Kayley’s ears burned. Hell, her whole face flamed. She stood in the bathroom in an agony of indecision as gruff male voices rang out from the room next door.
After becoming so overly emotional, she’d decided to go and sit outside alone for a while and gather her thoughts. Being around Luke and Sean messed with her equilibrium. The two men aroused her, and she spent her time aching for them in a way she’d never experienced before. She still couldn’t cope with seeing her dream men in the flesh. It scared her half to death. Made her wonder what the hell was going on with her mind.
After selecting a swimsuit and sarong that covered her scars, she’d wandered into the bathroom for her lip balm, when she’d heard them and froze. Normally the fan came on automatically with the light, which meant she couldn’t hear much of anything, but she’d not turned the light on, only meaning to grab the balm and go.
“Ah, Luke!” Sean’s words came out on a low groan.
“Told you we’d get cleaned up.” Luke chuckled.
“Your mouth…should be illegal.”
She didn’t need an overactive imagination to figure out what they were doing in there. The image came to her unbidden, of Luke on his knees in the shower, taking Sean into his mouth. She gasped and brought her hand to her throat, feeling her pulse jump under her warm skin.
“Oh God, oh God, oh God.” Sean sounded about to lose his mind as he repeated the fevered litany over and over again. “So good, so good.”
Kayley moved her hand slowly down her body until she grazed a breast, fingers ghosting over her already hard nipple. The intensity of the sensation shocked and scared her a little, as the usual anxiety began to build with her arousal. For her, sexual excitement held as much fear as it did promise. Fear that once again she wouldn’t be able to find the release she yearned for. Fear of emotions and feelings she’d long ago closed off.
While she’d been on the medication she could blame her inability to experience sexual pleasure on the pills. Her lack of a sex life could also be blamed on her inability to trust men after the attack. Deep down though, Kayley knew her problem ran deeper, she couldn’t even trust herself. There’d been no sexual assault when Dane hit her, but the violence had been extreme and at the hands of someone she’d thought loved her. Her therapist told her it was no surprise that Kayley found it next to impossible to date.
Four long years later, and she still couldn’t be intimate with a man; no date ever went beyond dinner and a kiss good-night.
“Shit!” Sean’s voice reached her loud and clear. “I can’t…I can’t, I’m gonna…” A long, low moan rang out through the wall.
Luke’s deep chuckle followed. “I could spend all day making you lose it and never get bored.”
“No. But I might die from exhaustion. Seems like you’ve got a little problem yourself that needs addressing,” Sean said.
“Enough with the little,” Luke returned. “Although, if you’re offering I wou—” The loud, electronic trill of a cell ringing cut him off. “Fuck. I better get it, might be important.”
Sean muttered something she couldn’t hear and the water ceased. Clearly they were done, for now. Poor Luke—left as unsatisfied as she seemed destined to be.
An image flashed into her mind, of Luke standing over her as she kneeled in front of his erect penis. She closed her eyes and allowed herself to luxuriate in the image. She could almost smell his woodsy, male scent. Suddenly she’d give anything to taste him, to delight in the weight of him in her mouth, run her tongue over soft velvet skin, covering hard steel.
Hands venturing further down her body, she moved one between her legs to play in the slick wetness there. Should she try again? In the past couple of weeks, she’d tried numerous times to reach orgasm, all without success. The anticipation of further failure dampened her ardor and she withdrew her hand, wiping herself down briskly instead with some toilet paper, before washing her hands and exiting the bathroom. A second later, she ran back in to grab the lip balm.
As she stepped out of her bedroom, Luke came out his door. They both froze for a split second, looking at one another. Kayley wanted nothing more than to wrap herself around him, which in turn made her want to run fast in the opposite direction. Luke simply studied her, expression guarded, closed off.
“Needed my lip balm.” She held the small tube up, waving it in front of her like some sort of shield.
“You should make sure you drink enough, too. It’s so humid.” He laughed then, and his face lit up. “Why am I telling you? You live here, right?”
“It’s easy to forget sometimes. Especially like right now, when I’m not working and I’ve done nothing more strenuous than laze around by the pool.”
His gaze ran the length of her body—super quick but she saw it—before it flipped back to her face. Glad she’d worn a costume to cover her scar, Kayley hated the flush creeping over her cheeks. He doesn’t like you in that way. She fought to calm herself down.
