Ch. 4 What are You?

Asher

I can’t believe I let my brother drag me to this bar. But more than that, I can’t believe I let myself get this close to the alluring little she-wolf that sets all my senses on fire. When we came to Glass Lake to visit our asshole estranged father, I knew it was going to be a shit show, but this is so much more than I bargained for. 

I felt her presence as soon as we crossed the border into Glass Lake territory. We both did. But when I wanted to run the other direction, my twin brother insisted we track her down. He was like an excited puppy and I was the responsible adult who couldn’t let him off-leash on his own, so I tagged along. 

That was my first mistake. Because once I set eyes on her, I knew it would be hard as hell to walk away. She’d been alone, running through the woods leaping over obstacles and shooting arrows at makeshift targets she’d set up. She wore skintight black leather from head to toe and looked like a fucking avenging angel. She was breathtaking.

I should have walked away and never looked back. But every time Aspen snuck off in search of her, I followed with less and less resistance every time. Which is how I ended up in this dive bar listening to really bad country music. 

Then I see her on the crowded dance floor and I can’t tear my eyes away. She looks like a damn Goddess in that pink dress with a halo of blonde curls falling around her shoulders and her creamy skin begging me to lick it. Fuck. Me.

She is dancing with some fucker who has his hands all over her while she laughs and smiles at him as he twirls her around. Aspen is moving before I can catch him, intent on separating what he already considers his from the asshole touching her. He’ll be nice about it. Until he isn’t.

My younger twin can be deceptively charming until you piss him off. If the guy refuses to back off, things could go all kinds of sideways and I can’t let that happen. I have no choice but to get up close and personal with the girl I’m trying to avoid. 

Luckily, the fucker backs off easily and we forgo the bloodbath in the middle of this shitty dive bar. But not before the asshole says her name and it hits me like a punch in the gut. Fucking beautiful, just like her. 

Elena might not know who we are to her, or what we are, but her body does. It’s fucking glorious the way she responds to us, her body melting into mine like we’re meant to be one. I can’t keep my hands off of her or my lips for that matter. All I want is to taste her, take her, possess her. One word hovers on the tip of my tongue. Mine.

Aspen already has hearts in his eyes. He’s so fucking gone for her, he’s even calling her the pet name he’s picked out for her. I don’t do that cutesy shit but he’s not wrong. She does smell like shortcake, like ripe, juicy strawberries and vanilla pound cake, topped with the sweetest cream.

My balls ache with the need to find out if her pussy tastes as good as it smells. Her scent is so potent, I’m sure her panties are drenched. I need to get her someplace private so I can find out. Thankfully, my twin has the same idea.

The minute it takes to get outside feels like an eternity without her touching me. We just clear the door and I’m already reaching for her, pulling her hard into me and exploring all her delicious curves. She’s so soft against me and I can’t stifle a moan at the luscious feel of her. 

I wrap my hand around her throat, showing her who she belongs to and her scent spikes, telling me just how much she likes it. Suddenly, I can’t wait anymore to taste her, so I dive in, claiming her mouth in a hot as sin kiss. And if I thought she smelled good, fuck! Her taste is fucking ruining me. 

“You taste fucking divine, gorgeous girl.” I groan between nipping her plush lips, then I invade her mouth with my tongue. 

“My turn.” Aspen looks almost feral with need, 

I growl jealously when he steals her from me but then I’m distracted by the way her round ass feels against me. My cock is so hard, it’s about to punch right through my zipper and all I can think about is sinking it into her wet heat. Then I cup her ample tits in my hands and the thought of sliding my cock between them sounds pretty damn good too. 

“Ah!” She cries out like she’s in pain and I’m about to murder my brother for hurting her until I see he’s as confused as I am. 

“Are you okay?” Aspen asks, genuine concern in his eyes. 

“I’m good. Just a little flare up from a recent injury.” She winces and I growl, knowing exactly how she got hurt. 

“Maybe don’t jump off a bridge next time.” I grit out, pissed at the risks she’s been taking. 

But I realize I said too much the second she starts struggling out of my grasp.

“What did you say? How did you-, who are you?” Aspen steps back to give her space, looking crushed by her anger,  but I refuse to let her go. 

