Kianna and Her Three Alpha Wolves [Featherstone Pack] (Siren Publishing Ménage and More) (28 page)

A tear rolled down Devon’s cheek, and he bowed his head in thanks.

“But…you, my young friend, need to learn a few things. You have not been listening to your wolf, have you? You allowed your love for you brother to override you instincts, and that is not good. Your wolf is part of you, and when he is restless or unsettled about something or someone, he will let you know. Why did you not listen to him?”

“Cory is right about one thing. I was lucky when I left the ranch. I got to see the world and help a lot of people. I met so many different people from all over while he stayed at the ranch to help my dad. I think I felt guilty because of it, so when my wolf started to howl, I pushed him down.”

Duncan placed his hands on either side of Devon’s face and shook him gently. “Your wolf never lies to you. He howls and is restless when he knows something isn’t right.”

Clearing his throat, Teaghen nodded for both his brothers to step back.

“As your alphas, it is our job to make sure that when you make a mistake that you learn from it so that you never repeat it again. Dominic is on his way here to pick you up…”

Teaghen watched the young beta’s eyes widened at the mention on their toughest beta.

“Dominic is taking you and a few of the other younger beta out on a six-month-long training session. You will live in the forest, surviving only on what your wolf catches for you. Dominic is going to retrain you to listen to your wolf, and he’s not going to be easy on you. He knows what has happened here, and so as an ex-marine himself, he is not happy. Listen to him, and allow yourself to again hear your wolf.”

Just as Teaghen finished, there was a loud knock on the door. Duncan moved to open it, and Kianna’s eyes went wide when she saw the man standing in the doorway. He was well over six and a half feet tall with arms and legs the size of tree trunks. His chest was covered by a white T-shirt that looked as if, if he moved the wrong way, it would shred into a million pieces from the stress of his muscles. Long, dark-brown hair hanging to his shoulder only gave him more of that bad-boy look. He somehow looked familiar to her, but she couldn’t quite place him.

“Teaghen, Duncan, Alex, I’m glad you called me about this little shit.” The voice of the brute in front of her matched his size. It was deep and rich and made her want to stand at attention.

“Devon, you’ll go with Dominic and do exactly as he tells you. If we hear that you are giving him any difficulties, you will be banished from the pack. You are strong and can get through this, but never forget the mistake that you almost made here today. Next time, you will die.” Teaghen stepped back so that Dominic could come in a little more.

Smiling at her, Dominic winked and said, “And who is this beautiful angel standing in your kitchen, Alex?”

Clearing his throat, Alex took Kianna’s hand and pulled her into his arms, saying in a very possessive tone, “Kianna is our mate, Dominic, so keep your eyes to yourself.”

“Kia…? Oh my god, I can’t believe it’s you, sweetie.” Three very loud growls came from the men now surrounding her. Kianna looked a little more closely at the giant standing in front of her, and as recognition set in, she couldn’t help but go to him and give him a big hug, which, if they didn’t know both of them so well, would have cost Dominic his life.

“Oh, Dom…my, how you have grown! I can’t believe it’s actually you. The last time I saw you was in Mr. Pierce’s science class. You were the biggest nerd in the littlest body.” She stepped back, placed her hands on her hips, and said, “You seem to have
sprouted up
a lot over the past fifteen years.”

* * * *

Dominic laughed and shocked the shit out of his alphas because he very rarely even smiled let alone laughed out loud.

“Yeah, for the longest while, Dad thought that I was going to be the runt of the litter, but then my first year in college, I hooked up with this really great trainer, and the rest is history. But look at you, gorgeous, I knew you would be back, but to be the mate of these three morons is not what I expected.”

“Hey…” Duncan barked. “Show some respect.” His slight grin let them all know he was only joking.

“Yeah, well, you three just stole the love of my life before I even got a chance at her.” Dominic smiled and stood to hug her again.

“Hands off the mate, buddy.” Teaghen pulled a laughing Kianna out of their friend’s arms and into his.

“You just make sure you three take real good care of this lady, she’s special.” Reaching out, he stroked a very large finger down her cheek.

“She was the only girl in school who was ever nice to me. No matter how awkward I acted, she was always there with a smile.”

Teaghen kissed the top of their mate’s head and smiled. “We know how special she is and plan to spoil her rotten and treat her like the princess she is.”

Kianna’s rolled her eyes and guffawed. “I’m no princess, that’s for sure, but I won’t stop you all from spoiling me rotten.” She leaned back and kissed Teaghen’s chin since it was the only part she could reach. At least the one decent part she could reach.

* * * *

Dominic looked down at the little woman surrounded by his friends and sighed. He’d always had a little crush on Kianna, but as a teenager, he was too terrified to ask her out on a date. He knew she wasn’t his mate, but that hadn’t stopped him from dreaming a little.

Putting his game face back on, he turned to look down at the young beta seated at the kitchen table.

“Stand up, marine,” he barked. Walking close to Devon, he got right in his face and said, “You are mine for the next six months, young man. If you thought that basics for the marine were hard, you ain’t seen nothing yet. I’m going to make sure that you
never
allow yourself to stifle your wolf again. And I will also make sure that you remember to respect your alphas. They are good men and would do anything for a pack member. By the time I’m finished with you, you won’t ever question that again. Now head outside and get into the HUMMER that’s parked out front. Don’t say a word. No good-byes, just get your ass in the vehicle, now.”

