There's Snow Escape: BBW Paranormal Shape Shifter Romance (Paranormal Dating Agency Book 7) (8 page)

TWENTY

Brecc sat at his favorite tree, unsure what to do. His father had told him emotions made a leader weak. That Alphas had no room for that in their lives. So how was he to explain the feelings of pleasure flooding his heart?

“What are you doing out here all alone?” Eros asked. He’d know that Brecc’s mind was in an uproar. It was something Eros sensed easily. Not only from their bond, but as the Omega, his power lay in the emotional health of the pack.

“Thinking.” He ignored the biting cold and continued staring at the frozen river.

“Weren’t you the one who told Charlotte to not think? To follow her instincts?”

He was, but that was her. She questioned what both Brecc and Eros knew was the right move for her. She belonged with them. They’d make the perfect triad for the Ice Mountains.

“It’s not the same,” he muttered, sliding his fingers though his hair in agitation.

“No, it’s not. But then again, you didn’t follow rules did you?” Eros sat next to him, glancing at his face. “You bit her.”

He couldn’t help himself. The wolf took control. He wanted to mark her. Fuck it all, so did Brecc. She was theirs. It shouldn’t matter that he marked her. “It’s not like I mated her.”

“It’s as good as.” Eros sighed. “She’s going to be angry when she finds out.”

That would wait. He’d get to know her better before explaining what he’d done. “We’ll explain in time.”

“We don’t have much time. The elders will come visit any day and how will we explain the lack of a mate?”

“Forget the elders. We have a mate,” he said with a growl. “She is ours.”

“She hasn’t made a choice yet. We can’t take it upon ourselves to keep her here.”

Fucking hell! He snarled and felt the need for a shift push at his bones.

“Run your wolf. But when you return, take her and spend time with her. When the time comes for her decision, it won’t be based on me. You’ll be the driving force,” Eros said. “I already know how she feels about me. We both do. It’s you she’s torn over.”

Brecc knew it. He didn’t particularly care for it, but he knew.

* * *

He reached the cabin to find Charlotte coming out to greet him. She glanced at him, her gaze filled with questions. She wore a long wool coat with a white hat and scarf. Her mocha skin stood out against the fabric. She looked beautiful. Everything about her captivated him. From her brown eyes, to the long, dark curls hanging down her sides.

He stopped at the bottom of the steps to the cabin and smiled. How could he not when he’d been thinking of her for hours? “Want to go for a walk?”

Relief filled the depth of her eyes. “Yes. I’d love that.”

He grabbed her gloved hand and held it. She didn’t attempt to pull back and he didn’t sense any hesitation when it came to him being near her. Knowing she wasn’t trying to get away from him made his heart expand. He’d been unable to stop thinking about her.

He took her to the river, close to the frozen area the kids in his pack loved to run skates on. “I see you’re wearing less layers today.”

She laughed. “Yes. Alessandra showed me some of your clothing. It’s made for this kind of weather and the material is super lightweight, but keeps me really warm.”

He pulled her closer, wrapping his arm around her shoulders and stopping to give her a kiss. She wasn’t expecting it, so it made him smile to see her eyes widen and arousal brighten her gaze. The kiss was quick and hot. Enough to make him grunt with the need for more. New emotions filled his heart. Desire. Lust. And something else. A desire for more of her smiles directed at him.

Her lashes fluttered open and she gazed at him through hazy eyes. “Brecc. I don’t understand. You and Eros have confused the shit out of me.”

He barked a laugh. “How did we do that?”

“I thought you two were…you know, a couple,” she stammered. “I didn’t realize you were into threesomes.”

TWENTY-ONE

He went back to walking, helping her along by holding her hand. “We’re not into threesomes. We share females. Eros and I have always had a deep connection. Our bond ensures we have the ability to lead the pack as best we can, but also have a triad relationship with a female.”

She bit her lip and frowned. “You mean to tell me you’ve always shared women?”

He nodded. “We’re linked. Have you not noticed?”

He waited for her to deny the connection they all felt by now. But she slowly nodded. “Yes. I noticed. After yesterday, I could sense we were all closer somehow.”

“You’re the right woman for our triad.”

“That’s a lot to take in. I need to think about this. I’ve never even dated two men at once. How would that even work?” The note of fear in her voice worried him. He wanted her to understand they’d never hurt her.

“We’ll do everything in our power to make you happy at all times.” That’s the best he could do without asking her to be their mate.

She glanced at the kids out in the river. “You’re so different from Eros. I feel like I don’t understand what it is you want.” She met his gaze. “I barely know you.”

They continued their walk by the edge of the river. “I am not difficult. In the years since my parents died, I have been in charge of the pack. That means I meet with my people as well as Alyx. I lead them as best as I can.”

She shook her head. “I don’t think you understand. I need to know you. What do you do for fun?”

He frowned. “Fun?”

She gasped, her eyes going wide. “You don’t do anything for fun? That’s so sad.”

“There’s little room for fun in my life,” he said.

“Don’t say that.” Her features turned sad. He wanted to tell her to not feel bad for him, that he enjoyed being Alpha, but he didn’t think that would calm her worries. “Come on.”

He let her lead him onto the frozen river, ensuring they were standing on the thickest of the ice. She held on to his forearms and giggled. “This is the frozen river.”

She laughed again. “Yes, I can see that.” She attempted to walk without slipping on the ice and giggled harder every time she took a step. “This is also very slippery.”

“I don’t understand your point,” he said, realizing her shoes probably didn’t have the same grip his did. With their technology so advanced, everything in Aurora had artificial intelligence. From clothing to shoes. His shoes knew he was on ice so they changed to allow him better grip on the surface. Hers didn’t.

She frowned when she took another step and he didn’t fall. “How come you aren’t sliding around like I am?”

