Author: Renee Rose; Vanessa Vale
Date: 2000-01-01 05:00:00+00:00
Keywords: Contemporary; Reverse Harem; Paranormal; Shapeshifters; Wolves; Fantasy; Westerns; M F M; Menage; Romance
Description: **TWO MARKS PACK RULE: DON’T MIX WITH RANCHERS** In Wyoming, we’re the law. We keep the pack’s secret — and our wolves — safe from our neighbors, the ranchers. Then we meet *her*. The one we’ve been waiting for. Our mate. Only she’s a rancher—the nemesis of our pack. Worse, she’s the daughter of a wolf hunter. When danger encroaches on her land, we’re sent to investigate. We want to protect her. To prove to her we’re exactly what she needs. But she may be part of an illegal operation. And now she knows we’re more than two rugged cowboys bent on making her ours, which means she could destroy no

Enticed

Two Marks - 4

Vanessa Vale

Renee Rose

Two Marks: Desired

Copyright © 2022 by Bridger Media and Wilrose Dream Ventures LLC

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are the products of the author's imagination and used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, businesses, companies, events or locales is entirely coincidental.

All rights reserved.

No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from both authors, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

Cover design: Bridger Media

Cover graphic: Hot Damn Stock; Deposit Photos: pellinni

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Contents

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

Chapter 11

Chapter 12

Chapter 13

Chapter 14

Chapter 15

Chapter 16

Chapter 17

Chapter 18

Chapter 19

Epilogue

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Also by Renee Rose

Also By Vanessa Vale

About Renee Rose

About Vanessa Vale

1

HOLT

“I call bad cop,” I told Theo, my scent-match and pack mate, giving him a quick glance as I cut my patrol SUV through the valley on the two-lane road. It was great to have him visit, even if it was for work reasons.

“No way. I’m definitely bad cop. I’m the one from out of town,” he countered, drumming his fingers in the open window. The July day was warm and it wasn’t even lunchtime, a far cry from the late blizzard we’d had in May. Wyoming weather was fickle, no matter the time of year. “I’m the one who followed the fucking meth trail to our home town. Besides, you have to play nice because you’re an elected official.”

“True,” I admitted. It wasn’t common for a shifter to hold a human law enforcement position, but the alpha and I both agreed my role only benefited the pack. “But the ranchers don’t count. I can’t wait to see Jenkins’s face when he finds the DEA on his doorstep unannounced.”

“Fun life as a L.E.O, huh?” Theo asked. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw his brow arch and his mouth turn up in a smile. Yeah, he didn’t give a shit about playing nice. In his navy vest with DEA emblazoned across the back, he also didn’t hide the fact that he worked for the agency that cracked down on meth production.

He was right, though. Being the sheriff of West Springs, the only law enforcement officer between here and Granger, meant I had to play savior, asshole, and even a bit of politician in dealing with the humans. I had to live in the same small town with these people, even uphold their laws when I was raised to live beneath others.

Regardless, I still maintained that the ranchers didn’t count. Not after what they did.

“Just because you went off to the big city for your career doesn’t mean you get to be the bigshot. You’ll be back here when we find our scent match, and then what will you do? You’ll have to be my deputy.” I tossed a grin his way.

He snorted. Both of us were thirty-four, and we’d moved on with jobs and life and tried not to think about the moon madness that would hit us if we didn’t find our she-wolf soon. Just because Theo lived halfway across the state in Cheyenne, that didn’t keep us from staying current or being best friends.

“Always the optimist,” he said because the chances of us finding our mate were getting slimmer and slimmer. We’d been to every pack game across the country, year after year, but had yet to find her.

I shrugged, not letting my disappointment show. I knew he felt the same way, had the Two Marks male desire to find her, and claim her jointly. We had to be patient. We had no choice.

At this point, I would settle for any threesome, fated mate or not. There was no rule against claiming a she-wolf who wasn’t our true matched mate, but we’d held out hope we might stumble upon her. “We won’t find anyone to share with you living so far away. It’s pretty hard to fuck a female together when you’re in a different area code.”

He didn’t say anything for a while as the SUV bumped down the dirt road. Then he picked up our earlier thread. “After what happened with the ranchers last summer, especially Hollaroy and Jenkins, I hope to fate this meth deal leads back to them. I’d like to see them finally get more than a slap on the wrist for what they did.”

“Me too. They only got fines for killing those wolves,” I grumbled. “The shittiest part of my job is not seeing justice done, and that look on Jenkins’s face when he knew he got away with it. That asshole Hollaroy, too.”

“Maybe getting in front of Jenkins will have him doing something stupid. We can only hope.”

Nodding, I flicked my blinker on and turned onto Jenkins Ranch’s long drive. “I doubt it. He’s well-established. Look around.” I waved my hand in the air, taking in all the flat ranchland that spread across the valley. Most of it on this side of town was owned by Bob Jenkins, and dated back in his family to original homesteaders. “This isn’t going to go well. The ranchers hate the wolves encroaching on their land, taking their cattle, and he’s not going to be happy to see me again. Or you in that vest, all but accusing him of drug making.”

Theo nodded in agreement, but didn’t give a shit. “Yeah, I remember the whole fucking story. It’s not like this asshole knows you’re a shifter,” he countered.

I shook my head. “He doesn’t have reason to hate me personally for that mess, but I was involved as sheriff. So he does nonetheless.”

“I thought John Randolph with the Forest Service would have handled it.”

“Joint case,” I replied easily. The ranchers had been using tracking devices put on wolves for more than a university field study. They’d used them as guides to hunt and kill the animals far from private land. Killing endangered species was illegal, but the consequence was only a slap on the wrist, especially to a rich guy like Jenkins, whom we were about to confront. And killing a shifter wolf? Even more endangered, not that anyone knew about them.

“Meth is different,” he replied.

The house came into view. The sprawling rancher made of log and river rock was settled perfectly on a bluff. A porch wrapped around the entire home. Rocking chairs and hanging baskets of flowers made it welcoming, although I knew the greeting we’d get would be anything but.

I turned off the SUV’s engine, and felt my usual determination for catching a bad guy build. It was as simple as that, my job: seek justice, and put the bad guys away. Bob Jenkins was one, and I’d yet to make any charges stick that put him behind bars. Meth, though, and what Theo had dug up from his office, might just be what was needed. I wanted to rub my hands together in eagerness to see that done. “Let’s do this.”

Theo unclipped his seatbelt and looked to me. “If this guy’s as bad as I think, I’m looking forward to seeing him in cuffs. Not today, unfortunately, but letting him know we’re onto him, that while the meth is hitting as far away as Cheyenne, doesn’t mean there isn’t a trail. We want the fucker on edge when we leave. He’ll make a mistake then.”

I wasn’t so sure about that. Theo hadn’t met the older guy yet. In his mid-fifties, Jenkins had had decades to excel at being an asshole. I knew him from the wolf shooting incident, and other minor stir ups around town. He was smart. Rich. Powerful in the county, and one of two self-proclaimed leaders of a band of ranchers who met often at the diner in town. Hollaroy was the other, but Theo’s investigation had led us here, not to the other man’s ranch. Jenkins hadn’t made a mistake yet, so I wasn’t sure what would trip him up now. “He thinks he’s above the law,” I explained my thoughts to Theo in one sentence.

I opened my door and climbed out, squinting against the sun. The Two Marks pack lived up in the foothills, in the mountains that ringed the town. The valley was a different kind of beautiful, but I’d take the steep hills, thick trees, and cooler weather any day. I couldn’t think of anything that would get me to live down here.

Theo met me at the front of the SUV. He was taller by two inches, but I could take him, especially on a full moon run. We paced each other when we took a female together, working as an even pair to satisfy her, working off the run’s excess energy. The last time had been years ago, though. Maybe he’d stay for the next full moon. My dick got hard just thinking about having a little fun with him and a female again.

Maybe it was having him here that had thoughts about finding our mate coming up at the worst times. Like now.

I didn’t need to face Bob Jenkins with a hard dick in my uniform pants.

Theo didn’t wait, just went up the steps and rang the doorbell. He’d been waiting for this moment ever since leaving the state capitol. I followed, taking off my Stetson and standing off to the side of the doorway out of habit. I didn’t expect to be ambushed, but training was ingrained.

The door opened.

Several things hit me at once. Our lives were suddenly changed, and we were both totally fucked.

Not because of a gun or Bob Jenkins wanting us off his land.

No.

It was her.

Our mate.

The one. She was a fucking rancher. And human.

Her sweet scent took me down like a fucking Mack truck. That hard dick? Yeah, it wasn’t going down anytime soon.

I knew she was ours from one deep breath.

But looking at her… fuck.

Theo growled, and I stepped toward him and jabbed my elbow into his arm.

We stared at her. Took in her height—probably only two inches shorter than my six feet. Took in the long auburn braid that came over her shoulder. Her brown eyes that darted between the two of us. Her full lips. The swells of her breasts beneath a University of Wyoming t-shirt. The nipples that were hardening beneath the cotton as we watched. The way her jeans fitted snugly to her solid curves.

She wasn’t a petite thing. Hell, no. Our mate was thick and curvy and… fuck me, she was perfect.

“Hello,” she said, her voice deep and husky. It went right to my balls.

Theo tugged off his hat. “Ma’am. Who might you be?”

“Ali Jenkins.”

I pegged her as being early to mid-twenties. By location, name and age, it didn’t take two law enforcement officers to put the evidence together. She was Bob Jenkins’s daughter.

I couldn’t help taking a step closer, reaching out and lifting the end of her braid. I flicked my fingers over the strands, then lifted the tail to my nose.

A gasp escaped her lips at the forward gesture, but I couldn’t help myself. I considered my action to be reserved, considering Theo and I had been waiting for her our entire adult lives.

Theo moved to stand beside me, our arms bumping.

I watched as Ali swallowed, and it was my turn to groan because I was imagining her throat working as she tried to take my dick as deep as she could.

“Who’s at the door?” a voice called from the depths of the house.

The sound startled our mate and she jumped back, her braid being tugged before I released it.

“Police!” she called, taking in my uniform and Theo’s DEA jacket.

Heavy footfall preceded Bob Jenkins.

