Morgan (8 page)

“I was in a few foster homes over the years, but was placed in a psychiatric hospital when I was sixteen and was there for six years. I met my husbands only a few weeks after escaping.” Bethany released her hand and softly wiped a tear from Morgan’s face. “I’m happy now, that’s all that matters.”

“You were all alone.” Morgan’s heart hurt for the loneliness she’d sensed when her sister spoke of her life. Morgan had been happy, had a family, a life. Bethany had had nothing.

“You have nothing to feel guilty about, Morgan. You have found Bethany now, and you can see she is happy. You will be just as happy with your men,” Shana said.

“
But I do feel guilty.
” Bethany wiped away another of her tears as Morgan turned to look at Shana. “Who are ‘my men’? And how did you know I felt guilty?”

“She smelled it on you,” Melanie said. “Bethany probably did, too. And you know very well who ‘
your men
’ are.”

Morgan opened her mouth to object to Melanie’s taunt, but found she couldn’t deny it. She did know exactly who her men were. “
But I don
’t even know them.”

“That’s why Melanie and Shana are here to talk to you,” Bethany said. “Melanie and I know how confusing it is to find yourself inexplicably attracted to more than one man, men you’ve only just met.”

“I wanted to meet Bethany’s sister, too,” Melanie said, bouncing up and down in her seat.

“We are here to answer all your questions in regards to why you’ve been brought here, your feelings for the Harvey brothers, and to tell you more about ourselves,” Shana said. She looked at Melanie and smiled indulgently. She was so sweet, Morgan wasn’t surprised no one could get angry at her.

“I know why I was brought here. I’m being protected from a kidnapper,” Morgan said.

As she spoke the words, she realized how stupid she sounded. She didn’t need to go to another state to be protected. She’d gotten on a plane with two strangers because for some reason she’d wanted to stay with them a little longer.

“It’s more than that,” Bethany said. “Cameron and Ben went to Lansing because that’s where someone was searching for me. They didn’t expect to find you. No one did.”

“They were sent to assess the threat to Bethany,” Melanie said. “We look after our own, and we thought someone was looking to hurt our Bethany.”

“They were sent?” Morgan looked at the smiling women and felt fear tingle down her spine.

“
Oh, don
’t be foolish,” Shana said sternly. “We’re not some gang of thugs. We are a race of beings that needs our anonymity to remain intact and who holds the safety of our mates as its greatest tenet.”

“Just breathe, Morgan,” Bethany whispered in her ear. “Open your senses and tell me if you feel threatened.”

Morgan hadn’t realized she’d stopped breathing, but the burning in her lungs told her Bethany was right.
A secret race of beings? Mates? What the hell have they put in my tea?
As she took a few shallow breaths she looked at both of the women. They looked the same, calmly sipping their tea and smiling at her. She felt no threat, just her own fear.

“Melanie and I were just as surprised as you were that we had stumbled into a world we never knew co-existed with our own,” Bethany said. “But when we met our men, we knew they were different. We felt things for them that were stronger than anything we’d ever experienced before.”

“Melanie is human, and you and Bethany were raised as human, but your men and I are shape-shifters. Specifically, we can change our form into mountain lions, but there are many other species of shape-shifter in the world.”

Morgan just stared at Shana. She didn’t appear to be senile. Melanie and Bethany were staring at her as though expecting her to run, or scream, or perhaps both.

“I play a lot of online games and am aware of shape-shifters, but they’re just fictional characters. They make great fighters, but that’s simply a game.”

“Legends and myths are often seeded from the truth,” Shana said. “We thought vampires to be a myth until recently. We won’t be so foolish again.”

“
Vampires? You
’re serious about all of this.” Morgan watched as Shana rose and walked to the closed door that led to the living room.

“I believe we have reached the point in our discussion where Morgan is in need of a demonstration,” Shana said softly.

The door burst open and Ben, Cameron, and Evan spilled into the room. Morgan’s heart skipped a beat, and then it pounded furiously as they all stared at her.

“That was too long away from you, baby,” Cameron said. His hands gripped her waist and he lifted her from the chair. She rested her casts on his shoulders and breathed in the smell of him. It calmed her and thrilled her at the same time.