He smiled, his heart beating a little faster than before at the warmth and joy he saw in her eyes. “My shoes have adapted to the terrain.”

“Fricking hell! I need your shoes.” She gasped and glanced down at his feet. “Do you think if you get them to, they’d change into skates? Ice skates, I mean.”

He nodded. Two seconds later, his shoes turned into skates and he was gliding on the ice like the children at the other end of the river, playing hockey.

She squealed and tried to take a few steps, only to wobble on her slippery shoes. He reached for her, picking her up before she hit the ground and cupping her cold face in his hands.

“I don’t need to do anything to have fun,” he said to her. “Watching your face light up with happiness does something I’ve never had happen to me before. I feel things.”

TWENTY-TWO

Charlotte stared deep into Brecc’s eyes. His words made her heart pound loudly. Lord, he felt things. She was feeling a lot of things too. Things she normally didn’t feel for two men.

“What…um…what kind of things?” she asked, drawing her face closer to his.

“Need,” he said, brushing a kiss over her cold lips.

Yeah. She knew all about need. Like the need to get him naked. “Oh.”

“Lack of control.” He kissed her again. This time he licked the seam of her lips and sucked on her bottom lip.

Oh, boy. Lack of control was her middle name. When he and Eros stripped to near nothing, she bought her self-control a one-way ticket to fuck-you-ville. “I see.”

“Ah, Charlotte,” he rumbled, kissing his way up to her ear. “I don’t think you do. No woman has ever made me feel so desperate for her. To be with her. Around her. So complete when I’m with her.”

No fucking way was she going to stay away from his sexy lips after he said that. She leaned close, pressing their lips together. Her lust shot out of orbit. She wrapped her arms around his neck, kissing him back for all she was worth. His lips took, savored her lips as if she were the most delicious wine.

He slowly leaned back, meeting her gaze with his fiery gold one. “Come with me. I have something in mind you’d like.”

He stopped for a moment and she watched in awe as his skates turned back into snow boots. She really needed a pair of those. Shoes that transformed had to be one of the coolest things she’d ever seen.

They turned away from the river, walking a different path.

“You said your dad raised you to keep emotions at bay,” she repeated his words.

He held her hand hostage around his arm and continued guiding her forward. “My father was not very…emotional. He was a warrior. He loved my mother deeply. Too deeply. Jealousy has a way of messing with a good relationship.”

“In what sense?” She so wanted to know more about what made him the way he was. Her interest had moved away from finding out about the dragons and focusing on learning Brecc, the man.

“There is no room for lies in the shifter world. We know if someone tells the truth or not. My father refused to believe the truth even when he knew there was nothing else.”

She frowned. “You lost me.”

“Mother was good friends with Vikter’s mother. Great friends. When mother died from an accident, father refused to believe the story he was told. He was stuck on believing someone killed her. He hated Vikter’s father.”

She gasped. She knew there was more going on than he said, but she didn’t want to press. He needed to open the doors and speak himself. The last thing she wanted was for him to accuse her of minding his business.

“Some people don’t know how to believe what is right in front of them.” She shrugged. “It took me a while to grow some balls and leave my ex.”

He glanced at her, his eyes burning with anger. “Your previous mate hurt you?”

“Not physically. Though sometimes, physical pain can be easier to handle than emotional, verbal, or mental abuse. He destroyed me for a long time. Talking about my weight and calling me Miss Piggy.”

“I understand a lot of men on earth stray from one mate to the next.”

She pressed her lips into a thin line and nodded. “I know. My ex-husband didn’t just cheat, he used every excuse in the book to treat me like I was nothing without him.” She laughed bitterly. “In our case, it wasn’t jealousy. He was just using me.  And for seven years, I let him.” She met Brecc’s intense gaze and sighed. “I should have learned early on, but what can I say? I had hoped he would change.” She snorted. “Change. Nobody ever changes for anyone else. They change because they want to, not because anyone else does.”

Brecc shook his head, making his long white hair fly against the wind. “That’s not true. If you didn’t like something about me or Eros, we’d change. Your happiness is our priority.”

She stared at him, her jaw hanging open, speechless. Men didn’t usually offer to change for a woman. When they did it was because she nagged him to the point he found himself agreeing just to shut her up. This was weirdly different and more than she experienced.

There was no more time to think about it. They’d gotten to the edge of a cliff. Below them sat a valley of trees. She glanced down, staring at the beauty of it all.

“Isn’t it amazing?” Eros’s voice sounded behind her.

She whirled around with a smile on her face, watching him approaching.

He leaned down to kiss her. She didn’t think, she kissed him back. The emotions she felt for Eros were different than for Brecc. Eros tugged at the sweeter side of her heart. The side that loved a guy who knew how to sit by a fire and hold her hand without needing to talk about anything.

Brecc, on the other hand, knocked down the door to the deeper emotions. The ones she shied away from. Between the two of them, they’d captured her heart. Even more amazing was the fact they were a team. Each encouraging the other when it came to her. It was strange and exciting and so damn sexy, it boggled the mind.

“I’m glad you made it in time,” Brecc said.

She frowned glancing from one to the other.

Eros caressed her cheek with a heart-warming grin. “We have a bond. I know when he needs me. Just like I can sense when you are distressed.”

“What are we doing here?” She turned to Brecc. The valley below seemed to be the area holding his attention.

“We understand you like adventurous sports. On earth, you’ve been skydiving, no?”

She nodded. “How do you know?”

“Gerri got us some information on you. We wanted to make your time more enjoyable and so thought to show you one of the favorite past times for the younger kids.” Eros grinned. “The ones who can’t fly.”

Brecc pulled out the same blanket they’d used at the cave and laid it flat on the ground. She watched as the blanket reshaped into what looked like a metal wing.

What. The. Hell?