Authors: Miranda Powers
They both loved her. Had they discussed with without her or something? Paige scowled a little. The only time they would have been able to do that was when she was out running last night. And they hadn’t said anything of it until now.
Markus’s lips touched her cheek gently before he pulled away. “I’m going to go keep Ben company. Holler if you need anything.”
“I will.” Paige watched as Markus stepped out of the shower and wrapped himself in a towel.
Paige spent a couple more minutes in the shower, washing her hair and her body before she just sat down in the tub and let the water run over her head. She had told Markus that she thought she loved them both, and that was true. But it had only been a month. Things were moving faster than they ever had before and…
I’m pretty much living with them, I’m traveling with them and I think I love them.
Paige sat there for as long as she could until the hot water ran out, but finally she forced herself to stand up, turn the water off and reach for a towel.
She stared down at the clothing on the toilet. Her favorite pair of Ben’s pajamas. She reached for them and pulled them on. She let out a deep breath slipping into the black tank top that was with them. She looked herself over in the mirror. She looked… tired above all other things.
You love them.
She repeated to herself. Wasn’t it wrong to love two people at a time? It didn’t feel wrong. It felt… it didn’t even feel right, it felt perfect.
Less than a minute later Paige emerged into the small hotel room. Markus and Ben were cuddling. They pulled away from each other and Ben patted the spot between them.
“Come here.”
Sometimes she wasn’t sure if they were using the tone of voice they would on a dog, or if the dog in her just heard it that way.
None the less Paige closed the distance between them and crawled in between them. Markus and Ben wrapped their arms around her. She could feel them grab each other’s hands.
Paige relaxed against in their arms. She took a deep breath and closed her eyes.
She was asleep before she even realized it.
Chapter 5
All three of them slept in the next morning and when Paige woke up she was intertwined in two men’s arms. She didn’t dare move until finally Ben stirred and rolled away.
She turned to face him as he rolled out of the bed and pulled a sweater on.
“Morning.” He smiled.
“Morning to you too.” Paige rolled out of bed as well and accepted the sweater Ben handed her. It fell to her butt.
She had to admit she liked having two boyfriends to steal clothes from. She’d even noticed that Ben and Markus shared clothes most of the time. It wasn’t so much that they each had their own bag of clothes, more that there were a couple bags of clothes and Markus would carry one into the hotel and Ben would carry another one. The only reason Paige carried her own zebra stripped duffle bag was because she couldn’t fit all their clothes.
“How does your hand feel?” she asked Ben.
“It feels fine.” Ben looked down at it, he smiled a little. “A lot better than last time I broke it.”
Paige snorted. She shouldn’t be surprised that this wasn’t the first time he’d broken his wrist. “What happened last time?” She raised an eyebrow.
“I got shoved into a wall and tried to brace myself. Turns out it was a pretty bad idea.”
Paige pulled her pajama pants off and walked to her duffle bag. She grabbed a pair of black lace panties and slipped into them before pulling on her favorite pair of skinny jeans, the ones with the studs along the ankle and the back pockets. She tied her hair up and snatched up her purse. “Want to go see what they have for breakfast around here?”
“Sure, I think I saw a café a black away.”
Paige watched as he slipped into jeans awkwardly. She debated offering to help but decided against it. Ben managed to get his pants on just fine without her help, he scooped up his wallet and they made their way to the door. Paige glanced over her shoulder for a fraction of a second as they stepped out of the room and into the midmorning sun light. Her skin warmed under her hoodie. Ben reached out and took her hand as they headed down the street. Walking down the street Paige looked around as they walked.
The hotel was on the outskirts of town, but somehow there were still so many people and places around them.
They made their way to a small café. They entered they looked around. There were only a couple people around but all heads turned to them as they walked to the counter.
A man behind the counter smiled as they approached. “Hello, how can I help you?”
“Um, can I get a large coffee, two sugars and a cream and a dozen doughnuts?”
“Sure thing,” The man turned his attention to Paige. “Large hot chocolate and a blueberry bagel with butter. Oh and a dozen cookies and a medium coffee with two sugars.”
