Between Two Wolves (BBW Paranormal Shapeshifter Menage Werewolf Romance) Read online

  “You feeling okay?” Jericho had a beer, held it out to me. I shook my head.

  “Not bad, considering.”

  “You were amazing, Red. Seriously. You did really great, for not being born to it.” Colt wrapped an arm around my shoulder, rather more gently than usual. He kissed the top of my head. “And you’re just as stubborn as any shifter I know.”

  “And you were beautiful. Wish we could have gotten a picture. But…that’s not something we do.” Jericho finished his beer, set the empty on the railing, and joined us. “Your coat is like honey and fire, amazing. Can’t wait to see you as a wolf again.”

  I thought about that, about the pain. “Will it always be like that? Will it always hurt?”

  “Can’t say. You’re not born as a shifter. Colt and I were shifting before we even knew what that meant. It’s just how we’re wired. For you…” Jericho took my hand. “It’s a steep learning curve.”

  “Why did it just happen…out of the blue?”

  Jericho laughed. “Might have been the heat of the moment. Your inner wolf gets excited by strong emotions, strong desires. And you, Red, are full of strong desires.” He shrugged. “The wolf rises to the surface. In your case, it got away from you.”

  “It’s something you’ll learn to use to your advantage.” Colt ran his fingers through my hair. His fingers snagged in a tangle, and I cringed, suddenly aware of how unkempt I must look.

  “Just take your time. There’s no rush. You seem to think there’s some kind of clock running, like you need to prove yourself to us. Or to yourself.” Colt took my other hand. “There’s nothing you need to do, other than be here with us.”

  “About that…” I held their hands, my guys…my wolves. “You said—one of you said—that until I shifted, we wouldn’t know if the mating biting thing had worked. So, now that I’ve shifted…that means…”

  Colt lifted my hand, kissing my knuckles. “That means you’re a shifter, through and through. To the bone.”

  “I’m glad to know I’m one of the pack.”

  “What you really want to know is if you have our pups, will it be a shifter? The answer is yes.”

  I didn’t realize I’d been holding my breath until I breathed out a sigh. “Yeah. It’s what I really wanted to know.” Something heavy and dense felt like it was lifted from deep inside of me. I smiled, a silly loopy smile that I tried to hold back. I’d wanted this, from the start. From Colt’s first bite, from the time Jericho’s teeth sank into my flesh. I wanted to give them both a fighting chance at having a clan again. And now I knew I could.

  Jericho wound his fingers through mine. “Red, hold on. First, we’re not asking you to do anything. Not to continue our clans, or make things right, or anything else. I’d…we’d…never ask that of you.”

  “I know. But I want to…I can do this for you, for both of you. It’s like this…it’s…I mean…” I stumbled over the words to explain the excitement running through me. Part of my brain was still working on wolf-time, and I had the desire to wag the tail I didn’t have at the moment. Or yip and jump. I took a breath, looked between the two of them, at the identical bemused expressions, and shrugged.

  “Call it instinct. Or something like that. For the first time I have a clear idea of my life. And this is it.”

  Jericho held my hand, and Colt held me close. I took a deep breath, breathing it out slowly. Time stood still in one of those rare perfect little moments. The sun was rising, like it always did. And it would set, and the moon would rise, over and over, again and again. The river would rise in the spring, wash away the pools at the hot springs, and then people would come and rebuild them. Everything kept keeping on.

  Something clicked inside me, like someone tuned on—or off—a switch. The chatter in my mind, meaningless static, disappeared. It was like seeing my place in the universe, touching the great wheel, and for a moment—a beautiful exquisite still moment—knowing how I fit into all of that.

  And for the first time since Weatherly took me, since they’d come to get me, since they’d made me theirs, I realized not only were they right, but why they were right. There was time. Time to get used to this new life, this way of living. There would be time. Time to save their clans, time to do whatever I could, if that’s what was going to happen. Everything was going to be okay.

  “Okay. No rush.” I lifted both of their hands to my lips, nibbling on their knuckles. “But that doesn’t mean we can’t start now, right?”

