Kara's Wolves Read online

  Kara screamed in terror and Trevor leapt into the air, changing rapidly into wolf form before his paws hit the floor. The sight was frightening. Even though Kara knew he could do this, and had seen it happen even yesterday, she was still scared out of her mind and scrambled back toward the headboard, her naked body shivering with the sudden onslaught of adrenaline.

  Trevor circled the three beasts, his blond fur easily separating him from the two nearly black wolves and one gray one.

  Within moments another wolf burst into the room, a dark brown shade Kara realized was Justin when he spoke telepathically to her.

  “Kara, honey, get out of here. Try to get into the bathroom and lock the door. Now.

  Go.”

  Kara skirted the edge of the room as quickly as possible, but found herself trapped between a large bureau and the bed, keeping her from getting to the door to the master bath.

  Watching in horror, Kara grabbed the sheet from the bed and wrapped herself in it.

  The three newcomers were not just animals. They were people, men. Men who had come to fight. For her.

  Kara couldn’t even blink. Justin and Trevor circled the three snarling wolves, growls rumbling in their throat as they bared long, sharp teeth.

  The grey wolf made the first move, leaping into the air to attack Trevor. As they began to roll and bite at each other on the ground, one of the black wolves attempted the same maneuver on Justin, sending him across the room with the force of the attack.

  Kara screamed. How were these two men she was so incredibly attached to going to out-fight three lupines?

  Smashing herself flat against the wall, a rumbling noise jerked her attention to the door. Six more wolves entered the fray.

  Friends or foes?

  Kara had no idea which side they were on.

  Two of the enemy wolves turned toward the commotion, glanced at each other, and in a single bound jumped through the bedroom window. Kara’s heart pounded. She held the thin material of the sheet against her chest and watched as the newcomers joined Justin and Trevor, backing the lone black enemy into a corner across from Kara. The villain, seeing no way out of his plight, lowered himself on his front legs and put his head down on the ground. Even Kara recognized the sign of submission and breathed a sigh of relief.

  Finally, after several tense moments, Justin backed his brown furry self out of the circle and shifted into human form so fast Kara barely witnessed the transformation.

  “Kara, stay where you are. We’re going to escort this son of a bitch to the barn.” Justin grabbed a pair of jeans off the floor and quickly put them on. He then escorted seven growling angry animals and one sniveling beast out of the room.

  For a moment, Kara could do nothing at all. She stayed plastered to the wall, breathing heavily. Trying to slow her racing heartbeat.

  Finally, she slithered down the wall and sat on the floor clutching the sheet around her, shivering with fright.

  What the hell had she fallen into?

  *

  When Justin came through the door ten minutes later, he found Kara still crouched in the corner next to the armoire, shaking. Her head lurched up when he entered, huge blue eyes glaring in his direction.

  “You scared me. I thought… I thought maybe they were back. Was that Barry?” Kara’s voice was shaky.

  “Unfortunately no. Barry got away. That was Jake. One of Barry’s recruits.” Justin knelt in front of Kara and carefully reached out to her. “I’m sorry. I wish you didn’t have to deal with this whole sordid mess.”

  Kara’s chin ducked and her blond curls covered her face. Justin ached to ease her fear. He gently pulled Kara into his embrace and lifted her into his arms to carry her to the bathroom. He kicked the door shut with one foot and set her on the edge of the tub.

  “I’m running a bath for you. The water will help you relax.” I hope.

  “What are you going to do with him? Jake, I mean?” Kara looked up at Justin, her eyes filled with unanswered questions.

  “We let him go. He’s just some drunk. Sent him back to Barry with a clear message,” Justin announced matter of factly.

  “What will happen now?” Fear radiated off Kara’s skin. He watched her shiver beneath the sheet.

  Gently, Justin tugged the sheet away and helped Kara into the bath. Steam began to fill the room.

  “I don’t know.” What else could he say? The reality was he had no idea what to expect from Barry. But now he was certain Barry was the guy who had been following them. He would know his scent anywhere. He wouldn’t be able to get close to Kara again, not as long as Justin was living.