“You’re enjoying yourself though, right? Having a break, seeing Will?” Luke sounded genuinely concerned.
“Oh, yes. I love spending time with Will. With all of you,” she said.
“Glad to hear it. Hey.” He cocked his head to one side. “Do you think you could do something for me?”
“Of course.” Not sure why, she harbored a desire to be accepted by Luke, to be liked by him.
“You don’t know what I’m going to ask yet.” He smiled at her and those dimples popped, making her want kiss either side of his mouth.
“True. Okay, I’ll help if I can.” She smiled back.
Luke placed his palm on the small of her back and led her down the corridor. Warmth leaped from his skin, and all her focus zoomed to the burning point where his body met hers.
They stopped outside a door, which he opened, letting them into a large library. Its opulence took her breath away. It contained a grand piano as well as shelf after shelf of books, and its situation on the second floor meant it held wonderful views out across the beach and ocean.
“Wow!” She crossed to the piano. “Just when I think I’ve gotten used to this place I find something else incredible. Do you know the kitchen has a coffee machine that cost as much as a car?”
“It is kind of decadent. The team deserves it, though. Our work is hard and at times dangerous. And Sean does love his luxury.” A small smile tugged at the corners of his mouth. His love for his partner shone through every time he spoke of the man.
“Is your place in Alaska all decked out like this?” A tremor ran through her words as once again Kayley realized she wanted so much more from life. She wanted someone to smile whenever they spoke about her. She didn’t know how she’d ever find it. Didn’t know how to let the walls down she’d spent so long building.
“No.” He laughed. “It’s much more basic. Sean calls it ‘utility chic.' It’s a lot nicer since he joined us, but it’s where we work, as well as live, so has to be functional. We do have some pretty expensive toys but our coffee machine, nice as it is, didn’t cost as much as a car.”
“You sound like you miss it.” She raised her eyebrows. “Don’t you like coming away, getting some sun?”
“I like it plenty, but I don’t need it. Sean, he needs it. He loves the sun, and he gets depressed if he’s in the cold for too long. Me? I love Alaska. I think it’s the most beautiful place on God’s green earth. I like vacationing, but I don’t know if I’d go as often if it weren’t for Sean. Of course,” he turned and fixed those soft gray eyes on her. “We came to Miami to see you, really. Will really needed to tell you about Dane. So it’s a vacation, but it’s also personal.”
“I miss it.” Her voice cracked as she spoke, and she coughed to clear her throat. “I know most people would give anything to live in Miami. It’s hot, it’s got the beach, it’s so vibrant and lively but it’s not home…you know?” Not able to meet his gaze, Kayley turned and stared out the window instead.
His breath warmed her neck, letting her know he stood close behind.
“Think about coming back with us. That’s the favor I wanted to ask you. Will wants it so bad, and I’ll feel terrible if Julie pushing like she did today put you off the idea.”
He turned her to face him, and once more her skin tingled where his hands touched, making her gasp. “You don’t have to plan to stay forever, you can see how it goes but come see your family, spend some time with Will.” He tipped her chin up to meet his gaze. “I swear to you, Kayley, we’ll protect you. I’ll protect you.”
She held still, frozen. His hand remained under her chin, the sensation of him touching her blocking out all rational thought. She wanted him so badly it hurt. Wanted him more than anything in her whole life. It thrilled and terrified her in equal measure.
He wasn’t hers. She shouldn’t covet him, not when she liked Sean so much. Still, the urge to touch rode her, and before she knew what she did, Kayley stood on her tiptoes and pressed her lips against Luke’s cheek. “Thank you.”
He turned his face slightly as she pulled away and warm lips brushed over hers. A whisper of contact, nothing more. Time seemed to stop, and instead of pulling away, she leaned in closer, pressed her lips more firmly against his. He tensed for a second, opened his mouth, and murmured something she couldn’t catch.
His parted lips moved against hers, and she grew punch drunk on sensation. The velvet softness of his mouth taunted her, and Kayley yearned for more with every fiber of her soul. She wanted to snake out her tongue and really taste him. Moving on instinct, Kayley angled her body closer to his. Hard thighs pressed against hers as something else hard and insistent nudged against her belly. Reality hit, raining cold water down on her parade. She pulled back with a gasp, wiping her mouth as heat flooded her face. What was wrong with her?