Ben pressed against her back. Pulling her hair aside, he trailed a row of soft kisses down her neck. “Let’s not do that again anytime soon,” he whispered in her ear. “My cat was going crazy.”

A hand cupped her chin and turned her face. Evan smiled at her. “I won the coin toss.” He kissed her and she gasped as pleasure bloomed through her from the brief touch of his lips to hers. “I’m going to shift and show you we’re not all crackpots.” He smiled, and the scar down his cheek pulled his lips sideways, making his smile appear even more roguish.

“If you change into a mountain lion then I’ll be certain you’re all crackpots,” Morgan teased back.

“I like her,” Samson said. “She’s going to fit into our pride nicely.”

Morgan looked over and saw the huge soldier holding her sister in his arms. Bethany had her arms around his neck and a contented smile on her face.

“I thought you were married to Jason. The doctor, Jason, is your husband,” Morgan said. She had been told so much today and now she recalled that Bethany and Melanie had both kept saying husbands, plural.

“I’m married, and am mate to, Samson, Jason, and Michael Reed. Michael is in the other room with Finn and Jason. We didn’t want to overwhelm you.” Bethany smiled at her as if it was the most natural thing in the world to be married to three men.
Well, I
’m attracted to three men, so I shouldn’t move into a glass house any time soon.

“It’s not uncommon amongst shifters for siblings to share a mate,” Melanie said. “I’m mate to Finn and his three brothers.”

“Search your heart, young one,” Shana said softly. “Can you understand how they felt after meeting their mates?”

Morgan looked at Evan’s wickedly smiling face, then looked up at Cameron. He smiled and her stomach fluttered. Ben moved around to her side and smiled at her, too. “I can understand exactly how they felt,” she said. “But it’s very confusing. I’ve never even been on a date before. What do I do with three men?”

Melanie’s laughter rang the loudest, but everyone was laughing, Morgan included. She didn’t know why she was laughing. Perhaps she was going crazy. That thought silenced her and she looked at her big sister.

“Will you tell me one day why someone locked you up in that psychiatric hospital?”

Bethany smiled at her, and Samson carried her to the doorway. “It’s part of the story we need to share with you tonight. Samson won’t let me stay for the next part, so we’ll see you in a minute.”

“Come along, Melanie,” Shana said. “Finn will have to kill Evan if you see him naked.”

Melanie left with Shana and closed the door after giving Morgan a smile and a wink.

“He wouldn’t really kill you, would he?” she asked. Evan pulled the T-shirt over his head and smiled at her.

“Maybe not kill me, but I’d be missing a much loved body part or three.” He raised his eyebrows as he gestured to his crotch. She laughed despite feeling scared about what was going to happen.

“Why are you feeling scared, Morgan?” Ben asked. “We have enhanced senses, even in our human form, and can scent emotions. I know that you’re frightened. None of us would ever hurt you.”

Morgan reached out and touched Ben’s cheek with her fingertips. “Damned casts. I’m scared that it’s not true and that you’re all insane. Then I’d have no reason for feeling the way I do about all three of you.”

“How do you feel about us?” Cameron asked. He sat down on a chair and settled her on his lap. She had to twist her body to look at him, but she needed to see his face.

“I feel like I’ll cry if I have to leave you. I don’t even know you, yet I feel like I’ve finally discovered something that had been lost to me forever.”

“
You feel complete,
” Cameron said. She nodded and he lowered his head and gently brushed his lips over hers. “That’s because you are. You won’t understand this, but you’re a shifter like us, and you are feeling the pull of the mating bond. Your cat is now happy that it’s found its mates.”

“We can discuss all this in a minute,” Evan said. “We need to show her we’re real. She won’t believe anything until we prove we even exist.”

Morgan turned her head away from
Evan
as he popped the button on his fatigues. “No, Morgan,” Ben said. “You need to see him change. It’s magical and beautiful. You don’t want to miss it. Ignore the nudity. He hasn’t got that much to show you anyway.”

Morgan laughed as Evan tossed his fatigues at Ben’s head. He stood naked for only a second before shimmering lights surrounded him. She heard popping and crunching as the lights grew brighter. Then a huge mountain lion stood where Evan had been. It shook its head and padded slowly toward her.

