“Out of the way,” Edon said through gritted teeth.
“Again,” Vara instructed and they were both doused with buckets of ice water.
Rey growled as he wiped his eyes clear and then noticed the other werewolves in the room. Some held buckets of water, ready to throw them. Others held rope.
“Edon, Rey, please.”
Cass. She stepped between them, standing next to Vara and Rey’s eyes left his opponent and focused on her. He could smell her body, the scent of the wet heat between her thighs driving him insane.
Rey took a deep breath and looked across at Edon.
“The thrall,” he said.
“The curse,” Edon replied.
*
Edon felt Cass’ fingers in his fur as she sat astride him, heading to the smaller den he and Rey had scouted out. Her touch soothed him but just barely. Rey walked ahead and the only reason Edon hadn’t attacked him from behind was that Cass might be injured.
Edon remembered being with Cass, pulling her against him and then in the next moment he was standing, soaking wet and cold, rage boiling through his body, wanting to rip Rey to pieces.
The curse had hit. Cass was entering her fertile time and soon there would be no thought at all. Edon had managed to get himself under control as Vara escorted them out of the den and into the early evening darkness. Mere moments later he’d shifted, Cass climbing up on his back and they were underway.
Rey ran further ahead, out of sight and Edon felt himself relax. Soon they would be at the den and then whatever happened would happen. Despite the roiling dark thoughts chanting away, Edon felt a kind of comfort. Things were getting simple now. Either they would share her as they intended or one would try to kill the other. Perhaps he would die or perhaps Rey would. The outcomes were narrowing.
Edon felt Cass press her body against his back, resting her head against him and the surge of protective desire that flooded through him hurt. She’d seemed almost as dazed as they were, the curse pulling at her mind. He wanted to talk with her but knew the moment he shifted he’d want to mate with her and then he and Rey would either do so on a dirt path in the dark or they’d fight.
So Edon focused on walking, one paw after another. Soon the path vanished and Edon followed Rey’s scent, stepping around boulders and between trees. It took another good hour of traversing the complicated maze before Edon emerged into the tiny clearing in front of the den. Rey was standing at the entrance in human form and for an instant the desire to leap at him and gut him right then and there slipped through his mind, quick as a fish in the stream.
He almost did it too when Cass dismounted and he was free of her. Before he could leap, he felt her touch and it pulled him away from violence. He shifted and turned toward her as Rey approached.
“Our mate,” Edon said.
“My Alphas,” she whispered.
*
Cass felt she was in a film with scenes missing. Everything had moved so fast. One moment Edon was kissing her and she was kissing him back, the next the Alphas were fighting and then the room was full of werewolves, dousing the Alphas with buckets of freezing water. No time had passed and then she was on Edon’s back, riding out into the night, Rey running ahead of them.
Nia had thrust a fur upon her and Cass now had it wrapped around her against the cold of the night. She was still only wearing her thin dress and her mind was whirling.
When she’d marched up to the top room of the den, it seemed as though she’d so much to discuss with the Alphas. Deep, important matters that affected their futures. But as soon as she’d seen Edon, nothing else mattered but his body against hers. Even now, somewhat cold and moving through the dark, the throbbing beat between her legs had only reduced to a distant thud every now and again. She’d summon up some thoughts, get them in order and then they’d spin away as her body reminded her what it wanted.
Alphas. Bed. Now.
Cass pressed herself against Edon, feeling the warmth of his body and closed her eyes. He smelt of the forest. Of wood and some masculine scent.
She didn’t know how far they were travelling (neither Alpha speaking much now) but she’d the vague hope when they reached their destination they’d be able to have at least a minute of conversation. The key was not letting either Alpha touch her, or her them.
It was kinda hard when Rey and Edon were, well,
hard
. She seemed incapable of resisting either of them and the idea of both of them in her bed sent a shiver running through her.
The phone. That was it. The phone and the fake rescued girl who was most likely a spy. She’d tell Edon and Rey about her as soon as they stopped. Start with a clean slate. No secrets.
No secrets. Hmm.
Well, no
big
secrets Cass thought and then amended that to no
big important
secrets before downgrading it to no
big important secrets that take ages to explain
.
Cass felt a thought tickle her mind, something about having a baby but then Edon stopped and she dismounted, finding herself in front of a small cave entrance. Rey was standing there, naked in the moonlight, his eyes absorbing pools of darkness.
Edon shifted and then both Alphas were towering over her, their gazes hungry.
Cass pressed her hand against Edon and reached out with the other one to Rey.
“Our mate,” Edon said in her ear and then she was gone.
*
In the dim warmth of the den, Rey pressed his lips against Cass’ neck and she sighed in pleasure. Her dress was somewhere in the corner, pulled off her the moment they entered. She was standing naked between them, their toy.
He stroked his fingers across her stomach and felt Edon move on the other side of her, kissing down her neck, touching her body.
The unspoken bond, near telepathy, that made them formidable warriors directed a ballet of pure pleasure. This time Cass wasn’t the wayward hitchhiker thanking her werewolf rescuers. She wasn’t the disobedient school-girl who wandered off from her school camp. She was their mate. The Pack Mate, revered, desired.
Rey lowered his head to suck on her nipple and Cass groaned, her fingertips scratching against his shoulder. The ever-so-slight burst of pain seemed to rush down, straight to his cock and it throbbed in response. Rey moved his hand down and slipped his fingers into her, feeling the burning slick heat. She panted and moaned in his ear as he moved them inside her and then without pause he and Edon switched places. Rey brought his fingers up to his lips, Cass watching as he sucked them into his mouth. She moaned again, seeming to have trouble keeping her eyes open.