  “Hmm.” Kara lay back in the water and let the bubbles cover her body up to her neck.

  Justin moved behind her, tipped her scalp back into the water and then began to massage shampoo into her hair. Her expression gradually relaxed.

  “Trevor will take you to the library today. That’s what you need to do, right?”

  “Yes, I need to study. I have two more finals this week. One tomorrow and one Thursday. I have to go to the gym this afternoon for a few hours, too.” Kara bit her lower lip, her face scrunched clearly in thought.

  “Don’t worry about a thing. Trevor will be right there and I’ll only be a phone call away. I promise we’ll take care of this mess as soon as possible.” God, don’t let me be lying to her.

  “Okay, but I have a meet this weekend and…”

  “I know, hon. And you’ll be there. And you’ll do fantastic, and nothing will happen to you.” Justin tried to plaster a smile on his face as she stared up into his eyes disbelievingly.

  Leaning Kara’s head back into the water, Justin rinsed the soap from her scalp and then let her rest against the edge of the tub. “Do you need anything else?”

  “No, I’m fine, relatively speaking.” Kara chuckled softly, but the noise barely escaped her lips.

  “I know it’s a lot to take in all at once. Two men, wolves even, and a villain. More than you bargained for when you stepped into the bar the other night, huh?”

  “Definitely.” Kara ducked under the water and then came up to reach for the towel.

  “Better get to campus. I have to concentrate for just a few more days. And then… And then what?” She looked at him with questions in her gaze.

  “And then you move in here and we live happily ever after.” Justin smiled at her.

  “Riiight. And my family, my parents? What am I supposed to say to them when they show up Sunday? Mom, Dad, this is Justin, oh and this is Trevor. They’re my new lovers.

  I just met them last weekend, but don’t worry. I’m sure about this. I’ve decided to take on a new lifestyle, a permanent ménage so to speak. Thanks for raising me.” Justin cringed. “Doesn’t really sound like it’ll go over very well, explained in those words. Let’s just get through one day at a time for now and we’ll cross that bridge when we have to, okay?”

  Kara finished drying off in silence under the watchful eye of Justin. Her nipples stood at attention, begging him to go to her. His stare intensified. His cock jerked to attention.

  If she didn’t get dressed and get out the door now, she would end up back in bed and never get enough studying done today. Justin looked away to keep from grabbing her and changing the plans.

  With a soft sigh, Kara finished dressing and ran a comb through her tangled curls.

  The scent of shampoo filled the steamy bathroom and Justin inhaled deeply but didn’t move. He remained rooted to the vanity seat gripping the edges of the chair.

  Chapter Twelve

  Kara spent the last week of her college days holding her breath. Every noise made her jump. There hadn’t been any sign of Barry. Hopefully he’d given up the ruse and left the area. Thank goodness she was able to bury herself in her studies and get through her last two finals. Working out every afternoon took her mind off things also. Lying between two men who wore her out every night also helped her sleep. Nevertheless, by Saturday she was still a nervous wreck.

>   Luckily her roommates hadn’t asked too many questions and had seemed quite supportive of her new relationship with “Justin”. They had no idea there was a third man involved. Easier all the way around.

  “When are your parents going to arrive?” Justin asked at the breakfast table.

  “This morning, just in time for the meet. I’ll introduce you after.” Kara’s left leg was bouncing up and down under the table. She wouldn’t have even been aware of the nervous jittering if Trevor hadn’t reached over to grip her thigh. Tingles shot up her leg to moisten her pussy.

  How the hell can I still react so immediately to their touch?

  Justin and Trevor both gave a soft chuckle.

  “Can you two get out of my head for just a minute please? I have no privacy anymore.” Kara found herself repeatedly embarrassed about the things popping into her mind. And the “things” were increasing in frequency and boldness. Sex and its many, many facets seemed to consume her thoughts.

  “Babe, we don’t want to get out of your pretty little head. Half of my good ideas in bed come directly from you.” Trevor leaned in closer and kissed Kara on the cheek.

