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Helen Scott
About Cursed Heart
After being a prisoner for hundreds of years Selene knows she only has one choice, escape or die trying, because she’s going to die tomorrow anyway if she doesn’t. The last thing she expects is three wolf shifters to find her while she’s on the run. Can she trust them, or will they turn their backs on her the first chance they get? After all, it’s not everyone who is willing to cross a powerful warlock.
Chapter 1
Selene
Tonight was the night. It was the only chance I was going to get and I wasn't going to waste it. If I did then my life would be forfeit. That didn't mean I wasn't terrified though. The Beast, also known as John—although he preferred that I called him Master or nothing at all—would be preparing for my ascension and after that the harvest of magic from my body, and if I didn't get out before then, well, then I'd die.
"Come on, Alfred," I said, trying to cajole the small mouse out of the hole in the wall as I offered him a piece of bread. "Get it while you can, my friend, because it'll be gone soon."
His pink little nose and whiskers twitched as he edged forward. He was always jumpy after a visit from Beast. I didn't blame him. If I could hide somewhere I would, but my room, cell, cage, whatever you wanted to call it was designed specifically to give me nowhere to hide, and no privacy either.
All I could do in that moment was anxiously await my weekly shower and share my bread with Alfred. I flicked on the TV in the corner and watched whatever was playing. It didn't matter anymore, hell, it hadn't mattered in a long time, the TV was just good for seeing the faces and hearing the voices of other people. Knowing that the world wasn't actually as empty as it seemed helped give me hope. It was a faint one, but it was there.
Voices carried me away until I heard the jangle of keys. My stomach tensed. This was it. I had put two layers of clothes on, something he hated but allowed if I was cold. The butter knife I'd managed to slip away one day was hidden in the sleeve of my sweatshirt and Alfred had curled up in my hair.
"Come on, Little Fox, let's go. You know the drill," Beast said as he slipped his key into the lock. The metal ground against metal as the rusted mechanism began to unlock. The iron bars swung wide open and he stepped to the side allowing me out. He stood there watching me as he flipped the keys up and down, into his palm. It was like he was trying to tempt me.
I moved slowly, cautiously as though I was still afraid of him since my last punishment. The secret I kept to myself, that I hadn't even told Alfred, was that when I realized I was going to die by Beast's hand unless I escaped, I lost my fear of him.
Did the punishment still hurt? Of course. Had I tried to escape before and failed? So many times I lost count. The difference was now I was so close to my ascension that it was escape or die, there was no try another day. Beast believed he had beaten me into submission, that he had broken me, but that was never true, not that I gave him reason to think otherwise.
I cowered even further as I rounded the corner to go past him toward the shower, and I could see the boredom on his face. I was just an item to take care of until I became useful and if I had counted my days right then tomorrow or at the latest the day after I would become very useful and then he would kill me. He followed me to the shower stall and waited for me to strip off.
My hands were shaking as I reached for the cuff of my sweatshirt. I had to do this, had to try one last time. My fingers slipped inside the material and grasped the metal of the butter knife. My heart stilled in my chest as I spun toward him and lunged. He must have sensed something because he was already trying to grab at me.
It wasn't the first time we'd done this dance, but it was the first time my weapon connected. He must not have expected me to have one, which surprised me. We both knew I would try to escape but Beast underestimated me and Alfred.
Instead of hitting with his throat like I wanted it to though, the knife went straight into his eye because he'd been leaning toward me. His howl of pain was music to my ears as I took advantage of the opening and grabbed the keys he'd been twirling in his hand before I made a break for it. I felt his hands try and grasp at my sweatshirt, and as he fell to the ground even though I dodged, he grabbed my pants, and yanked them down with him.
I kicked him in the head, unfortunately missing the knife, and pulled free from the pants as I took off. My bare feet slapped against the concrete floor as I lunged up the stairs toward the exit. The massive door was heavier than it had been the last time I tried to escape, and it was only the fear and pure adrenaline that kept me going as I pushed at it over and over again until it gave way.
The gap I made was just big enough for me to squeeze through before I turned and slammed it closed again. I jammed a key in the lock and tried to turn, but nothing happened. A thud landed against the door as I switched keys and pushed with all my might to keep the door closed.
"You think you can run from me, Little Fox?" Beast's voice was a roar from the other side of the door and it was only when I heard the lock click into place that I allowed myself to stand upright and not push all my weight against the steel panel. "You should have killed me when you had the chance! I'll never stop hunting you, do you hear me? Your magic is mine and I'll never rest until your body is draped over my altar!"
The vitriol was at a level I'd never experienced from him before, and it let me know exactly what I had always suspected: the ceremony he had to perform to gather my magic would have been as brutal and painful as he could have made it. It wasn't the time to stand and think about what could have been or could still be if he caught me, now was time to run.
I turned and looked at the cabin; he had let things go since I was last upstairs, but there were also more electronics. Everything was smaller and faster, I knew from the TV and books I'd been allowed. What I suspected was his phone was on the counter next to a mug of cold coffee. I grabbed it and put it in the garbage disposal of the sink before turning it on and listening to the screeching of the blades as they tore up the phone. All I wanted was for it to be broken enough so he couldn't use it and when I peered down into the sink that was what I saw.
Satisfied that the one task I had given myself was done I turned and fled. Or attempted to. The back door was locked. I tried key after key but none of them worked.
My stomach seemed to be twisting itself into a complicated knot while my lungs apparently shrank in capacity. My breathing turning to panting as panic began take me over. I couldn’t let it though.
I rushed to the front of the cabin, somewhere I had never really been, at least not when I was coherent since the exit was so far away from the basement. I tried the keys, but none of them worked. Again.
There wasn't much else to the cabin, so I didn't have any other choice but to try and break out.
The sturdiest chair I could see was the one by the kitchen table. It also happened to be the only one I stood a chance of being able to pick up. I tossed it against the window expecting it to break easily, but the chair just bounced off, almost hitting me in the rebound. I tried the other windows all with the same result. I let out a grunt of frustration and heard laughter coming from behind the door.
"Did you really think it would be that easy? I've invested centuries into you!" Beast was playing a game with me. I knew that now, but I was still going to win.
I moved back to the kitchen, grabbed the knife sharpener, and climbed on top of the fridge to the decorative window he had up there. The octagonal shape was small, but I was hoping if I shimmied enough I'd be able to fit through it. I braced myself for the hit and yelled as I rammed the knife steel into the glass. It didn't break, but there was a crack, and I was running out of time to get out of there before Beast found a way out of the basement.
Without hesitating again, I smashed the knife steel into the glass until I felt it shatter beneath my hand. Of course, that meant that my hand and wrist flew through the broken glass as well, so I ended up with cuts going all up and down my arm. At least I hadn't dropped the steel.
I used it to break away the rest of the glass and then began hitting the wood strips that divided the window up into squares and triangles. There were only four strips, and since they were only designed to be decorative it didn't take much to break them and then use them to help clear the remainder of the glass away. Finally, my exit was there. I pushed myself through the small window and wiggled. I could almost make it but my sweatshirt was getting caught on the remaining fragments of glass and wood.
My hands pulled at the fabric and it ripped where it had been catching until I was able to reach down and pull the loosened fabric through the window and up to my shoulders. The tank I was wearing underneath was the only thing left and as I shimmied forward I felt the glass and wood pull at that too, but it gave way more easily so I ignored it and kept pushing until I was tumbling toward the ground.
If my shifter reflexes hadn't kicked in I could have broken my neck from the angle I was falling and then Beast would be out of luck, but I would also be out of life, which was kind of the opposite of what I was going for. As it was, I landed on my shoulder and rolled; better than a broken neck though. I sent a silent thank you to my ancestors for the gifts that had been passed down to me, even if it was the major reason I'd been held captive for the last few centuries.
For a moment I was stunned. I had made it out. Never before in all my escape attempts had I made it this far. Sometimes I made it to the door but not often, and then I would be punished for days or weeks afterward, be left on the brink of death from lack of food, water, and sometimes sleep. He would leave me until I was too weak to do anything except comply, and if I tried to resist when he did bring me food? That's when I'd be force fed.
Fresh air caressed my skin for the first time in recent memory and I was almost overwhelmed by the scents and sensations that bombarded me. The moon was rising high in the sky as I took off running toward the forest at the back of the property. It was no surprise he lived in an isolated area with acres and acres of land around the cabin. Who would want to risk a project they'd been working on for centuries?
This project had a mind and will of her own though and for once I felt like I might actually make it and be free of this nightmare which put a burst of speed in my step. I ran and ran and ran as far and as fast as I could, not caring about the cuts on my feet or the fact that I was tripping and stumbling as much as I was running. Ducking and weaving through trees as I hopefully stayed in one direction and didn't just circle the cabin.
I kept occasionally checking the moon to make sure I wasn't getting lost, but sometimes she was hard to find through the branches and leaves. Her song called to me though, telling me to shift, but I couldn't, not until tomorrow; then we would see if I got my final tail or not.
BODHI
My wolf had been scratching at my skin all day, so finally being able to run through the forest was one of the best balms I could ask for. Being able to do it with my pack mates? Even better.