She’d kissed a man she could never be with. A man whose partner she liked and respected. The man who had taken her cousin under his wing. She’d basically kissed the last man on earth she should ever lock lips with!
“Oh, no.” She sobbed the words out, still backing away. “I’m so sorry, Luke. I don’t know what came over me…it won’t happen again.” She turned and ran for the door, but he got there first, holding it closed with his palm.
“It’s okay. Look at me.” He moved toward her but at her cry of alarm he held his hands up. “It’s okay. Please, don’t walk away. It’s my fault. I shouldn’t have done that. God, Kayley, I’m sorry.”
“I’m so ashamed.” She put her head in her hands, tears sliding wet and warm down her cheeks.
“Don’t be. Why ashamed?” He pulled her hands from her face. His touch, gentle but firm, soothed her somehow, calming her enough to allow her to speak.
“Let’s see, shall we?” She held a hand up and started to count the reasons off as she spoke. “Not only did I kiss you, but you have a partner. A partner I like, which makes me a betrayer. I practically assaulted you…and you probably found it disgusting.”
“I think we could argue the toss as to who kissed who. And did I respond as if your kiss disgusts me?” He stood close again, too close for her poor, confused system to handle. “I enjoyed your kiss, so you don’t have to worry about that aspect of things.” His eyes danced with amusement as he watched her. “As if you could disgust anyone.”
“You’re gay, so I assume kissing women is not up there on your to-do list.” She shrugged, laughing softly.
Luke sucked his lower lip in between his teeth for a moment before blowing out a short breath and running a hand through his thick, dark hair. “I’m not gay, Kayley.”
“What?” Her eyes shot up to meet his. “But…you and Sean…”
“I’m bisexual.”
As the meaning of his words sank in, her pulse leaped. She’d noted his arousal, thought it must simply be an automatic response, after all he’d been left hanging only minutes before in the shower room. Now his words made her hope it could be more than that. Maybe he found her attractive?
Still, they shouldn’t do this. Flirting, touching, the way they had been the other day by the pool and now the kissing—it all had to stop. She raked her hair back from her face. “It doesn’t make it right, Sean’s going to—”
He interrupted her, “Sean will be fine with this. More than fine. He’d do the same if he had the chance.” Luke’s features remained remarkably calm. It seemed as if he didn’t care he’d cheated on his partner. Frustration at his response bloomed in Kayley’s chest.
“I know he’d do the same, he kisses you all the time but I should—”
“No, honey.” Luke brushed the hair back from her face as it fell forward, his eyes searching hers. “He’d kiss you. You might have made the first move, but I kissed you back, and Sean would do the same. We like you.”
“What?” She couldn’t make sense of the words falling from Luke’s beautiful lips.
“We like you. Both of us.”
Anger churned in her gut, dousing the lust. She was such an idiot. “So that’s your plan? Seduce the new girl, have some fun. Is this something you do all the time?”
She’d known guys who liked to pass girls around, pretending they liked the girl, but using her badly before throwing her away. Some of the men who did so had been friends of Dane’s, back when she’d been Dane’s girl. Dane always acted as if he disapproved, but he maintained his friendships with the guys. The worst of it came afterward, when the men would trash talk the women involved, calling them names, laughing at them. She’d known one girl leave town rather than face the jokes and sneers. It had been a story as old as time, one rule for the guys, quite another for any women they used.
Luke took a step back from her, his brow drawn together. “What plan?” His words were clipped, terse. “There is no plan. We don’t do this sort of thing. Ever.”
He moved back into the room, turned his back on her, and looked out the window. The rigid set of his shoulders spoke volumes about Luke’s reaction to her words.
Kayley hovered by the door. Part of her still wanted to flee, but a bigger part wanted to stay, to thrash this out. Years of therapy helped her break free from her past but no matter how many gains she made, Kayley didn’t think she’d ever stop second guessing herself.
Her ego hummed with pleasure that two such gorgeous men wanted her. Her body responded to the idea instantly. Her nipples were hard and her core damp but another, more insistent, corner of Kayley quaked with fear. Fear they would merely use her and discard her, fear she wouldn’t be able to respond to them, and fear they’d view her lacking in some way. Such an outcome would trample her fragile new sense of confidence forever.