Not happy, I stepped back, trying to get my head back on task, but it was fucking impossible. I kept glancing at Ali, afraid she might disappear.

“What do you want?” he practically snarled when he came to the doorway. He moved his daughter behind him, but she didn’t go far. Jenkins gave me a quick glance, then ruled me out as worth recognizing on his front porch.

Maybe she, too, felt the attraction between us, the need to stay together.

“Sir, I’m Special Agent Decker with the DEA.”

He responded to Theo with a quick and annoyed, “Yes?”

“Sheriff Cooke was kind enough to bring me here so I could introduce myself,” Theo added.

“Why is a DEA agent making himself known to me in particular?” he asked, crossing his arms over his chest in the blatant standoffish gesture.

Jenkins wore worn jeans, a white snap shirt with the sleeves rolled up, and sturdy leather boots. Typical uniform for a rancher. While his hair was more gray than dark brown, it had barely receded with age. He was tall and strong. Even though his property was large enough he must have many employees, he clearly didn’t run the place from behind a desk.

“The Cheyenne office has been dealing with a large influx of meth into the southern portion of the state. We’ve been able to question local dealers and track the supply this way. To Granger County.”

Theo specifically left out Wolf Springs, and even Jenkins’s large swath of land where meth could be made without detection, which was what Theo suspected.

Jenkins glanced down at his daughter. “Alison’s a little too old for me to advise her not to do drugs.”

I looked at Ali—Alison Jenkins—and didn’t look away. I listened to Jenkins continue to talk, but I was taking in the warm tan of her skin, the roundness of her cheeks. Her long fingers. The cinch of her belt around her waist. The swell of her full hips. I clenched my fingers with the need to grab hold of her and never let go.

“—sure to share your information with the other ranchers in the area,” Jenkins said, setting his hand on the open door. “We’ll keep watch for any unusual activity, and share it with the sheriff.”

At my mention, I blinked and looked in Jenkins’ dark eyes. The same ones his daughter shared. Yet while hers were filled with interest and—hopefully—newfound desire, I saw rage and guilt in his. He was involved. I knew it.

I was sure Theo knew it, too.

“If that’s all, we have a ranch to run.” Jenkins looked between us, stepped back, and closed the door in our faces. I got one last look at Ali before the sight of her was cut off—and her sweet scent.

“I don’t want you talking to those men.” With our shifter hearing, it was easy to pick up Jenkins’ angry words. And our mate’s response.

I stilled, listened.

“Why not?” she countered. “They’re doing their job.”

Theo glanced my way, and his fists clenched. We couldn’t leave the porch without hearing their argument. The words Jenkins was putting into our mate’s ears that might make her hate us.

“While Sheriff Cooke was doing his job, he defended animals, not the people who voted him into office.”

I wanted to roll my eyes, but I resisted. Barely.

“He wasn’t here about the wolf problem,” Ali replied. “What is this about meth?”

“How the hell should I know? He has it out for ranchers, obviously. Fines. Protecting the wolves—”

“You already said that. The meth? The other guy is from the DEA. They’ve got to have a reason to be here besides annoying you.”

That made Theo grin.

“Are you taking their side now?” Jenkins snarled.

I wanted to kick the door in and protect our mate, even from the angry tone of her father.

“No, of course not. I didn’t call them here. I only answered the door.”

“Then don’t answer it if they show up again. He’s obviously terrible at his job if he’s on our porch, wasting our time. We have cattle to herd.”

We couldn’t miss the retreating footsteps, then nothing. We trudged back to the SUV and didn’t speak until I was driving back down the lane.

“What the fuck are we going to do?” I asked.

“Claim her.”

Theo’s words were exactly right, except…

“How?” I asked, frustrated. “She’s going to defend her father. That’s what family does.”

That was how the pack worked too. I’d believe family or pack members before outside sources. But we weren’t just that; we were her mates.

I yanked off my hat, set it on the center console, and ran my fingers through my hair.

“You said others in the pack mated humans,” Theo said, his tone considering.

I thought of the claimings that had happened last year. Two human females were new mates in the pack. Rachel and Caitlyn. Happy and well-integrated.

“Human? You’re worried about her being human? You heard what he just filled her head with. We have to get her out of there.” I was aroused and frustrated. “My dick is hard and we’re driving away from our mate. How can you be so calm?”

He turned to me and showed me his eyes, silver and all but glowing. “I’m not calm at all. I’m dying inside with every mile you put between us.”

Good, I wasn’t alone in this. In this misery at finding our mate and being forced to leave her behind.

“We’re in deep shit here,” I snapped. “She’s a rancher, and the daughter of the guy who killed wolves for sport, and who’s most likely making and spreading meth across Wyoming.”

Theo was quiet, his fists clenched in his lap. “Yeah, this is a fucking problem. But I’m not letting anything get in the way of us claiming her.”

I smiled. He agreed with me. “We only have to take down her father, sway our alpha to the concept of us claiming the pack enemy’s daughter, and get her in bed between us, and our teeth in her sweet skin.”

Yeah, no problem at all.

2

ALI

"So Doug and Cara broke up. Did you hear?" Melissa, my high school bestie, was catching me up on all the town gossip. We were at the Bullhorn Bar with Trina, another old friend.

Being here, I had that fish out of water feeling. I'd only been back at West Springs for a few weeks after years away at college. Everything was the same. Everything except for me, it seemed.

I'd always planned to return home. I got my degree in agriculture so I could take over the family ranch, which I considered a privilege. But that didn’t change how strange it was to be back permanently after being away for so long. I hadn’t even returned for the last few summers because I’d been working on ranches in Australia and Chile. I figured I’d better see the world before my free time ran out and small town life was it for me, and the ranch my full time responsibility.

I set my glass down on the damp coaster. We were at a four-top near the bar, but the place was crowded. Still, I loved to catch up with my friends and get the scoop on people from my past. "No! What happened with them? I thought they’d get married and make the cutest babies."

"He cheated with Nora Gentry," Trina provided with a frown. "Nora seems to think he's her golden boy now, but I'm thinking if a guy cheats on someone else with you, he will cheat on you, too. Am I right?"

"Totally. Cheaters always cheat," I agreed. I thought about Doug, the heartthrob who had been homecoming and prom king back in high school. “Why are the good looking ones always dicks?” I shook my head, my hair sliding over my shoulder. I’d left it out of my usual braid. “I swear, I've had enough golden boys to last me a lifetime.”

I’d learned the hard way in Australia not to fall for the hot guy on the ranch. Especially ones with sexy accents.

Speaking of hot guys, two broad-shouldered men across the bar snagged my attention. They must have come in after I had, because with their build and good looks, they’d have been hard to miss.

Even harder, since their faces were already etched in my mind.

It was them. They were here!

The guys who’d come to our door this morning. What were their names? I replayed the delicious growl of their voices as they’d introduced themselves. Agent Decker and Sheriff Cooke. How could I forget? Hell, I doubted I’d forget anything about them, especially how pissed my father was with them.

My skin prickled, and my heart started to gallop. My palms became sweaty with nerves I hadn’t felt since sixth grade around the new kid who’d started mid-year. He’d had a cute smile but only cared about football and his pet gecko. Total dud.

These guys? Far from duds where my ovaries were concerned.

“Who are those two hotties over there, do you know?” I hid my stare under the brim of my cowgirl hat.

Trina’s face brightened at my question, and she didn’t bother to be subtle. She twisted fully around to gawk.

“That's Sheriff Cooke,” she said, like he wasn’t the most incredible specimen of manhood she’d ever seen. “I don't know who the other one is. And they are hotties.”

I finally looked up, sneaking a glance.

“He's DEA,” I murmured, not taking my eyes off the two of them. I couldn’t decide which one I thought was hotter. They weren’t in their uniforms any longer. Plain clothes or uniform—either way, they looked good. Good enough to eat. And at my front door earlier, they’d definitely been looking at me like they were hungry.

Regardless of my attraction, Sheriff Cooke was the asshole my dad had told me about. The one who’d harassed him last year over the wolf issue. The one my dad had yelled at me to steer clear of.

I got that wolves were protected, but I also knew how much it sucked to have a wolf picking off the herd. I’d seen that happen a few times. I totally understood why it made ranchers go berserk, especially on a ranch the size of ours, since the livestock couldn’t be watched or protected all the time.

“So you already know?” Melissa asked with a sly smile. “Hell, they're both gorgeous, so let's go over there and talk to them. The sheriff’s single, at least. I wouldn't mind a little law enforcement action.” She waggled her blonde eyebrows to match her grin.

“Too bad I’m taken,” Trina said, waving her left hand to make her engagement ring sparkle in the bar lighting.

For some reason, the idea of Melissa and me going over there and maybe pairing off with one of these guys each put my teeth on edge. As if I wanted both of them, and didn’t want to share with Melissa—or anyone, and that made absolutely no sense. Interested in two guys? Two guys who seemed to be friends? Maybe I only wanted first pick so I could make up my mind. Of course, I didn’t want both for myself. That would be absurd.

Still…

I shook my head. “No, they may be hot—” total understatement of the century, “—but they were out on my ranch today, insinuating we were part of some meth problem. My father hates their guts, pretty much. Which means they’re jerks, for sure.”

Jerks I couldn’t take my eyes off. Jerks who protected endangered wolves. Who showed up on angry people’s doorsteps mentioning drugs.

“Meth?” Trina asked, staring at me as if I’d changed languages all of a sudden.

“Meth,” I confirmed.

Melissa frowned. “Yeah. Isn’t that part of the appeal, though? Showing up about some dangerous and nefarious issue?”

Trina laughed. “Nefarious?”

“Whatever,” Melissa countered, clearly not concerned about meth in their hometown. “Those two are alpha males through and through. I think the testosterone is pumping off of them in waves.” She tapped her finger to her chin. “Maybe they have handcuffs in the car…”

“You don’t have to like them to fuck one of them, Al,” Trina reminded me.

“And I’ll take the other!” Melissa added, way too chirpily.

God, I was normally more than willing to share anything with friends—clothes, knowledge, contacts.

Just not men, I guessed.

