“It’s a vicious circle,” Jonas agreed.
“I’ll keep that in mind,” Janis responded dryly.
* * * *
Janis shooed everyone out of the kitchen. Sable had cooked an excellent meal, grilled venison and mashed potatoes. It was only fair that she clean up while the devoted parents took care of her nephews. She didn’t mind. In reality she wanted a little time alone.
Coming home had become an overwhelming experience. She hadn’t expected such strong feelings of jealousy to overtake her. It seemed that being with Wade and Noah had only made things worse. Now that she knew what it felt like to be with two men that she really desired, she wanted more. She wanted what Sable had, men who loved her and a family of her own.
She’d always wondered how Jude dealt with the jealousy issue. After all, he married Sable first. But seeing Wade and Noah together made her realize that men who were secure in themselves and their partner wouldn’t have those issues.
Her heart sank. It might be time to accept the fact that she’d never have that kind of relationship. That she might not have a relationship at all. At least she had her work and classes. And she could still have a child. Maybe she would adopt a baby one day.
Janis put the last of the flatware in the dishwasher and stood. She glanced out the small window over the sink, and her eyes went wide.
Two pairs of golden eyes stared back at her. A full moon spotlighted the scene. Wolves.
She knew what a wolf looked like. A pack had been relocated and housed at the Black Wolf refuge for several years before wolves were taken off the Endangered Species List. Then the men, her brothers among them, declared open season and hunted the pack to extinction. There hadn’t been a wolf sighting in the area for many months. Where had these animals come from?
They held her gaze for a few heart-pounding seconds, then heads hanging low, the animals trotted off.
Janis’s parents had been killed by wolves when she and her brothers were children. They’d been raised by their paternal grandparents, who had instilled a fierce hatred of the animals in all three of them. She screamed for her brothers.
They came running, Sable behind them. Jude reached her first. He grabbed her by the shoulders. “What the hell happened, Janis?”
“Wolves,” she whispered. She pointed to the window with a shaky hand.
Jude looked out the window. “There’s nothing there.”
“There are no wolves around here anymore,” Jonas added.
“You probably saw wild dogs. Maybe a coyote.” Jude rubbed her back. “You’ve been living in the city too long. You’re not used to having animals around anymore.”
“I know what I saw.” She hugged her middle to calm herself.
Jude sighed. “All right, we’ll take a look.”
“You better take your rifle,” Janis warned him.
“Right.” Jude turned to Jonas. “I’ll grab my rifle and meet you out front.
“Don’t use it unless you have to, Jude.” Sable looked anxious.
Janis stared at her. She had the distinct impression Sable was more worried about the wolves than the men.
* * * *
A real feeling of dread hung over Sable as she followed her husbands outside. Janis grew up here. She knew what a wolf looked like. And the scent was wrong. What if it wasn’t just a timber wolf that wondered onto their property? If Malcolm had come here in wolf form, it could only mean trouble.
The men got down on their knees and inspected the ground outside the kitchen window.
Jude looked up at her. “Whatever it was didn’t leave prints. They walked on the stones around the flower beds.”
Jonas stood and put his arms around her. “We’ll look around the house and make sure everything’s okay.”
Sable hugged him. “Be careful. Only shoot to defend yourself. It could have been Malcolm.”
Jude stood, and the men framed her between them. Jude looked doubtful. “What would Malcolm be doing here at this time of night?”
“And Janis says she saw two of them. Whatever they were,” Jonas added.
“I know it’s not likely but please be careful.” Their friend and neighbor, Malcolm Connor, was the only other wolf-shifter alive, besides herself. They had both survived the massacre of their people and only recently found each other. At first Sable thought Malcolm would be her mate, but he fell in love with a human female. He and Karin were happy together, and they had a child.
Until recently her husbands had been enemies with Malcolm. Now they accepted him as family. His half-Lycan son would grow up with Max and Sam. The children wouldn’t be alone in the human world. If anything happened to him…
“Stay here,” Jude told her. “We’ll be right back.”
Sable didn’t move until they returned. She breathed a sigh of relief when they told her they hadn’t seen anything.
Chapter Seven
Noah led the way back to the sheltered clearing where they’d left their clothes. They shifted to human form, and he dug through the leaves he’d used to cover their garments. “We should have been more careful. I didn’t want anyone to see us. Now they’ll be keeping a closer eye on the grounds.”
Wade shrugged. “What could we do? We needed to get close enough to verify the scent was hers and not some feral animal. What do you think? Are you sure she’s one of ours?”
“I’d stake my life on it.” Her distinctive Lycan scent, unnoticeable to humans, convinced him. And they’d caught a glimpse of her through a window. No question the woman was a she-wolf, a real beauty, even better-looking in person.
“So you agree with the Alpha that she belongs with us?” Wade asked, an uncertain tone in his voice.
“I don’t know. I don’t like breaking up a family. It doesn’t feel right to me.”
“I’ve been thinking the same thing. And when I smelled Janis and saw her inside the house it made it worse.”
“I never expected her to be here. It complicates things. One more person we have to worry about.”
“Noah, when I saw her, I couldn’t help staring. I wanted to reach out and touch her. I’ve been hard ever since.” Wade wrapped his fingers around his erection.
“You’re acting like a young pup.” Noah scolded Wade, but he felt the same.