“Look.” Luke turned to her. “There’s no pressure here, okay? We don’t expect anything of you, and we weren’t going to tell you about this. We’re aware it seems a bit…strange. But I can’t bear you walking around feeling stupid or guilty as if you did something bad or unwelcome. The truth is we are attracted to you. Know you don’t disgust us, but don’t worry yourself sick thinking we want something you’re not ready to give. It’s all cool.”
He paused for a moment and the furrow between his brows smoothed out. Then he loped toward her, gait relaxed. “Know one thing. You could never disgust me.”
He trailed his fingers down her arm, the touch brief but tender, and walked past her out of the room. Left alone, Kayley found her stomach full of those damned butterflies again, as the significance of what he’d said sank in. Luke. Hot, sexy, confident Luke had just declared his attraction to her. Furthermore, he claimed his rather fine lover felt the same way.
Taking a deep breath, she walked the length of the library, her legs a little less than steady. She forced herself to keep calm as she looked out over the view. Grounding herself in the moment always helped Kayley figure things out. Her brain didn’t function too well unless she kept her whole system calm.
Once she’d quieted the nerves and anxiety, allowed herself to focus on her bone deep intuition, Kayley found she believed Luke. On some deep level, she knew the two men didn’t do this sort of thing regularly, which scared her even more than the fear they toyed with her. Because the idea her own strange and out of control desires could be matched by two men she’d only recently met seemed completely crazy. It sounded even more insane when she added in the part about having dreamed of them for weeks. She doubted Luke would want her if she told him about her dreams, he’d probably think she’d lost her mind. Heck, she worried she’d lost her mind. Rubbing her suddenly cold arms, Kayley sat against the edge of the desk and pondered what the hell to do next.
* * * *
Luke paced up and down the games room. Sean would panic about his conversation with Kayley. They’d agreed to take it slow, and yet he’d gone and blurted everything out. Fuck! Sean was going to kill him. Right then, Kayley could be packing her bags to get the hell out of there. Damn it though, he couldn’t stand her seeming so rejected and out of sorts after they’d kissed. He shouldn’t have said what he did, but it almost took more strength than he possessed not to have thrown her on the floor and taken her right there. Christ, the taste of her! Sweet and creamy and rich, she’d tasted like her scent, and he’d wanted to feast on her, never let go. Her lips were glorious against his, her slender body wonderful pressed up against him.
Sean might say Luke gentled him, but if Sean had kissed him like Kayley did there’d have been no gentling, Luke would have lost control and taken him. Kayley burned for them. When they’d kissed, her arousal and need had scrambled his brain before he’d had a chance to block her, and give her the privacy she deserved. As if rummaging around in her head weren’t enough, his heightened senses meant he could smell her arousal. She wanted them as powerfully as they wanted her, and he grew tired of playing games. He’d never force her or coerce her, but he wouldn’t pretend anymore.
Unlike Sean, Luke didn’t think ignoring their feelings for Kayley would bring her to them. He sensed too much turmoil in the young woman. Something within her grew and grew by the day, like a dam waiting to break its banks, and he didn’t want that very thing to be what drove her away. He’d reacted on instinct when he’d told her they wanted her, but his instincts rarely let him down.
With a muttered curse, he shoved the balls around the billiard table, watching as one slid into a pocket opposite. He needed to get a grip and calm down. His own emotions were too near the surface, and his wolf demanded its second mate more and more each day.
The door opened with a quiet click, and Will walked in. For one awful moment Luke wondered if he knew about the scene in the library but the other man merely gave a small nod, as he propped himself up against the bar.
“So…” Will picked at non-existent lint on his shirt. “Can I ask you something?”
“Sure.” Luke kept his voice steady. Maybe Will did know? Perhaps he’d run into Kayley and come straight to Luke.
“Are we the only ones?”
For a moment, Luke was completely thrown. “The only ones what?”
“The only things. I mean…supernatural things. Or do others exist. Taylor told me we’re not the only ones. Is it true?”
Luke would smack Taylor upside his head for deciding now was a good time to get into such a conversation. They’d told Will the basics, but somehow the conversation about others like them had never come up. Vacation didn’t seem like the right time, not with Will so twitchy. Yeah, but you’re the one who thought traveling the breadth of the country with a newly turned shifter might be a good idea, an inner voice taunted.
Should he lie, hedge, or just tell Will the truth? In the end, Luke went with the truth. “Yes, there are other creatures like us.” He let out a short laugh. “Or I should say, not like us. We’re all unique.”
