Melinda's Wolves Read online

  “Did you speak to her while you were at your condo this afternoon?” Keegan asked.

  Melinda nodded. “She was there when I arrived. She’s often exactly where she’s needed before the other person is even aware. It happens to me also. But lately I’ve been distracted. It’s obvious now why.”

  “Wasn’t she at Miles’s house waiting on him and Griffen and Rebecca when they met?” Trace asked.

  Melinda giggled. “She was. And she read them the riot act.”

  “For what?” Keegan leaned into her line of vision.

  “She can be a meddler when she feels the need. She thought the spirits were angry with the three of them for not consummating the claiming quicker—not that they had an opportunity before that moment.”

  “Not to mention the fact that Rebecca is human and had no understanding of what was happening,” Trace added.

  “Exactly.”

  Keegan met her gaze. “So she laid into you for not letting us claim you yet?” His smile grew wide.

  “Sort of. But don’t get a big head. She’s not worried about your ego, stud. She’s concerned with the direction of our future as a whole, not yours and mine.”

  “I see.” He obviously fought to stop grinning. “But in order to protect the sanctity of the universe, we need to claim you.”

  She rolled her eyes. “Whatever. I’m concerned about the unrest she speaks of. And I’d like to shift and head up the mountain—see what I can feel.”

  “Okay, baby. We’ll do it.” Trace turned left at the next turn and made his way farther into the hills, away from the reservation.

  They were closer to Keegan’s house, and that area was the best area to explore at a higher elevation anyway.

  “I know just the spot,” Keegan added, giving Trace directions. “A place we can park, shift, and run where no humans will be hiking.”

  There were many such locations in the area. That was one of the reasons so many packs of shifters—both Native American and others—lived in this section of Montana. The freedom to run through the dense forest and difficult terrain of the more uninhabitable sides of the mountains was perfect for their kind and kept them secret from humans.

  When Trace pulled off the main road onto a dirt lane, Melinda got butterflies in her stomach. She hadn’t realized what a big deal it was to shift and run with her mates for the first time. She’d only been thinking about getting to the peak and therefore closer to the spirits where she could meditate for a while, at one with nature.

  As the truck came to a stop, she felt invigorated in a new way.

  They all three jumped down from the cab, and Melinda circled to the bed of the truck. Her heart pounded with the need to shift. She could feel the itch under her skin. Even though she hadn’t let these two men who were meant to be with her for the rest of her life claim her completely yet, they were closer to her than anyone she’d ever met.

  They already held a piece of her heart, even if they didn’t know it. She felt a connection to them that went deeper than anything. And that connection would grow every day through thick and thin.

  Her certainty was a personal relief. Her chat with Mimi had made her see things through new lenses.

  Keegan grabbed her hand as she dropped her flip flops into the bed of the truck and unbuttoned her jeans. He tugged her close and took her lips in a brief, but heated kiss. A smile lit his face. “Something’s different about you.”

  “I’m excited to shift and run. I haven’t run in a few weeks. And…I can’t wait to see you both in your natural form.”

  Keegan lifted her shirt over her head and dropped it in the growing pile with his shirt and shoes and Trace’s. When he reached down to lower her zipper, an electric current raced through her body. He met and held her gaze while his fingers reached unnecessarily lower, stroking over her sex through the denim. “You’re wet.”

  “How do you know?” she croaked, every nerve ending on fire with need.

  “I can feel your heat through the layers. I can smell your arousal as if you were spread out naked in front of my face.”

  She swallowed, her eyes fluttering as his fingers worked her to a frenzy, zipping quicker across her crotch, pressing on the seam of her jeans nestled between her lower lips. She let her head fall back, not surprised when it landed against Trace’s bare shoulder.

  Trace reached around to cup her breasts, still contained in the tight lace of her bra. He popped the front clasp easily, making her gasp and grab his forearms as the pressure in her tight chest released. Her bra fell away. “Trace…”

  “Baby, you’re the singularly sexiest creature on Earth.”

