Three Years AgoEvening hunts are the best.I live for them. I live for the way the Montana sky spreads overhead, larger than even seems possible in a watercolor of purples and oranges. I live for the cold wind coming off the mountains to ruffle my fur and for the scent of our prey floating on that same breeze.I live for the pursuit.For the takedown.For the thrill of it all.So what the fuck is wrong with me tonight?Amora, take the left, Ridge orders from somewhere close by. His voice is just as low and gruff in our telepathic mind-speak as it is in his human form.I don’t have a visual of him since we’ve spread out around the herd of deer in the growing twilight. Carter’s crouched in the weeds about ten feet away—a massive chocolate brown wolf with blue eyes and an almost preternaturally keen sense of smell. Beyond him, I catch a glimpse of Luna’s golden fur as she inches forward, low to the ground. She’s not the greatest hunter among us, but she’s light and quick, which is alway
Once dinner is safely secured on the sled and hooked up to two of the biggest wolves, we head back toward the village.Ridge usually takes the lead on the way home, but this time, he falls behind to walk beside me, shooting a glance at me as he falls into step on my left. All right. What’s up?Shit. I should’ve known he’d call me out. Ridge has been my best friend for years, since we were little pups playing in the yard together while our moms drank sangria and bitched about the other neighbors. He knows me too well not to notice when something is weird with me.If I were in human form, I’d shrug. That’s harder to do in wolf form, so I settle for glancing at him with as much nonchalance as possible. Nothing’s up.My ass, he shoots back.I have no interest in your ass, up or otherwise.Ridge bares his teeth, and the flutter of his eyelids makes it obvious he’s rolling his wolf eyes at me. Yeah, that part I already knew. I was talking more about the hunt tonight, and your… uh, unique la
I hate how there are no secrets in this friendship.“Don’t blame me for needing a little fun in my life, grandpa,” I quip as I turn toward my house. “While I go ‘blow off some steam,’ you go ahead and enjoy re-reading your favorite copy of Popular Mechanics before you drink Earl Grey and go to bed before nine.”“I don’t even like Earl Grey!” he calls after me.His laughter follows me up the two shallow steps to my front door, then he adds, “Be safe out there.”“I will,” I call back, then disappear inside.My cabin isn’t much. Most days, I don’t even feel like it’s really mine. It was my parents’ place, and I inherited it when they died. Lived here with a caretaker through my youth, then alone once I was old enough.I’m always alone.I grab a quick shower since I haven’t had one today, dry off and wrap the towel around my body, then brush out my long dark hair. No use trying to style it when I’m going to shift to get to town. Good thing the “windblown waves” look is popular.My closet
I raise my glass too, returning his gesture.He says something to his buddies and grins, then leaves the table to come join me.“Can’t help but see that you’re all alone,” he drawls, leaning an elbow on the bar between me and the occupied chair beside me.“Noticed that, did you?” I cock my head, laying on the teasing in my tone. I know the buttons to push. The secret looks to use. The way to pitch my words so that he knows I’m interested.I came here looking to blow off some steam, and this guy will do just fine.“Can’t imagine why a woman as beautiful as you would be alone on a night like this,” the man says, his gaze sweeping my face. “What’s your name, sugar?”Before I can decide whether to give him one of my patented fake names or just play coy, the hair on the back of my neck stands up. Goosebumps race over my skin a split second before a cool breeze rushes through the bar from the open door.I glance over at the newcomer and my heart ceases beating.He takes up the entire doorwa
Kian.The name rolls around in my head. It’s just as magnetic, just as relentlessly sexy as the man himself.His luscious lips are still within inches of my hand, and I have this wild urge to slide my finger between them. I want to feel his mouth on me and his tongue wet against my skin. Just the idea sends another pulse of need through my core. I’m already turned on, and all he’s said is his name.I came out tonight hoping to get laid by someone passably attractive, and now I’m going to walk out of this bar with sex incarnate. When did I start getting such good luck?It’s almost enough to make up for the fact I fell on my face during the hunt.“Pleasure to meet you,” I say, peeling my fingers away from Kian’s to pick up the new glass Barb has set next to my empty one. My fingertips damn near seem to spark from his touch.“No, I think the pleasure’s mine.” Kian’s gaze sweeps over my body. He licks his lips, his eyes bright as he takes in the low-slung dress barely containing my breast
A back hallway leads to restrooms and an alley exit, cut off from the bustle of the bar by a sharp right-hand turn that takes the corridor behind the kitchen. My high heels tap loudly on the shiny concrete floors, under a song heavy with bass as it pipes from the stereo anchored near the ceiling.I don’t even make it halfway down the hall before I feel his heat behind me. The delectable scent of him surrounds me in the split second before a strong arm catches me around the waist and yanks me back.For a moment, I’m airborne. Kian whips me off my feet like I weigh nothing, and despite my height, maybe I don’t weigh anything to a man his size.He yanks me against his hard body, one hand curling around my hip while the other fists in my hair. There’s a wild look in his eye that borders the line between lust and hunger. The way he dominates me, towering over me all brawn and heat and that intoxicating whiskey smoke…Fuck, I’m lost.Heat pools between my legs. I rock my hips against his an