“Christ!” Will strode around the bar and poured three thick fingers of brandy from a bottle of Hennessey. He did the bouncing thing again on the balls of his feet, something he’d stopped since Kayley joined them, and Luke frowned.
“What other things are there? Do any of them come after us? Are my mom and grams safe? Are there things like elves and the like? Like Lord of the Rings shit?” Will’s eyes were huge.
“Elves? No. Or, I should say, not as far as I know. I wouldn’t like to say things definitely don’t, or can’t, exist because I’ve seen more on this earth than most would imagine. But vampires I know exist.”
“Vampires are real?” Will looked about to explode with fear and rage, and Luke tried to keep his voice calm and soothing.
“Yes, vampires are real.”
“And they suck the blood of virgins I expect?” Will rolled his eyes dramatically. “Do they look like Christopher Lee and turn into bats?”
Luke’s patience began to wear thin, where was Sean when he needed him. He handled this shit better. “No. They look ordinary, mostly, like you or me. They are night creatures, so you won’t see them in the day, but if you saw them at night you wouldn’t know. Although some, the very oldest of their kind, they look…” He paused for a moment and took a deep breath, remembering the time he’d come up against an ancient vampire. “The eldest of their kind look and smell like death. They’re foul and they are strong and you better hope and pray you never come across one.”
Will seemed to simmer down some at Luke’s strong words. “I’m sorry. I’m giving you attitude, and it’s not your fault. But all of this is so crazy you know? Every time I find something new about this shifter business, it throws me again. It’s even worse now I’ve found Kayley. I’m not used to keeping secrets from her.”
“Then tell her.”
“What? Are you insane?” Will screeched.
Luke tried for calm, but his wolf growled and snapped its teeth at the impertinence. “Watch your tone, pup.” Luke’s voice dropped an octave.
“Pup!” Will exploded. “You did not call me a fucking pup!”
The door burst open, and Sean stood illuminated in the light of the hallway. “What’s going on in here?”
“Where’s Kayley?” Luke snapped. The last thing they needed would be her overhearing any part of this conversation. She should be told, but not like this.
“She went to the beach with the others a couple of minutes ago. And thank all that is holy she did, because you two are loud enough for the dead to hear.”
“Will here needed some answers…he doesn’t like the ones he’s got so far.” Luke walked to the bar and got right up into Will’s space. He waited until the other man backed down and moved before he grabbed a beer out the cooler.
“What answers?” Sean cocked his head.
“Well, I’ve found out vampires apparently exist, amongst other things.” Will shook his head. “I don’t get how we hid from humans all this time. How humans didn’t exterminate us when we first came about.”
Luke snorted as he popped the top off his beer. “You think we came upon this earth after humans?”
“Didn’t we?” Will’s eyebrows rose high, giving him an almost comical appearance.
“No, we didn’t,” Sean spoke, calmly and quietly as he moved into the room. “We were here long before humans walked this earth.”
“No.” Will shook his head again and moved out from behind the bar. He started to pace. “Are you telling me werewolves and vampires and…what else is there?”
A wave of emotion so powerful it knocked him nauseous hit Luke. It overrode his anger, and even his wolf quieted in the face of it. Will’s feelings reached him again, smacking into him with the power of a hurricane. Oh Lord, the guy was about to totally lose his shit.
Luke glanced at Sean, trying to telegraph his concern over Will’s emotional state. Most shifters were born; those who were turned could sometimes face problems controlling their newfound power, as well as their emotions in the aftermath. Will’s equilibrium hung by a thread. Turning Will had always been a risk, and if it hadn’t been a choice between turning Will or letting him die, Luke would never have made the young man a shifter. Now wasn’t the time to tell him everything. That could wait. Luke needed to calm Will until he could think more rationally.
“Please. Tell me. Don’t hide it from me. I only want the truth, and if you really see me as a member of your pack, you owe me as much. What else is there?”
“Demons.” Sean looked at Will as he spoke, clearly missing Luke’s shake of the head. “And shaman, and other things most people would never dream could be real. Shifters generally leave humans alone, or like us, actually help and work for the few humans who know about us. Vampires can be bad if they’re old and gnarly, but most of them hide out. Only demons are truly terrible, and they’re rare and stick to their own so—”
“Sean.” Luke used his name as a warning, and Sean shot him a worried look.
“No. No. No.” Will repeated the word over and over as he shook his head. He started to laugh. “No way. I don’t believe it. Demons? No.”