I hopped from the stool. “If you’ll excuse me, I’m going to go give them a piece of my mind, not sleep with either of them.”

Fortunately, Melissa took the hint and didn’t get up. “Sure you don’t need help?”

“I’m sure.” I finished my Jack and ginger, and stomped my way to the back where the two men were sitting. The DEA guy saw me coming and said something to his partner. Both men stood when I got there, like gentlemen. Like this was a date, and not me giving them a piece of my mind.

“Officers,” I said coolly. I was tall for a woman, but they still had a few inches on me.

The sheriff pulled out a chair between them in clear invitation. I looked at it. I’d had no plan to sit down between them, but his assumption that I would made it a tiny bit appealing.

“Ali,” Agent Decker rumbled, remembering my name. Once again, his expression was hungry.

It made my nipples stand up inside my bra, and heat travel from my center all the way down the insides of my legs.

“Sheriff.” I nodded the brim of my cowgirl hat at him without a smile.

“You can call me Holt. This is Theo. Please, have a seat. Can I get you a drink?” he asked, his voice deep and smooth.

I shook my head. “No, I don’t need a drink and I don’t need a seat,” I said, trying to remember the tirade I’d rehearsed on my way over. “I’m just wondering why in the hell you two were knocking on my door today. Maybe you don’t know this—” I looked pointedly at Theo, the out-of-town DEA agent, “—but my family has had that ranch for over a hundred years. We’re the oldest ranching family in the state. We’re running a million dollar business out there.”

“We are both aware,” Theo said. Both men remained standing. Calm. Focused. On me.

Far from showing any defensive posturing like I’d expected, they were angled toward me, standing a bit too close, like we were friends. Good friends.

“I’m from West Springs originally, as well,” Theo added.

I tried not to lose myself in his ocean blue eyes. This guy. He’d be the one I’d pick. Too bad he didn’t live here. Maybe that was a good thing. Like Trina had said, I didn’t have to like him to fuck him.

Well, I did. I liked sex, but I had to have some kind of connection, besides anger.

“Well, then you should know you’re barking up the wrong tree,” I countered, lifting my chin a touch higher. “My family is not a bunch of meth heads working out of some dilapidated house.” I fixed Holt with a challenging look. “We have far more important and lucrative business endeavors, Sheriff.”

“Of course, you do,” he soothed. “But remember, there are two sides to every story.”

Meaning what? That my father was wrong?

He winked. Winked! How could he be playful when I was angry?

Except it was hard to be angry at a guy who was flat-out gorgeous, with his dark ruffled hair and two deep dimples.

“Holt.” He pointed at his black t-shirt, which was snug over his sturdy frame and thick muscles. “You can skip the sheriff. Not on duty now.” Instead of addressing my concerns, he tipped his head toward the dartboard on the wall. “You play darts?”

I frowned. They were agreeing with me? Darts? “Um…”

Both men closed in, but not in a threatening way. More… eager.

“I might have been a DEA agent on your doorstep, but right here, right now, I’m Theo.” He touched my arm so lightly, it couldn’t be construed as anything but friendly.

“Theo,” I repeated.

“Darts?” Holt asked again.

I blinked. “Well, sure,” I said, swallowing hard at how good they smelled. “I play.”

I was rewarded with a pair of smiles that could melt all the panties in the bar. I stole a glance over at my friends. Of course they were watching. Melissa waved but didn't look mad that I had essentially claimed two guys for myself instead of sharing with her. Although sharing meant we’d be abandoning Trina, so I figured Melissa was the bigger person all around tonight. Right?

“I’ll get the darts,” Theo offered. “What are you drinking?”

“Just a soda,” I said, because I’d already had one drink, and something about these men made me not trust myself. I needed a clear head with them.

“I’m surprised we haven’t met before today,” Holt said when Theo headed to the bar.

“I just returned from Laramie,” I replied, the small Wyoming town being the location of the main state university.

“Returned for good? You’re sticking around?”

Why did he seem so terribly interested in my answer? It was as if the world was hanging in the balance. His dark eyes held mine as if I were snagged, caught, and couldn’t look away.

“Yes. My brother was supposed to run the ranch with my dad, then take over someday, but, uh, it wasn’t his thing. I’ll be the rancher you harass in the future.”

Far from taking offense, the sheriff just grinned, those sexy dimples winking at me. “Looking forward to it. I’ll try not to drive you too crazy.” Something about the way he said it made it seem like he meant the exact opposite. He adjusted his hat and kept right on staring.

Theo returned with three sets of darts and a glass of soda dripping with perspiration from the ice. “Ladies first.” He handed me the darts and my drink, and I had to look away.

I shook my head. “No, you.” I needed to know I had some control here.

“All right, then.” Theo opened his case and tossed one without taking his gaze off me. It hit close to center.

I set my glass on the table, untouched, and picked up a dart. Were these guys screwing with me? Just like they’d messed with my father earlier? Playing a game besides darts. Being nice to… what? Butter me up? But I’d approached them.

I threw the dart and it hit the bullseye.

“Nice one,” Theo said.

“Beautiful,” the sheriff agreed. His low rumble shot straight between my legs. Especially because he seemed to be talking about me, not my throw.

“I think you’re both messing around,” I asserted. I was riled from my father’s tirade this morning after they left. From the fact that seeing them again made me view them not as law enforcement officers doing their jobs, but as men. Attractive ones who kicked my libido into high gear. I shouldn’t be into them.

My father would kill me. What if he was right, and these two were out to get my family for some ridiculous vendetta? It wouldn’t lead to anything good. So I was grumpy when I said, “You didn’t even look before you threw.”

“That’s probably because there’s something far prettier to look at,” Holt said. He stepped closer.

It was strange that I sensed no competition between them, especially when Theo also moved nearer. Too near.

“We admit we’d rather set our sights on you,” Theo said.

“I’m the target, then?” They were close enough that if I lifted my hands, I’d be touching a big, strong, virile male. Or even two, if I wanted.

And I sort of did want to.

“Hell, yeah,” Holt agreed.

I looked between them. I guessed I was waiting for some disagreement or challenge from Theo. He didn’t offer any. When it set in that he was in agreement, my jaw opened.

“You’re not talking about darts.” I glanced back and forth between them, taking in one set of serious blue eyes and a set of dark ones—both intent on nothing in the bar but me. "Both of you?"

They nodded. Theo's hand came to lightly rest on my hip.

"Together?" The word got stuck in my throat, and I needed a swig of my soda.

Holt brushed my long hair back from my shoulder, then tipped my hat up slightly so he could see my eyes better. "That's right. We don't mind sharing. We like it."

"You're kidding." They were kidding, right? A bar thing, putting their moves on a woman to see how far she’d go?

"Not at all." Holt took the remaining darts from my hand. "Why don't you come with us, and we'll show you how it works?"

I sputtered out a laugh. “The it you’re referring to is what? Sex with both of you? Your dicks?”

They didn’t respond to my bold words, only kept right on watching me. Waiting. As if they didn’t need to waste time repeating themselves, and were letting me adjust to the idea.

Oh my God. It. With both of them. That sounded… incredible. Hedonistic. Thrilling.

I wanted to. I so did. I hadn’t had sex in a year. Not since my unfortunate roll in the hay with that jerky guy in Australia.

But reason worked its way back into my brain. These two had harassed my dad today. On our doorstep. After they’d left, I’d had to listen to him vent his frustrations about the whole situation, then how he felt they were trying to railroad him with the whole meth thing.

I’d missed the wolf shootings the previous year, and knew nothing about meth problems, but I believed my father. Because of that, I might have been able to talk myself into having a fling with a guy while living under my dad’s roof—I was an adult, and adults had sex. But doing it with not one, but two men at once, and in particular, the two men who’d pissed my dad off this afternoon?

No.

No way.

My father wasn’t the easiest man to get along with, and I didn’t need to start off working beside him on the ranch by disrespecting him that way. Yet he didn’t rule my sex life either.

I shook my head. “Yeah, not happening. You’re both hot and all, and you’ve got this—” I waggled my finger between them, “—alpha male thing going that might melt panties, but I’m leaving with my friends,” I said with total finality. “It’s been nice talking to you.” With that, I swung on my heel and strutted back to where my friends sat watching us.

I stood and waited while they got up, only daring a glance over my shoulder when we were heading out the door.

Theo and Holt watched me with appreciative looks. They both lifted a hand to wave as I left. Apparently, they hadn’t given up. Which meant… what?

3

THEO

“You’re shitting me.” Gibson, our pack alpha, scowled at us from across his desk. The look he gave us was equal parts astonished, frustrated, and pissed.

I’d spent the night in Holt’s guest room, even though my parents had wanted me home with them. I usually stayed in my childhood room when I visited town, but not this time. After watching our mate walk away from us the night before, I’d needed to at least stay close to my scent-match.

We had to plan. Figure out what the hell we were going to do, because our wolves weren’t going to give us much time.

We’d pushed too hard, too fast, at the bar, and we had to regroup. Get our heads on straight, which was pretty fucking hard when we were thinking with our dicks.

Today, the first order of business had been to talk to Gibson. He needed to know the trouble we were about to stir up, both in going after Bob Jenkins, and in claiming his enticing daughter.

Not only did the alpha have pack members who’d found their mate in—yet another—human, but the daughter of the guy who’d killed the wolves the year before.

Holt and I sat across from Gibson in his home office as we waited for him to work through the news. There were no other sounds in the house, only the hum of various appliances. No one else was around, although I picked up the strong scents of his scent-match and their mate.

“This is going to be an even bigger clusterfuck than Wade and Landry claiming a wolf biologist responsible for tagging wolves in the area,” he grumbled. “And that was a big fucking mess.”

I hadn’t met Rachel—Wade and Landry’s human mate—yet, but I’d heard the story from my parents. From what they’d told me, she’d unwittingly put tags in wolves as part of her research work at Granger State—tags which Bob Jenkins, Tim Hollaroy and their cronies used to track and kill them.

“We have no reason to believe Ali hates wolves as much as her father,” Holt rumbled, defensive on behalf of our mate.

“I hate that fucker.” Gibson leaned back in his desk chair and ran a hand over his beard. “Hollaroy’s most likely the guy who killed Landry’s mother, but Jenkins is no saint.”