  * * *

  The guys pulled off clothes as we made our way up the stairs and down the hall, dropping shirts and pants, on the floor. It took ten seconds for Jericho to untie the sash on my robe, letting it fall to the floor. We tumbled into the closest room, and onto Colt’s bed, Jericho claiming my mouth with a brutal kiss even before I’d caught my breath. It was right, the harshness of it, the force, the weight of his body pinning me to the mattress. For a long moment I let him weigh me down, let him plunder my mouth, his tongue sweeping my mouth, probing, exploring.

  But inside something roiled and moved, paced and stalked. Someone had called it my inner wolf, and she was on the move. She wanted out. But I wasn’t ready for her yet.

  The power inside me grew, the urge to bite and snap, but I held it in check, working with her, taming her. I let my wolf know I was in control, but I let her know she was welcome to join the party.

  I pushed up against Jericho, rolling him over…or he let me. Either way, it was my turn to pin him to the bed, to straddle his hips with my thighs. I broke the kiss, sitting up, a wave of triumph and arousal flooding my body.

  “God, you’re beautiful, Red. I can see your wolf…feel her, taste her. Keep her in check, but don’t muzzle her.”

  I leaned down, kissing him again, tugging his lower lip between my teeth. I felt his smile as I bit harder. I held onto him until he made a sound like a whine.

  I ran my finger over his lower lip. “You sure about that muzzle? This might get dangerous, for you.”

  “I think Jericho can handle himself.” Colt climbed onto the bed beside Jericho. I looked down at him as he stretched out, all long legs, broad chest…and a very obvious erection. It still amazed me that the guys were comfortable with this, that both were self-confident enough, or self-aware enough to be like this, with me.

  “And we know Red can handle both of us.” Jericho sat up, tipping me onto my back. “Right, Red?”

  I squirmed beneath him, shimmying my legs up his body. His erection slid along the insides of my thighs, coming dangerously close to where I wanted him to be. I tried to pull him closer, but he was stronger than I was, and he held himself just out of reach.

  “Impatient, aren’t you?”

  “I want you…like crazy. You know that…” I was panting, arousal making me hot, hotter than I’d ever been in my life. I wanted Jericho inside me, Colt right after him.

  “I do know that.” Jericho flexed his hips, the head of his cock grazing my swollen folds. That brief, teasing contact had me crying out as if he’d thrust himself into me to the hilt. If being a wolf-in-training made every part of me this sensitive, this attuned to even the slightest contact, then being with these guys might just challenge my sanity.

  “I want you too, Red.” Jericho rolled his hips, sliding into me, inch by inch. I rolled my hips up to meet him, lifting my ass, claiming as much of him as I could, as much as he would give me.

  “But I want you on my terms. My wolf wants control.”

  I snarled up at him, showing him my teeth. A rush of adrenaline shot through me, and for a moment I felt like I could easily overpower Jericho, rise up and take him. The thought amazed me, even scared me for a second.

  But Jericho’s mind reading must have been fully operational. Before I had a chance to draw a breath, he thrust into me, burying himself to the hilt. I arched up beneath him, my body humming with energy. I was so ready, so close that it took all my willpower not to come right then and there.

  Colt was beside me, his lips
against my neck. When he spoke, his breath tickled my ear.

  “Let it go, Red. If that’s what you want to do. Your power is endless…” He reached up, caressing my breast, rolling my hard nipple between his fingers. An earthshattering wave of ecstasy flashed through me. And my mind was suitably blown.

  I screamed, or howled, or both. The sound was otherworldly, but I didn’t care. I let loose, head back, body arching up beneath Jericho. The strength boiling inside of me was incredible, and Jericho wrapped one arm beneath me, hanging on like I was a bucking bronco. I was pressed against him, crushed against his chest, his hips grinding against me. The wolf in my body took over, howling for all she was worth as I let go, like Colt said.