Will began to shake; his eyes flashed fire and ice as he bared his teeth. Luke took hold of Will, pulled him in, and tried to connect with him.
“Will?” He spoke calmly, voice low. “Listen to me, you’re upset. Very upset. It’s causing you to start to change, but you can’t. Not here, not now. You need to calm down, okay? We can talk this out. None of this shit is as bad as you think. The world is different to how you envisioned it, sure, but nothing’s actually changed, it’s just…now you know, when you couldn’t possibly before.”
Will let out a whimper and pulled back. He moved away from Luke and backed into the wall. They’d practiced changing forms over and over with the younger man, but Will still needed more time until he perfected it. It was one thing to initiate the change when you wanted, quite another to halt it when it came about due to severely heightened emotions. It could take Will months before he controlled the shift to wolf form in the face of strong feelings.
“Will.” Sean rushed to Will’s side, stroked his hair, carding his fingers through it, gently rubbing his scalp, petting him as one might a dog on edge. With a sinking feeling, Luke realized he’d truly fucked up. Sean had been right. Will wasn’t ready for the trip, still needed the time and space to come to terms with the huge changes happening within. Luke moved toward Will, about to get hold of him again, to use touch to try and anchor him, and that’s when all hell broke loose. Before he could reach Will, a familiar halo enveloped the younger man. Will gave a strangled cry as the light danced around him, and seconds later in his place stood a tall wolf, ripped and tattered clothing hanging from its frame.
Luke dove for the door and slammed it shut before Will could run out. He turned to see Sean backed up against the wall, the wolf cornering him. Luke didn’t pause to think, instinct took over as every muscle in his body screamed to help his mate. Will might be a pack member, but right now he wasn’t in control. Sean could be in real danger.
As he ripped his clothes off, Luke maintained eye contact with Sean, willing him to keep still and not make any sudden moves. As soon as his clothes were gone, Luke shifted. The bright colors of the games room receded as muted, darker shapes took their place. Noise from outside increased tenfold and scents assailed his nostrils. He could taste Sean’s fear, but far worse, he scented Will’s rage. With a snarl, Luke hurled himself at Will, sending the smaller wolf flying away from his mate.
Will hit the wall with a yelp but righted himself quickly and charged at Luke, teeth bared, fangs dripping saliva. Fuck! Luke could see from Will’s narrowed eyes that the wolf held little sign of the man within.
Giving a deep growl as he reached Luke, Will sank his teeth into Luke’s right, front leg. Luke didn’t register the pain, couldn’t let himself, couldn’t let the anger and the primal need to fight out, or he’d kill Will. Instead he twisted out of the bite and, head down, rushed Will and knocked him to the ground. He turned to see Sean’s silvery wolf standing by them. Luke placed his paw on Will’s chest to hold him down, but he’d glanced at Sean for a moment too long, and Will righted himself. He lunged at Sean, snarling and snapping and caught the right side of his silver flank, ripping a chunk of flesh as he pulled his teeth back.
Luke’s vision blurred and his ears buzzed as rage filled him. He howled and locked his jaws around Will’s throat, holding on. Will twisted and turned, but he couldn’t shake Luke off. Another set of teeth wrapped around the back of Will’s neck, holding him firmly by the scruff. Luke could see Sean had a solid grip but still didn’t let go himself. Luke tasted blood and wanted nothing more than to sink his teeth into the body of this wolf that dared harm his mate.
A whimper from Sean stopped him in his tracks. Let him go. The words echoed as clearly in his mind as if Sean said them out loud. Slowly, reluctantly, Luke let go of Will’s throat.
Sean held onto Will’s scruff as Luke towered over the prone wolf, baring his teeth so he looked as fierce as possible. The new pack member lowered his eyes, dropped his head, and whimpered. He laid his head on the floor and turned it slightly, exposing the vulnerable, bleeding underside of his throat. He submitted completely. Luke sensed the moment all the fight left him. Sean let go, stood back, and changed back to his human form. The side of his right thigh streamed with blood from a large gash.
Luke shifted, too, leaving Will lying on the floor, whimpering softly, the danger over.
“Oh God, Sean.” Luke grabbed his mate’s thigh and examined the deep wound.
“I’m fine. It’ll be healed by tomorrow.”