I worked to swallow. Fuck. Bringing the daughter of someone who had harmed our pack so horribly into the fold could be difficult. What if the pack rejected her? As if we didn’t have enough problems with figuring out how to get our mate to even give us the time of day.

Gibson sighed, then looked at me. “Now you’re telling me you think he’s making meth on his land, and distributing it across the state?”

I nodded. This was one thing I could control. I had facts. Data. “Yes.”

Shifters didn’t need to take drugs. It was pointless because our metabolism burned the chemical effects off too quickly to make them fun, and we couldn’t become addicted. While I was sure Gibson wasn’t thrilled about the fact that drug creation and distribution had most likely started within miles of our land, he didn’t have to worry about an impact on any of his pack.

Except for the impact on me and Holt—namely, the challenges we were going to have in arresting the father of the female we were dying to claim.

“You have proof?” he asked.

“Credible leads to bring me back here to investigate,” I told him.

“And now a mate to keep you here in West Springs.”

Holt had mentioned it only yesterday: that if we found our mate, I’d move back. He’d said it without any expectation of our coming upon her only a few minutes later.

But we had. She was ours. Running into her at the bar the night before only validated what we already knew. Ali Jenkins was our fated mate. The one female who would produce the urge in us to claim and forever mark her with our scent.

It was Ali who didn’t know it yet.

I still had her scent in my head, driving me wild. My wolf would know her anywhere. He was prowling with eagerness to get back to her, not letting me get any sleep the night before, angry that she wasn’t beside us.

Even now, sitting in the alpha’s office and updating him was keeping us from her, but it was far from a waste of time. It was how the pack worked—telling the alpha about threats to the community. Seeking his advice and counsel. Obeying his word.

Although, when it came to scent-matches and their mate, he didn’t have much control. The bond was stronger than even an alpha’s orders.

“I’m relocating, that’s for sure. Our mate’s here, and that’s all the reason I need.” I looked to Holt. “Need a deputy?”

He grinned because I was far too qualified for that subordinate role.

“You two need to lock in that female first thing,” Gibson reminded us grimly.

The smile slipped from Holt’s face. “It will be tricky. Her father wants her nowhere near us,” he said, referencing the convo we’d overheard standing on their porch.

Gibson’s back went straight, his brows down. “How old is she? Is she legal?”

“Twenty-two or three, maybe,” Holt countered.

Gibson relaxed. “Then she can make up her own fucking mind. She doesn’t need her daddy to tell her what to do. Unless you’re her daddies now.”

I knew the alpha and his scent-match were into that kink with their mate, Shelby. If we discovered that was what made Ali hot, then it was our job to fulfill it, but I had a feeling it’d be something different. Our mate was a feisty thing. Bossy. I had a feeling she might like being told what to do. To let that pretty head of hers take a break while we took control.

Holt took off his Stetson, sat it in his lap. “It’s going to be a challenge. There’s a lot at stake here with the meth situation, as well as the ongoing tension with ranchers over wolves. We can’t exactly give her daddy a pass just because she’s our mate, can we?”

“Yeah, and you’re going to have to tell the daughter of an anti-wolf asshole that she’s the mate of not one male, but two, and that you’re both shifters. Who’s to say she’s not going to tell her father or anyone else?” Gibson said.

That was our concern as well.

“Any suggestions?” I asked.

Gibson shook his head. “You need to lock her in. Shift her allegiance from the Jenkins family to the one you’ll make together.”

Neither Holt nor I said anything because that was our plan. We’d stayed up half the night hashing through the situation, and came up with the only answer—to pour everything we had into pleasuring our mate. Saturating her with love. Cherishing her. Proving we would take care of her, that she could trust us.

But asking her to give up her allegiance to her own family? That might be too much.

We didn’t even have our foot in the door with her yet. We’d stated our intentions the night before at the bar, but she’d turned us down. Walked away. I wasn’t going to toss her over my shoulder and kidnap her, no matter how much my wolf liked the concept. She had to consent to be with us. Want us. She might be our mate, but I wouldn’t take her any other way.

I knew Holt agreed.

“Why the hell can’t my pack members find perfectly good shifter mates?” Gibson asked. “If Ali was a she-wolf, you’d have her in your bed and your marks on her neck by now. Everything would be simple and easy.”

My inner wolf growled in frustration thinking about getting Ali between us and seeing our marks on her tanned skin. She was a spirited one, and I imagined she’d be equally so in bed. She’d quickly learn who was in charge in our triad, and it wasn’t her. “No kidding. Fate is fucking fickle.”

“What’s your plan?” he wondered. “I assume you have one.” I was thankful he wasn’t telling us what to do, which was probably why he was a good alpha. He didn’t waste time on micromanaging.

I looked to Holt. Met his gaze.

“Regardless of me quitting the DEA, I have to find the source of the meth. Especially if it’s coming from West Springs.”

“Agreed,” Holt replied. “During the day, we work. At night, we work on Ali.”

Gibson pushed to his feet, and slapped a hand on the top of his desk. “Keep me updated. And for fuck’s sake, get your marks on her. We need her loyalties with the pack before you go arresting her dad.”

ALI

I clicked my tongue to urge my speckled mare, Daisy, forward. It felt great to be back riding the family land again. Being away and working on other ranches only sweetened my homecoming. I relished the views, the waving grass, the familiar mountain peaks that were in my blood. That I’d woken up to every morning of my childhood. Some day, all of this would be mine to run. This was the land where I would raise a family. I imagined a whole bunch of boys running wild out here. A husband, too, I guessed.

Of course, that thought brought the throbbing back between my legs.

I dreamed all night about being in bed with two men. Not just any two, but Theo and Holt, the lawmen from the bar.

Had they actually offered me a threesome? Suggested they’d share me?

Daisy whinnied, and I leaned forward to pat her neck.

I’d been so stunned by it all, by them, I hadn’t been able to tell Melissa or Trina what they had proposed.

Who knew I was into something so kinky? I hadn’t once considered the possibility. Sure, I’d read about it in romance books that helped pass the freezing winters, but in reality? Me? In a threesome? All I knew was I’d woken up today horny and frustrated, and sorry I’d walked away from what might have been a once in a lifetime experience.

Especially because I’d had in my head my every angry word my dad had shouted at me after they’d come to the door. He’d acted like a dick, and I’d funneled that anger toward the men. My dad was back at the house on the La-Z-Boy chair, nursing his third beer and bellowing about wolf-lovers when I headed for the stable after lunch, still pissed and stewing on it over twenty-four hours later.

Whatever. I’d much rather work alone. I was trying very hard to hold onto that feeling of being my own woman. The one I’d developed while I’d been away at college and abroad.

While my dad and I would be working the family land together, this whole new arrangement would go better if we weren’t living under the same roof. I’d been on my own since I was eighteen, and yet my bedroom here still had pink walls. I was too old for a twin mattress!

It certainly wouldn’t fit two hot men. Gah! I wanted them. Wanted something risky and wild and sexy and fun and… maybe even something my dad would hate.

Daisy whinnied again, breaking me from my thoughts. My goal this afternoon was to ride out and check the old cabins and bunkhouses on the property to pick one to move into. I needed my own space or I’d end up walking away from this ranch and my inheritance like my brother had.

I decided to start by checking out the building farthest from the ranch house—my great grandparents’ original place on the far eighty plot. There was a rutted and rugged dirt road to get to it and I knew it would be hard to access in the winter, but it was sturdy, had electricity, well water, and a big fireplace for heat. I’d be fine. And it didn’t have pink walls or K-Pop posters.

As I approached, two things surprised me. One, the structure was no longer standing. It had been burned completely to the ground. And two, I wasn’t alone.

Two wide-backed cowboys were hiking around the outskirts of the ruins.

Not just any two men.

My men.

Well, not my men, but the men who’d starred in my dreams last night. What the hell were they doing here? It was like fate kept putting them in my path.

And dammit, they were trespassing. Good thing I always brought a rifle when riding the land. I swung off Daisy when I reached the partially charred fence, and grabbed the weapon.

“Gentlemen.” I aimed the Remington at Theo’s cowboy hat, and pumped it. “I believe you’re on private property.”

Far from looking dismayed, both offered me up the sexiest grins in all of Wyoming as they lifted their hands in the air. They didn’t seem too concerned about being shot.

“Ali,” Holt rumbled. “We were hoping we’d run into you again.”

I shifted, still aiming down the barrel of the rifle. “Don’t take another step. I’m a very good shot. What are you doing on my land? Again.”

“We were curious about the cause of this fire,” Theo said, thumbing over his shoulder, but he didn’t seem curious about anything but me. The way both men looked at me was like they were hungry. Starved, actually. And I was their next meal.

“Why?” I countered. “Sadly, it was probably a lightning strike. You can see how the grass was burned down the hill.” I pointed in that direction.

“We told you yesterday. We’re working a statewide meth ring.”

“Yeah, but here?” I swallowed hard. “You have a search warrant?”

I had no idea why I asked that. Something about them riled me. Why them? Why now, and in my space? It was as if they were here to thwart my plan to move into the old cabin. The fire had been recent, but fresh grass was shooting up amongst the black ash, meaning it had happened at least a few weeks earlier. They hadn’t started it. Why would they have done so? So why was I pushing my disappointment at seeing the place destroyed on them?

Holt walked slowly toward me, his manner completely open and friendly, his hands still loosely in the air. He wasn’t in his uniform but a pair of dark jeans and white t-shirt. “I’m sorry, we don’t. We saw the burned structure from the service road, and ducked under the fence to have a better look. I don’t recall hearing about a fire out here from the local department.” He glanced around. “Do you know when this happened?”

I lowered the weapon since all three of us knew I wasn’t going to use it on them. I cocked my head to the side. My braid slid across my back. “Why are you asking?”

He sniffed, his nostrils flaring. “Cooking meth can sometimes go wrong. A burnt-out structure can be a sign of nefarious activity.”

Nefarious activity. Weren’t those the same words Trina had used when talking about fucking them?