  The world around me was spinning like mad. I closed my eyes. My mind was filled with sounds, music, wordless poems, and colored lights. It was crazy beautiful, and I think I laughed out loud.

  From above me came the unmistakable sounds of Jericho joining me in this wild dance. I opened my eyes, watching Jericho’s face, each and every nuance of what was going on with him clear on his face.

  And then I felt what he was feeling, heard what he was thinking. It meshed with the waves crashing through me, dovetailed perfectly with everything I thought, I felt.

  There was no choice but to give in and let it wash me away. I lost touch with everything except Jericho and I. If Colt was there, I wasn’t aware of him at all.

  After a long, long time I washed up on some shore, calm, still. I was almost afraid to move, to break the perfect moment. I opened one eye, looking up at Jericho. Only he wasn’t up, he was beside. I turned my head.

  “Hey, my sweet wolf.”

  “That was pretty amazing.”

  “Beyond amazing.” He brushed a strand of hair away from my face. “For me too. Truly. Not just saying that so you’ll sleep with me again…that was…”

  “Yeah.” I touched his face. “It was.”

  Something warm touched my hip. I turned my head to the other side. Colt had his head propped up on one elbow.

  “You got anything left for me?”

  “Always.” I rolled onto my side.

  “Are you sure about…” I put a finger to his lips. “You’re so beautiful, Colt. Let’s find a better use for that mouth besides asking questions.”

  He grinned. I slipped my finger between his lips, and let him suck gently on it. He swirled his tongue over my finger, teasing me, pulling me deeper. I reached between us, finding his cock, wrapping my fingers around him. He moaned softly, hips flexing, sliding himself into my hand.

  “Is that what you wanted?”

  He bit my finger, not all that gently. I pulled it out slowly, very slowly, never looking away from Colt’s eyes, stroking him forcefully as I did.

  “You aren’t going to be satisfied with just this, are you?” I gave him a little tug at the end of that stroke. “I know I’m not. I want more…much more of you. Mate of mine.”

  Never letting go of him, I sat up, swung one leg over Colt’s body as he rolled onto his back. I straddled his hips, holding him, squeezing him. He bit his lip as I brought my body close to him.

  “You want this?” I moved again, until the head of his cock touched me, touched my wet pussy. Just the soft brush of his hot silkiness sent a wave of desire through me, almost brought me to the edge again. It also brought my wolf howling to the surface. It was all I could do to fight her back, to keep fangs and claws from tearing through my flesh, tearing into Colt.

  “She’s powerful, isn’t she? Hard to control…” He reached for me, hands resting on my hips, moving higher. I leaned into his hands, letting him cup my breasts. “I love the wolf in you, Red. But it’s you I want. And I want you now.”

  He thrust up as I pulled my hand away. I gasped, throwing my head back, as he filled me. It was all new, all pristine; as if this was the first time I’d been with any man. My mate, the wolf who’d bitten me, was claiming me. I was over the moon.

  I rode Colt hard, forcing him deeper, beyond any place any man had ever been. I took him, and I loved every second of it. In that minute everything else faded away, including Jericho. There was nothing in my world except Colt and me, coming together as one. Coming together forever.

  My body arched and shook, my hips moving to some ancient rhythm that I seemed to know without even trying. Colt matched every move, every twist, grind, shake and thrust. We moved in perfect harmony.

  We came together, the peak we reached higher than any I’d ever climbed. I closed my eyes, threw my arms wide, and howled my climax for the world to hear. Then it was all too much, and my mind gave in, gave up trying to hold onto reality. I cried out names, Colt’s…Jericho’s…and then everything went black.

  Someone was holding me, easing me onto the bed. I opened my eyes to find my guys looking down at me. I was relieved to find I was in one piece, more or less. At least my body felt like it was still intact. My mind though was another matter.

  I sat up, a little too quickly. Colt put an arm behind me, and we rearranged arms and legs until the three of us were sitting against the head of the bed. I looked at the tangle of sheets—some torn—and blankets, most of which were on the floor with the pillows.

  “Guess we’re sleeping in Jericho’s room tonight?”

