Something alive moved under his skin. Josh knew what it would be, a trio of big cats. At the moment, however, it was a formless entity struggling to understand its host. It wasn’t the only one confused, but he wrapped his metaphysical arms around the blob and sheltered it from the agony still seizing his body.
The grandfather clock he’d inherited from his gran chimed the hours. Each one that passed frustrated him. He didn’t have time to writhe in pain, not that he had a choice in the matter. Mira needed him. He shared in her growing anxiety, but the changes in his body, along with the terror of the animal spirits he held inside prevented him from going to her.
At first, he hadn’t been able to make sense of the jumble of feelings they shared with him. With nothing else to do beside roll around in misery on his hallway floor, he’d focused on the whirling emotions whipping through him. They wanted to help him and protect him. They loved him, as crazy as that sounded, and were upset because they couldn’t.
He closed his eyes and let himself sink deeper into his mind. The three fuzzy shapes forming out of the blob were tied to the bright spot inside him. It…they were still growing, still forming, still changing him, but the longer he watched them take shape, the clearer their thoughts. Actually, they didn’t talk to him, not in words. They sent him pictures, all fuzzy, all black-and-white, all of him and the three cats that belonged to him. He’d focused on the images until he understood what they were trying to show him.
Finally, their message clicked, and Josh understood why they were so upset. “Well, great.”
They were trapped forever inside him because his physical body wouldn’t conform to theirs. He was still human…sort of. If they tried to emerge, he’d pop—literally, body and soul.
“Great gift. Thanks, goddess.” Sarcasm laced his pained voice.
An image flashed across his mind—him in his lion form at the bar. My dream. Another replaced it—him and Mira as tigers running through a sea of black mist. More snippets danced across his head. In every one, he was a cat.
“Well, which is it? Can I shift or not?”
Another memory surfaced—the golden goddess standing in the middle of nowhere, blackness all around her.
“Come to me, child. Accept me and hear what I have to say.”
The words he hadn’t been able to hold on to then repeated in his head. Josh grinned.
“Well, how about that. I’m a doorway—”
The shrill ring of a phone pierced the air. He pushed to his feet and grabbed the landline from the hall table.
“Hello?”
“Are you okay?” Zoe’s voice filled the line.
He hesitated. Was he?
“Josh? Answer me. Do you need me to come out there?”
“No…I’m…fine.” Depending on what he defined as fine, but he was breathing. That was a plus.
“Then why aren’t you at the bar? Mira will be meeting Micah in less than thirty minutes.”
Josh ran a hand through his hair. “I’ll be right there.”
He ended the call and shuffled for the door. The sensation of having his insides ripped apart made each step a lesson in misery but excitement pushed him forward. He didn’t have all the answers, but he had the one that Mira needed to hear.
The goddesses loved her after all.
Mira cut the engine and dropped her head against the seat. She panted through the surge of desire. She’d never been so aroused before or wanted to have sex so badly. The tingling sensation along her limbs told her why—she was in heat.
Royal females weren’t fertile every lunar cycle the way single shifters were once they reached maturity. Yes, Royals could only conceive on the night of the full moon, but it didn’t happen often. Some women tracked them, giving them a better idea of when they needed to seek out their mate, but Mira hadn’t bothered. What was the point when she’d ignored any compulsion to have children?
At the moment, she wished she had. If she’d known, she never would’ve agreed to a date with Micah. That was all she needed. Go to him, smelling aroused and ready to conceive. He’d take it as an invitation. At least he’d accepted her lame excuse when she’d called him to break their date.
The only male she wanted to touch while in heat was Josh. She’d meant to drive to his house tonight and wait for him to come home. Instead, she’d come to his bar. For sex. Dirty, raw, and immediate. She felt as if she might die if she didn’t get him inside her.
It wasn’t as if he could actually get her pregnant, but if he was with her no other male would be able to do so. Was her refusal to accept the goddesses’ blessing selfish? Probably. She didn’t care. She refused to allow her dream to come true. No way did she want to go to Josh while carrying another male’s children. She loved Josh too much to disrespect him that way. Her destiny would just have to wait.
She scanned the employee parking lot of the Black Widow. Josh’s vehicle sat there with a few others. No humans lingered close by. She blew out a shaky breath and peeked at herself in the rearview mirror. Her flushed cheeks and dilated eyes would clue even the humans in on her state of arousal.
She couldn’t go in the bar looking as if she were ready for a tumble. They’d descend on her with their hopeful gazes while the shifters would be drawn by her scent. She had no choice. She’d go in through the back.
The scent of a male lion shifter drifted to her through the cracked car window and killed her excitement over getting her hands on Josh.