We had run these woods hundreds if not thousands of times, and not once had I ever picked up on the scent we just passed. It was potent, enough to sting my nose, but there was something about it that scented as familiar as though it was someone I should know, but couldn’t place. I slowed my pace and let out a quiet whine to draw Ozzy’s and Gael's attention.
The two of them turned and we began tracking it. Their black and brown wolves followed mine as I could sense their curiosity and concern. Not only was there a scent trail, but a blood trail as well. Whoever it as we were following was hurt, and at the rate they were losing blood it wouldn't be long until we were looking for someone who was at least unconscious if not dead.
We were moving fast enough that I could tell the scent was getting stronger, and we were closing in on whoever was hurt. I had never been more thankful that we stashed clothes around these woods, because I could only imagine how they would react to a wolf suddenly appearing as they were bleeding out. I'm sure they would be super comforted.
The snow and leaves muffled the sound of our footfalls so whoever it was wouldn't be able to hear us coming. What concerned me almost as much as them bleeding out in our woods was that they might die from hypothermia before we got there. The last thing we needed was the police crawling around our property right around the full moon. I could only image how well that would go down with the rest of the pack.
Gasping breaths reached my ears and I slowed my pace. A flash of white among the trees made me pause, and I knew Ozzy and Gael had seen it too from the huff Gael let out. The woman running in front of us looked desperate, half-starved, and exhausted. I signaled for my wolf brothers to keep following her while I went in search of the closest stash of clothes.
It only took a few minutes since I could run as fast as I wanted and not have to worry about alerting our new friend to my presence. The shift was painless, as usual, but it didn't make the cold air any more pleasant on my naked body. I pulled on a pair of sweatpants and a hoodie from the stash of clothing as fast as possible before turning and running back toward the injured woman and my wolf brothers.
When I caught up with them she was starting to stagger and slow down significantly from when I'd seen her a few minutes earlier, which was concerning in and of itself. What was also concerning was that not only was the blood trail coming from the fact that she was running around in winter barefoot in the forest, but the scrapes and cuts that seemed to cover her petite form as well, the most significant of which was on her thigh. Her hand was clamped over the wound, but I could see the thick, red liquid oozing from between her fingers, which were already stained red.
"Excuse me, miss?" I asked after clearing my throat gently behind her. "Do you need help?" Dumb question. Idiot. I was just so surprised to realize she was a shifter as she turned around, and a gorgeous one at that, that my brain short circuited.
Her eyes were wide with fear, their amber color seeming to glow in the bright moonlight. She wasn't wolf, I knew that much already, but her scent was unfamiliar in terms of her animal, which was why I hadn't recognized it as shifter right away. My wold still acted like he knew her though, while my huam side was filled with curiosity. What was she? That was a mystery.
I felt my hands up and open over my shoulders as I said, "I'm not going to hurt you. You're injured and alone in the biggest forest in the state and it's freezing. I just want to help."
"Why are you out here then?" she asked through chattering teeth.
I had to admire her backbone, it was a logical question, I just didn't expect an injured woman to ask it of a man who approached her in a strange forest. "I was out for a run," I said honestly.
Maybe she scented my honesty or maybe she was just too tired to put up a strong front anymore, but she seemed to crumple into herself slightly. "Can you get me out of here?"
"Happy to," I replied. I moved closer and saw her flinch which made my wolf stir. Who had made her so afraid she could barely even accept help? Instead of moving closer again I just held my hand out to her as I turned my body slightly to the side, making myself appear smaller. I was having to treat her as I would a feral wolf. Even after I got her safely out of the forest and healed I knew that wasn't going to be enough. I needed to find out what happened, find who did this to her.
I had averted my eyes as I waited for her. My wolf knew she was moving closer, inching her way toward me as though she was ready for me to lash out at any time. The second her fingers touched mine though I felt like I'd been hit by lightning. I couldn't stop from turning and looking at her; this woman I'd stumbled across in the forest, this was my mate? Could she sense it? Did her shifter side react the same way even if she wasn't a wolf?
Looking at her meant seeing all the blood and injuries and pain that was written across her face and body. Someone had hurt my mate. The low growl that came from my wolf in my head almost made it out through my lips. When I wouldn't let it past my wolf took things into his own hands and my body contorted into a shift, ruining the clothes I'd been wearing and scaring the shit out of my mate.
A shocked gasp came from her as I moved up to her side just in time to catch her on my back as she fell. I wasn't sure if it was the blood loss or the shock of seeing a giant white wolf or something else. All I knew was that she was unconscious and draped over my back. She barely weighed anything which was concerning as well.
When my brothers emerged from the trees I was met with confused whines. Gael's black wolf moved up to my side and sniffed at her, making a growl rip from my chest especially as he nudged her. The human side of me knew that he was likely just trying to get her further on my back or stabilize her position but the freshly mated wolf in me wanted to rip his throat out for touching our woman. As soon as the sound hit the air Gael backed off.
The three of us moved through the forest like ghosts, slower than usual because of the precious package I was carrying, but no less stealthily. When we reached the car there was an awkward moment where Gael and Ozzy had shifted back and I needed to but I couldn't with the woman's unconscious form on my back.
"Want us to put her in the back seat?" Ozzy asked while Gael just stood there staring at her, adoration shining in his eyes, which made me want to snap at him. Instead I replied to Ozzy with a snuffling sound we used as a yes when in wolf form.
My pack mate reached down and I had to fight my wolf to let him pick her up. The gasp that sounded from him was eerily similar to the one I let out in the woods when I felt the mate bond snap into place. As soon as her weight was off my back I shifted and words tumbled from my mouth. "She's my mate."
Ozzy's head snapped toward me, as did Gael's as they each said, "Mine, too."
Multiple mates weren't unheard of, but they were unusual. "Do either of you know what type of shifter she is?" I asked.
They both shook their heads.
I nodded as I pulled another set of clothes from the trunk and got into the car. The drive back to our house, which was just on the edge of the pack's woods, took about half its usual time, and I think I even managed to scare Gael once or twice, which was funny since the man was a thrill seeker. Part of me wanted to take her to the pack doctor, but without knowing how she would react to being on a wolf pack compound, or to the fact that we were mates, I didn't want to risk it.
We walked in with me carrying our injured mate and Gael and Ozzy trailing close behind me. The scent of her blood was making my wolf go a little crazy and if I wasn't careful I'd be forced to shift again. I set her down on the bed and stared, unable to move now that I had a moment to look at her. White hair spilled around her shoulders in gentle waves while her dusky pink lips were full and luscious. I couldn't let my eyes wander any more, not while she was asleep.
While I had been staring, my more coherent pack brothers had gone to get supplies to clean her up and encourage her wounds to heal. Now that her body wasn't fighting off hypothermia I expected she would heal much faster; shifters always did. The three of us worked to clean up her feet and put a temporary bandage on her thigh where the biggest cut was. We left her clothing intact, mindful of the state she was in when we found her.
As though listening in on my thoughts Ozzy, my usually gentle pack brother, said, "I'm going to kill whoever did this to her."
Gael and I both nodded our heads in agreement. She would never have to worry about whoever it was that hurt her again because the second they tried to get close to her we would destroy them. We'd be ruthless in protecting her not just now, but for the rest of her life.
SELENE
When I awoke it was with a start. As soon as my brain clicked on I knew what it was that had woken me.
Wolves.
The scent of them, not just one but multiple, filled my nose making my heart thunder in my chest. It may have been a long time since I’d been out in the world, but some scents are always instantly recognizable, and the pine and fur scent of the wolf was that for me.
If there was one thing I was sure of it was that I would not go from one prison to another. I pushed myself up off the bed and winced as my side hurt. I shouldn't still be tender from any injuries, my shifter nature should have healed them, unless I was so malnourished that my body felt like it couldn't spare the energy, which was entirely possible.
I supposed I should be thankful that they'd left my clothing intact and not tried to change me or clean me up too much, but then if I was to be their prisoner why would they bother? As I pushed to the edge of the massive bed I decided that if this was how they treated their prisoners then at least I'd taken a step up in the world. The lush bed and decor I could see left my cell in the dust. I pushed off the edge of the bed and yelped in pain when I tried to put my feet on the floor.
The noise was unintentional, and I immediately regretted it when I heard a set of boots stomping my way. Part of me wanted to hide, to try and escape before this situation became permanent, but what was the point? They knew I was here. They were wolf shifters, no doubt with the abilities that went along with that. Oh, and they were young, athletic men if the one I met was anything to go by, unlike the Beast who was old and out of shape.
At the thought of my previous captor I struggled to keep my breathing under control. I hadn't been out of his tender care for centuries and now that I was out on my own I immediately ran into trouble. That was how the wolf found me, struggling to hold my weight up while having a panic attack because I'd actually escaped.
When the door swung open I expected it to be the man I met before, not that we'd really introduced ourselves, but it wasn't, I could tell by the lack of tattoo on his temple. It wasn't that this man was without tattoos, there were just none on his face. He did have a large tattoo on his neck though, a detailed hourglass that was covered in filigree and much more elegant that I would have expected something like that to be. He also had eyes that were so dark they looked black whereas the man from the woods had amber eyes that almost verged on gold, almost like at some point he'd spent too long as his wolf and couldn't quite get his eyes to shift back to their human color.
