Luna“You want me to be your Second-in-Command?” I ask, gaping at Axel. “What about Ama?”We’re still sitting in the pond off of Golden Glades Street, surrounded by marsh plants and a few palm trees. Paper cups and food wrappers float along the edges, having blown in from town, but I don’t have to scavenge for plastic cups or water jugs anymore, so I don’t pay the trash any mind. While Axel speaks, I let my hands swirl lazily in the pea-green water.“Ama and I are two very dominant wolves,” Axel says. “It wouldn’t hurt to have a more submissive wolf to tame the tempers of the rest of us.”I smile at Axel. I’m flattered to be offered a job in the pack and even more happy that he’s getting rid of Ama. I don’t like her one bit.“What would I have to do?”“You’ll be my right-hand wolf,” he says. “You’ll help me make decisions on what’s best for the pack, and you can even govern in my absence for a short time.”“Really?” I say, my eyes widening. “So, I can boss around the entire pack when
WarrickI got six dead Swamp rabbits draped over the back of my bike, and I’m eager to share them with the family—until I spot that dickwad Axel, strolling next to Luna like they’re a couple teenagers courting. I fix a steely- eyed glare at him until he and Luna are within a few feet of me.“You just can’t stay away, can you, puppy-dog?” I growl at him. “Sniffing around here like she’s a bitch in heat. Pathetic.”I’d rip his throat out if I could walk out of here alive, but I know the pack would kill me and my brothers too if I touched their fucking Alpha. I’m so sick of his ugly mug showing up day and night, mooning over my Luna, it’d almost be worth it.Luna sidles over to me and gives me a sweet kiss, trying to sooth my temper. I heft the rope-bound dead rabbits from my bike and hold them up like a prize. “See what I caught for you, baby girl?” I say, dismissing Axel from my line of sight. “Your man brought home food to feed the family.”“Thank you,” she says, her eyes lighting up.
When I draw back, she’s positively glowing, flushed with desire, and everyone in the room can smell the sweet scent of her arousal.Axel stands from the table abruptly. “Thank you for dinner,” he says, turning on his heel. “I’ll see myself out.”I nod at Ethan, who scoots his chair back from the table, blocking his path.“Well, now, don’t be too hasty,” my brother says, an edge of taunting in his voice. “We couldn’t let a guest leave without showing our hospitality. And you wouldn’t want to be rude and run out on us now, would you?”Axel’s jaw grinds back and forth.“That’s right,” I say. “If you’re offering to share, I think you should know the full meaning of the word.”“I understand I hurt Luna, and I’ve tried to make amends,” Axel says.“I don’t think you do understand, mongrel,” I say. “We’re the ones who sat with Luna and consoled her after you threw her away. You didn’t see it, so how can you understand? We rescued her and nursed her back to health. When she got hurt again runn
LunaI’m yanked from the fog of bliss at the sound of the front door slamming shut. I can feel Axel’s wolf, how wounded it is, and guilt cloaks me like a shroud. I didn’t mean for this to happen, even though some part of me thought Axel deserved to see what he threw away. That’s why I let him stay and watch.“Go make sure he doesn’t destroy shit,” Warrick says to Ethan.Ethan leaves the room. I know Axel wouldn’t destroy my house, though. At least I hope he wouldn’t. He did demolish our swamp home, according to Evan. But I don’t trust vampires, so I’m not sure if that’s true.The light of a half-moon streams through the slit in my blue and white lace curtains, lighting up the bed. Callan lays on one side of me, playing with my nipples and stroking my breast.Warrick gives a low growl and settles in on my other side. “Did my baby girl like that?” he asks.“So much,” I say, snuggling in beside him.“You want me to share you with Ethan, too?” he asks.“Yes, please,” I say, squirming at t
A blade of regret cuts through my muscles and bones, leaving me raw and bloody. I should never have made him stay and see that I’m someone else’s mate. His wolf will never believe it.The coffee doesn’t even taste good, even though it’s filled with cream and all the flavors of syrup that I want. I only drink half of it before I ask Callan to take me home.The next week passes the same way. I’m happy that the brothers are sharing me, that there’s no secrets between us. We’re our own little family, closer than ever. We eat together every night. We joke around as usual. During the day, they head out and do whatever boys do. At night, I fuck Warrick and sometimes Callan, too. It feels as good as it always did, but something’s different.Sometimes they ask me if I want to go out somewhere, but I politely decline. I need to stay close in case Axel stops by, and to guard my house. My wolf feels strangely, jealously possessive of it, even though no one has tried to mess it up, and Axel hasn’t
EthanThe wild winds have already begun testing the roof’s mettle, so after the hunt, I start gathering my tools to work on it. This storm’s going to be a bitch. The clouds look like bloated cows, and every body of water has white-capped waves. Mother Nature’s serving us up one whale of a weather front—for the millionth time this decade. We just can’t catch a break around these parts.“What are you doing?” Luna asks, watching me as I buckle on my tool belt.“Gonna go make sure your pretty little house doesn’t flood,” I say,smiling down at her. “Secure the shingles and add shutters to the windows.” “Can I come?”I open my mouth to say no, she’ll ask too many questions and slow me down. But she stares up at me with her big pretty eyes, and my resolve crumbles. I just can’t take it when she fixes me with those purple doe eyes. I can’t bring myself to deny her anything her sweet little heart desires.“Sure, pup,” I say. “Come on up with me.”None of us can seem to get her out of the hous