“It’s true,” Morgan gasped. “I can still see Evan in his eyes. He knows me, doesn’
t he?
”

“We remain fully sentient when we change,” Ben said, moving to stand next to his brother. He held out his hand and beckoned Morgan to come closer. “We just share our form with the cat, carrying parts of each form into the other, but our minds are our own, always.”

Her fingers twitched below the casts, she wanted to feel Evan’s coat so badly. She wanted to see if it was as soft and lustrous as it looked.

“I wish I could touch you properly, Evan.” Morgan smiled as Evan’s cat form chuffed and rubbed his massive head against her abdomen. She stumbled back a step before Cameron wrapped her in his arms.

“Softly, Evan,” Ben said. “She’s just a tiny thing.”

“Am not,” Morgan said automatically. She’d been defending her less-than-average stature her entire life. But to be honest, Evan could look her in the eye as his cougar. She held up her arm and moved it from the top of her head to Evan’s.

“I’m taller than Evan.” Then she let her inhibitions drop and gave in to the irresistible urge to touch the big cat. She carefully wrapped her arms around his thick neck and burrowed her face into his fur.

“He’s purring,” she mumbled, as his rumbling purrs vibrated through her. He still smelled like Evan and she breathed him deeply into her lungs. The craving to roll around on him naked rushed through her again and her body responded instantly. Her nipples tightened into hard peaks as her pussy clenched with need. She was so pleased that they hadn’t been lying. She wanted the attraction between them to be real and it seemed as though it was.

“Jesus, Morgan,” Cameron said, his arms tightening around her. “Do you have any idea how fucking delicious you smell right now?” His growl rumbled along her spine, sending shards of pleasure to her already excited pussy.

“We’d better take her back to Bethany or I don’t think I’ll be able to stop myself from claiming her,” Ben said. His voice was so garbled and rough that she had to look up and check that it was Ben who had actually spoken. What she saw startled her, but didn’t scare her.

“Your eyes, they’re glowing, and they’re yellow now, not green.” She stepped away from Evan and touched a long white canine that was pushing into Ben’s lower lip. “What’s claiming?”

Cameron picked her up with one arm and swept his other arm under her knees. His lips crashed down onto hers, his tongue demanding entrance between her lips. She opened for him and his tongue moved against hers as her body hummed from the thrill of her first kiss. He tasted wonderful, his distinct flavor one she’d never forget. His lips moved on hers as he moaned and sucked her tongue into his mouth. She repeated what he’d done, tangling her tongue with his, exploring his mouth, and swallowing his moans greedily.

Warm lips pressed to her neck and she joined Cameron in moaning. Goose bumps rose where the lips pressed. The erotic pleasure of it surged straight to her nipples. It made them throb painfully.

Cameron pulled slowly away, untangling their tongues and licking at her lips. “You taste even better than you smell, baby, and you smell divine.”

Morgan went to ask what she smelled like but Ben turned her head toward him. His eyes were still shining brightly, but his canines had disappeared. If he was seeking permission for the kiss, she made it clear he had it by lifting her mouth to his and licking his lips as Cameron had done to her.

Ben moved his hand from her cheek to her nape and held her to him as he deepened their kiss. He kissed nothing like Cameron. His mouth was gentle and coaxing, but it was hot as hell and he tasted just as good as his brother.

Morgan found she was breathless when Ben slowly pulled his lips from hers. He rested his forehead gently on hers as he caressed her neck with his thumb. “You are so goddam sexy, Morgan. How did we get so lucky as to have you as our mate?”

Morgan was about to ask what he meant when a growl made Ben release her and step back. Evan stepped up and took her gently from his brother. He had his pants back on, but his wide, smooth, heavily muscled torso remained bare. She could see that he had several long
scars
and a few puckered ones that could only be bullet wounds, but he looked magnificent to her. She thrust out her bottom lip in the first pout of her life. “You got dressed.”

Evan smiled his crooked smiled and a deep chuckle rumbled from his chest. It sounded hoarse, and she suspected from all his wounds that he probably hadn’t had cause to laugh in quite a while.