rivaled most Alpha’s. When he’d run out of ammunition, he’d gone for his blades and hand to hand without even looking like he was thinking. Thank God for his training, whatever that was. The human that didn’t smell quite human was a mystery to him.

A damn sexy mystery.

Reed lifted Josh a bit more, trailing the human’s feet in the snow. Whatever the demon had done to him, it didn’t look good. Josh leaned heavily against Reed and groaned with each stumble and time they had to climb over a large hill or rock. His skin had paled enough that Reed didn’t even think he had any blood at all. And scariest of all, though it was freezing, Josh’s body warmed Reed’s side like a furnace.

Snow fell in earnest around them, beauty in an evil nightmare. The trees parted farther up their makeshift path, revealing a hopeful shadow.

Please don’t let me be hallucinating like a man dying of thirst in a desert.

“I think I see a cabin up ahead. The lights are out so I don’t think anyone’s home. But at least it has a roof.” Relief spread through him as he told the others.

“Where? I don’t see it.” Hannah couldn’t hold back her hope; it reflected in her voice.

“Me neither.” Josh’s voice was weak, filled with pain.

“It’s there; I can just see farther than you. But it’s there. Believe me.”

They both nodded. Again, relief filled his chest at the thought of their trust.

They walked a bit farther until the cabin came into view for everyone. With a grunt of relief, they reached the door. Reed let Josh sway on his own two feet, leaning against Hannah, as he went to the door. Locked. Reed took about two seconds to search for the key before shouldering the door open. The lock busted with an audible snap, and he ushered them both in.

Hannah flicked the light switch to find no electricity. Josh looked lost on his feet, so Reed moved to help him stand, while Hannah found a lantern and matches. The soft glow illuminated what appeared to be a hunting cabin. The floor plan was larger than most hunting cabins he’d seen. A small living room with a hallway off to the side led to most likely a bedroom. A table and chairs stood off to the side in a makeshift dining room and there was a doorway to what must be the kitchen. Fur skins littered the wooden floors, insulating whatever heat it could. Stuffed dear, bear, and wolf heads adorned the walls.

Reed gulped. He
really
hoped those were all normal animals and not werewolves. Not something to think about.

Luckily, during their trek to this abandoned cabin, they’d left Central land and now stood on neutral land. No Pack held deed so Reed was safe from meeting another Pack and be called out for trespassing. But they weren’t on Redwood land either. No, they were further away then when they started. They’d had to go in the opposite direction of his Pack because they wouldn’t be able to reach the Redwood land without crossing the Central land unless they made a wide circle. It sucked but couldn’t have been avoided. They were sheltered, maybe would even be fed soon. And they were away from the Centrals, at least for the time being. Things could be worse.

The feel of Josh’s weight against him reminded Reed of where he was.
Oh yeah, things were worse.
They needed to take a look at that bite.

Reed shifted slightly and inhaled Josh’s scent. He smelled of ponderosa pine, a sweet wood. Odd, since that tree was typically found in the southwest, but that really wasn’t the point.

Reed cursed under his breath, startling Josh. He shouldn’t be sniffing this man, no. He had Hannah. And Josh was most likely a narrowly straight man.

But hell. Reed’s wolf knew.

“He’s our mate, too.”

Shit.

When Josh had first walked through that metal door to rescue him and Hannah, Reed had gasped. The human had stood tall, with a powerful body that demanded attention—and maybe Reed’s tongue. He had brown hair that stood up in long spikes that begged for Reed’s hands and blue eyes that saw into Reed’s soul. When the connection set in and his wolf growled in contentment, Reed knew he was done for. His cock, already hard from Hannah’s presence, had throbbed and ached for release.

How fucked up was fate anyway?

How could he have
two
mates at the
same time
? Was he supposed to choose? Could he have them both?

What if they both walked away?

Holy shit.

This was why he didn’t really want a mate to begin with. All decisions went out the door and choices right along with them, and the world revolved around another person who may or may not even return their love. And if they weren’t a werewolf, they couldn’t feel the mating heat. It was just a simple attraction to them.

Fuck.

Again, Reed shook out his thoughts. He didn’t have time to worry about the inevitable. No, he needed to get Josh resting and try to figure out what to do with a fucking demon bite. Not to mention, he still had the overwhelming need to protect Hannah, to protect them both, because, even if they both walked away from him once he told them they were his mates, they were still his mates. He protected what was his.

Huh. Who knew he had such Alpha tendencies?

“Reed, get Josh to the couch,” Hannah ordered in a soft voice. “I’ll set the wards.”

Reed merely lifted a brow at her stern, yet, sexy tone while Josh whistled in appreciation.

Their mate was full of surprises.

Wait, their?

So, not going there. He couldn’t. It was taboo. But he still smiled at the thought. Could it work?

Reed walked Josh to one of the plush brown couches and set him down carefully.

Josh winced in pain.

“Shit, did I hurt you? How can I help?” Because at this moment, he’d do just about anything to save him. Anything.

“No, you didn’t do anything.” Josh heaved a breath as Reed pushed him onto his back and covered him with the blanket from the back of the couch. “My arm just hurts like hell. What was that thing, and why did it bite me?”

Reed let out a breath. He could almost forget Josh was human until he’d ask a question like that.

“It was a demon.”

Josh’s eyebrows rose. “That’s a new one.”

Reed would’ve asked what he meant by that, but then he got a good look at the wound on Josh’s forearm.

It looked as if a ravaging beast had taken hold of the flesh and tugged and torn until a mess of ligaments, muscles, and flesh swam in a pool of blood. He was pretty sure he could see bone fragments floating in the open wound, as well one of the bones in the forearm, though he didn’t know if it was the radius or ulna.

The man must have been in an incredible amount of pain. Yet, except for the green hue of his skin and occasional moan or grunt, Josh struggled through it like a pro. What atrocities had the man seen if he was able to withstand this with only minor complaint and remain conscious?

Reed went to the kitchen, and thankfully, the water still worked. He filled a bowl and found some towels. On the way back, he noticed food stores and thanked whatever hunter had left there them for a rainy day because the three of them sure needed it.

Carefully, Reed cleaned the drying blood around the wound, doing his best not to aggravate it further. Josh sucked in a breath through his teeth when Reed got too close to the edges.

“Sorry, man.”

“It’s okay. It needs to be done. It just hurts like a bitch, you know?” Josh smiled at him, and Reed could feel his face heat to the tips of his ears.

Damn, the man was sexy.

Dark brown hair, cut close in the back, but slightly longer in the front, so it spiked up just a bit. Pale, scarred skin on a slightly bulkier and taller body than his own. Ocean blue eyes that seemed to change to a foamy blue in the light.

Like before with Hannah, Reed felt the urge to pick up a brush and paint.

Trying to get a closer look at the wound, Reed placed his arm on Josh’s bare skin. The man gasped at his touch.

Reed pulled back, but not before he saw a wave of desire flash across Josh’s face. The other man’s pupils dilated and his lips parted, a flush rising to his pale skin.

Interesting.

Was Josh gay? No, bi maybe, like him. He’d seen the way Josh looked at Hannah. The expression was probably a mirror image of his own face, but for some reason, he didn’t feel a twinge of jealousy, only a feeling of rightness. In fact, the idea of the three of them felt even more right than the idea of just him and Hannah alone. Weird.