We sit in silence for a minute, and I try to ignore the weight and heat of Luna’s body in my lap. “Have you always been mean?” she asks after a while.“Nah, not always,” I say. “I thought I loved a woman once—the first woman I ever fucked. But I was just a pup like you—even younger. I didn’t know better.”“Better than what?”“I must’ve been sixteen, and she was twenty-four, twenty-five.”“So?” Luna says. “I’m eighteen, and you guys are twice my age.”“But it’s different with you.” I bunch her flying hair in my hand and hold it behind her head.“How so?” she asks, staring up at me with open curiosity.“I don’t know.” I shrug. “It just is. You’re fucking irresistible.”I like how with her, there’s no games. She doesn’t know to play coy, to hide what she truly wants and pretend to be what someone else wants until she has him reeled in. She’s just herself, our luscious little Luna, and that’s a thousand times more enticing than any put-on air.“What happened with the older woman?” Luna as
LunaThe tempest is on its way, and I think it’s going to tear me from everyone and everything, just like in my dream. The winds are howling, screaming through the rafters, whistling through the telephone poles. Axel hasn’t stopped by to make sure we’re safe, even though I put my name on his list like he asked. He’s supposed to tell us where to go if things get worse. We’re not safe—we never even got the shutters on. The triplets are frantically trying to get them up before the worst of it hits.While they’re busy, I decide to run back to Axel’s and get the emergency plan myself, since he was too mad to bring it to me. Head down, raincoat wrapped around my body and tied securely at the waist, I power through the wind that nearly takes me off my feet. When I get to his porch, I have to pry open the screen door with both hands. I don’t bother knocking, just hurl myself inside and release the door, afraid it’ll knock me out if it hits me.“Axel? That you?” comes a dreaded, familiar voice
Callan and Ethan position their shoulders against the door, crouched between Axel’s and Warrick’s spread legs. Water has begun seeping across the floor, leaking from under the door dining room door as well as the front door.“On three,” booms Axel. “One, two, three.”They grunt, straining against the door as it gives a couple of inches. Small waves slosh against Ethan’s and Callan’s knees on the floor. “On, three,” Axel commands again. “One, two, three.”They get a few more inches of space in the door.“One more shot, and we got it,” he says. “Ready?” The other men nod.“One, two, three,” he roars, as if priming himself for the ultimate exertion.This time the door opens wide.Warrick, Axel, Ethan, and Callan move away from the door. Water rushes out, since apparently the dining room is more flooded. Water drips from Callan and Ethan as they stand. The drips echo into the water sloshing up to their ankles.Borris rushes into the room as much as one can run while splashing through wat
LunaWarrick, Ethan, Callan, Axel, and I sit around Axel’s kitchen table, drinking beer and talking, trying to ignore the storm gathering strength outside and hoping it won’t be a big one.Warrick and Axel are already talking pack strategy, Axel filling in the new Second about pack laws. Even though Warrick can’t officially start until we’re sworn in, Axel sharing the details is a sign of trust that goes a long way. Instead of growling and snapping, Warrick is soaking it up like a sea sponge. It’s good to see them working together instead of tearing at each other’s throats.Callan nudges me under the table with his feet, bringing my attention to him. He gives me a smile and a wink that makes my heart flip, then takes a swig of his beer. My whole belly fills up with warmth. Ethan squeezes my hand on the other side. I want to stay this way forever, but a loud banging on the front door interrupts.“That doesn’t sound good,” Axel said, pushing up to his feet. “Must be an emergency for som
LunaI’m still humming with the bliss of orgasm and the satisfaction my wolf feels at being claimed by Axel when I look up and see three hulking shapes standing in the doorway.“Oh,” I cry, scrambling up right on Ama’s dead body.Axel sucks in a breath, and I realize he’s still knotted up inside me. “What are you doing here?” I ask the triplets.“We got worried about you,” Ethan says. “We thought something might have happened to you.”“And now we can see that something did happen to you. He happened to you.” Warrick steps through the doorway and charges toward us as if he’s going to fight with Axel again. I wince when Axel pulls the swollen base of his cock from me, stepping in front of me to block Warrick’s path.“Wait,” I cry, leaping to my feet and darting between the two men. “Axel saved my life.”Warrick halts, eyes the dead wolf, and then turns to us. His gaze sweeps my bruised, battered body, covered with bumps and scrapes. “What happened?” he demands.“Ama tried to kill me,” I