We stared at each other for a moment as I drank in his appearance, after all his was only the second person I'd seen excluding the Beast in too many years. People on TV and in movies didn't count, there was something about their image being captured that lost part of who they were. Maybe it was just because my senses couldn't pick up on things like their heartbeat and their scent, whereas I could definitely pick up on those things from the man across from me.
His heart thundered in his chest much like my own, only it felt like mine sounded like a humming bird's while his sounded like the thumping of a wolf's paws as they pounded against the ground during a run. He scented of oil and alcohol, but there was something underneath all that, something masculine but delicate, that was just him. He also scented of confusion and hope and... lust? He found me attractive? No. It must have been too long since I had been aaround other shifters.
"Are you okay? I heard a pained noise..." He left the opening there for me to tell him what happened but I didn't want to, so I remained quiet. Also, I wanted to hear his voice again. The rich baritone that reverberated through his chest sounded like heaven after the Beast's nasally demanding voice that always seemed to get under my skin. He must have seen my eyes flick to the door because he said, "You're not a prisoner here. You're free to leave if you would like, but at least have some food first, you're on the verge of collapse just from starvation never mind anything else."
I could feel my body shaking with the effort to stand and knew he was right. That didn't mean that I trusted him though. When I nodded he released a breath he'd been holding and his shoulders dropped slightly as though he could finally relax.
"I'm Gael. You don't have to tell me your name if you don't want to, I get that you were running from something or someone scary and I, we, just want to help. Do you like pancakes? Or are you more of a waffle girl?" he asked with a smile that was practically blinding. The man should have been a movie star, he was much more attractive than the ones in the last few movies I'd seen.
"Selene, and I don't know," I said quietly. I remembered hearing about them in commercials and had probably had a pancake as a child, but considering how long it had been and how everything changes, I couldn't answer the question. It wasn't like the Beast ever deigned to cook me waffles.
"I'll do both then," he said with an easy smile. "The bathroom is just down the hall, feel free to take a shower and freshen up. I've left some sweats and a t-shirt on the counter if you want to change. I'll be downstairs making breakfast. I'm the only one home right now so you have no one else to worry about."
It was bizarre. Being treated like a human after being nothing other than an energy and magic mule for so long. All I could do was nod. When he turned and left, leaving the door ajar on his way out, I couldn't help but start to believe him, although the skeptical voice in my head said that this could all still be a trap.
I looked down at myself and realized how disgusting I probably was. My leggings were torn and dried blood was crusted to them, the same with my t-shirt, and my hair was tangled and knotted in a way that made me feel like some kind of wild woman that had just emerged from the woods even though Gael had treated me with the utmost grace and respect. Suddenly, I couldn't wait to get in the shower.
Even though I had to hobble my way there, leaning most of my weight against the walls and doors as I passed, I made it and it was like I'd stepped into bathroom heaven. Soft colors that didn't look at all masculine decorated the space and made it feel like the spas I always saw advertised on my old TV. A shower the size of my old cell made up the back half of the room complete with a built-in seat and multiple shower heads. Whoever these guys were they had to be loaded.
I stood under the water for longer than absolutely necessary as I watched the dirt and blood melt away from my skin and felt the tangles loosen from my hair. When I was done I took a moment to look at myself in the mirror. Bruises littered my skin, my cheekbones and collar bones stuck out more than the last time I had seen myself naked, and I had bags under my eyes. Lovely. I could tell why the man in the woods had stopped for me, I looked like a mess.
Without looking in the mirror again I pulled on the clothes that had been left for me and found myself having to roll the pants up at the legs and down at the waist to get them to fit, while the t-shirt was a thin gray material with some kind of name on it that I could only guess to be a band, not that I knew much about music these days. The Beast was careful about what he allowed me to watch and read, he claimed he didn't want to accidentally corrupt me and ruin my magic. Such bullshit. He had stopped caring about that a decade or two ago, as though it was becoming too much of a chore for him to keep up with what I was and wasn't allowed to watch and read.
Once I was clothed I finger combed my hair, trying not to leave much of a mess behind as I felt handfuls of hair wrap around my fingers. I pulled them off and pulled the ones out of the tub before flushing the white strands down the toilet. Was I paranoid? Yes. Did I think these men would hurt me? I wasn't sure, but I knew that things like hair and fingernails could be used by witches to hex someone, so I figured better to be safe than sorry.
Happy that I wasn't leaving anything that could obviously be used against me behind I picked up my dirty clothes and left, going back the way I came until I saw a set of stairs. When I reached the bottom a delectably sweet smell wafted to my nose and my mouth started to water so badly that I was swallowing again and again to clear it. Following my nose I found Gael in the kitchen with what I could only assume were stacks of pancakes and waffles around him. I saw some eggs in his pan and my stomach turned. The Beast had gone through phases where he fed me nothing but specific foods, one of which was eggs, claiming that it would help me level up sooner, even though we both knew it was more related to my age than anything else.
"Hi," I said quietly as I set my folded, dirty clothes down on top of a stool that sat on the other side of the counter from Gael.
"Hey," Gael said over his shoulder before spinning around. When he did his eyes went wide and he cleared his throat. "Hey," he said again as his eyes raked down my body. Was he attracted to me? I dismissed the question almost as soon as I thought it. He was a wolf, if he was attracted to someone it was going to be another wolf, or at least someone with more backbone than I had, someone who would have managed to escape the Beast a whole lot earlier than I did, someone who didn't let fear cloud their judgement. "Pancakes, waffles, butter, syrup, fruit, whipped cream," Gael said as he pointed to the different items on the table and interrupting my melancholy thoughts. I should be ecstatic that I'd made it out, that I was meeting someone new, but my brain was drowning in my fear of learning how to interact in the present world.
"Thank you, this all looks amazing," I replied.
"Hopefully it tastes that way, too."
I snorted involuntarily which caused one of Gael's black brows to arch in a way that was oh, so sexy.
"Something funny about that?"
I grinned at his mock offended tone. "Not at all, but if you knew what I'd been eating for the last century you'd know that this is like a five star restaurant in comparison." I'd meant it to be a joke or at least humorous, but from the way his eyebrows drew together and the concern that seemed to etch itself into his forehead I knew I'd failed in that aspect.
"Do you mind if I ask what that means? I mean we found you running through the woods like your life depended on it, leaving a hefty blood trail in your wake and looking a little crazed, and not just the normal shifter crazy either." He smiled softly at the end to ease the blow of his words, but they still stung.
Leaving a hefty blood trail? I could only imagine how the Beast would react to that, and if he scented them around me and where the blood trail ended then they could be in danger. My heart seized in my chest. All they had done was be nice to me and yet I was bringing danger to their doorstep. I stumbled backward from the counter and tried to calm my breath, but the harder I tried the worse it got. The room began to fade around the edges like I was looking down a tunnel, and a tingling sensation ran through my limbs while I began to retch as I fell to the floor.
"What the fuck did you do to her?" a male voice sounded behind me.
Suddenly there was a pair of deep brown eyes in front of me; I tried to scurry backward and ran in to something, forcing me to freeze in place and confront those eyes that felt like they were seeing too much if I wanted to get out of there. Did I want to get out of there? Maybe? Probably? I'd never had anyone make me breakfast before so maybe I'd stay and eat first. My mind was spiraling in too many directions and I couldn't do anything except panic about the Beast tracking them down and slaughtering them for laying their hands on me.
Chapter 4
Selene
Everything changed when he put his hands on me. I knew he had meant it to be gentle, to keep me focused and present when he rested his rough, dry palms on each side of my face, but it couldn't have been any more opposite. It felt like my whole world shifted, probably because I did. I wasn't sure what happened but the second this wolf touched me my kitsune form surged forward and I was left looking at him through my fox eyes. She seemed to like him very much.
I was never allowed to shift before, or at least not while I was under the Beast's control. The longer the time between shifts lasted the more my fox and I became different beings. She was all rage and fire, everything I had to stuff down to deal with the Beast, to prevent him from punishing me, so being in her form and being calm? It was something I hadn't experienced in over a century and it made me want to cry.
"Are you seeing this?" another male voice asked.
I spun toward him baring my teeth. Had he been there the whole time? Why hadn't I sensed him? Was I so dulled to my nature that I'd lost the ability to listen to my kitsune? I felt my tails undulating behind me and watched as his eyes were transfixed on them. I flicked my gaze around the room and saw that all three of them were. There was this new man, the man from the woods, and Gael. They looked similar but were definitely not related as far as I could tell. Even my fox nose was telling me they were originally from different packs, although their bonds ran deep enough now that they were their own pack in a way.
"Selene." Gale's voice caught my attention and my head swung toward him. "You have to calm down if you want to shift back."
I knew that intellectually, but try telling that to my kitsune. She was interested, and I mean interested, in these wolves. It wasn't even that I was upset in this form, all the negative feelings that I usually experienced when I occasionally lost control and shifted before we no longer present. I felt lighter, freer, than I had in as long as I could remember.