She looked out the front windshield, scanning the parking lot for her enemy. Micah’s gaze from across the lot locked on to hers. Her heart skipped a beat. What was he doing here?
A grin spread over his too-thin face. She bared her fangs. His answering chuckle reached her and stirred her rage. Anger boiling her blood, she got out.
Legs spread slightly and hands balled at her sides, she waited for him to make a move. Her instincts urged her to run toward the bar, even though she could easily take on a gang of single shifters. Josh was inside the building behind her. The threat Micah posed should be one Josh should face, not her. He’d insisted he would protect her. She also knew she couldn’t allow that to happen. Death would find Josh soon enough. She refused to lose him too soon, especially to the male who looked so similar to the one who’d ruined her life.
Besides, she wasn’t completely alone. Kade had confirmed another one of Xander’s pack protectors would watch over her. Just because she hadn’t seen him, didn’t mean he wasn’t close. If her life was endangered, he’d step in. Unless he too had been drugged and restrained.
Micah approached slowly as if he had all the time in the world. The tiny hairs on the back of her neck rose, along with her wariness. She scented his excitement. It mixed with the heavy dose of lust oozing off him. He’d done something to support the confident strut he took, something that angered her cats. She didn’t know what, neither did her inner animals, but her instincts raged with the certainty of it.
And where exactly was her wolf protector?
Her muscles tensed as her tigress shoved her head against Mira’s sternum demanding to be set free. The cat wanted to kill Micah. Mira wanted the same, but the humans close by prevented her from going furry. Another accidental exposure wouldn’t be so easily forgiven. Which was probably why Xander’s male hadn’t stepped in yet. She wasn’t in immediate danger. Her displeasure over being close to Micah didn’t count.
She opened her mouth to demand what he’d done. Muffled screams and the sounds of fighting answered her unspoken question. He’d caused a distraction, one that needed the support of others, which clearly broke Kade’s original requirement that Micah not bring any family members into their territory.
What other rules would Micah violate? She shoved back the concern and focused on why he’d conveniently stumbled upon her.
“You followed me here.” It was the only explanation.
He lifted his lip in a half-smile. The lopsided grin didn’t look endearing or sexy on him the way the gesture did on Josh. On Micah, it made him appear feral.
“No, sweet Mira. I knew you’d lied about why you wanted to reschedule our date so I had my…friend”—he grinned—“put a tracking device on your car and take out your second protector. As soon as you turned this way, I knew you’d be coming to your human lover. I came to stop it. I won’t share you with him, especially not tonight while you’re ripe.”
Her heart skipped a beat before she could stop it. Unease settled over her with his unspoken plans for her—mate her by force and get her pregnant—but that wasn’t the only concern plaguing her. Micah knew Josh was her lover. Had Micah sent the human to watch them? And her protector… Oh, gods… if Xander’s pack mate had been killed because of her she’d never forgive herself. Guilt made it hard to breathe.
“I shocked you. How cute.” Micah laughed. “Did you actually think I didn’t know you’ve been sleeping with the human?”
Instead of denying her relationship with Josh—she didn’t feel confident she’d be able to pull off the lie—she took a step forward.
“A tracking device?” She’d thought they were only used in movies or maybe by the government. “Where did you get hold of one of those?”
He offered a half-shrug to match his cocky grin. “I have my sources.”
She feared she knew who’d supplied him with the technical gadget. The Council members who thought to make sure she mated a single shifter wouldn’t allow her to escape their plan so easily by marrying Josh or mating another Royal. Or both if her dream was meant to reflect her future.
“Xander won’t be happy once he learns you drugged two of his pack mates. He’ll have your blood.” And she prayed that had been her second protector’s fate, drugged not killed.
“Xander isn’t around, and I didn’t drug the second protector. I exposed him to a situation he couldn’t ignore. Once he’s done saving the poor human I accidently hit with my car, I’m sure he’ll return to you.”
Relief, anger, fear, and frustration whipped through her. The hormones revving her intensified each strong emotion. She trembled. Rage caused the reaction, not fear.
“You need to leave, Micah. All I have to do is scream. The humans might not hear me, but the shifters inside the bar will.” No way would she admit the secret no single shifter knew—that she could telepathically connect to any feline Royal close to her. The singles hated them enough as it was without sharing all the privileges that came from their tie to the goddesses.
She considered reaching out to see if any of her pride members were close, but dismissed the thought in the next breath. It’d be a betrayal to Josh to seek protection from another male. She inwardly groaned at her thoughts. Sometimes, her instincts didn’t make sense. For the moment, she’d play this out and see exactly what game Micah had in store for her.