I sink down to my knees in front of Kian, ignoring the way the rough pavement digs into my skin. His eyes darken as he stares down at me, and he widens his stance a bit to bring his crotch closer to my eye-level. I keep looking up, holding his gaze as I reach for the waistband of his pants and unbutton them. I drag the zipper down, and I can already feel how fucking hard he is.He’s going commando just like I am—it’s a common shifter habit—and his heavy cock practically leaps into my hand, the velvety flesh hot and hard against my palm. I fist him, still watching his face as I dart my tongue out and run it over the tip of his crown. He’s thick and long, and I want to look at his cock, to fucking study it while I drag my tongue up and down his length.But right now, I want to see his expression more.I’m entranced by the way his jaw clenches, his nostrils flaring as he sucks in a sharp breath. It’s shadowy and dark in the alley, but I can still see his eyes blazing, almost like there’s
We barely make it back to the hotel room Kian is staying in.The town is small enough that it’s in walking distance from the bar, but we keep getting held up as we stop to kiss and grope at each other like horny teenagers. The only thing keeping me from dragging him into another alley and demanding he fuck me right there is the fact that I want more room to maneuver. I want to be able to see him naked—every single damn inch of him—and that’s harder to accomplish in a dingy alley than it is in a hotel room with a door.The door in question almost comes off its hinges when we burst into the hotel room like a hurricane, and Kian slams it shut with so much force that I swear I hear the wood crack. But the integrity of a hotel room door is the furthest thing from my mind now that I’ve got what I want.Kian. Alone.We crash through the room in a chaotic tangle of limbs, running into walls and practically knocking over a dresser as our hands roam hungrily over each other’s bodies, lips locke
Fuck. Could Amora even survive what exists in the other realm? Unease prickles up my spine at how close we just came to losing her.We need to take those shadows out, I tell my brothers. As fast as we can.We’re yanked back into combat as several of Quinton’s wolves burst into our little circle, breaking up the party.I pounce on the nearest Blood Moon wolf, taking him down to the ground, while Malix and Frost tag team a shadow shifter. Picking up the wolf with my teeth, I fling him at two more advancing wolves, taking them down like pins in a bowling lane.When I glance back up, Malix and Frost are having trouble with their shadow shifter. The beast is big, and he must’ve been pumped full of more shadow magic than the rest, because he fights almost like a Berserker, wild and brutal. I leap over one of the fallen wolves and head toward them to help, only to stop cold as Amora screams my name.Kian!Whirling around, I find her darting over the uneven terrain in a mad zigzag pattern whi
KianJust like thenight when Quinton nearly executed our mate with a bullet to the head, I don’t hesitate.I’m in the air a split second after my old alpha’s paws have left the dirt. I intercept his leap and slam into him in mid-air, angling so that I hit his head with my chest. He’s so massive that it feels like a rock wall slamming into me, and I huff out a pained breath. If I were any smaller or weaker, I have no doubt his skull would have broken a few bones in my torso.Quinton flies away from me while I fall to the ground, winded. I barely manage to land on all fours as he skids away from me, kicking up dirt and stones and clumps of grass. All around me, chaos breaks loose as the Silver Crest wolves and Blood Moon pack launch into an all-out war.In the very short half second I have before Quinton stands, I glance around and consider our odds. We’re on Felicity’s turf now, and there are more of us physically than there are of them. Both will give us an advantage. Unfortunately, t
AmoraFuck. Not Quinton. Please, don’t let it be Quinton. We’re not fucking ready.I’m not sure who moves first, but within seconds of the piercing howl outside, the four of us are racing across the dark, silent cabin toward the front door.Kian reaches the door first and flings it open, launching himself out into the night with Malix and Frost right behind him. As I come even with the door and prepare to shift, I pause for a fraction of a second, mesmerized by the sight of them leaping from the small front stoop.They trail black smoke as they shift, morphing like shadows. It’s beautiful in a deadly sort of way, as if they’re more than limbs and torsos and heads, but something more metaphysical. More fluid. A macabre dance of shadows.Then they land on the dusty front lawn in full shadow wolf form and take off. I hurry to follow behind, letting my own shift take over my body in the split second after I leap off the porch stoop.Another howl lights up the night, and I put on a burst o