Devon didn’t question the order, he just followed it. With a quick look at Kianna, he bowed his head and left.

“I’ll make sure he and the others are up to speed on what is expected of them. I’ll also make sure to let them know that as part of this pack, they have to learn to trust their alphas in all things. That’s something that we sometimes forget, and for that, I’m sorry. When we train the betas, we make sure they can protect the pack, but we have forgotten to help them to feel why it’s so important. When we grew up, the elders made sure that all of us were so attuned to our wolves that it was just natural to for us to hear them. Now we worry so much about outside influences and protecting our youngsters from some of the dangers that we haven’t given them the tools they need to protect their wolves. We are all born with the wolf instinct, but if we don’t listen to it, they tend to stop talking to us.”

Dominic turned and headed out to the HUMMER and the waiting Devon.

As Dominic glanced back at his alphas, his eyes were filled with regret. Regret of past mistakes and lost opportunities. His alphas knew his story and why he was so knowledgeable on this subject, but they would let him tell it in his own time, when he was ready. Until then he knew if he ever needed help from them, they would gladly give it.

* * * *

Alone, they were finally alone, and Kianna was scared shitless. Over the past few weeks, all of them had been living under a cloud of danger. Now that danger was gone. Would she still be enough for them? Damn straight, she would be. She had claimed them as much as they had claimed her, and it was now time to assert her claim. Her alpha woman wanted her mates. She smiled at the thought of how she had come to see herself as their alpha mate. Although she wasn’t a shifter when they had claimed her, they had given her something through their bite that had allowed her to have more wolf-like instincts. That was the only way that she could explain how she knew what to do to calm Jeff and Devon and how they had listened to her without question.

“What is that little smile on your face about, kitten?” Alex asked as he wrapped his arms around her from behind. His heat enveloped her immediately, and she leaned back against him.

“I was just thinking that ever since you claimed me, I mean with your bite and all, my reactions to things have been different,” she told him.

“What do you mean, different?”

Turning in his arms she lifted her arms and wrapped them around his neck, leaning her face against his chest.

“Somehow, I just
know
what to do in certain situations. Like with Jeff and then again with Devon. I knew exactly what to do to calm them, and I did it. My senses also seem a lot sharper, too. My hearing and sight have greatly increased. Is that all part of our mating?” she asked.

“I know the increased sight and hearing is part of it, as well as the slowing of the aging process, but I don’t know about the way you were able to calm Devon when we couldn’t. I think maybe that it is different for every mate, and with you being human, we aren’t exactly sure what to expect. Your mom developed some interesting qualities when she mated with Jeff and Sammy, but she’s the only one that I know of who has ever developed any extra abilities.”

Pushing away from him a little, Kianna smiled, saying, “I remember how much stronger she was after she married my dads. She also seemed to be able to tell whenever I was about to do something that I wasn’t supposed to do. It wasn’t just motherly instinct either, but something more. She was downright creepy sometimes.”

Teaghen and Duncan came to stand close beside her. Their combined scents were sending her body into overdrive, and they hadn’t even touched her yet.

“It’s time for us now, kitten,” Teaghen whispered as he ran his hand down the back of her head, turning her toward him for a long kiss.

“Yes, you are our mate, and we need to show you just how proud we are of you and the way you have handled yourself through all of the troubles over the last few weeks. You have shown us, beyond our wildest expectations, just how perfect you are for the three of us. Will you let us reclaim you, mate? Will you allow your alphas to bury themselves so deeply within your body that none of us knows where you begin and we end?” Duncan’s plea was so overwhelming it brought tears to her eyes.

“There is no need for tears, little one,” Alex said quietly. “We love you no matter what, and if you need more time to allow yourself to accept our reclaiming, then that is what we will give you. You are the heart of us all.”

Suddenly, Kianna pulled out of their arms and took a few steps away from them. “You will not be the only ones being reclaimed tonight, boys. I will show you just how
alpha female
I can be.” Turning quickly, she ran to the stairs and stopped halfway up. “Are you three going to just stand there like pups, or are you going to join me in the bedroom?”

She could hear the shuffling of the three men as they fought with each other to see who would get up the stairs first. Laughing, she entered their bedroom, closing the door behind her, and moved quickly across the room to stand and wait by the bed.

The door slammed open, and all three men came into the room in different states of undress. Teaghen had his shirt off and his pants undone, Duncan had his dress shirt open and stood in just his boxers and Alex, her darling Alex, was completely naked except for his white socks, as the men quickly divested themselves of the remaining clothes. Kianna stood by the bed and watched, her panties getting wetter with each bit of clothing they removed.

Because Alex only had his socks left to take off, he was the first one to reach her. But he didn’t pull her into his arms and start ravaging her body,
dammit
, he just took her hand and pulled her away from the bed. Dropping her hand, he started to circle her slowly, eyeing her from her toes to the top of her head.

“You have too many clothes on, mate,” he said. “Strip them off for us so that we can see your luscious body.” The tone of his command, and the fact that she could see that his incisors had already elongated, rippled across her body as if he had stroked her with his hand.