He grinned and continued to close the distance, stopping a couple of feet away. His heated scrutiny churned her gut. Her choice in clothes was meant to entice Josh in the privacy of his home, not capture Micah’s attention in the empty lot of Josh’s bar.
Micah’s eager gaze settled on her heeled boots. “I can’t wait to have those wrapped around my hips.”
“They never will be. Leave here.”
He dragged his attention from the leather boots to her face. “It won’t take long to find out where you hid the cub. When I do, I’ll take her furry little head myself, and we’ll find out once and for all if the Leon spirit merged with her or floated away, destination unknown.”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about. The Leon spirit is probably with the Leon pride leader.” Which happened to be Molly. “As for the cub, I don’t know who you’re referring to. Molly isn’t with us. She was recaptured by the bear shifters. Go talk to the Ulgran clan.”
“Don’t bother denying it. She’s here, and we’ll take her. You’ll be in no shape to stop us, either.” He jerked his chin toward the bar. “You’ll be too busy crying over the loss of your human.”
Her fangs burst free. She uncurled her fingers, exposing her talons, and took a single step toward him, fully aware of the way his right hand edged closer to his pocket. The bulge there warned her he wouldn’t play fair. No doubt he carried a gun.
Her cats rose to offer their enhanced senses. The moment he moved his hand, she’d act. She was confident in her speed and strength. With them on alert, she lowered her voice. “Threaten my family and you die, Micah. Right here, right now. I don’t have to shift to take your head. I’m stronger than you ever will be. It’s why you haven’t made a move on me, isn’t it?”
He shrugged, unfazed by her words and obviously unwilling to answer her. “If you don’t come to me by midnight, your beloved male will die, and you’ll become mine. I won’t need to overpower you. You’ll be too weak to stop me.”
A roar rang out. Micah flinched and stepped back. She didn’t need to see Aron to know he was running toward them. Several human lifetimes might’ve separated them but some things never left a person. That enraged sound was one she’d heard him make the day Devin had been returned to them broken in both body and soul.
“Midnight, Mira. I’ll be waiting.” With that Micah took off down the alley behind the bar.
For a split second, she debated going after him. Micah posed a threat to Josh. Eliminating him would have to wait. Another one barreled down on her. She turned and ran for the back door of the bar. Her fingers brushed the handle, but the hand on her hip yanked her back against a hard body before she could escape.
“Did he touch you?”
Aron’s slurred voice boomed around them. Anger dominated his scent yet lust bled in to it.
“No.” She took a deep breath and choked on bile. “Let go of me. Please.”
His chest rose and fell with his panting. For a long moment, he didn’t move or speak. With a hard nudge of his head, he buried his nose against her neck.
“You smell good.” He licked her throat and groaned. “Fertile. Baby, you’re fertile.”
She didn’t need him to tell her. She shoved at his arm. “Now, Aron. Let me go.”
Instead, he spun her into his embrace and lifted her, a hand on her bottom and the other holding her neck. The brown contacts he wore didn’t hide his hunger. “We can fulfill the goddesses’ prophecy tonight, my Mira. Let me mate you.”
Panic seized her, forcing her to react. She fought him, clawing at his back and snapping at him. He only tightened his grip. She dug her talons deep into his shoulder and bared her fangs to bite.
He slammed their bodies together and snarled in her ear. She froze.
“Stop, Mira, just stop. Fighting me makes me want to tame you. I won’t do that to you. Now calm down.”
She did as he ordered. No way did she want him to try to make her submit to him. She’d already given herself to Josh. Anyone else who’d attempt it would suffer. She might not want Aron, but she didn’t want to hurt him either. What she’d just done to him—digging her sharpened nails into his flesh—was bad enough.
“That’s my good girl.” Aron kissed her neck.
She growled at his words. “I am not yours nor will I ever fulfill the prophecy with you.”
He used his hold on her head to urge her to meet his gaze. “You refuse me?”
The pain in his eyes was clear. Seeing it pushed some of her fear and anger back. “I have to.”
“I will worship you.”
She didn’t doubt he’d try. The knowledge only made this worse. “Will you let me marry Josh?”
“Never. I won’t—”
“Then that’s your answer. I won’t give him up. I can’t. Now”—she shoved at his chest—“let me go.”
The back door flew open. Josh’s rage crashed over her. She flinched, even knowing he hadn’t directed it at her. He projected power, strength, and confidence. Traits that left her weak inside.
“Get your hands off my mate.”