  Keegan’s thumb pressed on her clit as he cupped her, rubbing, stroking, driving her insane with want. He had her on her toes, almost lifting her off the ground with his pressure.

  Her legs shook. “God. I’m so close…”

  “And it’s so fucking hot watching you come.” Keegan kneeled in front of her.

  She might have collapsed at the tug on her jeans, the slow torture as he lowered them down her legs and pulled them off, lifting her feet one at a time. Luckily, Trace held her upright, both hands gripping her breasts, flattening her against his chest.

  And then she was naked. Before she took another breath, Keegan lifted her legs and set them over his shoulders.

  Her shock made her tip her face down and grab his head. “Keegan,” she squealed. She dug her fingers into his soft blond hair, dislodging the band holding it back.

  Her voice was cut off, the last syllable at a higher pitch as his mouth surrounded her pussy, licking and sucking and devouring her so fast she lost all thought. Her legs shot out straight as Trace pinched her nipples and then rolled them between his fingers and thumbs.

  Keegan attacked her clit with his mouth, suckling the swollen nub hard enough to be almost too much. His hands grabbed her ass and squeezed her cheeks firmly.

  The orgasm slammed through her so fast she didn’t have a chance to stop it. And she didn’t want to.

  Keegan continued to suck and lick and taste as she came down from her high.

  She needed more. The feeling had multiplied since last night and this morning, turning into more of an urgent need than a surface desire to mate. Her butt cheeks relaxed in Keegan’s hands, separating of their own accord, pleading with every fiber to let her mates finish the claiming.

  It was right.

  Just as she was about to voice her need, Trace lifted her off Keegan’s shoulders and helped settle her feet on the ground.

  She heaved for oxygen as the men released her and stripped off the rest of their clothing. They didn’t take their gazes off her partially-sated body, and she swallowed through the sexual energy as their cocks emerged, hard and standing at attention.

  She reached out toward Keegan, the closest man to her hand.

  But he surprised her by jumping out of her reach.

  Trace kissed her temple, cupping her face from behind and letting one finger stray across her cheek as he met her gaze. “We aren’t claiming you against the back of the truck in the middle of nowhere.”

  His words shocked her. How could they deny her?

  Trace chuckled. “Don’t look at me like that. It’s the hardest thing I’ve ever had to say in my life. Believe me, I’d like nothing better than to bend you over and take what’s mine. But you aren’t ready.”

  “I’m ready,” she blurted, unfiltered.

  “Physically, I mean. Your pussy is tight. Your ass will be so much tighter. Let’s run together first, and then we’ll work on stretching your tight hole open for a while back at the house. A relaxed environment where you can comfortably let yourself go.”

  She nodded, unable to speak. It was an oxymoron to mention stretching her tight rear hole and comfortable in the same sentence. But she also recognized the importance of Trace’s words. And it warmed her to know her mates cared enough to ease her discomfort in this matter.

  A noise in front of her made her jerk her gaze to find Keegan midshift. A few more seconds and he stood before her completely transformed into the most gorgeous blond wolf she’d ever seen. Perhaps the largest also. He blinked, his deep blue eyes the same shade as they were in human form.

  Trace released her to shift at her back as she spun around to watch his transformation. Together, in human form, her mates were amazing. Next to each other in wolf form, they were spectacular.

  Trace was a deep brown, his fur so soft it begged her to bury her hands in it and hug him against her. His eyes matched his fur. Somehow she resisted the urge to burrow her hands in his coat and closed her eyes to let the change wash over her.

  The second her paws hit the ground, she gave a short howl she hoped expressed her excitement.

  “Heading to the peak then, baby?” Trace communicated.

  She’d never been so glad for the mental connection lupines had in wolf form than she was right then. “Yes. I’ll lead.” She knew that would shock them enough to give her a head start. And she was right. Moments later, they snarled behind her as she raced between the pine trees, bounding over logs and low-lying shrubbery.

