Scarlet - Alpha Marked, Book I (7 page)

“
Okay, Misters, let's get
you to bed.” Madden’s gaze paled to a light yellow, and she rolled
her eyes. “To get clean and
heal.
I need some alcohol and gauze and—”

“
Alpha Mate?” The low voice
of her personal guard reached her. “They’ll be fully healed in
twelve hours or so. There’s no need to worry.”

Scarlet spun on him and growled,
curling her lip. Damn, her mates had rubbed off on her, making her
act more wolfy than human. “And I want them clean and treated.
Healing or not, I need to give them what comfort I can.” She
snapped her fingers. “Hop to it.”

That got the men moving. One guard led
them to a large bedroom, a massive king-sized bed occupying the
center. To the left, she spotted the open door of a bathroom and
guided her men in that direction.

She wondered why two Alphas,
presumably straight, would share a bedroom and bed, but…

Keller’s whimper drew her attention,
his wolf pausing half way between the room’s entrance and the
bathroom.

Brow furrowed, she looked between
their destination and her hesitant mate.

“
He doesn’t want to shower
as a wolf and he doesn’t have the energy to shift yet. Nobody likes
the scent of wet dog.” Madden’s words were peppered with low,
wheezing gasps.

Keller exposed a fang, a deep growl
coming from his chest.

Scarlet growled back. “You’re getting
your furry little ass in that bathroom and that’s all there is to
it.” A barely audible, strangled sound came from the doorway, but
she ignored it. “I am not getting anywhere near a bed until you two
are clean and comfortable. Period.” Keller opened his eyes wide,
giving her the sweetest puppy dog look. So much for objecting to
being considered a dog. “Don’t give me that. No naked fun without
being clean. I don’t know when you’ll be well enough to shift, but
wouldn’t you rather already be blood-free when it happens? We can
nap and then you guys may be ready for claiming.” She crossed her
arms and frowned, watching her four-legged mate.

Strong arms wrapped around her waist,
and Madden’s heat blanketed her. “Do you want to risk missing out?
I’ll be making our little mate scream as she comes on my tongue and
you’ll be stuck showering.” He traced her ear, and she shivered.
She was a total wolf-whore. For them only, but whore-esque none the
less.

Keller growled, but limped past them,
moving with determined strides.

Scarlet one, furballs zero.

She figured she wouldn’t get to win
often with two dominant wolves in the house, so she’d take pleasure
in the small victory.

* * *

A soft knock woke her. Or rather, a
soft knock followed by surround sound rumbling growls. She smacked
their chests in turn, careful of their injuries, and the noise
ceased.

“
Stop it.” She rolled her
eyes. “If they wanted to hurt us, do you think they would have
knocked?”

The men turned to her, both sets of
eyes glowing in the sparse light.

“
Don’t want anyone to see
you.” Keller’s words were a garbled mess, but she managed to
decipher them. Apparently her mate was easygoing when it came to
anything but her. At least he was human once again. She had to be
thankful for that fact.

“
And that’s why they tapped
on the door. It’ll give us a chance to get decent before we let
them in. Besides, I’m in your clothes. What are they gonna see?”
They’d wanted her naked, but she’d negotiated and ended up in a
pair of Keller’s boxers and Madden’s t-shirt.

If they couldn’t feel her skin, she
had to wear their scent, and that was final.

If she had to wear their
clothes, then they were taking a two hour nap to heal, and
that
was
final.

Sighing, she scooted to the end of the
bed and frowned at them when their growls grew in
volume.

“
Stop it.” Hey, they
listened. Well, that’d come in handy. “You feel like swinging free
in front of your guards?”

Scarlet opened the door to allow a
wolf to push a table laden with covered dishes into the room. He
kept his gaze averted, and she noted a faint tremble going through
his body.

She also realized Madden was back to
being growly. “For the love of God, Madden, quit it.” The guard
gasped, but she kept on going. “He’s feeding me. You should say
‘thank you.’ And if that’s too hard, the least you could do is not
growl at the poor wolf.”