The man nodded and worked behind the counter. Ben pulled her close to him.
“So, where are we going to go now?”
“I’m not sure… where do you want to go?”
“Anywhere so long as it’s with you and Markus?”
Ben laughed as the man behind the counter came towards us with a box, a paper bag and three cups. “That will be $18.32”
“I’ll get it.” Paige pulled her wallet from her purse. She pulled a twenty dollar bill from her pocket and handed it to the man. “Keep the change.” She scooped up the box, the bag and her hot chocolate.
“Is there anywhere you want to go?” She asked as they made their way to the door.
“I’m not sure.” Ben mulled it over as they made their way back to the hotel room.
When they got back Markus was awake. The bed was made and their bags were packed. “Morning you two.”
“We brought you coffee.”
“Thanks and goodies?” He eyed the bag.
“For on the road.” Paige glanced at the clock. “It’s almost check out time.”
“Yup and we’re all packed up and ready to go. I’ve got the guns in the truck and the clothes are all packed up and ready to go.”
“Sounds like you were busy while we were gone.”
“You got the food. I figured I could get us packed up.”
Paige jumped as she felt the phone vibrate.
“Hello?”
“Paige? How are you?” It was her mother.
“I’m… I’m good mom, how are you? Is everything okay?”
“Everything’s fine… I just wanted to call and see how you were, where you were.” She sounded tense.
“Yea, everything is fine. Where are you?”
“I’m…” Paige scowled. “I actually don’t know where I am right now. Some small town. We just stopped for the night and we were about to head out.”
“Wait- who’s we?”
“Um… my friends and I. We’re kinda road tripping… of sorts.”
“Oh! You know, I was talking to your father and it got me to thinking…. Maybe you could come up and visit for a little while.” Her words were pleasant but her voiced sounded tense.
Paige frowned. Something was wrong “That sounds… great. Just let me talk to my friends about it, okay?” She needed to talk to the boys about this. She was afraid her mom needed help.
“Of course! Just let me know. I’ll talk to you later… I-I love you.”Her mother added. Something in her voice made Paige’s heart ache.
“Love you too Mom.” As Paige hung up the phone she looked up at Markus and Ben. “I’ve got our next stop.”
A soft smile spread over her lips at the thought of bringing the boys home to meet her family. But her mom’s voice had her worried. What would they find there?
WEREWOLF HUNTERS
BOOK 3 : OWNED
By Passion Books
Chapter 1
Markus had always known monsters existed. Hell, by the time he was 10 years old he’d stared several of them down but this… this was scary He was about to meet his werewolf girlfriend’s parents for the first time.
Paige sat between Ben and Markus in the truck. Both stared out the front window as they made their way down the dirt road.
“Take the next left.” Paige spoke lowly. The radio was off and they were dead silent. Everyone was nervous. “There’s a hotel half an hour further. We can stay there if you guys would like.”
“Your dad might not be comfortable with having us in his house.” Ben pointed out. He didn’t need to say anything; they all knew it wasn’t because she was dating them. Paige’s father was a werewolf, like Paige. Ben and Markus were supernatural hunters. They had stalked and killed their fare share of werewolves.
Fuck.
She hadn’t even told her parents she had
one
boyfriend, let alone
two
. “Yea, I thought the same thing.” Paige confessed. She had no idea how she was going to explain Ben and Markus to her parents. Especially her Dad.
He’s going to peg them for what they are in a matter of seconds.
Her mind had been obsessing over those words for the past three days as they’d made their way here.
Ben turned to stare out his window. This was… the strangest thing he’d ever done in his life and he’d done his fair share of strange things in the past. He tapped his fingers nervously against his thigh.
This is stupid. My biggest worry is
whether or not the man will like me. It should be if he doesn’t like me and what he will do to me then.
Okay, maybe he was making a big deal out of nothing. He was sure Paige’s father wouldn’t rip his throat out or anything… but the fear was still there as they made the left.
“It’s that one up there.” Paige pointed towards a large house.
Paige’s heart pounded in her chest. It had been a long time since she had been home and she wasn’t sure she was ready for it.