Already the blood flow lessened. Soon it would stop bleeding completely and slowly knit together. Within a few days, there’d be no sign of it having occurred. Shifters healed faster than humans and didn’t scar, unless silver was used as a weapon, in which case the marks left could be horrific. An alpha’s mating bite also left a permanent mark, but all other wounds faded quickly.
Will whimpered again. Sean reached out and petted his head, stroked him gently, and murmured to him. “I don’t think he can remember how to turn back.” Sean’s eyes grew wide with concern.
“It’ll come to him soon enough.” Luke didn’t hold much sympathy right now for the young wolf.
“Don’t you go blaming him.” Sean glared at Luke. “Don’t you dare. This is on me. You weren’t going to tell him any more; you could sense he’d heard more than he could handle, but I kept on going, didn’t I? This isn’t his fault. He’s new to all of this. It’s terrifying and overwhelming. The last thing he needs is his alpha pissed at him.”
“I can’t help it. He attacked you!” Luke still wanted to rip Will’s throat out and only the iron control his family trained into him from a young age stopped him. His father’s words echoed in him now: with supreme power comes supreme responsibility, you’re a very powerful shifter, you must be in charge of your wolf at all times. Normally Luke didn’t find it difficult, but with his mate bleeding and his intended unclaimed, it took all his strength not to give in to the feral wolf clawing to be set free.
Light shimmered around Will, halos of gold and green heralding the shift back to human. He immediately curled up into a fetal position, groaning and wrapping his hands around his throat. Sean glanced at Luke, his expression strained.
“Will?” Sean spoke softly. “Can I look at your throat? I’m not going to hurt you I promise.”
Will scooted away until his back hit the wall, but he looked up at Sean as Luke watched, holding back. Slowly, Will pulled his hands away from his throat. They were covered in blood from a huge gash splitting the base of his neck.
“Shit.” Luke felt sick. He’d done that…and to one of their own. His position should always be about protection but in protecting his mate, he’d harmed their youngest pack member.
“William.” Sean used the young man’s full name, for the first time as far as Luke could remember. “I want you to keep calm. You’re going to be fine, but you’ll feel like crap for a couple of days. You’re newly turned, so your body doesn’t heal as fast as ours and this is deep. It will heal, though. You’ll need a couple of days rest and plenty of steak.”
“Hurts.” The voice came out wet and gargled.
“You can drink some of my blood,” Luke offered. “It will help you heal more quickly. It could still take a while, but it’ll stop the pain and slow the bleeding.”
Will nodded his head weakly. “Okay. Make the pain stop. Please.”
Luke bit down hard on his wrist with a wince. Once he had a good flow of blood going, he held his arm up to Will to let him take it and suck the blood into his mouth. After a few moments, Sean gently pulled Will back and wrapped a clean bar towel around Luke’s wrist to stem the flow.
“You still need to rest,” Sean told the younger man. “I suggest you go to bed for the rest of the day and only come down to eat. You’ll need lots of protein. You’ll be fine, but you’ll have what looks like a nasty scar. Within a couple of days it’ll be gone completely. Let’s get this dressed and then you can go lie down.”
Sean sighed. “One other thing. We’ve got to tell your cousin.”
“No.” Will’s face dropped and his eyes filled with tears. “She won’t be able to take it. She’ll be so freaked out she’ll run. I’ll never see her again.”
“Listen to me.” Luke kept his voice neutral and calm. “You owe her the truth. If she wants to run, it’s out of your hands, but I think you underestimate her. I think she can take it. And you can’t explain your wound away, or how quickly it will heal. Sean here’s got a bad gash on his leg, too. Within two days it won’t be there anymore, and I’ve got cuts and bites on my arms. We either send her home now or we tell her.”
“She won’t believe you. She’ll think we’re all mad, and she’ll be scared we’ll hurt her.” Will’s tears flowed freely now, mapping out the furrows of his face as they fell.
“Trust me.” Luke touched him gently on his arm. “We know how delicate this is, and we’ll make sure Kayley understands you had no choice when you joined us. At least that way, if she does distrust us, she won’t feel the same way about you.”
Luke stood and walked to the door. He couldn’t bear to contemplate Kayley rejecting them once she understood what they really were, but they couldn’t keep lying to her if she stayed with them any longer. With a heavy heart, he pulled back the handle and swung the games room door wide open.
“I’ll speak to the others. We’ll tell her tonight. At dinner.”