AxelSomething is wrong. I can feel it somehow, even though Luna hasn’t sworn into the pack, so we don’t share the pack bond. But we still share some other bond, a curse that ties me to her no matter how much I deny it. My wolf frets inside me, sure that something is not right.I sigh and try to focus again, piling sandbags along the edge of Kato’s backyard to keep the water at bay. Luna finally got it through my thick head that she’s with them now, not me. She wants nothing to do with me. She’s got three thugs protecting her, and even though they’re worthless wastes of wolf skin, they’re not going to let anyone touch her. They’d rip anyone’s head off who tried. It’s a miracle they put up with me as long as they did. If I’d understood how things were, I would have walked away before. But I listened to my wolf, and I sure as fuck suffered enough for it. I don’t need to go running to her house now. I never want to set foot in that place again.But the little voice in the back of my mind
LunaThe tempest is on its way, and I think it’s going to tear me from everyone and everything, just like in my dream. The winds are howling, screaming through the rafters, whistling through the telephone poles. Axel hasn’t stopped by to make sure we’re safe, even though I put my name on his list like he asked. He’s supposed to tell us where to go if things get worse. We’re not safe—we never even got the shutters on. The triplets are frantically trying to get them up before the worst of it hits.While they’re busy, I decide to run back to Axel’s and get the emergency plan myself, since he was too mad to bring it to me. Head down, raincoat wrapped around my body and tied securely at the waist, I power through the wind that nearly takes me off my feet. When I get to his porch, I have to pry open the screen door with both hands. I don’t bother knocking, just hurl myself inside and release the door, afraid it’ll knock me out if it hits me.“Axel? That you?” comes a dreaded, familiar voice
We sit in silence for a minute, and I try to ignore the weight and heat of Luna’s body in my lap. “Have you always been mean?” she asks after a while.“Nah, not always,” I say. “I thought I loved a woman once—the first woman I ever fucked. But I was just a pup like you—even younger. I didn’t know better.”“Better than what?”“I must’ve been sixteen, and she was twenty-four, twenty-five.”“So?” Luna says. “I’m eighteen, and you guys are twice my age.”“But it’s different with you.” I bunch her flying hair in my hand and hold it behind her head.“How so?” she asks, staring up at me with open curiosity.“I don’t know.” I shrug. “It just is. You’re fucking irresistible.”I like how with her, there’s no games. She doesn’t know to play coy, to hide what she truly wants and pretend to be what someone else wants until she has him reeled in. She’s just herself, our luscious little Luna, and that’s a thousand times more enticing than any put-on air.“What happened with the older woman?” Luna as
EthanThe wild winds have already begun testing the roof’s mettle, so after the hunt, I start gathering my tools to work on it. This storm’s going to be a bitch. The clouds look like bloated cows, and every body of water has white-capped waves. Mother Nature’s serving us up one whale of a weather front—for the millionth time this decade. We just can’t catch a break around these parts.“What are you doing?” Luna asks, watching me as I buckle on my tool belt.“Gonna go make sure your pretty little house doesn’t flood,” I say,smiling down at her. “Secure the shingles and add shutters to the windows.” “Can I come?”I open my mouth to say no, she’ll ask too many questions and slow me down. But she stares up at me with her big pretty eyes, and my resolve crumbles. I just can’t take it when she fixes me with those purple doe eyes. I can’t bring myself to deny her anything her sweet little heart desires.“Sure, pup,” I say. “Come on up with me.”None of us can seem to get her out of the hous
A blade of regret cuts through my muscles and bones, leaving me raw and bloody. I should never have made him stay and see that I’m someone else’s mate. His wolf will never believe it.The coffee doesn’t even taste good, even though it’s filled with cream and all the flavors of syrup that I want. I only drink half of it before I ask Callan to take me home.The next week passes the same way. I’m happy that the brothers are sharing me, that there’s no secrets between us. We’re our own little family, closer than ever. We eat together every night. We joke around as usual. During the day, they head out and do whatever boys do. At night, I fuck Warrick and sometimes Callan, too. It feels as good as it always did, but something’s different.Sometimes they ask me if I want to go out somewhere, but I politely decline. I need to stay close in case Axel stops by, and to guard my house. My wolf feels strangely, jealously possessive of it, even though no one has tried to mess it up, and Axel hasn’t
LunaI’m yanked from the fog of bliss at the sound of the front door slamming shut. I can feel Axel’s wolf, how wounded it is, and guilt cloaks me like a shroud. I didn’t mean for this to happen, even though some part of me thought Axel deserved to see what he threw away. That’s why I let him stay and watch.“Go make sure he doesn’t destroy shit,” Warrick says to Ethan.Ethan leaves the room. I know Axel wouldn’t destroy my house, though. At least I hope he wouldn’t. He did demolish our swamp home, according to Evan. But I don’t trust vampires, so I’m not sure if that’s true.The light of a half-moon streams through the slit in my blue and white lace curtains, lighting up the bed. Callan lays on one side of me, playing with my nipples and stroking my breast.Warrick gives a low growl and settles in on my other side. “Did my baby girl like that?” he asks.“So much,” I say, snuggling in beside him.“You want me to share you with Ethan, too?” he asks.“Yes, please,” I say, squirming at t