  “You’ll get used to it,” Justin added. “Listen, about your parents… Trevor and I were talking, and we think it would be easier on you if you just introduce one of us as your boyfriend… For now.” Justin looked up at Kara smiling.

  One of them? She released a long relieved exhale. “That would be helpful, but which one of you do you propose I choose?”

  “We thought of that, too,” Trevor stated from the other side of Kara. “So we drew straws, so to speak… And I lost.”

  Kara stared into his eyes. Was he disappointed? Wait a minute… She cleared her throat and narrowed her eyes at him. “Does that mean you get to be the roommate or you get to meet the parents?”

  Both men laughed and Justin leaned in, twisted Kara’s face toward his and gave her a long soft kiss. “I’m the boyfriend. And we would both be proud to meet your parents, honey.”

  “As long as we’re creating such a ruse, would you mind not mentioning that someone is after us? I don’t need my parents worrying about that on top of everything else.”

  “Of course. Now get a move on and go put that slinky little piece of fabric you call a leotard on so we can get down to the gym and watch you attempt death defying acts for the last time.”

  Kara was in love. Tears welled up in her eyes at the realization they had so painstakingly considered her predicament when it came to her parents. There was no way in the world they were ready to hear their only child was involved with two men.

  As for the two men in question, Kara dreaded telling them there was no way in hell she was entirely giving up gymnastics today.

  After a quick change from the T-shirt Kara had slept in, she piled her thick hair up in a ponytail, pinned all the loose strands down with barrettes and sprayed her entire head with a stiff hairspray to keep it all in place. She bounded back into the foyer dragging her gym bag and yanking on her jacket.

  “Ready?” She was surprised to see both men standing at the door.

  “Yep, let’s go.” Justin stepped outside and waited for the others to pass before pulling the door closed behind him.

  “You do realize I’m not giving up this sport entirely, right? It’s in my blood. It’s part of who I am.”

  Both men froze in their spots and turned to look at her.

  “Guys, come on. Be realistic. Did you actually believe after today I wouldn’t participate in gymnastics ever again?”

  They both nodded, swallowing hard in unison.

  “Maybe I could teach a class, work with children. Or, maybe I could train for the Olympics…” Kara kept walking, extremely aware the two men completely and totally bonded to her were not moving, just continued to stand in the same spot staring at her backside. She sauntered forward for several steps with a sly grin on her face before turning back to throw over her shoulder, “Just kidding. About the Olympics, anyway.” Her own raucous laughter filled her ears as she continued toward the truck.

  Scurrying behind her brought the two hunks back to her side.

  “Don’t scare us like that, hon.” Justin pulled her closer.

  “Yeah, yeah. You know you would support whatever I decided. You can’t fool me for a minute. Just get in the truck and close your mouths. Flies are getting in.” Kara just shook her head and smiled to herself. For all their moaning and groaning about her “death defying acts of lunacy” in the gym, she knew deep down they were true softies when it came to her.

  They settled into the cab, Kara as usual between Justin and Trevor.

  Justin cleared his throat. “By the way, we’re taking you to my parents’ house tonight.”

  “What? Your parents’? Isn’t one set of parents enough for the day?” Butterflies fluttered in Kara’s stomach. She wasn’t sure she was ready to meet Justin’s parents.

  “They’re going to love you. Nothing to worry about. And … you don’t even have to choose one of us.” Justin grinned down at her and grabbed her hand to pull it into his lap.

  “It’ll be safer there. There’re a lot of people around all the time to help us protect you while we figure out what the deal is with this Barry character. So far I can’t find anyone who knows him.”

  * * * *

  “Thank God this is the last time we have to watch Kara flying through the air like a monkey.” Trevor still could barely stomach watching this sport even after a week of sitting through Kara’s practices. No matter how many explanations he got, he couldn’t begin to understand everything she did and he felt nauseous just looking. His fingers were stiff from holding on to the arms of the seat.