Don’t think about having sex with these two men. Don’t think—

I pulled my cowgirl hat off and fanned my face with it. The sun was high and strong, and I could feel sweat trickling down between my breasts. Yeah, that was the excuse I was using for all of a sudden becoming warm all over. It wasn’t because of the hotties in front of me.

“Look, you’re looking in the wrong place. This cabin was my great-grandparents’ original homestead, and I can assure you they weren’t cooking meth. It hasn’t been used since my great-granny died when I was in kindergarten. This is the first I knew it was even destroyed. I’d been hoping to… well, it doesn’t matter now. My father hasn’t mentioned it, so I assume he wasn’t aware either.”

“I’m sure you’re right,” Holt replied easily. “You said yourself, you’ve been away. Do you mind if we take a few samples for chemical testing? It would be great if we could rule this place out, steer our attention elsewhere. I mean, I can come back with a warrant, but you know how that’s going to set your dad off…” Holt flashed that panty-melting grin at me again and I was a goner.

“You’re saying that meth was being made here on my property? That… what, the cabin was burned down when something went wrong?”

Theo shrugged his broad shoulders. Gone was the DEA windbreaker, although it was replaced with a navy t-shirt with the letters on his pec. His well-formed, impressive pec. “Or someone was trying to hide evidence.”

“You think my dad was in on this? He’s a smart man, but meth? I mean, it involves fertilizer and other chemicals, right? Why would he come up here and play chemistry set?”

Theo rubbed his fingers together on his raised hand. “Money. I doubt he did the playing. He doesn’t seem like the kind to get his hands dirty.”

“Except for shooting wolves,” Holt grumbled.

“They were on our land!” I countered, riled once again.

Holt shook his head. “No, they weren’t.”

“But—”

“Daddy told you they were, huh?” Holt asked. “Come to the station, and I’ll give you the report. You can read the truth. Don’t even have to hear it from me.”

I pursed my lips. Doubt crept in, and that made me angry. How dare they make me doubt my family? But if they were doing bad things…

“Can we get that sample, sweetheart?” Theo asked.

I blinked, snagged on the endearment.

They were right, it was better for these guys to take their samples and rule us out than to come back and set my dad off, especially when he’d been drinking all afternoon. They’d find out there wasn’t any chemical residue, that this was most likely an unfortunate lightning strike-caused fire.

The data would be impartial. It wasn’t Holt and Theo’s words against my dad’s. “Sure, that’s fine,” I said.

Theo lowered his hands and wandered closer. “I really am glad we bumped into you again.”

My heart beat faster. To hide my attraction, I pulled an attitude and raised an eyebrow. It was hard to be angry with them when they were just too… too… them. “Yeah, why is that?”

“I wanted to apologize for last night. I’m sorry if I—we—came on too strong. We didn’t mean to scare you off.”

“I wasn’t scared,” I countered. “I was… enticed.” Oh God! Did I just admit that? What was wrong with me?

Theo was near enough—he reached out to rest a hand lightly on my waist. “Were you?” His deep rumble activated all my nerve endings, making them vibrate and tingle. Holt finished putting his samples in little baggies and came over to stand behind me so I had one guy in front of me, one on my left. He lightly touched the other side of my waist.

They were showing me what it would be like to be sandwiched by them.

I swallowed, and tried to calm my racing heart.

“Can we entice you some more? How about dinner tonight?” Holt suggested, his voice low and rumbly.

Wind kicked up and brushed a wayward curl across my face. He reached up and tucked it behind my ear.

“Okay,” I said before I thought things through. As if my pussy had answered instead of my brain. “Er, actually, maybe that’s not the best plan. It’s a small town, and my dad really does not like you, Sheriff. I would hate—”

“Holt,” he prompted, clearly not wanting to be called by his job title right now.

“—for gossip to get started and find its way back home.”

“How about dinner at Holt’s place, then?” Theo offered. “I’ll barbecue some steaks. Say, six o’clock?”

I licked my lips, and Theo’s gaze tracked the movement. “Wow, you guys do come on a little strong.”

“But you’re not scared.” Theo said it as more of a statement than a question. A confirmation.

Maybe I should have been afraid, but I wasn’t. This was my town, and it was a small one where everyone knew everyone else. Plus, these guys were law enforcement agents. They wouldn’t force me into something I didn’t want to do.

I shook my head. “No. Should I be?”

“Never,” Holt said immediately, his presence warm and strong at my side. “We want to make you feel good, Ali. We are both completely entranced by you.”

I turned to face him and he was closer than I expected, which meant I found myself standing in his arms, my palm against his chest. Theo closed in from behind. I felt so small, so protected all of a sudden. “Entranced?” I sounded breathless, like I was the one being entranced.

God, how could it feel like this? So intense? So… right?

“Enticed.” Holt’s rumble was just as seductive as Theo’s. I felt it viscerally in every part of my body. He slid a thumb across my cheek, then gently took the rifle from my hand and passed it to Theo. “May I kiss you, Ali?”

I might have liked to read about women being kidnapped by aliens and forced to do all kinds of dirty things, but in real life, consent was sexy. The mere question had me soaking my panties.

A half-dozen different answers flitted through my head—all affirmative—before I managed to let out the single syllable. “Yes.”

The moment I spoke it, Holt’s lips crashed down over mine. Theo’s hand—at least I thought it was Theo’s—squeezed and massaged my ass the entire time Holt drank from my lips. Heat bloomed in my core, spreading in all directions, setting me on fire. I gripped the rough fabric of Holt’s t-shirt. I wasn’t sure whether it was to pull him closer or keep my balance. All I knew was that I was lost in the kiss. In drinking in this experience, in feeling both seductive and seduced at once.

“Mmm, let me have some of that,” Theo rumbled behind me after Holt and I had been going at it for a long moment. I didn’t want to break the kiss with Holt, but I wanted to taste Theo, too. Holt did me the favor of breaking the kiss and turning me around to face his friend. Theo was a little taller. He looped a large palm behind my neck and tipped my face up to his, slowing the second before he made contact, as if he wanted to savor the moment.

My nipples tightened and burned inside my bra, my legs quivered. Holt reached around the front of me and stretched a palm against my belly, slowly traveling south as I moaned into Theo’s mouth.

Oh. My. God.

Holt’s fingers found home, coasting down the inseam of my jeans and pressing in over my clit. I was suddenly feverish, burning up in the warm July sun, sandwiched between two passionate lawmen.

I gasped when Holt slid his fingers all the way down between my legs, and rubbed. I bit Theo’s lower lip as the need for a little aggression, a little release, washed over me.

He chuckled and hooked an arm behind my back, drawing me right up against his body. It was hard with muscles, his frame sturdy and large.

These men would make fine fathers to those boys I’d been imagining in my future. That thought flittered into my head with surprising ease.

Wait… what? I couldn’t have children with two men. I’d have to pick. And also… whoa. Too fast. These guys were out for sex, not to settle down and run a ranch with me with little kids running around.

Obviously. A guy didn’t pick up a girl with a friend looking for the woman to settle down with. That should have knocked some sense into me. Slowed me down. But it didn’t. I was young and hungry for this experience. I was twenty-three, and not ready to make babies. I felt safe. These guys turned me on, and seemed to want to give me pleasure. I was going to let them.

“That’s a yes on dinner,” I said breathlessly when Theo finally lifted his head.

Both men chuckled, and I couldn’t help but smile. Was I being reckless? Did I even care?

4

HOLT

I was in love. Madly, crazily, ferociously in love.

One kiss, and I’d never been more sure of anything in my life. Not that her scent hadn’t been tantalizing enough. But now that I’d tasted her?

I couldn’t go on.

Not without Theo and me claiming her.

I didn’t want to let her go. I had my hand between her sexy thighs, listening to her breathy moans. But now wasn’t really the time or place to take things further. We could make it work—of course we could—but I wanted our first time with Ali to be a bit more finessed. Not standing up in a field. Or bent over a fence rail at the site of a burned-out meth lab.

Okay, scratch that. I would totally have done any of those scenarios right then, and since Ali didn’t have a shifter’s scent, she didn’t know what had last gone down in her family’s old cabin.

But Ali gave Theo a slight push after their kiss ended, and I reluctantly let go of her as well.

“Tonight, then,” I confirmed, although my wolf wasn’t happy to wait. “Let me give you my address. May I have your phone?” I slid my hand into her back pocket where I’d felt it, and retrieved it. I texted myself from her phone, then replied with my address. “Now you have my number and know where to come tonight.”

Yeah, she’d be coming there. Fuck, I sounded like a fucking idiot, but my dick—and my wolf—didn’t care.

Ali’s lips were swollen and pink from the kisses, her face flushed and glowing. “What can I bring?”

“Just yourself, sweetheart,” Theo said. “You’re all I’m going to want to eat.”

She swatted his shoulder, her blush growing deeper.

“What would you like to drink? Was it Jack and ginger?” I asked, remembering the scent on her breath from the bar. “Or should I get a bottle of wine?”

Her smile nearly brought me to my knees. “A bottle of wine sounds good. Chardonnay?”

“Wine it is. And steak. And we’ll figure out the rest. You just bring your gorgeous self,” Theo said.

“It’s a date,” she replied. No three words had ever made me happier.

Theo handed her the rifle back and we walked her to the horse, who had been absently grazing the tall grass. I knew she didn’t need help mounting her mare, but I wanted to touch her again, so I put my hands on her waist and lifted as she sprang into the saddle.

“See you tonight,” I told her, tilting my head back to look up at her.

She controlled her horse with the easy shift of the reins and the clench of her toned thighs.

“Tonight,” Theo agreed.

She made a clicking sound and turned the mare to head in the direction she’d come. Seeing her astride a horse made me think of her riding me. Or watching her take all of Theo.

“Damn,” Theo murmured as we watched her go, shifting his dick in his jeans.

“Right?”

Once she’d disappeared over the rise, we turned back to the ruins. My wolf wanted to chase after her, pull her off the horse and take her in the tall grass in the most primitive of ways.

But she was human.

She was the daughter of our pack’s enemy.

We had to do this right or it could go so fucking wrong.

Theo pulled his cowboy hat off and rubbed his head. “I’m not sure how she’s going to get past us putting her father in prison.”