Thank goodness for her lessons from
her mother. If she let the wolves get away with anything from the
get go, they’d act like that for the rest of their lives. There was
no way she could deal with snarly men every day.

“
Don’t like him close to
you.” She heard the grumble.

“
Then you should have
gotten dressed and beat me to the door.” She gave the wolf a wide
smile. “Thank you for bringing dinner. I’m sure they appreciate it
even though they’re cranky when they just wake up.”

The guard’s Adam’s apple traveled down
his throat in a slow procession and, even without a wolf’s extra
senses, she could tell he was nervous. “You’re welcome, Alpha
Mate.” He bowed. Well, half-bowed since Keller decided to growl
then.

The guard spun then practically ran to
the door and out of the room. Scarlet turned toward her mates, the
men still wrapped in blankets. “What’s your problem?”

“
We don’t like anyone close
to you.”

“
Then you should have
gotten out of bed. Didn’t we just have this conversation? I know we
just had this conversation.”

Madden shrugged. “We’re trying not to
overwhelm you.”

She tightened her lips and turned to
Keller. “Your idea?” The wolf blushed. “I want you guys as you are.
You don’t get to modify each other’s reactions. That’s my job. Even
then, I won’t be trying to change you, just keep you from killing
anyone. With me, you can be yourselves.” She propped her hands on
her hips. “Did you guys not get the Marked Handbook?”

That earned her two wolfish
smiles.

“
Being ourselves means
dragging you to bed and making you ours.” Keller’s smile was wicked
and matched Madden’s.

Scarlet took a step back, shaking her
head. “Nope, no nooky until you’ve eaten and we can check your
wounds. Plus, talking would be a good idea. Fun even. Like, gee
Scarlet, how has this mating disrupted your world?” She answered
herself. “Well, I have to give up my job as an administrative
assistant as well as my life in Tampa, that’s all. Maybe my cat.
Will you eat my cat? Burger is really sweet when he’s not peeing on
things.”

The reality of her situation hit home
and panic slithered along her veins. She’d really, truly, holy
shit-ly be giving up her life for these two men. Fear and
excitement fought, and she wasn’t sure which emotion was winning.
At the moment, it resembled an even tie.

She ignored their expressions, the
difference between the two easily visible. Keller’s sadness and
regret. Madden’s hunger for her and confusion. She was going to
have her hands full with these two.

Pretending they weren’t tearing her
apart with the upheaval of her life, she turned to the table and
peeked beneath the covers. She set aside the metal domes as plate
after plate of food was revealed. Steaks, salads and sides covered
every inch along with a note indicating dessert could be found on a
shelf below the tabletop. Yum.

The rustle of cloth told her that the
men had decided to get up, but she kept her gaze averted. One look
at their chiseled bodies and she’d be a goner, her snit forgotten.
She padded toward a small seating area and snagged a chair. The
wolf had placed their meal before a set of club chairs, and she
decided her mates could take those while she remained opposite
them. If she got within touching distance, they’d take control, and
all she’d be able to think about was them claiming her.

Nope, they had issues to discuss.
Their relationship and then… Whitney. And her cat.

Not necessarily in that order. Once
they got onto discussing their mating, it’d probably go downhill
and end in bed.

Right, Whitney first.

Scarlet settled into her
straight-backed seat and waited, noting the pause in the rustle
coming from behind her, but her wolves soon appeared.

Both men shot her longing looks but
eased into their chairs. She noted they wore boxers. Well, at least
she’d only be tempted by their chests.

“
Um…” Madden cleared his
throat.

Scarlet cut into her steak.
Medium-rare. Perfect.

“
Uh…” Keller looked so
uncomfortable. Poor guy.

She popped a hunk of beef into her
mouth and moaned around the bite. It melted like butter over her
tongue. A glance from beneath her lashes showed that both of her
mates’ gazes were intent on her mouth.