  “I’m not so sure about that, Trev. I don’t think she was kidding around. She may want to stay with the sport just to stay in shape. She may even want to coach kids or something.” Justin didn’t turn his head to look at Trevor. Which wasn’t shocking. It was hard for either of them to take their eyes off Kara.

  “So we tell her ‘no’.” Trevor gritted his teeth as Kara flung herself from the low bar to the high bar like a rubber band.

  “Right. You can try if you want, but I don’t think our mate is quite so submissive out of bed. And, furthermore, I don’t think I would even want to be mated to a woman who couldn’t stand up to me with a little backbone.” Justin glanced at Trevor.

  “You’re right, of course.”

  Finished on the uneven bars, Kara moved on to the balance beam. Trevor sucked in another breath and held it. The only thing worse than the bars was the beam. He hated the idea of his sexy cute little mate slipping and slamming her hot pussy down over a four inch hunk of wood. As she went to dismount, Trevor actually squeezed his eyes shut for a few seconds to avoid witnessing the somersault thing she was going to do in the air before landing. Hopefully on her feet. He only opened them when Justin began clapping beside him.

  “How many more events?” Trevor couldn’t wait to get out of here.

  “Two. Floor and vault. Don’t you have this memorized yet? Dude, you sat through three practices this week.” Justin chuckled. “Weren’t you paying attention? You were supposed to be watching her,” he kidded.

  “Oh I was watching her all right.” He mumbled under his breath. “Watching her tight ass, firm thighs, and hard tits poking through the bathing suit thing she calls a ‘leo’.” Trevor had to make a fist with both hands to keep from making air quotes and looking like a moron. “Whatever she did in the leo is all a blur.” Trevor sat in silence watching the rest of the events. Luckily the vault was over so fast you could miss it if you blinked and the floor didn’t involve any harmful apparatus meant to seriously injure or kill someone.

  Finally, the meet finally came to an end and the officials handed out awards.

  Whatever all those numbers meant, Kara seemed to do well, medaling in two events.

  Trevor followed Justin down to the floor to wait for Kara and meet her parents. He wasn’t at all comfortable with the ar
rangement, the one making him simply the roommate of the boyfriend, but under the circumstances it did seem like the best idea.

  “Justin. Trevor. Over here.” Kara was calling to them through the crowd, but her five-foot stature made it difficult to see her and they were moving against the flow of traffic—people trying to leave the stadium, not head down to the floor.

  “Ah, there she is.” Justin pointed to her and Trevor tagged behind feeling like a third wheel.

  Kara reached for Justin’s arm and squeezed tight while Trevor watched in a jealous state. “Mom. Dad. This is Justin.”

  Trevor hung back a few steps while Kara made introductions. Justin, ever the gentleman, acted as though he had taken a class in “meeting the parents”. “Nice to meet you sir, ma’am.” Justin shook Kara’s dad’s hand and nodded at her mom.

  “James Shepherd. A pleasure,” her father began. “We’ve heard so much about you, too. Glad to finally meet you.”

  Heard so much about you? When had Kara had the time or opportunity to tell her parents about Justin?

  “This is my wife, Patsy.” Kara’s dad reached to pull his wife up beside him. Trevor didn’t miss the look of affection the man had for his wife. True love. Not something Trevor had often seen among humans.

  “And you must be Trevor,” her father continued, reaching to shake Trevor’s hand as well.

  Huh? Trevor nearly choked on his response. Why does her dad know about me?

  “Yes, I’m Justin’s roommate.” Who did her parent’s think he was exactly?

  “Right.” Her father smiled conspiratorially. “Do you three have time for a late lunch before we head back to Seattle?”

  “That would be great, Dad. Is it okay with you two?” Kara looked at the men, turning so her parents couldn’t see her face, and made a confused expression.

  “What’s up with your dad? He seems to know something,” Trevor communicated mentally.

  “I have no idea. I’m just as confused as you.” Kara nodded in the direction of the door. “Shall we go then?”

  As the three walked outside, Kara’s mom grabbed her daughter’s arm and pulled her in tight for a hug. “You look fantastic, sweetheart.” Then she continued under her breath,