My shoulders sagged because Theo was right. We couldn’t miss the chemical scent in the ashes. We didn’t need the lab tests to prove anything. This old cabin burned down as a result of a chemical fire.

Someone had cooked meth here. On the land our mate was to ranch.

ALI

After seeing the destruction to the cabin and the limited access to it if help was needed, I decided that anything other than the main house wasn’t going to work. If I didn’t know the place had burned down, did my dad, or anyone else who worked at the ranch? If a lightning strike had been what finished the old place, then it could happen while I lived there.

Firefighters couldn’t get a big truck down the rustic dirt road to put it out. There was phone reception, but who would I call? What if I got hurt? No one would be able to help me.

I might be eager for a little space, but I wasn’t stupid. I’d have to think of something different. After handing off Daisy to a hand to be brushed and fed, I showered, taking my time to wash off the sweat of the day.

What the water didn’t do was wash away the thoughts of Holt and Theo. Of their kisses. Of me saying yes to having dinner with them. Them! My nipples were hard and my clit throbbed with the need to come. I hadn’t been this aroused—and they weren’t anywhere near me—in… ever.

I’d been hot for them since I opened the front door to them the day before. Those kisses and Holt touching me so intimately—even over my jeans—had made me needy. I had to come. While dinner at Holt’s house might lead to something, I knew how to get myself off. It wasn’t the same thing as a hot guy, but I hadn’t had tons of luck in that department. I needed relief, and my fingers could give it to me. Leaning against the shower wall, I touched my clit, rubbing it in the small circular motion I knew worked.

What was different was that I thought about Theo’s blue eyes. His strong body. Holt’s dimples. The skilled hand he’d had between my thighs.

I came on a gasp in less than a minute. I had been that needy, and the man-candy porn in my head had made it easy.

I slumped against the shower wall and caught my breath. Thought about how I’d just masturbated to thoughts of being with two men.

While it was a new fantasy for me, both of them being interested in me seemed to be a thing for them. Not a one off, but more of a way of life. They dated and touched a woman together. Although the concept of that was somewhat crazy, they seemed to be anything but.

Clear, level headed.

The fact that they’d come to the house with suspicions of meth coming from Granger County and then them being at the destroyed cabin only showed they were diligent in their jobs. It didn’t feel like they were trying to pin something on anyone in the Jenkins family. In fact, it felt as if they were trying to rule us out, to steer their investigation elsewhere.

I didn’t think my father would see it that way though.

An hour later, when I caught up with him on the back patio, I confirmed I was right.

“What do you mean, it burned down?” he asked.

An empty tumbler was on the wrought-iron coffee table in front of him. I didn’t know if this was the bottom of his first or fifth glass.

Instead of sitting, I set my hands on the back of the large outdoor sofa and faced him. I’d left my hair long down my back, and I’d put on some makeup. Eyeliner, mascara, and colored lip gloss was the extent of my routine, but I wanted to look pretty for Holt and Theo. Sure, they’d kissed me when I’d been sweaty and smelled a little like horse, but even I wanted to feel special. To be looked at with appreciation.

Except I didn’t want to look like I was trying, either. My fresh jeans and new blouse with pretty flowers embroidered on it said: I don’t want steak. I want a different kind of beef, and from two men. Gimme.

Maybe.

Hopefully.

My doubts had me antsy, and I needed to pace. “It’s nothing but ashes and charred wood,” I explained. “The stone fireplace is still standing, but nothing else.”

He swore under his breath.

“What do you think happened?” I pressed, trying to see how he’d react or what he’d say.

His dark gaze, one that matched mine, flicked up to me as he shrugged. “I don’t know. There was electricity to the place but I don’t think it’s been on for years. There’s a lever to flip at the fuse box.”

“No fuse box now,” I murmured, remembering how it looked as if a bomb had been dropped from the sky.

“Lightning then.”

“That’s what I thought, too.” It was the truth. Grass fires started all the time from lightning strikes. They could be much more devastating than destroying one old cabin.

“It didn’t spread though. Only grass around it caught,” I added, putting doubt into our idea.

Dad leaned forward to grab his empty glass and paused for a second, then picked it up and stood. He went through the open sliding doors and into the kitchen.

The room hadn’t been updated since Mom had done it when I was in second grade. It could use an overhaul, but since she was gone, I hadn’t known my father to make many changes. Her death had messed with him. I hadn’t seen much of the sunny and warm man I remembered since.

“What are you getting at, Alison?” he asked, setting the glass in the sink for Mary, the housekeeper.

He turned and faced me, and I met his gaze. I saw the strong and formidable man I’d known my whole life, but I looked at him a little differently now.

He’d shot those wolves. He’d admitted to it. Been found guilty. Given a fine for breaking the law, which was like a drop in the bucket to the family finances.

“I don’t know. But you aren’t bothered that the original homestead cabin burned down? All that history destroyed?”

“Of course I care, but it’s too late.”

“Too late?” I asked.

He turned away, making me wonder if he had something to hide. Was I being paranoid?

“Mary left a casserole.” He went to the fridge and pulled out the covered dish.

“I’m having dinner in town with friends,” I said.

He glanced at me, then went to set the temperature on the oven.

“I’ll call the insurance company about the cabin in the morning. I assume the paperwork is in the file cabinet in the office?” I said.

With a heavy clunk, he set the casserole on the center island. “We don’t need insurance adjusters out there.”

“It wasn’t on the policy? I’d think it’d have something about outbuildings.”

“I won’t have our rates go up because of a claim on a place that was barely standing.”

The last I remembered, the place had been more than barely standing. That cabin had been built like a log fortress. Small but mighty. Then again, I’d been away for years, and we had rough winters. Maybe the roof had gotten a hole and weather got in. It would easily fall into disrepair if that had occurred.

“I’ll call the adjuster, just in case,” I stated. “You never know how much they’ll—”

“No!” Dad shouted, his deep voice echoing off the tile floor and sturdy walls.

My eyes widened and I stared, stunned by his outburst.

“You will not do that.”

“Just like I won’t talk to the police officers who came to the house yesterday?” I countered somewhat bitterly. I wasn’t used to being dictated to as if I were a child.

I might be his child, but I’d expected to come back as an equal. A partner. Was this why Steven had moved to Spokane? Had my brother up and left because Dad was being an asshole?

“Alison,” he said, the tone of his voice familiar from childhood when I’d done something wrong. I hadn’t been angelic, but I hadn’t been a hellion either.

“I’m not eight, and I didn’t spill nail polish on the carpet.” I set my hands on my hips and glared right back at him. “You’re intentionally not answering my question.”

I hadn’t thought before I’d asked, but I wanted to know. Why was he being so demanding and difficult about the cabin? Was the DEA correct? Had the path Theo had followed led him directly to the source of meth? My father?

“Those police officers like to stick their noses into people’s business.”

“You mean like last year, when you illegally shot endangered wolves?”

“You’re taking their side now?” His shoulders went back, as if hardening himself against what he felt was a personal attack.

“I was stating a fact,” I replied as calmly as I could. “You shot the animals, and you faced the consequences. It’s not the sheriff’s fault you don’t like that he enforced them.”

“They were on our land!”

“No, they weren’t!”

He frowned. “They would have been.”

“You paid a professor at the university to tag them so you could track and then kill them. That’s not even sport hunting.”

His gaze narrowed on me and for the first time, I saw something inside my dad I didn’t recognize. Something dark.

“How did you hear about that?” he asked, his voice quiet.

“When your story didn’t match the sheriff’s, I looked it up on the Internet in the Wolf Springs paper and read all about it.” After I saw Holt and Theo.

“Now you’re a wolf lover?” he snapped.

I tossed up my hands. We weren’t getting anywhere. I glanced at the rooster clock on the wall above the sink. I had a date to get to.

I didn’t answer his question aloud, but as I left him with his casserole, I was starting to think: yeah, I was a wolf lover.

5

THEO

We didn’t have to do any more searching after we found the burned-out cabin. The scent of ammonia was too strong for our shifter noses to miss. Then Ali had appeared upon her horse as if our wolves had summoned her. Then we’d kissed and made a date, and any work thoughts were pushed to the side.

We’d pulled together food. Holt had picked up and changed the sheets on his bed because if Ali was open to more than just kissing, we’d be using it all night long. That outdoor convo had gotten me to take a shower and rub one out, although that didn’t do anything to slake my need for her. My wolf was pushing me to claim her, and that meant a hard dick all the time. She had been more than eager earlier, and that had been with both of us. It gave me hope—enough that I called my parents, and told them we’d found our mate.

To say they’d been thrilled would have been an understatement, and they understood why I’d be spending my time with Holt—and Ali—for the foreseeable future.

I was in. Holt was in. My parents, while they had no say in any relationship I had, were in. Even the alpha was in.

We had to get Ali in… or us in Ali.

Six couldn’t come soon enough, and while we could have waited for her to come to the door, we heard her car approaching with our shifter hearing, and met her when she parked.

Holt’s place was in the foothills, tucked back in the pine forest. It sat up on a knoll with views of the entire valley. If Ali moved in there with us, she could look down upon it and more. As far as the eye could see.

I opened the car door for her, and Holt took her hand and helped her out. She was wearing a pair of skinny jeans with her cowgirl boots, and a blouse that showed off her belly button and made her tits look amazing. My mouth watered.

“I can skip the steak. She definitely looks good enough to eat,” I remarked.

Holt obviously agreed because he took her lips in a claiming kiss.

“Wow,” she said when they finally broke apart. “That was a great welcome.”

“Lemme taste,” I insisted, catching her around the waist to turn her to face me. I slanted my mouth over hers, slipping my tongue between her lips when she parted them. I held her up against my body, my free hand sliding around to cradle the back of her head from beneath her cascade of auburn hair. “Mmm,” I rumbled my approval. “I’m ready to eat.”

She smiled and gave me a playful shove.

I couldn’t help but laugh. While my dick—and wolf—were telling me to toss her over my shoulder, carry her to the nearest horizontal surface and fuck her, I wanted to get to know her too. Yes, the need to claim her was powerful, but this was the long haul. Forever.

I wanted to know more than what she sounded like when she came on our cocks.