“
So, you’re, uh, an
administrative assistant? How long have you been doing that?”
Madden’s voice was strangled, as if he could barely
breathe.

“
Since college.” She
shrugged. “I’ll be honest, I was pissed you guys haven’t even
stopped to get to know me. I mean, I know we’re mates. I get it.
But I don’t even know your middle names or favorite color. Where do
you live? When were you going to tell me you’re the Ruling Alphas?”
She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. “Being Marked is… It’s
hard. I’ve had this thing since I was born, and it meant my life
was always in limbo. I went to college, but I rushed because I
wasn’t sure when I’d meet my mates and even if they’d let me finish
and get my degree. I didn’t know when I’d have to move. Where I’d
have to go.”

She sought to calm her
ragged nerves. “I’ve lived for thirty years, waiting for the other
shoe to drop. Gabby is the same way, but at least her job allows
her to telecommute. Plus, there was the fear of dealing with two
men, two wolves, for the rest of my life. I never went looking for
my mates simply because I was scared. I wasn’t looking forward to
mating. Why do you think I’ve never attended a Gathering? And don’t
get me started on Whitney. Your witches got her
all
wrong.”

Keller frowned. “I never realized. I
mean, we never actually thought about what it’d be like for the
women.” He shook his head. “Your life had to be a shade of hell,
Scarlet.”

She shrugged, unwilling to wallow in
her pity party. “No worse than any other Marked’s I suppose. It
sucks, but it is what it is.”

Madden piped up. “No, it doesn’t have
to be. The urge to mate is intense, I admit that, but we can work
together to make the transition easier.”

Scarlet held up her hand. “No, it’s
not horrible. When I met you, the Mark woke and let me know you
belonged to me. By dinner,” she blushed, heat surging to her
cheeks, “I was, uh, ready to cement things. But encouraging wolves
to be a little understanding would probably help things when it
came to your mates. I’m not saying everyone’s life is like mine.
Hell, there are probably plenty of women who are eager to abandon
everything in a blink for their mates. And then there are others
who will have a hard time.”

She thought of Whitney, her
poor sister who’d gone through life wishing for a Mark only to have
the world play some cosmic joke. “We need to talk about Whitney,
too.” Scarlet took another bite of her steak, suppressing the urge
to groan at the taste. Her mates looked on edge already. “She
doesn’t have a Mark, but she was summoned to the Gathering. It’s
cruel. She worked through the disappointment and jealousy of Gabby
and I having Marks while she didn’t, and then she got that stupid
letter. She can’t mate a single wolf because they mate with other
wolves, but she’s not Marked for an Alpha pair either. And yet,
she’s here.
And
if those witches are somehow going to pair her with a pair,
those men better be God’s gift to wolves or I’ll shoot them
myself.” She frowned to make sure they knew she was
serious.

“
Are you certain she
doesn’t have a Mark?” Keller’s voice was low, soothing yet
disbelieving.

“
She’s been my sister for
thirty years and has spent all of them wishing she had a Mark like
me and Gabby. She never gave up looking, hoping she’d be a late
bloomer, even though they are on our skin from birth. We do
everything together. Except this.” She shuddered. “And I’ve seen
more of Whitney’s parts every year than I care to mention while she
double checks to see if she has one.”

Keller and Madden shared a look, and
she sensed they were engaged in a mental conversation. She couldn’t
wait to share that with them, complete their mating and be able to
have those intimate, private talks.

Madden turned back to her. “We don’t
use witches, we use Wardens. They’re wolves, but…not. We’ll talk
with them when they arrive tomorrow. She’ll need to be, uh,
examined—”

“
By a female wolf.” That
was non-negotiable. She wasn’t about to let her sister be
manhandled by some stranger.

Keller nodded. “Okay, a female
wolf.”

She relaxed, letting go of the tension
she’d been carrying. “Good.”