Aron tensed. Questions and disbelief burned in his eyes. She didn’t have answers he’d want to hear or understand. She couldn’t deny her connection to Josh. He was the mate of her heart, her human mate, her true mate, the one male she’d always long for. Yet none of those terms explained the unusual bond they shared. Without a piece of her soul, without a piece of his, they had no physical or mystical tie. Only love bound their hearts.
With her lips pressed together, she met Aron’s gaze and let him see what she couldn’t put into words—Josh was her world, her everything.
“Impossible, Mira. It’s impossible.”
Josh stepped behind her and wrapped his arms around her waist. He inhaled deeply. A groan escaped his throat, one that jacked up her desire another notch. The response while in another male’s arms left her feeling dirty. She couldn’t have stopped it. Her instincts didn’t care if Aron hovered close or watched them. As long as she got Josh inside her, she wouldn’t have cared if the entire pride or the bar patrons cheered them on.
“Josh.”
“Mira.” He buried his face into the fall of her hair. She hadn’t bothered dyeing it since she’d planned on waiting at his house. The appreciative rumble that shook his chest rewarded her. He’d been telling her for months to stop covering it up. Humans would think it was a funky dye job. At the moment, she wanted to test the theory, if only to hear Josh’s approval over seeing her natural color.
Aron loosened his grip, allowing Josh to pull her more firmly against him, but held her captive in his pleading eyes. “Don’t waste tonight. Josh might’ve claimed your heart, but he can’t fulfill the prophecy. You’ll conceive if you take a shifter mate into your body.”
Josh tugged her away. In one quick move, he spun her so they were chest to chest. She wrapped her arms and legs around him, clinging to him and wishing she’d never have to let him go. “Mira will not take another man to her bed. Understand this, Aron. She’s mine. I’ve tried to tell you stubborn shifters that for months. I knew it the second I saw her.”
“She can’t be yours. Don’t be foolish,” Aron said.
“Waiting so long to claim her is the only foolish thing I’ve done.”
He gave her mate bite a small lick. She moaned. Sweeping waves of sensation whipped through her body to settle low. She wiggled against him, silently urging him to meet her needs. He eased away instead. She gripped his shoulders, ready to take what he wouldn’t give. A small pat to her bottom stopped her.
Josh nuzzled against her, his adoration clear in the gentle circular caress and something she knew Aron would understand. “Mira is my true mate. I’ll fight anyone who tries to take her away.”
“True mate or not, you’ll lose her, human. You know that, don’t you? You’re mortal, and the Council won’t wait for your soul to find its way into a shifter body in another lifetime. Let Mira go before you ruin her eternity.”
The rumble of Josh’s laugh reverberated through her chest. The confident sound slapped Aron’s words back to him, and Josh’s deliberate snubbing as he dipped his head to brush his lips over her skin enhanced the rebuff.
Aron’s answering growl would’ve concerned her, but Josh demanded her attention. He clamped his mouth over the thumping bite on her shoulder. She stilled, waiting with bated breath for what he’d do to her. With his teeth pressed against the four raised brands, he flicked the tip of his tongue to the center. Time stretched while Aron snarled and Josh’s heart beat steadily.
Finally, Josh groaned and gave them both what they desired. He sucked on her bite and sent her into instant meltdown.
“Josh, I need…”
He kissed his way up her neck to her ear. “I know, kitten. I know.”
She felt the brush of his short hair against her skin as he turned his head to face the male at her back. The stiffening of his body told her he and Aron had resumed their dominance battle.
After a moment, Aron cursed. “When he’s gone, come to me. We’ll finish what we should’ve centuries ago. I will give you the babes prophesized to grow in your womb, no other shifter. That is my vow to you.”
His scent faded as he walked away, and Josh’s familiar one cocooned her. He nibbled over her vein. “You smell so good. Like candy. Something I want to devour.”
“I’m…I’m in heat. It happens every few years. This one night is the only one I’ll get to conceive until the next time I’m fertile.” Her heart ached admitting the truth, knowing it meant nothing for them.
He exhaled a shaky groan that spoke of stark hunger and need. The sound cut at her and made her sadness grow. She pushed it aside before it took root.
“You need me to love you, don’t you?”
She licked her dry lips, focused on answering him, not the crazy lust making her burn. “Yes, I want you to make love to me. You’re the only male I want to touch me tonight.” Or ever, but she didn’t bother voicing her wants.
He skimmed his lips along her jaw, leaving tingling awareness in his wake. With a contented sigh, he kissed her. The slow, reverent strokes of his tongue tugged on her heart. His love and devotion filled her up. The fire sensitizing her body eased enough to allow her to enjoy his attentions. Her sexual needs hadn’t faded. He’d only banked them.