I released her and watched her hips swing as she walked up the wooden stairs to Holt’s house. “Amazing view,” she said when she stepped inside and saw the windows overlooking the valley.

“That’s your ranch down there,” Holt said, following her and pointing.

She walked through the open concept living room to the large picture windows, and looked out. “It sure is.”

“You were riding a beautiful horse earlier,” I said.

“Daisy,” she replied with a small smile.

“How many horses do you have?” I asked, as I went to the kitchen island to grab the plate of steaks I had marinating.

“Eight at the moment,” she replied. “It’s probably more than we need, but horses become part of the family, you know. We have some older ones who are living out their retirement.”

My heart flipped in my chest, hearing her talk about the horses so affectionately. A woman who loved animals so much could surely love wolves, as well.

“My little sister is crazy about horses,” I told her, thinking of Ariel. “She’s eleven. She has posters covering her walls of Black Beauty and whatever other fictional horses she’s fallen in love with.” I walked to the sliding glass door that led to the deck where Holt’s barbecue was heating up.

Ali drifted out behind me while Holt uncorked a bottle of wine. It felt so right—like we were already a family. As if this could be just another day, her here with us as we made dinner.

“You have an eleven-year-old sister?”

“I have four younger sisters,” I admitted. “Quite an age difference, right? She’s the baby, and has everyone hooked around her little finger.”

Ali couldn’t help but smile. “She loves horse books? Is she a big reader?”

I looked over my shoulder at her as I raised the lid on the grill. “Totally. Nose in a book all the time.”

I was the oldest, and had been more interested in playing outside, roaming the woods, and getting muddy than reading anything. I’d already graduated from college when Ariel was born so I’d been raised in a completely different time. Not that much changed here in Wolf Springs.

I adjusted the dials on the grill to lower the flame then forked the steaks onto the grate. The meat sizzled, and I closed the lid and gave Ali my full attention.

“Does she ride? Do your parents have horses?” she asked.

“No.” I chuckled and pointed in the opposite direction of her ranch in the valley. “They live up here in the forest land. They’re not horse people. Ariel would love to meet you, a real cowgirl.” I hoped I wasn’t pushing too hard this time with that suggestion.

“I’ll take her riding,” Ali offered without hesitation. “I’d love to.”

My chest warmed. “Would you, really? That is a very kind offer. I’d love to take you up on it. Surprise her.” Meeting family, getting connected that way, would be an important part of building trust with our mate. Ariel might be a shifter cub, but she was also a girl. A tween, as my other sisters called her.

“Do you have a sister?” I asked. I could have done a whole background check on her, but I hadn’t. I wanted to get to know our mate the normal way, not like a DEA investigator.

She shook her head. “One brother, but we don’t talk all that much. Older. He lives in Spokane.”

Holt came out with three glasses of chilled chardonnay. The asshole had spent a solid twenty-five minutes at the liquor store quizzing Marjorie, the owner, about the different wines, trying to find the best one for our mate.

Ali took the glass and split a look between the two of us. “So, is this a thing for you two? You’ve done this before?”

So much for making small talk. Her questions were reassuring, though, pointing to the fact that she’d thought about it, about being with both of us. Was thinking about it now.

“Have sex?” Holt asked, which made her roll her eyes. “We’re not virgins, and I assume you’re not one either.”

It was a tricky question, because what woman wanted to know about a guy’s sexual history?

Her cheeks blushed prettily as she gave a slight head shake. I wasn’t too keen to know whom she’d been intimate with before, but I wasn’t naive.

“You might not believe this, but we’ve been waiting for you.” I stepped closer, tipped her chin up to ensure she saw the truth in my words. “Any woman who has come before is in the past. We’re here with you now. And hopefully longer.”

Holt shot me a glance. We’d talked at length about not coming on too strong and not trying to rush things with her. As if that was possible.

Male wolves who found their fated mate couldn’t very well sit back and wait. We’d go mad. Now that we’d scented Ali, our wolves were going nuts trying to get us to claim her with our teeth. We could reassure her, but we weren’t going to go slow either.

“Longer?” she asked. “We just met.”

I dropped my hand, went to the grill to flip the steaks.

“Yeah, but there’s something here, sweetheart. We feel it and I know you do, too.”

Holt’s words were exactly fucking right.

“You wouldn’t be here otherwise.”

Ali sipped her wine and cocked a hip, surveying both of us with interest but also assessment. Taking her time to think about what we said. “Are you two a couple?”

“Nope,” I said. “Childhood friends. We just found out early on that it’s fun to share.” Not a lie.

“Here’s to exploring it all with you.” Holt lifted his wine glass and eyed her as if she were the meat we were about to eat, and not the steaks that were almost done.

I picked up my glass and waited for Ali to put hers forward. We tapped her glass lightly.

“How do you like your meat?” I asked. “No pun intended.”

She grinned. “Medium rare.”

“Good girl.” I stabbed the steaks with a large fork to put them on a clean plate.

Her laugh was throaty and went straight to my dick. I didn’t know how I was going to make it through dinner without taking a bite out of her. We wanted to get to know our mate with her clothes on first. Show her we were interested in more than just her scorchingly hot body.

“Have a seat, sweetheart.” Holt indicated the patio table, on which he’d set cherry red placemats and napkins. “I’ll grab the salad.”

My mom had made the dish—a beautiful Greek salad with cherry tomatoes, olives, red onion, and feta cheese. She’d dropped it by the minute she heard we were having our mate over for dinner, giving us all the help we could get. Obviously she was afraid Ali would run away screaming because of either of our bad cooking.

Holt’s parents had moved to Alaska a few years back to be close to their grandpups there. His sister had mated an alpha wolf in Anchorage.

I had to be grateful my parents hadn’t freaked out over our mate being a human and a rancher. Of course, I hadn’t told them who her father was. It would come out soon enough—it was a hurdle we’d all have to deal with—Holt, Ali and I, primarily. For the moment, though, I liked having their full support and excitement.

Holt emerged with the large bowl and we sat down at the round glass table.

“How come we haven’t seen you around West Springs before?” Holt asked after we’d eaten in a contented silence for a few moments.

“Like I said last night, I’m back from college. It took a few extra years because I took time off to travel. It’s… strange to be back. I mean, this is where I want to be, but I’m trying hard to find my place as an adult, instead of a kid.”

“Yeah, that must be hard when you’re back under your parents’ roof,” I said. While I loved my family, staying with them when I returned to town to visit made me feel like I was the one who was eleven, not Ariel. The only changes my parents had made to my childhood bedroom was replacing my small twin bed with a much larger one. There were still trophies from Little League on the shelf.

“Exactly,” she replied, nibbling on a piece of feta. “Except my mom died when I was a kid. It’s just my dad who raised me and Steven.”

“I’m sorry to hear that.”

She waved it off as she wiped her mouth with a napkin. “It was a long time ago. But I agree with you, about coming back. I mean, I returned to the promise of running the ranch myself in the near future. Taking over as the next generation. My dad’s getting older and it will all be mine someday. I thought we’d be acting as partners. But he seems to have forgotten that I’m not sixteen anymore.”

I worked very, very hard not to say one goddamn thing about Bob Jenkins. That was because I couldn’t think of anything that was nice about the man, especially after we’d overheard how he’d berated her over us the day before.

Well, maybe one thing. He had a charming, beautiful daughter whom I was destined to spend the rest of my life with.

“You might have to fight for some autonomy, huh?” Holt said, finding more diplomacy than I was capable of.

She put her fork down and took a sip of wine. “Yes. I’ve worked at some really large ranches in Australia and Chile the past few summers. I have ideas of things we can do to streamline processes and boost profits here.”

I leaned back in my chair. The sun had cut through the trees and was lighting up her auburn hair so it glowed.

Fuck. Beautiful, ambitious, and well-traveled. Holt may have stuck closer to home, but I was pleased she knew about the world around her. It made her… open to diversity, which I hoped included shifters.

“Damn, girl. I knew you were impressive the first moment I saw you, but my appreciation just grows,” I told her. “Tell us about Australia and Chile.”

She shrugged, like international travel for a woman in her early twenties was nothing. "I wanted to see other places before I came back home. West Springs is so small, so perfect, but I wanted to see what was out there, to know what I was missing.”

I reached out, took her hand. “Think maybe what you were missing was right here all along?”

I didn’t mean her ranch.

Holt took her other hand and she looked between us, then glanced down at her plate. I could feel the quick thrum of her pulse in her wrist. This was the moment. A turning point. Something pivotal. She was smart. She knew what I was asking. What her answer meant.

“Maybe,” she whispered.

“Yeah, baby. Me, too,” I admitted, and gave her a wink.

6

ALI

“I’ve never had a date with two guys before,” I said after the three of us had finished dinner and were sitting out on the deck, enjoying our wine as we waited for the sunset. I felt oddly relaxed considering I was about to do something wild and crazy with two—yes, two—hot lawmen. These guys were the real deal. Nice and hot. I meant they were nice. And hot. But also nice and hot. Yeah, H.O.T. My pussy was telling me to do things I’d never considered until them.

“We intend to ruin you for one man for the rest of your life,” Holt declared. He’d scooted his chair up next to mine, and now he reached over and lifted me onto his lap.

Yeah, I should’ve been bothered by that, but again, my pussy liked the idea. Because if this was a one-time thing, I didn’t want to be ruined. I wanted it to be fun. Except they seemed to want more. A lot more.

Theo stood up and gathered my hair up in his fist to tug my head back. My nerve endings sizzled and shit, I liked it. “Let me have another kiss,” he practically growled.

I didn’t mind the demanding alpha male thing. Anything less wouldn’t feel masculine enough for me. Especially from these two. In fact, I was beginning to think Holt was right. Maybe I would be ruined for only one man, because apparently I wasn’t at all intimidated by the thought of handling the needs and sexual appetites of two burly men.

In fact, I was more than up for the challenge. Two mouths. Two sets of hands. Two dicks.

Theo claimed my mouth with a hot, demanding kiss, his tongue sliding between my lips as he continued to gently tug my hair. At the same time, Holt slid his hand between my legs, the same way he had back on the ranch, rubbing the seam of my jeans against my clit and setting my entire world on fire. That orgasm in the shower had done nothing to ease my need for them.