  She expanded her lungs, not caring a bit how tired she might get. She needed this. Needed the connection with nature. The quiet time she would demand to relax and let her guard down with the universe, inviting the spirits in to quiet her soul and calm her heart.

  It didn’t take long for her mates to pass her, pawing at her playfully but remaining silent in her head as though they recognized her need to be with herself.

  This side of the mountain was steep, the terrain often difficult. A few times they had to double back and change their route enough to navigate higher.

  When they reached about halfway to the summit, Melinda stopped. An unknown force pushed her to take notice. She lifted her head and scanned the area. Her men continued forward, temporarily unaware of her sudden hesitation.

  As they rounded a bend ahead of her, out of sight, but not so far that she felt threatened, it happened.

  She was prepared. She’d foreseen this scenario. Many times, if she was honest. She’d woken in the night even in her teens, startled from a dream whose exact depiction was this moment.

  She’d always thought the dream occurred at the top of the mountain. But that wasn’t where she was now. An innocent mistake since spirit sightings were nearly exclusively reported near the summit.

  As she twisted her neck to the right, she knew what she would find.

  And there it was, glorious in its way—the dark shadowy figure, elusive enough to not conform to any specific shape. It was like a smoky illusion. Transparent, but also not. Indescribable. Gorgeous. Calming while making her heart race at the same time. What was the spirit doing so low on the mountainside?

  Most beings, including her own pack members, would be frightened by the presence. Inevitably that fear probably also caused the spirit to disintegrate almost as fast as it appeared.

  But Melinda was not most people. She was as intrigued as she was fearful. She stepped forward hesitantly, hoping the smoke would gather into a more discernable form. It drew in on itself, gathering as though perhaps organizing, but then it stopped, shimmering in the afternoon light, but seemingly unwilling to reveal more. As if it had coherent thought and found Melinda not yet worthy of more divulging information.

  Melinda instinctively pawed at the ground and lowered her head, an indication of her acceptance that the spirit before her deserved reverence and respect. It meant her no harm. It was a guide.

  The dark smoke inched forward, stopping her breath.

  Uncertainty about what might happen if it overcame her made her shudder, but she remained still, bowed toward the ground in submission. She knew with all her soul she was not in danger. She would never be in danger as long as she heeded the nudging of the spirits around her.

  As the shadowy figure moved closer, shrinking in size until it almost resembled a living being, her heartrate slowed. Her calm increased. She was on the right path.

  There was no communication with the spirit, at least not verbal, neither out loud nor telepathically, and yet she sensed it speaking to her soul in a way that could not be denied.

  She knew with dead certainty she would finish her mating with all haste. It was designed by the universe. It was not hers to deny. The mating would make her whole. It would fill her heart to overflowing. It would protect her in turbulent times.

  And the shiver that took over her form was from the knowledge there indeed would be turbulence in her future. Perhaps in the future of her entire pack.

  Her strength would get her through. Her strength would carry many members of her tribe to the other side.

  She bowed her head lower, closing her eyes in assent, reaching out with her mind to assure the spirit she understood and would obey the call of nature.

  When she blinked her eyes open, it was to the rustle of leaves some distance in front of her. She watched as the shadowy figure immediately collapsed in on itself, disappearing in a fraction of a second as though sucked back into a jar at her feet.

  “Melinda?” The voice was Trace’s. It came to her through their connection.

  She lifted her gaze to meet his as he came back around the bend. “I’m done. We can return now.”

  He paused, Keegan coming up behind him and circling to his side. Both their heads were cocked in confusion.

  “Are you sure?” Keegan asked. “I thought you wanted to go to the summit. Didn’t you need to reach the peak to communicate with the spirits?”

  She warmed deep inside to hear him ask that question with no judgment. “Apparently that wasn’t necessary. I’ve seen what I needed to see right here. I know what my immediate path is.”