On and on, he made love to her mouth. She cradled the back of his head and returned his adoration, letting all her worries fade away.
He broke the kiss and blue eyes that looked too bright in the darkness met hers. “If I could father your kids, would you choose me?”
“Yes, yes, Josh. I…I…” She couldn’t get the words out. They stuck in her throat.
He pressed a chaste kiss to her lips. With their breaths mixing, he murmured, “I know you do, kitten. I feel the same. Always and forever, just like I told you.”
He started walking toward his car. She squeezed his arm. “Josh, I can’t wait. I need you now.”
“You sure? The only place we can go is my office. Kade’s inside the bar along with many of the wolf shifters trying to contain the mess Micah caused. He paid off a bunch of college students to start a fight. Police will be coming. Kade will handle it, but the shifters will know what we’re doing.”
“Don’t care. Need you.” Midnight was too close. She wanted to greet the new day joined with Josh.
He pressed his lips to hers. “Then you can have me, any way you want.”
Fertile. Josh turned the word around in his head. He was going to be a dad.
Mira skimmed her fingertips along his cheek. “I feel as though I’ve been waiting for you all my life.”
He grinned. “You have.”
“I don’t understand.”
He debated telling her about the cats sharing his body but decided against it. Mira’s needs beat at him, demanding he ease her ache. The compulsion was one he couldn’t fight. They had plenty of time to talk…tomorrow.
“I’m your destiny. Your choice. That’s all you need to remember.” He pushed the door open and carried her inside before she voiced the questions he saw reflected in her eyes.
The blast of music and laughter assaulted him, messing with his balance, while the ripe scent of sweat and perfumes churned his gut. He paused and buried his nose in Mira’s colorful hair. A deep breath of spring rain chased away the unpleasant smells.
His woman, his life, his everything.
He pressed his lips to her ear. “I love you, Mira. Always and forever.”
She sucked in a rough breath. Knowing their relationship still scared her, he kissed her so she didn’t have to admit the truth. He didn’t need the words. She did.
Mira pulled him closer and yanked at his shirt, her intent clear. He broke the kiss and grasped her wrist to stop her from tugging his pants down. She gave up trying to get in his pants and bent close, brushing her lips against his.
He turned his head so her open mouth skimmed over his cheek. Indulging in her sounded wonderful, but he couldn’t. Any more of her kisses and he’d take her right here. Mira might not care. Shifters didn’t mind public sex, but he didn’t want anyone to witness the act they’d commit tonight. That was special. Sacred.
He tucked her closer, pushing her head into the crook of his neck, and headed toward his office. A few friends glanced his way and gave him a thumbs-up. Bob, one of the workers from Zeb’s farm, stared at him. Josh paused mid-step.
The predators inside him raised their heads. Rage pulsed in his veins, theirs. They didn’t like Bob’s attention on Josh. Bob posed a threat. The image his inner felines slammed to the forefront of Josh’s mind was easy enough to interpret. Kill. They wanted to rip Bob apart.
“Please, Josh. I hurt.”
Mira’s desperate voice yanked his focus back to her. Mouth open slightly, she panted. A flush stained her cheeks. Lines etched the delicate skin by her eyes. His pulse kicked up to match her runaway rhythm.
“What’s wrong?”
She gripped his shirt and pulled herself up so they were eye to eye. “It’s the mating heat. I need to orgasm.” She cupped his cheeks. “I need you.”
He groaned and took her mouth in a rough kiss. He shoved away the concern over Zeb’s employee. Finding out why Bob had glared at him could wait. Mira couldn’t.
Josh reached for the door handle of his office, twisted the knob, and shoved the door open. They stumbled inside, and he slammed it closed with his foot.
Without windows, the darkened interior of his office left them in pitch-black. A week ago, he would’ve needed to flick on the switch for the overhead fluorescents. Not anymore. The sliver of light sneaking under the door brightened the room enough. Besides, he didn’t need to see in order to love Mira. He’d memorized every inch of her body already.
Urgency beat at him.
They’d make their triplets tonight. Two boys and a girl, the ones he’d dreamt about.
He kissed her once more and eased back. Dilated, hungry eyes met his.
“I’m going to make love to you, kitten. What we’ll create tonight will be a result of our commitment. You understand?” She didn’t. He saw the confusion in her eyes. “Do you trust me?”
She nodded. No hesitation.
“Good. Then, let’s fulfill our destiny and accept our blessing.”
He kissed her. Affection fed the melding of their mouths. Instincts took over. He embraced them. His body knew what to do. So did his heart. He’d love Mira always. And forever.