Of course she missed her parents and wanted to see them, but over the past few months things had been crazy. She hadn’t even started explaining it to her parents and she wasn’t sure she was ready to sit them down and tell them everything as Markus turned down the drive way. Paige reached over Ben and rolled down the window. She took a deep breath of the air.
Home.
The wolf mind inside her screamed. It wanted to wag its tail. It wanted to get out and run. To change, to be free.
No.
She had other things she needed to do.
Maybe, if things went well she could go for a run with her father sometime. If things went well.
They came to a stop as they front door opened. Paige’s heart jumped into her chest.
Her sister Jenny stood in the doorway. She was tall and lean with long blonde hair. She wore black skinny jeans and a green tank top. She turned and stuck her head inside before several other people came out.
Ben popped his door open first. He was out in a matter of seconds but it wasn’t quick enough for Paige. She scrambled to get out of the truck.
“Paige.” Her mother pushed forward. She’d hardly aged a day but Paige could make out the laugh lines around her eyes and a small wrinkle through her forehead. Her grey hair was worn in a bun like it always had been. She wiped her dirty hands on her jeans as she closed the distance between her and her daughter. “It’s been so long.” She pulled her daughter into a hug. “God, I’ve missed you so much. We all have.”
After several minuets her mother pulled away and looked her up and down. A smile spread over her lips. “You look well.”
“I am… how are you?”
“I’m good.” Her mother’s eyes twinkled as she stepped away from her daughter.
Jenny was next. Paige didn’t even realize it until her arms wrapped around her little sister. “Thanks for never texting.” Jenny muttered.
“I text all the time!” Paige protested hugging her sister for a second longer before pulling away. Finally she turned to her father.
He stared at her. A soft smile spread over his lips as he pulled her into a hug. He held her the tightest of them all.
“Paige, I’ve missed you.”
“I’ve missed you too daddy.” Paige’s voice broke as they pulled away. She could feel tears welling up in the corner of her eyes. She turned away, praying they wouldn’t slip past. “Um, I…” She stared at Markus and Ben before closing the distance between them. She held a hand out for each of them.
They glanced past her before taking her hand as she spun around. “Mom, Daddy, Jenny…. I want you to meet Markus and Ben. My boyfriends.”
Her dad’s jaw almost hit the floor as he stared at her. Her mother smiled widely as she reached out to shake Markus’s hand.
“It’s so nice to meet you! Paige hasn’t told has about anyone special in her life for years! My names Sue, and that’s Bill. Jenny’s our youngest daughter. Natasha is at work right now, but she’ll be back for dinner. You three will stay for dinner won’t you?” She spoke so quickly as she turned her attention to Ben and shook his hand.
“We’d love to ma’am.” Ben smiled.
Bill stared at them, but he managed to extend his hand and shake each of their hands.
“Great!” Sue smiled as she turned on her heel. “Come on, you must be hungry let’s get you all a snack.”
Everyone followed Sue inside without saying a word. Jenny shot Paige a look, her eyebrows raised as she looked from her to both Markus and Ben. Paige just smiled.
“Are you three going to be staying with us?” Sue asked.
“We… thought we might stay at the hotel down the street.” Paige answered as they made their way into the kitchen. It was just the way it had been when she left. From the sugar bowl in the window sill to the yellow floor and the wood counter tops.
“That makes sense.” Her father spoke up as they sat down at the table. “So how exactly did you two meet my daughter?” His eyes narrowed as he stared at Markus and Ben.
“Bill.” Sue hissed.
“It’s alright,” Markus smiled he turned his attention to Paige father. “I’d have the same reaction if I were you, what with what we are and everything.”
Paige watched confusion contort her mother’s face. She couldn’t smell the gun powder or the holy water. As far as she realized they were just two nice men. Not the kind of men that could kill Paige in the blink of an eye.
Paige cleared her throat. “They’re hunters Mom…. And deer isn’t their normal target.” She watched the confusion turn to worry before speaking again. “You know when I called you guys and told you I was leaving my place and that if the cops came calling you should say you haven’t heard from me?”