AmoraI surfacefrom a dreamless sleep to the deep, dark of night, cocooned by the warmth of the three men sleeping around me.I’m on my back, completely pinned in by them—something that, once upon a time, would have sent alarm bells clanging through my head. Instead, it’s peaceful and comforting, if a little too warm.The ceiling is barely visible in the blackness, small cracks in the paint standing out like spider webs made of ink. I take a couple of deep breaths, staring up at them as I try to figure out where I stand. How I feel.The past few weeks still weigh on my shoulders, although I imagine that’s not something that’s just going to go away. Things still aren’t good here. We lost against Quinton, and I’m not naïve enough to think he won’t retaliate. Felicity is dead, and that’s a pretty permanent problem that’s going to throw her whole pack into a state of flux for a while.On the other hand, for the first time in a while, I’m okay. Even if the external world is chaos, my inter
In this moment, it’s just me and my men.Finally, Malix lifts his head and drops a kiss to the tip of my nose. “God, I love fucking you,” he murmurs.“Good.” I chuckle. “Because I’ve got lots of plans for more of this.”He waggles his eyebrows. “Dirty girl. You really are my fated mate.”I breathe out another laugh at the idea that my dirty mind is the true proof that we’re a fated match, shaking my head and grinning at him as he draws back, his cock sliding out of me.Frost, Malix, and I all look toward Kian next.The final piece of the puzzle. My third mate.He’s kneeling on the bed beside me, and when I reach for him, he comes willingly. He settles between my legs, his cock hard and thick. But he doesn’t slide into me right away. Instead, he trails one hand down my stomach, and all four of us watch the path of his fingers as they move lower and lower. When he reaches my pussy, he dips two fingers inside. I moan at the feeling, and heat flashes in his eyes.“You look so stunning lik
His gold-rimmed eyes gleam darkly, as if he knows exactly what I’m doing—trying to get a rise out of him. But the heated possessiveness never wavers in his expression as he gives me an answer.“Because I want to look at you. I want my brothers to see what’s theirs. What’s ours.”Oh.Oh fuck.I didn’t expect his answer to turn me on so much, but after everything that just happened between us in the bathroom, every word he just spoke is loaded with meaning.So I don’t push back against his order, staying still just like he told me to and allowing the three men to stare down at me. Frost reaches down to grip his cock, and I wonder if he’s squeezing himself to get a little relief or to try to get his arousal under control. Maybe a bit of both.That thought makes me whimper softly, and although I make no move to reach for the feral shifters, I can’t resist reaching down to slide one hand between my legs.“Shit, kitty,” Malix chokes out as I use my fingertips to spread my pussy lips, giving
“Fuck prophecies,” I repeat as I swipe at the tears threatening to crest over my eyelashes. “I make my own fate. We’ll make our own fate. Together. And it won’t end in murder. Got it?” I jam my finger into Kian’s chest and cut a glare toward Frost. “We aren’t going to go down like that. Not like them. I couldn’t stand it. I can’t even stand the thought of… of hurting you or killing you. Jesus. I can’t believe I ever tried—”Suddenly, Frost’s arm snakes out and hooks around my waist. He yanks me to him, my arms crushed between us as my fingers still cling to my towel, and his lips cover mine, cutting off my rant.There’s a salty, spicy taste to his skin, and when his lips part in that tentative way of his, I’m surrounded by the familiar scent of his body. Warmth unfurls in my belly, heating my skin, and I tilt my face up to his, opening to his kiss.It’s soft at first, but then he catches my face in his hands and deepens the kiss, his tongue sliding against mine with deliberate possess
AmoraHeat risesin my eyes as I flip the water on in the shower and climb inside. I don’t even wait for the water to warm, and the shock of cold zings through me, giving me a rush of adrenaline to chase away the sheer exhaustion that’s settled over my bones. The cold quickly fades, replaced by lukewarm water. Another twist of the pipes gives me the scalding temperature I need to ease the emotional turmoil I feel.Weeks of grime slosh off my body beneath the shower head while my tears disappear into the water on my face. I dump shampoo on my hair and scrub vigorously with my fingernails, scratching harder than necessary. If I focus on the little pinpricks of pain, maybe I can get the sight of Quinton standing over Felicity’s body out of my head.If only for a moment.His mate.His mate.How could he do that?I turn, ducking my head under the water to rinse out the suds. I grab the bar of soap off the ledge beside me and lather my hands, then use my nails again to scrub at my face.How
So we travel quickly, digging deep into our energy reserves to race headlong across state lines. Micro-naps and brief pauses to eat or drink are the only breaks we allow, and surprisingly, nobody falls behind. I assume the weaker shifters are still running on pure adrenaline.Most of the adrenaline has faded by the time we cross the state line into Wyoming, but it doesn’t matter. We keep pushing anyway.When we finally reach the Silver Crest pack’s boundaries two days later, a heavy feeling falls over the group. Felicity’s shifters slow, as if dreading to bring the news of her death to those left back home.Many of the wolves limp or nurse wounds that have yet to fully heal, and it doesn’t take more than a glance to understand every one of them is completely demoralized by what happened. It’s late in the day, and although the last rays of the sun paint the buildings with a warm, glowing light, despair hangs around us like a weight in the air.When pack members begin to emerge from the