“We think you’re ours.” Aspen shrugs casually, as if that explains everything.

“Aspen!” I bark in warning. We agreed not to mention our suspicions. 

“Why me?” She starts to hyperventilate and the fact she thinks we’d hurt her is like a gut punch. 

“Look, Elena,” Aspen sighs, and I know he’s about to tell her everything. “We’re here visiting our dad. As soon as we arrived in Glass Lake, we felt your presence, like we were being drawn to you. That’s why we were watching you last night at the bridge and why we came here tonight. We have the ability to-”

“That’s enough, Asp!” I snarl at him, cutting him off before he can do more damage, then I turn Elena in my arms. “We didn’t mean to make you uncomfortable. Let’s go back inside and find your friend.”

She nods, still looking a little dazed and confused. I’m just relieved she isn’t panicking anymore. I place my hand on the small of her back and lead her back inside but my mind is reeling with how to fix Aspen’s little slip up. 

We sensed her presence? What the fuck is he thinking saying shit like that? Despite our fucked up life, he still sees the world through rose-colored glasses. But I know better. If she is ours, does he really think she’ll still want us when she learns what we are? 

“How old are you?” Elena blurts out, and I’m suddenly on edge, wondering what she’s getting at. 

“Twenty,” I mutter, unsure if honesty is the best policy in this case. 

She frowns, looking adorable as fuck with a little crinkle above her nose. But then she spits out her next question and I know I fucked up. 

“What are you?” She demands, skidding to a stop just as we near the table her friend is sitting at with another man. 

“Elena-” I sound miffed even to my own ears, scrambling for a reasonable explanation to give her. 

But it turns out I don’t need one. Her face crumples and her knees go weak, drooping as I band my arms around her to hold her up. She’s in pain again, only this time it’s so intense she can’t even stand. What the fuck is happening to her?

“Aah! Fuck!” She falls forward, bracing herself on the table. 

“Lena! What’s wrong?” Jake’s voice is laced with panic. 

“I-, Shit!!!” She grinds out, her knuckles blanching white as she clings to the table in a bid to stay upright. 

“Get her some water!” Aspen orders and the man with Jake takes off toward the bar. “Elena, can you sit?” 

“No, no, no, I don’t think so.” She chokes out as he rubs her back soothingly.

“How old are you, gorgeous?” I ask, a new thought occurring to me. 

“Eighteen.” She barely manages before another wave wracks her body. 

“Oh!” I feel relief wash over me. “So you already have your wolf.”

Her face goes pale and a tear streams down her cheeks. She opens her mouth but looks like she’s struggling for words. Shame and defeat are etched on her features and it makes me want to gather her in my arms and tell her everything will be okay. But I don’t know that for sure because I have no fucking clue what the problem is.

“I-, I don’t have her yet.” She admits abashedly. “I never shifted.”

My heart bangs against my ribs and my blood runs cold in my veins. “Fuck! I think she’s shifting!” I shout, shifting into crisis mode to keep the terror at bay. “Let’s get her outside!”

“No, I can’t-, that can’t-” She argues but the words die on her lips.

“You can and you are. Deny it all you want but it’s going to happen anyway.” She scowls at my admonishing tone. 

“I’ve got you, shortcake.” Aspen sweeps her into a bridal carry, always ready to play the hero. “Do you want to go home so your parents can help you through this?”

He starts walking that direction because of course we already know where she lives. But she doesn’t want to go home. 

“No!” She shakes her head adamantly. “Just take me into the woods. I’ll be fine.”

“We’re not leaving you in the woods alone, shortcake.” Aspen insists and I growl at the ridiculous idea that we’d ever let her go through this alone. “We’ll stay with you through the shift.”

Tears stream down her face at his declaration. She’s terrified and to be honest, so am I. None of this is how it’s supposed to be. We weren’t supposed to get close and now we’re in too deep. 

“Th-, thank you.” She barely got the words out before another jolt of pain rips through her and her eyes roll back in her head.

Hair sprouts on her arms and her legs bend at an unnatural angle. Her spine cracks as her back arches, her muscles seize, and an ear-splitting scream leaves her lips. Helplessness engulfs me and all I can think to do is reassure her.

“We’re here, gorgeous. We’re not going anywhere.”