Seeing Janis again brought back sweet memories of the night they spent together and a longing to recapture those feelings.
It sounded like Wade felt the same. Bedding Janis may have started out as part of a plan to get information, but it ended up adding a whole new dimension to their relationship.
He’d been arrogant enough to think he was master of his own destiny, but maybe the Gods had other plans. They’d put a woman in his path who turned him hard with one toss of her golden locks. But why a human woman? Are we meant to mix our bloodlines after all? It didn’t matter now. If Janis knew what they were about to do, she would despise them. And they couldn’t let their personal feelings interfere with their duty to the pack. “This fascination with a human female is going to get us into serious trouble.”
Wade stood abruptly. His stiff posture gave away his anger. “Her name is Janis. Are you saying you don’t have feelings for her?
Noah sighed. Wade had deep emotions. That’s why Noah had fallen in love with him in the first place. He’d always told Wade that he could confide anything to him. How could he expect his lover to bury those feelings now? “I do care for Janis. But our feelings don’t matter, Wade. She’s a human, not one of us. And if she ever found out what we’re doing, she’d hate us.”
Noah stood and squeezed Wade’s muscled shoulder. He fumbled for the right words. “We made a mistake. Got too caught up in the moment. We had sex. That’s all.” Who was he trying to convince? Wade or himself? Underneath the lust he felt for Janis were feelings of affection and protectiveness. Things a wolf felt for his mate. It confused him. He’d never wanted or needed a woman before.
Wade broke into his thoughts. “Whatever I feel doesn’t take away from what I have with you. It only adds to it.”
Noah smiled at him. “I don’t doubt your commitment to me. I just want us to get through this safely and go home. For good or bad, we cast our lot with the Alpha. That means no consorting with the enemy. We stick to business, and we stick with our own kind.”
“I know. We already lost one home. I don’t want to lose another.”
“Good, then we’re in agreement.” A woman, especially a human, would only complicate their lives. He and Wade shared the lust and the emotion without the perplexing entanglements that a woman always brought to a relationship. Besides Wade knew him better than he knew himself. No woman could satisfy him more, physically or emotionally.
Even now, just looking at Wade’s hard muscular body in the moonlight made him salivate. The Lycan looked like a sex god. Noah focused on the light dusting of dark hair that covered Wade’s pecs. He licked his lips, and his eyes burned a path down the treasure trail that led to Wade’s penis.
Wade’s cock grew thicker and harder under his scrutiny, and the foreskin rolled back exposing the swollen helmet head. Noah swallowed hard when Wade slid a hand between his thighs and rolled his balls in his palm.
Wade’s eyes were heavily hooded with desire. The intensity of his gaze made Noah’s pulse quicken. His partner
started to jack off, slow and easy.
Noah reached down and
took
his
own
cock
in
hand
. Moisture gathered at the tip, and he spread it over the mushroom head with his thumb. He stroked his dick, matching his tempo with Wade’s lazy rhythm.
Wade moaned, and Noah tasted blood. Without realizing it, he’d bitten through his bottom lip. His cock throbbed, and his hand moved with a will of its own, pumping harder and faster from base to tip. His hips bucked as he pushed against his fist. Through glazed eyes he watched Wade do the same.
Wade worked his cock faster. His hand was a blur. He let out a growl and then a howl of release.
Noah felt on the verge of his own release. Perspiration poured down his body. His stomach clenched, and his breathing turned coarse and ragged. His cock writhed in his fist like a hot, living thing, driving his lust higher. A primal drumbeat pounded in his head.
He imagined himself gripping Wade’s hips and thrusting deep inside his ass. His balls tightened as he relinquished control. A white hot light burned behind his eyelids. Noah groaned with sweet satisfaction and called out Wade’s name.
Streams of hot cum spurted
over his hand and belly
.
Noah sank to the dirt, closed his eyes, and lay on his back, panting softly. In a moment Wade’s warm breath caressed his neck. Wade kissed his throat and licked a path to his ear.
“I love you, Noah,” he whispered. “I hope you know that.”
“I do, and I feel the same. The sooner we get back home, and back to our lives, the better.”
“Good.” Wade squeezed his thigh. “We’ll get through this. Do you have a plan? It won’t be easy getting the she-wolf out. The men are always around her. And now there’s Janis to worry about.”
Noah had been thinking the same thing. But there were horses and other animals on the ranch. Surely the men took care of them while Sable stayed inside with the babies. “I’m hoping an opportunity presents itself where the men are working the ranch. And if it doesn’t, well, I think we can subdue two human men with no problem. It’s the woman I’m concerned about. A she-wolf will fight to the death for her cubs.”
“We have to drug her,” Wade said. “There’s no way around it. Maybe the men and Janis as well. I don’t want to hurt them.”
“And you think I do? What do you take me for? This whole thing stinks. I’ve no love for humans, but I’m beginning to think some of our own are worse.
“The Alpha?”
“Was never like this before. He’s changed. I think
Roy
’s poisoned him against everyone.”
“That wouldn’t have happened if I hadn’t come between you.”
“It’s not your fault. He couldn’t give me what I needed. And he could have joined with us. He chose not to. That’s all water under the bridge now. It is what it is.” Noah sighed. “We watch and wait until the right time presents itself.”
“I think we should take the babies with us,” Wade said.
“Her whelps weren’t included in the plans. The Alpha won’t be happy.”