In unspoken agreement, they moved Cass on to the bed. She was on her hands and knees, ass up in the air, Edon’s cock in front of her mouth. Rey knelt and pushed his tongue into her from behind, the taste and scent of her making his inner wolf howl. He heard Cass let out a muffled groan as she tried to push back against his tongue but he held her hips in place and teased her instead. He licked gently and then furiously before switching back to a slow pace. She kept trying to arch her back, to press back upon him but he was too strong. He licked and sucked and then slipped a finger into her. Cass made a breathless noise and then he felt her tensing around his finger as she came. She bucked her hips, for a moment gaining purchase and pressing back on his face.
Something snapped in Rey then. The leash he’d put on his wolf, the binds holding back his wild nature. He had to be inside her now or he’d die.
He stood up and in one smooth movement sank into her.
It was near agony, a kind of pleasure that went beyond what the body could bear. He thrust back and forth, the pain demanding movement, the desire for release overwhelming. He howled and gripped her hips, fucking her furiously. He was vaguely aware, somewhere on the edge of consciousness that Edon had been in front of her, she sucking his cock but now he wasn’t. The thought appeared and vanished in an instant as she screamed and pushed herself against him.
The bed seemed the perfect height, made precisely for them. Her skin was smooth and soft against his hands and in the dim light of the room her hair seemed to be a wild flame. The rhythm of their mating pulled at every cell in his body and Rey felt himself slipping away. The pain built, matched by pleasure and then Cass screamed again. It seemed to push at him and there was a deep heat inside his body, a buzz, a pleasure that couldn’t be denied.
He thrust and roared as he came, the release possessing him. It seemed to go forever, his wild mate jolting back against him again and again. The pain he’d felt transformed into pure pleasure, a tingling heat that washed in waves up and down his body.
He became aware of moving away from Cass on the bed, her ass still up in the air and knowing Edon was in the room, taking hold of her but then exhaustion met something else and Rey realized for the briefest of moments what he and Edon were experiencing was only the first gentle waves of the thrall. The mad desire had been a gentle wave lapping at the beach. Rey breathed in deep and then the dark tsunami hit.
*
Edon fought one desire and accepted another one.
Cass, her body, her flesh, to sink into her, to bite, to kiss… it fulfilled him, gave him brief rest.
But Rey… in moments of awareness he wanted to kill him. They had mated with Cass together many times but still the possessive ownership was there. How easy it would be to reach across, to rip his throat out.
Neither wanted to be away from her but without space they’d soon fight. He sometimes saw Rey looking at him, fingers clenching into claws before Cass called to them.
Their mate was clever and attentive. Never favoring one over the other. She, a wicked human, a devious power. In one brief flash Edon realized he and Rey were being expertly managed, pulled and pushed at her desire, coming and going at her beck and call. Then she called for him and the next moment he found himself outside, hunting wild pig, missing time, knowing they had mated but being lost in the blur of the curse.
One of the days, between fucking and eating and sleeping, she’d stood on a sharp pebble that had found its way into the den, letting out a gasp and the sound of it, of potential pain, had produced such a wave of anger he would’ve killed Rey had he been around.
The curse was rage and desire, fury and fear mixed together. It sought to protect by destroying, to love by communion of the flesh, to possess utterly.
“Come to bed,” Cass called, waving him over and Edon readily obeyed. Rey was out hunting in the dark and he could be alone with her. He laid down beside her, enclosing her body in his arms and then gave way as she pushed him, rolling over on to his back, Cass atop him. He outweighed her and could lift her in the air by one arm but somehow in bed she’d a power he couldn’t deny.
“I didn’t say you could leave the bed,” Cass whispered, kissing him and then nipping his lip. She wriggled down until the heat of her sex was touching his cock. She moved, brushing against him but not letting him slip inside.
“I am the Alpha,” Edon murmured, letting Cass push his hands up as though she could pin him to the bed. As she did, she slid down on to him and he felt the familiar buzz of pain and pleasure mixed together.
He looked at Cass through heavily lidded eyes. She wore a devious look, as though this moment was the culmination of her grand evil plan. Her body was a perfection of smooth lines and soft curves. Her round breasts swayed as she moved, her stomach creasing, her hips jiggling. He was hard lines of muscle, scarred and sharp and she was sitting atop him, softness and beauty around a core of heat. She wriggled and began to move, back and forth again.
“I love-” Edon said before he was swept away.
*
Rey awoke from the thrall sitting on the bank of the creek. He caught himself thinking about catching a fish and then realized he was having thoughts once more.
He shifted and then cleared his throat.
“Hello,” he said aloud, his tongue feeling strange in his mouth.
He stretched, feeling his bones crack and then yawned before looking down his body. His arms were covered in scratches, presumably from Cass’ nails. There was even a faint half-circle teeth-mark on his forearm outlined in dried blood. She’d bitten him hard enough to draw blood? It was hard to believe. He thought back over the last few days and realized he didn’t know how many days it had been. It was a blur of sex and hunting, blank spots and sleeping.
After washing himself in the cold water, Rey shifted and returned to the den. He found Edon outside, crouched in the dirt by the door, tracing something with a stick. Rey shifted and nodded to his friend.
“The curse is finished,” Edon said.
“We will return today,” Rey said. It was a statement, not a question, but Edon nodded anyway in agreement. Rey saw he too was covered in healing scratches. He had bruises on his arms and a long scratch across his back that could have only come from a werewolf claw.
“Did we fight?” Rey asked.
“I think so. But it was minor. After all, we’re both still alive.”
Rey felt a deep tiredness in him, as though he’d spent days running but apart from that he felt calm, ready to return to the den. Edon seemed exhausted and riding under that was a current of anger or bitterness.