  “Yeah. We might have to rethink the bedroom arrangements.” Colt looked around at the devastation that was his bed. “If we keep this up, we’re going to run out of sheets.”

  I glanced at Jericho. He looked…fine. But I wasn’t. Other than a major case of afterglow, which made me feel sublimely relaxed, I was slightly upset with myself. I took his hand.

  “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean…”

  He looked down at me. “Didn’t mean to what? Have a hell of a good fuck with Colt?”

  I blinked at his choice of words, and at the smile on his face. “Well, yeah. I mean…it was…different. Not necessarily better than with you…but…”

  “Different. And it will be. He’s the wolf you’re mated to. Can’t change that.”

  “And that’s okay with you?” I was having a hard time wrapping my head around this. The sharing thing was still hard enough to grasp, but this was something else.

  He shrugged, lacing his fingers through mine. “It’s going to be different with you and him. It has to be. I’m okay with that. If I’d been the one to mark you, the tables would be turned.”

  Colt had been silent. I reached out and took his hand. “So you two really are okay with how all of this is working out? Really truly?”

  “Cross my heart and pinky swear, if that’s what will make you happy. But yeah, it is what it is. You have something different with Jericho that I’ll never have. And what we have…it’s colored by the mark.”

  “It’s not going to change how I feel about you, Red.” Jericho leaned close, kissing my cheek. “I love you no matter what.”

  “I love you, too.” Colt kissed the other cheek. “You need to stop worrying about us. We appreciate it, but we’re a lot tougher than you think.”

  For the first time in a long time I was speechless. Two men, men who’d fought for me, had told me they loved me.

  “I love you both so much.” I looked between my wolves.

  We hung out in Colt’s room for a little while longer, talking about everything and nothing, the way people talk who’ve just told each other they love them. A little shy maybe, a little tentative. Testing the waters. Which seemed a little odd, since we’d just destroyed a bed with our lovemaking. I felt like I was already in the deep end of the hot springs, loving every minute of it.

  Chapter Eleven

  The sun was just coming up over the top of Black Wolf on the other side of the river, setting the trees on the other ridge alight. The leaves had changed almost overnight; fall was here. There was a tang in the air, crispness, like biting into an apple. I’d never been a fan of autumn; it had always seemed to me things ended in the fall. The garden my father had loved to potter around in on weekends was giving up its last to
matoes, the flowers fading, setting seed. And when I was a kid, it also meant back to school, the end of the summer. Fall always made me sad.

  But this year was different. It was a beginning. My heart did that thing I’d only read about in overwritten romance novels: it swelled with emotion. I’d never felt it before, and it took me a minute to realize what it was, that I liked how it felt, that I was comfortable with so many new emotions. And I realized something else. For the first time in a long, long time, I was truly happy. I wasn’t really thrilled about being awake this early though. I was more accustomed to going to bed at this time. But my schedule, and the rest of the world’s had rarely meshed, and now it was even more obvious, living here with my wolves.

  Jericho and Colt were sound asleep. I’d wanted to leave early, get done what I needed to do, and be back before dark. Some of my errands were purely chores; getting the last of my things out of my apartment. Maggie had called, and the couple subletting my apartment wanted to move in a week early, willing to pay extra for most of the furniture that I no longer needed. What was left wasn’t much, but it was all personal, books and journals. Photos of my dad. The bare essentials, sentimental and otherwise. My clothes I’d brought up over a couple weekends; everything else remaining with the sublet. And that included the artwork Harrison never liked.

  Colt and Jericho had made the transition into my new life with them a little easier. For one, they'd cleared the path down the mountain so I wasn’t continually being hit in the face with branches and underbrush. They'd hacked out a parking space for my car too, so I could pull off the logging road that led back to the main road.

  I headed down the path. It felt really strange to be awake in the daylight. It seemed far brighter than I remembered for this time of the year. The shifter in me dug through my purse, fishing out sunglasses. They guys had told me there were things that took some getting used to, and I suppose this was one of them.