She didn't want to let go, and I couldn't bring myself to force her, but I begged her to find some food. Even in this form the hunger gnawing at my belly was painful. Carefully, without losing track of any of them my kitsune padded around to the counter between Gael and the man from the woods.
With a push I felt the elation as my kitsune jumped up onto the counter, her nose leading her to the food in front of us. She grabbed a couple waffles and began to chow down. Her tails finally ceasing their undulating movement as she focused on the task in front of her.
After the waffles came fruit then pancakes until her hunger was satiated. I only got faint hints of the flavors in my mind which was definitely not right. I should be experiencing them as though I was the one eating the food, not just smelling the food as someone else ate it. I shoved my frustration at my kitsune and she did the fox equivalent of a shrug and kept on eating while the guys all stared.
"I don't think she has any interest in shifting back, bro," the guy standing in the doorway said.
"Really, Ozzy? Care to make any other obvious statement?" the man from the woods growled.
"Dude, I was just trying to help. We don't even know if her human side is aware during her shifts so I don't think talking to her is going to help." He leaned against the door frame and crossed his arms over his chest doing his best James Dean impression. Yes, even being locked away for centuries I knew who James Dean was, it was the modern celebrities I couldn't keep track of.
"Can't you feel it? Her confusion and frustration?" Gael said, surprising me with the tender expression I caught on his face when I looked up.
Feel it? What was he talking about?
"Of course I can, but I can also feel how much she likes those waffles, so I don't think that necessarily means her human side is present," Ozzy replied.
My kitsune huffed a bit making a sound like a laugh and they all looked at her, or rather me, once more.
"She's still in there, still present. If that chuckle wasn't enough to convince you then look in her eyes. I mean really look; not from the fucking doorway either," Woods Guy said.
Ozzy walked over to me, and I finally looked at him with my human side. His hair was pulled back in a ponytail and he had thick eyebrows that were now drawn together as his dark brown eyes bored into my own. The closer he got the more curious my kitsune became until she abandoned her food entirely and sniffed at him. His short beard covered the lower half of his face with just enough room for his lips to poke through, more on his way to lumberjack than runway model, but still sexy.
"Yeah, she's still there," he said quietly and reached out a hand toward me.
I wasn't a dog to be pet and I nipped at his fingers accordingly. At least my kitsune and I agreed on that. As though that was what she had needed, to feel as though she and I were on the same page, I felt her begin to retreat. My body expanding as the fur vanished like a ripple over water until I was left sitting naked on the kitchen counter with the crumbs of my kitsune's meal in front of me.
Someone cleared their throat and all three of them spun on their heels and gave me some privacy. The t-shirt I had been wearing had survived the change, the one nice thing about shifting to a smaller animal was that sometimes some of the clothing made it through the shift intact. The sweats, however, were a different story. Claws had torn holes in them, but they were still wearable for privacy's sake, although they wouldn't make it through the wash, they were barely holding together as it was.
"I'm decent," I announced once I found a good place to hold on to the sweatpants so they didn't fall down or fall apart.
"It's a good job we'd gone shopping. Here's some things we thought might fit you better than our old sweats and t-shirts," the man from the woods said.
The bag he handed me was filled with clothing, and not just clothing but panties and bras as well. I couldn't remember the last time I'd worn a real bra. They weren't something Beast felt like he needed to spend money on since, as he put it, he didn't care if my ’tits sagged all the way down to hell’ because I wasn't going to be impressing anyone.
Tears sprang to my eyes as I tried to get my emotions under control. "That's so kind of you," I said, hoping my voice didn't betray how much this gesture had affected me.
"Why don't you go and change and then we can talk?" the man from the woods suggested.
"Sure, but can I know your name first? I can't keep calling you ‘Man from the Woods’ in my head."
"Bodhi," he replied, and the way he said it sent a shiver down my spine. His voice was almost like a low growl and was definitely not completely human. "Yours is Selene?"
I nodded before tucking a lock of white hair behind my ear.
"And you're a kitsune?" Bodhi added as though he hadn't just seen my eight tawny colored tails.
I nodded again although more slowly this time as I tried to gauge the mood in the room. Did they understand what being a kitsune meant? Did they understand what having eight tails meant? Would they sell me back to the Beast when he came looking? The questions were endless.
"What do you know about kitsune?" I asked, my mouth moving before I could stop it, as though my fox needed to know the answer even more than I did.
"You're rare, like, crazy rare and the more tails you have the older you are," Gael said surprising me. I would have expected Bodhi to be the one to answer, since he seemed to be the leader of their little group, but he wasn't and when I glanced back at him after giving Gael a nod, I saw surprise flickering on both his and Ozzy's faces. They hadn't known.
"So, what, you're eighty?" Ozzy asked.
"Try nine hundred," I said with a smile, watching as his mouth dropped open in shock.
"But you only have eight tails," Bodhi added.
"After the first one hundred years I gained my shifting ability, then every one hundred years after that I gain a new tail, until my ninth, then... I stop." I was unwilling to tell them the truth, that my magic maxes out and I turn into the golden white fox of legend, or at least I couldn't tell them yet.
"If you're such an ancient, powerful shifter then why were you running?" Ozzy asked.
His pack brothers both shot him looks that clearly told him to shut up, that much was obvious even to me, but the way he lowered and tilted his head told me there was something else going on as well. It was thinking about that which let me say, "I was sold by my father to save our skulk, our pack, and have been held captive ever since. I only made it out because I stopped caring whether or not I lived or died since he was going to kill me tomorrow anyway. If you'll excuse me, I'd like to go and change now."
"Bathroom is the last door at the end of the hall," Gael said pointing to the left.
I nodded but didn't make eye contact with anyone as I skirted past them and out of the room. My heart was pounding so hard in my chest I had to pause for a moment to take a deep breath and try and calm myself. Terror flowed in ripples over my skin and my stomach twisted making all the food I'd just eaten threaten to come back up. I swallowed thickly a few times before continuing on to the bathroom with the bag clutched tightly in my hands.
As I walked away I heard Bodhi growl, "Seriously? I thought we were going to ease in to asking about what happened. What the fuck, Oz?"
"She seemed okay," Ozzy responded, his voice pitched slightly higher letting everyone know that he was on the defensive.
"Sometimes I forget you don't know shit about women..." Bodhi's voice trailed off as I shut the door to the bathroom behind me.
I leaned against the wood panels and sighed. The bag weighed heavy in my hands and I couldn't help but look down and feel a little excited. New clothes just for me? That was a luxury I hadn't had in a long time. I pulled the sweats and t-shirt off and slipped into a pair of undies and a bra, both of which fit well enough to leave me concerned. How did they know my size? I pushed the question aside, determined not to sully the moment with questions and just accept the gift they had given me.
As I slid into a pair of black legging-like pants and a deep purple top I felt more human, and more female, than I had in centuries. Literally. I glanced at myself in the mirror and when the two items were combined with my white hair and amber eyes I knew I looked good. Plus, the bra didn't hurt either. It made me actually look like I had boobs again, not that I hadn't before, but there was no missing them now. I smoothed the clothing down my body dreading going back in there. I knew I needed to tell them about the Beast and what I had brought to their doorstep, but I just wanted to enjoy this comfort of having people care about me for a little longer.
Chapter 5
Gael
When Selene walked back into the kitchen I thought my eyes were going to pop out of my head. The sweats and t-shirt had hidden her petite frame and seeing it wrapped up the way it was, in clothing that actually fit her, made her look even sexier. I could get down with a girl in sweats and a t-shirt, don't get me wrong, but the ones we had given to her were mine and I was by far the biggest of the three of us, so she had been practically drowning in the material.
"Hungry?" I asked. Even though she'd just devoured half the food on the counter in her kitsune form, I knew that it wouldn't be enough, which was why I hadn't stopped cooking through the whole conversation.
She nodded. "Before I lose my courage I need to tell you something." She paused and seemed to be waiting for the three of us to look at her, and my heart froze in my chest waiting for whatever bombshell she was about to drop. "Thank you for saving me in the woods. I'm sorry that you've gone to so much trouble and expense because of me. I won't stay if you don't want me to, but I do need to warn you... My captor won't give me up easily. He's been grooming me for the last four hundred years and he was going to harvest my magic tomorrow, or today I guess, depending on how long I was passed out. What I'm trying to say is he'll try and find me, track me down, and he won't stop until he has me. I'm a prize to him, something that could give him immortality. Well, permanent immortality instead of the spells he's been using to hobble along with until now. He'll kill you all if he has to, if he finds out you've helped me or touched me in any way."
Fury rushed through my veins at her words and the terror, and almost worse, the guilt, I felt echoing down the mate bond.
"Touched you? Just how is he planning on harvesting your magic?" Bodhi demanded, his wolf shining in his eyes.
"Cut out my heart and eat it." She said the words so matter-of-factly that I wanted to scream. This was not normal. No way. No how. "I'm supposed to be 'pure of heart' for his spell so he's kept me... um... isolated for a long time and has only fed me certain foods and allowed me to drink plain water. He wanted me as pure as possible for the ceremony."