  “And?” Trace encouraged.

  “Let’s get back to Keegan’s. We have a mating to finish.”

  Chapter Thirteen

  It was late afternoon when Trace pulled up to the house. He was nervous and excited at the same time. Whatever happened to his mate on the side of the mountain had been monumental. And he didn’t want to question it.

  She would share with them when it was time.

  Hell, she hadn’t even suggested stopping to see Rebecca and the baby. That was telling.

  For now, he would relax in the knowledge that something had propelled her to accept this arrangement with her entire soul. He and Keegan needed to tame their respective cocks and work their sweet mate into such a frenzy of lust that she relaxed under their hands and mouths enough to let them both in.

  He had no doubt they would succeed. But his cock was dangerously close to exploding inside his jeans before they ever started.

  “We should make dinner,” Keegan announced as they entered the house.

  Melinda grabbed his arm and Trace’s on her other side. “We can eat later. It’s time to consummate this mating.”

  Her words held a definitive urgency.

  Trace twisted to look at her as he shut the door. “Such an abrupt change of heart.” He pulled her into his embrace and took her lips before she could respond.

  She moaned against his lips. He swallowed the sound, loving the vibration of her vocal chords against his tongue. Her tone was filled with lust. A lust that finally matched what he felt—what he knew Keegan also endured.

  Melinda reached for Trace’s shirt as he kissed her, tugging at the material as though a flame had been lit under her and she was suddenly in great need of fulfillment.

  She broke the kiss first, gasping for air. “Oh my God. It’s consuming me.” She stepped back, pulling off her shirt and dropping it on the floor without a care. She kicked off her shoes.

  Trace watched as her fingers shook, making it difficult for her to lower the zipper on her jeans. She managed and wiggled out of them in record time.

  He glanced past her to find Keegan already naked. Keegan lifted Melinda easily in his arms and carried her through the house in fewer strides than seemed logical.

  Trace dropped the rest of his own clothes and followed.

  When they reached the bedroom, Keegan tossed her sexy ass on the bed. “Get on your hands and knees, hon, facing away from me.”

  She didn’t hesitate.

  The air in the room was electrified as she obeyed.

  Trace had never seen anything more beautiful than his mate on her hands and knees, her thighs open several inches, her head twisted back to look at them over her shoulder.

  When she sucked her bottom lip between her teeth, he almost came.

  Trace opened the bedside table drawer and grabbed the lube.

  Melinda flinched when he popped it open. She turned her head so she no longer faced him.

  Trace set one hand on her ass and molded the soft flesh.

  “Can’t we just do it without all the fanfare?” she whispered.

  Trace stared at her tight rear hole and closed his eyes for a second. As much as he would love to take her advice, there was no way he and Keegan wanted to cause her any pain. “No, baby. We need to stretch you first. Your body is already aligning with ours. Nature will relax your tight hole to accommodate us, but you aren’t used to anything this size passing through here.” He tapped her puckered opening. “I don’t want to hurt you.”

  She rocked forward, drawing her knees closer together.

  Trace reached between her thighs and nudged them. “Open for me, baby. Wider.” He stroked one finger through her folds as she complied. “So wet.”

  She moaned softly.

  Trace let a generous amount of the lube land on her crack and set the tube aside. Stroking her outer lips enough to help calm her, he circled her tight bud with one finger of his other hand.

  He lined his pinky up with her hole. It was small, but it looked enormous compared to the tightness of Melinda’s rear. As he pressed the one finger into her, she arched her back. “Relax your muscles, baby. Let me work you open.”

  Keegan set a hand on one cheek, holding her open to their view.

  Melinda stiffened. “God, that’s so intimate. I can’t wrap my head around it.”

  “I know, hon. You’ll get used to it. We’re taking it as slow as possible.” Keegan nudged Trace’s hand.

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