White rage blinded me and I heard something crack a moment before my wolf started to try to take over. I hadn't been so close to losing control like this since I was a pup. The idea of someone caging this beautiful woman and controlling everything she consumed was infuriating. Shifters were meant to hunt, meant to be messy, carnivorous, sexy, insatiable. This man, whoever he was, had stripped all that from her.
"When was the last time he allowed you to shift?" Bodhi asked, remaining the voice of reason. I didn't know how my pack brother did it, but he was always as cool as a cucumber. This was the most upset I had seen him in years and the only evidence was his eyes glowing just a little more than normal.
"I was allowed to shift once a year. An extended shift was allowed once every one hundred years to prove that I had grown a new tail. He particularly enjoyed it if he could watch the process," she replied, her voice completely monotone as she responded.
My wolf howled in rage within me. Once a year? How was she still sane? We got moody and uncontrollable if we didn't shift at least once a month.
"Were you at least allowed to run?" Ozzy asked.
She shook her head and the motion was jerky. "I had to stay in my cage. If I didn't shift back when he told me then he would starve me."
Her eyes had taken on a glassy faraway look and suddenly I was worried for a whole different reason. She had to have some form of PTSD and we were asking her to detail everything. "I think that's enough for now," I said, looking pointedly at my pack brothers. "Why don't you come and have some food?"
She moved over to the counter where I had all the dishes laid out and put one of everything on her plate. It wasn't because she was excited about it though, it seemed like it was more because it was expected of her. Our questions had made her retreat inside herself.
"Here let me get you all set up," I said as I took the plain, sad looking waffle and pancake filled plate from her. "Go have a seat." I gestured to the kitchen table.
I rearranged the food onto different plates and put all the regular toppings on so she could try it all the way it was supposed to be, then I mixed her up a little fruit salad. The whole time Bodhi and Ozzy just watched her. We hadn't really talked about it yet, but we needed to tell her that she was our mate soon or we were all going to be way too attached if she decided to break the mate bond. Not that I was even sure she could, but it was a possibility we couldn't discount.
When I took the plates over to her and set them down I claimed a seat off to one side. As though my movements had given them permission Bodhi and Ozzy sat down as well after grabbing platefuls of food themselves. They tucked in to their food before Selene even got her first mouthful. The moment she did though we all stopped and stared as the moan that left her mouth hit us each.
"That is so good!" She moaned again as she took another bite of her waffle with butter and syrup.
I couldn't speak for the others but my cock was stiff and straining at my pants in a matter of seconds. Each time her luscious lips closed around the fork it throbbed with need, and when some syrup ran down her lips I thought I was going to come in my pants right then and there. I didn't want to draw attention to it, but the way she was eating I couldn't stop imagining those lips against the head of my cock as I watched it disappear into her mouth and then her pussy, which I was positive would be just as pretty as her mouth since her lips were a dusky pink color.
After a moment of us all staring at her the guys looked down and tried to refocus on their food. We all knew it was pointless though. She groaned in pleasure and when I looked up a piece of melon was vanishing into her mouth.
"Selene," I started, clearing my throat to try and clear my head a little bit.
Her wide amber eyes looked up at me, a slight flush to her cheeks. "Sorry am I being annoying? I just haven't had anything that tasted this good in so long."
"Not annoying, no. But the sounds you're making..." I didn't know how to end that sentence. Did I ask her to stop? Or to continue only louder this time?
"Oh!" Her cheeks went pink and it only made me want her even more.
"I... I need to go," I said as I pushed up from the table. I knew my erection was on display with the way it was pulling at my jeans but I couldn't do anything about it, so I just started to walk toward the door.
"Wait!" Selene's voice had a desperate edge to it which was the only thing that stilled my movement. "I need to know if the three of you are okay with me staying a couple of days while I figure things out, or if I need to leave when I'm done eating. I would prefer to hear it from each of you."
I turned back and strode toward her, uncaring about the hardon I had leading the way; this was too important. When I was in front of Selene I squatted so I was below her eye level and she had to look down at me. "Can I ask you to do something?"
She nodded.
"Touch me, I don't care where, but I want you to connect your skin with mine, no material between them."
"Why?" she looked confused. Her prettily arched brows were drawn together over her captivating gold eyes.
My mind filled with images of her making a similar face when I brought her to orgasm and my cock throbbed painfully in my pants. "I want to see if you feel what I feel," I replied simply.
I wasn't sure if it was what I said or how I said it, but her hand tentatively reached out. When her palm connected with my cheek I felt the same rush of the mating bond, only this time it was greater. It was almost as if it could sense that we hadn't consummated the bond yet and was pushing us to do so.
Selene's eyes went wide and foxy and from the tremor working its way over her body I could tell she was fighting her shift.
"Stay here with me, Selene," I said quietly as I placed my hand over hers on my face. "Stay human with me and tell me what you're feeling."
She was panting with the effort of suppressing her kitsune. "What is this?" she managed between breaths.
I glanced over my shoulder at Bodhi who nodded me on. We all knew that she needed to know what was happening on our end of this situation, keeping her in the dark just wasn't fair. "Your kitsune wants to come out, right?"
Nod.
"She seems.... excited?"
A nod and a blush.
"Did you feel the same when Bodhi touched you earlier? That's why you shifted, right?"
Double nod.
"That is the mating bond." Her eyes flared so wide I could see the entire circle of her iris on each eye. "We won't trap you into it. You are your own person, but for some reason fate has drawn the four of us together. We want you to stay because it's the right thing to do but also because you're our mate. What can we do to help you? To make this easier?"
She just stared at me with those wide eyes as though her brain couldn't form words, maybe her kitsune was taking over too much.
Slowly, carefully, I brought my hand up and cupped her face, mirroring what she was doing to mine. As soon as my skin connected with hers once more she took a deep, shuddering breath and her eyes fluttered closed. Quietly I asked, "What do you want, Selene?"
"You." The single word was so quiet I wasn't sure I would have heard it if I didn't have my shifter abilities. But I heard it and it rang like a bell through my whole body. I wanted to question her to tell her that this was too soon, that she needed to recover from what she'd been through first, but I knew that she'd be recovering for the rest of her life, however long that was supposed to be. My wolf was straining at my skin with the need to claim her, to mark her as ours so that no one could ever lay a finger on her again.
"You sure?" I gritted the words out even though my wolf fought me every step of the way.
Her eyes flicked over to Bodhi and then to Ozzy. "I want all of you. Make me feel again. Make me feel like a human, like a woman, like something other than an expiration date."
Her words were so full of pain and sorrow that without pausing to second guess myself I leaned forward and brought her face to mine, sliding my hand through the waves of white blonde hair until she was close enough for our lips to connect. Lightning was like fire, burning through my veins, my heart thudded painfully in my chest, and my cock twitched in my pants. She smelled like home and tasted like sunlight and honey. I knew in that moment I was a goner.
SELENE
Gael’s lips were firm and commanding against my own. The way his hands held me just right as his tongue delved between my lips and tangled with my own had my core turning into lava, hot and wet.
Small sounds of pleasure were escaping me as I moved forward desperate to be close to his body, his warmth. It wasn’t just me either, but my kitsune pushing me, urging me to live for once while I had the opportunity to do so. After all, I might never get an opportunity like this again. They claimed I was their mate, but my human brain wasn’t convinced, much to my kitsune’s dismay.
His hands lifted me from the chair into his lap a moment before he stood. When he broke the kiss I was worried I’d screwed up. It had been centuries since I’d done this after all. Maybe sex etiquette had changed?
“If you really want to do this then we’re doing it in bed. I’m not going to have your first time since your captivity be me bending you over the kitchen table, although that may need to happen later if you want,” Gael said.
“Bed is good,” I panted feeling my nipples straining against the new bra as my chest heaved.
“Good.” It was all Gael said before he picked me back up, supporting me by the ass, and began to carry me. I looped my arms around his neck and wrapped my legs around his waist, although our height difference was too much for me to kiss him and feel his erection at the same time.
When I realized we were leaving the kitchen I pulled back from the kiss for a moment. “Wait,” I said before looking over his shoulder at the other two. “If you want to join, I want to have you, although I don’t know how you feel about sharing, but we can always take turns if you want.” My vixen chittered away happily inside me, loving this new bravery I was showing in asking for what I wanted.
“They’ll follow,” Gael said before his lips sucked at my ear lobe and he ran kisses down my neck making me moan and my core clench with need.
I wanted to rub myself against him to feel that friction I so desperately needed, but I had no leverage and he was holding me so tightly that I could barely move enough to kiss him. A whine escaped me.
“Patience, baby girl,” he said with a low chuckle as we walked back into the bedroom I had woken up in.
I knew it must be his room from the ease with which he moved about. He plopped me down on the bed and I bounced on the mattress, which made me giggle. Gael stopped in his tracks, his eyes going wide. “That needs to happen more.” His voice was rough with need and as he moved toward me I saw Bodhi and Ozzy come into the room.
Gael’s mouth was on mine again before I could say anything to his pack brothers. This time it was more aggressive, as though his need was ramping up along with my own. With a quick motion he rolled us so I was on top, leaving me feeling more in control than I had been a moment ago.
His hands slid under the edge of the purple top and pushed upward. I tried to take it off without breaking our kiss but I couldn’t, so I pushed backward. Once I was sitting up I was resting against the bulge in his jeans and my heart started beating even faster.He felt so long and so hard under me that I couldn’t help but rock my hips against him.
“Fuck, baby girl,” Gael moaned.
“Can we help?” Bodhi asked as he sat on the bed next to where I was straddling Gael.
I nodded and lifted my arms. He pulled the top over my head while my hips continued to roll and undulate against the big man underneath me, my body moving of its own accord.
Once I was free of the shirt I heard a collective intake of breath as the lacy bra they had provided for me put the girls on display. It was a sexy one, I’d give them that.
“Bra too?” Bodhi asked, his voice significantly huskier.
I nodded and with one hand he undid the clasp at the back letting my breasts have their freedom to jiggle and bounce as I moved. Bodhi’s eyes were transfixed so I lifted one of his hands and placed it on my breast. “I’m not a china doll. I’m not going to break if you touch me.”
His hand slid away from my breast and up to my neck, gently tugging me forward as he leaned in. When our lips connected it was like taking a dip in cold water. The shock seemed to freeze the breath in my lungs but once that wore off I wanted more. More sensation, more life, more everything.
“Get naked,” I whispered to him.
He did so without me having to ask twice and I watched as I dry humped Gael. Tattoos covered Bodhi’s arms, neck and chest, but they only added to his sexiness. There was too much I wanted to touch and feel and lick and I couldn’t do it all at once.
When he dropped his pants it was my turn to gasp; a long thick cock sprang free and I had to swallow against the sudden dryness in my mouth. “Don’t worry, Doll, we’ll get you ready,” Bodhi said knowingly.
As though that was his cue Gael rolled me over and pushed against me, making me moan. His mouth descended on my nipples sucking and licking first one then the other then the first one again while his hand played with the other. No, not his hand, someone else’s hand. I’d never done something so erotic in my life, even before I was sold. Had I been sexually active? Very, but three guys at one time was a new one for me.
The sounds that were escaping my mouth as Gael and Bodhi worked my breasts and nipples should have been embarrassing but I couldn’t bring myself to care. This was more pleasure than I’d been allowed to experience in centuries.
“Pants... off...” I gasped, unable to manage more than the two words needed to communicate my desire.
I felt Gael move to one side so he was no longer between my legs as someone began to pull my leggings down. I lifted my hips to assist and more hands tugged at the edge of my panties. I’d never felt so wanted in my whole life, and not just sexually either. There was more to it than that, like I could feel their need for me, not just sex with me, vibrating through the air.
Before I could process what was happening someone was raining kisses down on my inner thigh, inching closer and closer to where I needed them most. His fingers found my core first though and my eyes fluttered open to find Ozzy between my legs. When he saw me watching he gave me a wink and a wicked smile that promised fun and pleasure and laughter. As he circled my clit my eyes closed again and within seconds I was bucking and screaming his name.
Ozzy’s fingers were magic. That was the only logical conclusion. He didn’t stop there though, his mouth descended on me. He licked along my opening and up around my clit before going back down to fuck me with his tongue. He groaned as he tasted me making my heart flutter. As his tongue entered me again so did his fingers. They curled inside me and if I would have been able to reach him my fingers would have been tangled in his hair as I rode his face. Gael and Bodhi were still devouring my nipples though and I couldn’t.
I was tumbling over the edge into my second orgasm as Gael kissed me once more, claiming my screams of pleasure for himself. The glow of two orgasms back to back made me feel like I was floating. I’d never felt pleasure so intense.
A drawer opened to my left and I watched as Gael tore a condom packet open before rolling it on his cock. I hadn’t even seen the man get naked but he was, along with Bodhi and Ozzy, who I hadn’t seen get naked either.
“Do you want me to fuck you, baby girl?” Gael asked, as he leaned over the edge of the bed.
I nodded, my mouth not quite working.
He sauntered around the edge of the bed until he stood at the foot, climbing onto it like a king about to claim his queen. My eyes drank in his body and the ink that decorated it. His neck tattoo was just the start. Large floral designs flowed seamlessly with skulls and daggers and animals until they tapered out over his thighs.
His cock bobbed at me as I looked at it, biting my lip in anticipation of what it would feel like when it was inside me. It was long and smooth and as his hand moved down it once before gripping it at the base my breath caught in my chest. Gael lined the tip up and pushed in an inch at a time until my eyes were rolling back and my body arched off the bed to get as close as possible.
When he was fully seated in me I could feel him stretching me and his cock twitching with impatience. He stayed like that for a while until I started to squirm and then he began to move. His hips thrust powerfully into me and though I was rising to meet him I could barely keep up.
It didn’t help that Bodhi was rubbing circles on my stomach, his fingers getting ever lower until they were brushing the top of my sex. Even with Gael pounding into me I wanted the sensation of Bodhi playing with my clit, which is exactly what he did, right as Ozzy started pinching and flicking my nipples.
When I looked up and found the dark-haired man watching my face with an unexpected intensity I reached out for him. He came willingly, if awkwardly toward me until I could grab his cock. Ozzy wasn’t as overall hung as Bodhi or as long Gael but he was thick. I leaned my body as best as I could, given that I wasn’t in control of half of it, and took the head of his cock in my mouth.
I could only get about halfway down before it was too thick to fit, but I wasn’t going to let that stop me as I began working my hand over what I couldn’t reach with my mouth. It was only a few moments before Ozzy was thrusting into my mouth and tangling his hands in my hair to keep me just where he wanted me.
Each time Gael thrust into my pussy Ozzy thrust into my mouth and the two matched their paces quickly, but I wasn’t sure if it was intentional or not. With the rhythm from the two of them being the same, Bodhi’s fingers began working my clit in earnest. He pushed me up and over the edge in almost record time, and as I screamed my orgasm around Ozzy’s cock he lost control as well spilling into me, just as Gael did the same in my pussy. I swallowed down everything Ozzy gave me and licked my lips. It had been way, way too long.
When Gael withdrew I felt his absence keenly, but it was quickly replaced by Bodhi. I hadn’t even noticed him get into position but he was there between my legs when I looked up. There was a fierceness in his gaze that told me this wasn’t going to be gentle or careful, and I didn’t want it to be.
“Fuck me, Bodhi,” I growled.
“As my mate desires,” he responded, and damn if that didn’t almost send me over the edge again.
With one long, slow thrust he seated himself inside me, stretching me even more than Gael did. “Fuck, you’re still so tight, Luna,” he whispered.
“Luna?” I asked, making sure I heard him right as I worked on keeping my breathing even.
“Selene is the goddess of the moon, so Luna. Sorry, it’s dumb,” he said looking embarrassed.
I smiled. “Not dumb, just maybe don’t spring new nicknames on a girl during sex?”
He chuckled at that. “As you wish.”
His hands wrapped under my hips and lifted before flipping me over as though I was a rag doll. When he pushed into me again from behind I screamed into the mattress with pleasure. He was so big but he was still hitting everything that felt good. Once my body adjusted I started meeting him thrust for thrust until he stayed still and I was fucking him from my position on my hands and knees.
As though he couldn’t decide what he wanted he lifted me up from where I was bent over until my back was resting against his chest and his hands were on my breasts playing with my nipples as he began to fuck me once more. This time the pace was fast and hard and I could do nothing but take it, and I loved it.
I felt the bed move in front of me and saw Gael kneeling with a wicked smile on his face as he reached forward and began to play with my clit. The orgasm hit me out of nowhere, wringing a scream of pleasure from me that sounded almost feral as Bodhi thrust into me once more, his cock jerking as he spilled himself inside me.
We collapsed onto the bed with him still inside me and lay there with me tucked into his arms, his cock buried in my pussy, until we passed out. Gael was stretched out next to me and I knew Ozzy was somewhere around us as well as we all left the aftershocks of pleasure lull us into sleep.
OZZY
Leaving Selene while she was sleeping was a bad idea. I knew it in my bones, but Bodhi and Gael were dead set on trying to track down the sonofabitch who hurt our mate, and I'd be damned if I let them go after him alone, especially not when our mate was safely tucked away in our home on the pack's territory. So we had all gone out to the woods where we had been running when we met Selene.
The blood was dried and had lost some of its potency, in terms of smell, but it was still there, still trackable. Following the scent was relatively easy, there were only a few instances where the trail seemed to go cold, but the three of us fanned out until one of us picked it back up again. We'd been out there for a couple of hours when we spotted the cabin through the trees.
"I see it," Bodhi responded after he heard my huff.
I'd stayed in my wolf form since my shift when we lost the trail the first time. It was just easier this way. Plus, the wolf could give me some advantages the human could not, so while Gael and Bodhi ran around on two legs I stayed on four. We spread out as we approached the house, having already talked about the most tactical approach we could take if this guy was as dangerous as Selene thought. It wasn't that we didn't believe her, we did, but a female kitsune was a whole different kettle of fish to a male wolf, I didn't care how old she was.
The cabin was an honest to god log cabin, I could sense it as we approached, the way the sound hit the thick tree trunks and reverberated back to my wolf ears. There were a few windows, but the one that drew my attention was the one that was broken with streaks of blood running down the few bits of glass that were left. Was that how Selene had escaped?
Bodhi and Gael moved through the back door which was helpfully left unlocked and I followed closely behind. We made a quick sweep of the place. There wasn't much to it. A small kitchen, the living room area that was filled to the brim with books and DVDs. A small bathroom was at the end of a short hall which also connected to an empty bedroom. There were clothes thrown around the room as though someone had dressed in a hurry before they had to run out.
The interesting part, the part I'd been avoiding looking at too closely if I was honest, was the door to the basement. The one that looked as though it was almost ripped from its hinges, its heavy, steel hinges. We descended quickly and quietly, only to find that it was empty. He was gone. Our hope that we’d had him cornered was dashed. I hadn't been able to hear if he was down there while we were searching upstairs because of the sound proofing that covered every square inch of the stairway and most likely the rest of the basement as well. Not finding him down there stung and made me want to tear the place apart. The question was where had he gone? I hadn't been able to get a clear look at the space before I felt Bodhi’s and Gael's wolves rise to the surface so fast it was like an explosion.
"He kept her in a literal fucking cage?" Bodhi's voice was a low whisper, but there was enough of his wolf present to make his voice sound slightly garbled.
They finally moved out of the way and I got to see what he was talking about. It was a full-on cage complete with padlock and iron bars that were as thick as my wrist. Inside there was a bed—although bed was being generous, it was more of a cot really—with a few blankets covering it. A couple books lay on the ground next to it and a TV was propped up in the corner outside of the cage, with the remote on the ground by the books. A toilet sat in the corner without any privacy whatsoever and a roll of toilet paper rested on top of a book on the floor. There was no closet or change of clothes from what I could see, and there definitely wasn't anywhere she could hide if she wanted to.
I followed Bodhi and Gael as they peered in another doorway. It was a bathroom that sat at the edge of the space which was probably directly under the bathroom upstairs. A shower and a sink were all that comprised the area. The lack of shower curtain wasn't surprising given the lack of privacy around the toilet, but it was enraging nonetheless. He watched her shower and shit and wipe her ass, fucking perv.
There was a low hum that was bothering me, since there was nothing in there that should be making that sound. I twitched my ears toward it and followed the sound, only to find a tiny and somewhat hidden security camera. I whined and the others came over to look. As soon as they saw what I did they both growled, their lips pulling back over their teeth. Part of me wanted to say that the expression looked strange on a human, but the truth was it didn't, it looked as natural as a smile. Maybe it was because I could practically see their wolves fighting for release.
We turned to leave but I caught a whiff of something. Letting my nose lead, just as my ears had a moment ago, I followed it to the edge of the room. The floor smelled overwhelmingly of bleach, as though someone had just upended a jug of the stuff and let it sit. The problem with that kind of cleaning was that it wasn't thorough. A few tiny specks of blood had escaped whatever cleaning he had done, and I knew it had to be him because it was his blood I could smell.
Warlock blood always scented of sulfur and mold. It was like the evil they participated in became so ingrained in their bodies that it suffused every aspect of them, even their blood. Now it was my turn to growl and huff as I tried to get the scent out of my nose without forgetting the unique identifiers that I could use to track him down.
"Come on," Gael said, grabbing Bodhi by the crook of his elbow and turning him away from the cage he had been staring at while he just vibrated with barely contained rage. "I agreed to follow her trail to see if we could find him. We've done that and didn't find him, so we need to get back and check on her, hopefully before she wakes up."
I agreed with Gael, hell, I hadn't even wanted to leave her, not really. She and I might not have the same connection that Gael and Bodhi did with her just yet, but it was there. It just needed a little nurturing and that was only something we could do if we were together. I bounded up the stairs and out of the cabin before turning and waiting for them to catch up.
Finally, after what felt like an age they appeared. I growled and snapped at the air to show my impatience. Something was making me anxious. It was more than just wanting to be back with my mate. As a bolt of fear slid down my spine I knew it wasn't me I was feeling in that moment but Selene. She was afraid. Because she woke up alone or was there more to it? As though the universe was responding to my question another bolt of fear rolled over me, although this time it was edging toward terror.
Gael and Bodhi's eyes both went wide as they experienced the same thing. As soon as they were out of the house they both shifted leaving tatters of clothes on the ground. Gael's jet-black wolf darted forward followed by Bodhi's gray one. The three of us took off like a shot toward our house. Normally we would have taken the car, but with Selene's fear and the fact that we'd just discovered a cabin way too close to pack territory for us not to know about it, running would get us there faster.
Trees flew past us as we zig-zagged through the forest. It was only as we approached our house that we slowed down. When I caught the warlock's scent in the air though, I had to suppress a howl so that we didn't alert him to the fact that we'd arrived home.
Using the wolf sized entrance we all made our way into the house, and as soon as it closed behind us and the rest of the world quieted down my ears were assaulted by the whimpers coming from my mate. She was so quiet, as though the noises she was making were ones that she couldn't keep in but was afraid to let out. As we padded silently through the house, making sure our claws didn't click against the wood floor and the tiles, voices filtered down to us making my heart pound in my chest.
"You let them fuck you?" a man's voice yelled. "I can see the stains on the sheets so don't lie to me you little slut."
"Y-Y-Yes, sir," Selene said. When her voice reached my ears it sounded broken, like she'd given up hope. I tried to send a pulse of reassurance down our mating bond, but it was still new and I didn't know how to communicate with it yet.
"Well, I guess your dirty whore heart will have to do. Have you got your last tail yet?" her captor demanded.
Her reply must have been silent because I didn't hear anything.
"Shift. I want to see your vixen."
"No. You can kill me, but you'll never see her again," Selene replied. Her voice was strong even though there was a tremor to it as she spoke.
"That works for me. Besides, if you've already dirtied yourself with these men then I may as well take my turn while I can. There are many things I'll do; I'll degrade you until you want to die, but fucking a corpse doesn't interest me, so you'll have to endure it all. When I'm done I'll cut out your heart and eat it. Or you could simply show me your vixen and I'll make your death as quick as I can."
"They'll kill you when they find you." Her quiet, firm voice reached my ears and I couldn't help but explode into action as we reached the top of the stairs. I'd never been more thankful that we had rugs covering the floors upstairs because it kept my, our, approach muffled. When we burst through the door it was to find the warlock pressing her tear streaked face into the mattress we'd had sex on a few hours ago with one hand, while the other worked his belt buckle.
Startled eyes met mine for the briefest second before I connected with the warlock my teeth sinking into his shoulder. I clenched my jaw, biting down harder and harder until I was sure my teeth should be connecting, but they weren't. His hands grabbed me by the scruff and yanked me away tossing me like a ragdoll toward the wall.
Selene
WHEN THREE LARGE WOLVES burst through the door of the bedroom I'd never had so many conflicting emotions at once. They were massive wolves which was terrifying, but not as terrifying as the man behind me. My kitsune knew they were my mates and told me as much, so I was also relieved, but I was scared about what the Beast would do to them.
The blackish-brown wolf connected with him first. As the Beast was pushed back away from me I scurried over to the corner on the other side of the bed. The wolf's jaw had connected with the Beast's shoulder but he wasn't doing any significant damage, at least, not as much as he should have been.
The jet-black wolf was next as he went for one of my captor's legs just as the Beast pulled the brown wolf off his shoulder and threw him against a wall. The sickening crack that sounded as the furry body connected with the wall was enough to turn my stomach and make me want to hide. I didn't understand why I had been able to injure him but the wolves couldn't.
The Beast's other foot connected with the jet-black wolf's stomach as he awkwardly kicked across his body. The gray wolf hadn't burst in like the other two, he prowled in after they had launched their attacks, as though he was waiting to see what the outcome was. He briefly made eye contact with me and threw his head toward the door as though he wanted me to run. There wasn't a chance in hell of that happening, but I could at least go and get a weapon.
I nodded and scurried out of the corner and the bedroom itself before taking off down the hall. A bellow of rage sounded behind me followed by growls and grunts as the wolves stopped him from following me as I raced down to the kitchen. It was the best place I could think of to look for a sharp object. I pulled drawers out and flung cupboard doors open looking for anything I could use as a weapon. The whole time I searched my kitsune was going crazy, demanding I get back up there and fight for and with my mates.
The problem was I knew I had my last tail. I'd felt it when I was in bed with my mates, as if sealing the bond with them had pushed me into the final phase of my extremely long life. It wasn't like I was about to die or anything, well, not unless the Beast got his hands on me, but I would be complete, my kitsune would be done growing and aging. I'd stay like this for centuries now.
Finally I saw the knives that were attached to the wall via a magnetic strip. I hadn't noticed them before because they blended in with the tile too well. I grabbed the longest, sharpest looking one and went to run back upstairs only to find the Beast standing in the kitchen behind me like he'd been watching my frantic search just because he was curious what I would find.
There wasn't a single wolf in sight.
My kitsune panicked for a moment, before realizing I could still feel them through the mate bond, so they were all still alive. What had he done to them to prevent them from coming after me though? It didn't matter. I would fight him on my own if I had to, or worst-case scenario I would kill myself so he couldn't have my magic.
"Are you going to try and kill me with that toothpick?" the Beast asked.
"I was able to use a butter knife to escape, so yeah, I think this will do a little more damage," I said, borrowing some courage from my kitsune.
"Didn't leave any damage though, or didn't you notice?"
I realized he was right. I hadn't noticed. He had a brand-new eye. My stomach turned as I realized he'd taken someone's eye. How did I know it wasn't his? That he didn't just regrow it or something? Because his eyes were as black as the filth that covered his soul and this one was a light green.
If I started to think he was unbeatable though I would never be able to win. All I needed to do was incapacitate him for long enough to figure out how he was preventing himself from getting hurt.
He jumped onto the countertop of the island, standing over me as though he were my lord and master, something I'd never let him be again. Without second guessing my instincts I ran, pushing to the left then running right to fake him out, while I reached out with the knife and sliced at his ankles, hoping to sever a tendon. I knew the knife hadn't found purchase, I'd felt it slide, like I'd tried to cut glass.
As I ran he jumped down and grabbed my hair, hauling me backward against him. I flipped the knife around in my hand and tried to jab it back into him only to have it glance off and cut my side instead. I hissed in pain and my kitsune barked and shrieked inside me, demanding I let her out. Controlling her and fighting the Beast was becoming almost impossible, but something clicked in my head as I was doing both.
He was wearing a ring. I'd felt it against my skin and seen it glint in the light. The beast never wore rings, or any kind of jewelry for that matter. I didn't know what to make of it. All I knew was that I wanted to get it off him. My gut instinct told me that it was the key to making him vulnerable. The only problem was making him let his guard down enough for me to get it off his hand.
I swiveled in his grasp, practically rubbing myself up against him even though the thought made me want to gag. "Please," I begged as my hands pounded against his chest. "You can keep me, it's fine. I'll go with you, just let me live. I'll... I'll do whatever you want."
His erection pressed against my belly as his hands reached up and grasped my own. "Why would I believe you, Little Fox, when you've been nothing but stubborn and ornery for the last four hundred years?"
"Because I don't want to die. I never should have run, I'm sorry. I was just scared."
"Prove it, prove you'll do whatever I want."
I nodded my head frantically like this was exactly what I wanted.
"We'll start with this. Let me touch you wherever and however I want. No fighting."
"Go ahead," I said, the words competing with my gag reflex.
He brought his hands up to my face cupping my cheeks as he stared down at me with warring emotions in his eyes. One moment his hand pulled away and the next it was cracking against my skin so hard my head whipped to the side.
When I didn't react he did it again and again until he was panting, whether from excitement or rage I wasn't sure. I could feel him watching me, even though my eyes were downcast the way he liked them. His hands went to my breasts next roughly grabbing and yanking at the delicate flesh. His panting only increased as he did so and that was when I knew it was excitement, not rage that was making his chest heave in my face.
I pulled my hands up and pressed his to my breasts as though I was enjoying what he was doing, sliding them up and down his until I'd gained a good sense of where the ring was and how loose it was. My heart sped as I decided how best to get the thing off his finger without drawing too much attention.
"You foxes, you're all the same. One taste of dick and you turn into a cat in heat, willing to fuck anything and everything with a pulse. It's why I kept you locked up all these years. And the moment you get a minute of freedom, you fuck not just one guy, but three." His hand slid from my breast up to my throat forcing me to look at him as he slowly squeezed my neck and shut off my supply of oxygen. I tried not to panic, not to freak out, after all I had given him permission to do this, but as the pounding in my head became louder and louder it became harder to ignore the fight or flight sensation.
"I didn't fuck you once, did I? Didn't molest you, didn't force you, I did nothing except keep you fed and sheltered, and when you get out I have to track you down and find you whoring yourself out. You're such a disappointment, Selene. Now, I'm going to eat every inch of that delicious heart of yours even if it is sullied with your recent transgressions. Do you know why? Because I want to live too, and my life is worth a thousand of yours. You think the temptation of that pink little pussy would be enough for me to give up a prize I've been waiting for since I first caught your father stealing from me? I knew as soon as he grabbed that vial I could get a different, younger kitsune from him, one I could keep clean and pure until I could harvest her. It wasn't even difficult. He sold you in an instant. Besides, I can get pussy anywhere, whenever I want. Do you know how many woman, girls, I've fucked while I left you stuck in your cage? I wouldn't even know how to count them all. Kitsune pussy might be good, but it will never be as good as immortality."
My vision began to go fuzzy and shadowy around the edges while he spoke and I had started clawing at his hand at some point even though I didn't mean to. Instead of just clawing at the hand that was around my neck though I clawed at whatever I could reach. His chest, his arms, his other hand. Eventually all my effort paid off and the ring came loose. If it had fit him better I wouldn't have stood a chance, but it was at least a size too big.
When it popped off into my hand I knew that he knew I had it and his hold on my neck tightened to trachea breaking levels. My kitsune had other ideas though. I'd gone past fight or flight and she was taking over. When I shifted the ring fell and the Beast's hold on my neck was released. I tracked it with my shifter hearing and knew exactly where it had landed. Once I was on four feet I picked the ring up with my teeth and threw it as far as I could. Wherever it landed it didn't make a sound so I knew if I had no idea where it was then he couldn't either.
With my tails fanned out behind me and my kitsune standing tall I watched as the Beast just stared at me for a moment. That moment was all it took though. A gray wolf launched itself from the shadows and latched onto his calf muscle on one leg, followed quickly by a brown wolf who went, once again, for the shoulder. I'd have to chat with him about that later.
The two of them were strong enough to bring the Beast down though and with one arm out of commission we were safe from any warlock magic since he needed both hands for that. I shifted back to my human form, not caring that I was naked, and walked over, standing above him as though he was nothing more than dirt on my shoe.
"You think I would ever give myself to you willingly?" I demanded before spitting on him. "You're filth, you're lower than dirt and I wouldn't sully myself with you no matter the cost. But you won't have to worry about that much longer."
I attempted something I'd never done before, but my kitsune assured me was possible, a partial shift. My fingers grew claws and my hand and arm became stronger as I called my magic forth. I placed them on his chest, over his heart, and dug in. His flesh parted like butter under my shifter strength and the ribs that protected the vital organ were nothing more than branches that needed to be broken. He screamed through the whole thing, of course, but I never broke eye contact with him. I wanted him to know who was doing this to him, that he had brought this pain and suffering upon himself.
When my fingers wrapped around the organ they didn't crush it, they pulled it forward, yanking it through the surface of his skin as the veins and arteries were ripped from it. I held it in front of his face as the light in his eyes faded and the muscles twitched in my hand. I knew as he died that I'd been the last thing he'd seen, that my vengeance was complete and I would never have to worry about him again.
As soon as I was sure he was gone I dropped the organ and ran to the kitchen sink, vomiting everything that was in my system.
Bodhi and Gael were behind me a moment later, holding my hair out of the way and rubbing soothing circles on my back. Feeling the two of them there only highlighted the absence of Ozzy. His bond was still there so I didn't think he was dead, but if he'd been unconscious this long then would he be okay.
"Ozzy?" I asked after washing the blood from my skin and rinsing my mouth out. I needed a toothbrush and toothpaste stat, but I needed to know about my other mate more.
"He's okay, dude bashed his head against the dresser so he took a harder hit than the two of us, but he'll be fine. He's been through worse," Bodhi explained.
I wanted to know what worse meant but I thought it best to save that question for Ozzy himself. "Sorry about the mess," I said as I looked over at the Beast and the ragged hole in his chest. I almost dry heaved.
"Don't worry about it, love," Gael said. "We can take care of it. We've got a system in place for that."
I nodded.
We were all standing quietly staring at the body of my abuser on the floor when I heard a familiar voice say, "Who died?" I looked up and saw Ozzy rubbing his head as he came down to us. "Oh, that's who. Go team."
I laughed until I cried and then I cried until I laughed and the guys got worried that I'd lost my mind, but I hadn't, it was just the pressure of keeping myself alive for the last few hundred years finally being relieved.
"Can we go shower or something?" I asked looking down at the blood spatter covering my body.
"So long as we can join you?" Ozzy winked. He'd be just fine, I was sure of that now.
"The more the merrier," I said with a genuine grin.
Gael pulled a phone from somewhere and I heard him press a few buttons. "Gael. Pack Midnight. Clean up and disposal at our house." The person on the other end responded and he hung up. "Now we can all go."
I walked forward with my mates, leading them up to the shower and our future together with a light heart and a clear conscience. I couldn't wait to see what life had to bring now that I was free and loved.
The End
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About the Author
HELEN SCOTT IS A USA Today Bestselling Author of paranormal romance and reverse harem romance who lives in the Chicago area with her wonderful husband and furry, four-legged kids. She spends way too much time with her nose in a book and isn't sorry about it. When not reading or writing, Helen can be found absorbed in one video game or another or crafting her heart out.
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