I could tell them no. I could tell them to stop. They would. They’d asked for consent before, and they knew I was giving it again. I’d tell them if I didn’t like something. Except I liked everything they did with me. So while I was the one having my hair pulled, I had all the power.

That and that alone made this whole thing even sexier.

I wanted Theo’s hold on me. I liked it. Hell, I hadn’t realized it made me hot until now. It was weird, these needs they enticed in me. I didn’t have to think about them, or question them. I only had to feel.

I squirmed, and Holt held my hips down firmly over his lap, cupping my mons while his other hand slid up my crop top. “Did I tell you how much I love this shirt of yours?” he rumbled in my ear as he squeezed one breast roughly.

“Fuck, me too,” Theo agreed, his hand traveling under the top to my other breast. He slid his fingers inside my bra cup to squeeze and tease my nipple.

“Oh.” I squirmed some more. I was already breathless, and all my clothes were on. I couldn’t imagine how hot and heavy things were going to get when we disrobed.

“I can’t wait to show Ali how much I appreciate this beautiful body of hers,” Theo said to Holt. His teeth grazed my neck.

I opened the button on my own jeans, needing more from Holt’s attention down there.

“Me neither,” Holt agreed, taking over and unzipping my jeans, then slipping a hand inside my panties.

My stomach fluttered with excitement, heat spiked in my core. My cowgirl boots were kicking—probably knocking into Holt’s shins—because I couldn’t hold still. It was all too thrilling.

“I’m going to lick every inch of her,” Holt said as his finger slid between my nether lips. “Especially down here.”

“Oh.” My pelvic floor contracted, pussy clenching on air. The thought of his mouth between my legs made my nipples ache.

As if Theo sensed it, he slid his other hand up my shirt to cup and knead both breasts simultaneously. At the same time, Holt sank a finger inside me.

My cry was loud and wanton.

I quickly looked around, suddenly aware of our surroundings, of what we were doing and where. “You don’t have any neighbors close by, do you?” I asked. There was something hot about making out on the deck at sunset, but I didn’t want to embarrass myself.

“None,” Holt promised. “But we can go inside if you want. I can’t fucking wait to get your clothes off and spread these sexy legs.”

I swiveled my hips over his finger, working him in a little deeper. We hadn’t even gotten past third base, and this was by far the most exciting sexual encounter of my life. Holt pumped into me, using the heel of his hand to grind against my clit.

I was getting lightheaded already, my breath short. “D-do you guys like to play good cop, bad cop?” I had to work to put the sentence together. The attention these men were paying to my body was leaving me brainless.

Theo gave a short bark of laughter. “You need that. Us, dominating you?”

“Have you been bad, sweetheart?” Holt asked, his voice deep and rumbly. “Letting us touch you like this, have our hands on your gorgeous tits and finger fucking you out here in the open? Riding my hand all needy and greedy?”

“I thought she was such a good girl,” Theo said. The two of them seemed to know what I needed. “Clearly, she’s our bad girl instead.”

I looked up and dragged my lower lip through my teeth seductively. I was wet. Holt had to know how their dirty talk was making my pussy drip all over his hand. “Can I… I be your prisoner?”

Theo growled again as he pinched my nipples. “Aw, fuck. Holt, I’m a goner. Let’s get her inside for the interrogation.”

I laughed as Holt withdrew his finger from my pants and stood up, somehow managing to swing me up into his arms in a honeymoon carry.

I gave a whoop of surprise. I was tall and big boned, not a petite little thing. I wasn’t used to men picking me up. In fact, I didn’t think it had ever happened before. “You’re strong, officer.” I batted my eyelashes and played the doe-eyed ingenue trying to seduce the officers to get out of trouble.

“That’s right, sweetheart, so don’t try to escape.” A sexy smile curved Holt’s lips as he carried me inside and gave me a stinging spank on the ass. Theo led the way, opening and closing the sliding glass door for us, and turning on a light in the bedroom.

“I’m definitely planning to escape,” I threatened. “You might have to put me in cuffs.”

I had no idea where all this was coming from, but it was fun. Sexy.

Theo chuckled. “Sweetheart, neither of us is leaving this room to go get them. Another time. But I will definitely find something to tie you up with.”

Holt tossed me on the center of the bed and then pounced on top of me. “Perp attempting to flee,” he called out to Theo. “I’ve apprehended her and will engage in full restraint while you call it in.” He gripped my wrists and pinned them down beside my head.

I pretended to fight, all the while watching his handsome face as he gazed down at me with a glint in his eyes and a broad smile. “What’s full restraint?” I asked breathily.

He straddled me and then rocked his hips in the notch between my legs, letting me feel his rock hard erection. I wrapped my legs around his back to pull him tighter.

“Perp is resisting arrest,” Holt reported.

Theo showed up holding a few neckties he must have found searching Holt’s drawers. “I’ll secure her.” He tugged off my boots and socks while I play kicked. “She might need a little old-fashioned justice.”

I licked my lips, rocking my hips up against the bulge of Holt’s manhood. “What does that entail?”

His grin turned wicked. “Oh, you won’t like it at all,” he promised in a way that told me I was going to love every second of it.

He flipped me over, pinning my wrists behind my back. I felt the mattress dip as Theo joined him on the bed and one of them—probably Theo—tugged my jeans and panties down and off my legs.

Once I was bare, Theo came around the side of the bed, and squatted down so he was right in front of me. His ocean blue eyes studied me intently. “You good, baby?”

“Yes,” I said. So yes.

“You change your mind, we stop. Just tell us.”

“Okay,” I whispered, reassured by him checking in.

“Mmm, it will be a shame to mark up such pretty skin, won’t it, Holt?” Theo mused aloud as he stood and slapped his hand down on my bare butt.

I squealed, bouncing my hips on the bed and snapping my thighs together, trying to alleviate the ache between them.

“Oh, I don’t know,” Holt drawled. “I kind of like the idea of seeing my handprints on such a gorgeous ass.” He slapped his palm against my other cheek.

I rolled my hips from side to side, inviting more punishment. My heart beat fast. Moisture leaked from my pussy.

Theo rubbed two fingers between my legs at the same time as his thumb slid between my buttcheeks, shocking me with a brush across my anus.

I gasped at the surprising sensation of being touched there.

“How naughty are you?” he asked. “Very bad girls get their ass fucked.”

“Oh my God,” I moaned, then clenched down.

“Like that idea?” Theo’s thumb pressed a little harder against that tight ring of muscle. “Of being a bad girl, or getting our dicks in here?”

“Theo,” I breathed. I liked it. The dirty words, the intimate touch.

“Mmm, we’ll work up to that.” His thumb moved away and I moaned at the loss. Yet his fingers still slid over my center. “Aw, she’s so wet.”

He pulled away—tragically—and I heard the sound of his lips smacking. Had he just licked my juices from his fingers? “She tastes so good. I think she loves this lesson we’re teaching her.”

I did. I so did.

“Spank her some more. I’ll secure her wrists,” Theo instructed.

I glanced over my shoulder and saw how into this Theo was. The thick press of his cock against his jeans. The clench of his jaw. The ruddy flush to his cheeks. The silverish glint to his normally blue eyes.

I arched my back, lifting my ass up for the spanking, even though it made me squeal when his hand slapped down harder than expected, redirecting my thoughts back to the heated sting that spread outward across my bottom. I wasn’t a delicate butterfly. I’d worked hard on the ranch my whole life, so a little pain with my pleasure was no deterrent. Holt delivered a flurry of swift spanks, warming my ass while I writhed and moaned. At the same time, Theo wound one of the silk ties around my wrists.

When he stopped, he massaged my cheeks roughly. “You still okay, beautiful?”

“So good,” I panted.

He chuckled. “Maybe she does want more than her pussy fucked.”

Theo murmured his agreement.

They were going to fuck my ass? Now? Tonight? I wasn’t sure if I should be nervous or excited because I loved the feeling of being tied up and at their mercy. I trusted these guys because my gut told me I was safe with them. The fact that Holt just checked in again proved it.

He pushed my upper thighs wide and rubbed between my legs. I moaned encouragingly.

“Another time. I need to feel the tight clench of that pussy around my dick first.”

I was beyond okay with that.

“Let me have a turn warming that pretty ass of hers,” Theo said, and another round of slaps began. I liked it even better this time, now that my skin was warm and I was used to the sensation.

“I think I found my new kink,” I said when he stopped and rubbed. I didn’t only mean spanking. I’d never considered butt stuff before, but now… yeah, I was thinking about it.

“Fuck. Me, too,” Theo said.

“Me, three,” Holt agreed.

“You guys already had a kink,” I argued, although why I was even talking was beyond me. I was needy and hot, and craving so much more.

“Now we have a new one,” Holt rumbled. “Satisfying Ali.”

“What do you think, Holt?” Theo asked after delivering three more slaps. “Has she been punished enough? I’d like to roll her over and strip off the rest of her clothes.”

“She definitely needs to be naked,” Holt agreed, untying the knot that Theo had tied. “And if she’s on her back, we’ll be able to watch her face better while we’re conducting the interview.”

“What am I being interviewed about?” I asked when they’d flipped me to my back.

Holt tugged my top off and unhooked my bra to slide it down my arms while Theo tied one ankle to the bedpost.

“Your sexual preferences,” Holt said.

“And experiences. I’d like a bit of history, wouldn’t you?” Theo remarked.

“That’s probably not the best idea.” Holt pulled my right wrist on the diagonal overhead and tied it to the bedpost. Theo had my legs spread wide, securing my other ankle to the opposite side of the bed. “You might get jealous and hunt all her past boyfriends down.”

“Mmm, true.”

There was something so sexy about them discussing aloud how they planned or desired to handle me.

“I have to warn you right now that Theo might get very possessive. We both will. Not with each other. Just other males. We’re okay sharing between the two of us, but no one else.”

I was now fully naked and tied spread-eagle to the bed. It didn’t seem like the right moment to argue, but I wasn’t a lie-down-and-take-it kind of woman. Or maybe I was, if it was their big dicks I was taking.

“We haven’t discussed exclusivity,” I countered.

Holt folded his arms across his massive chest. “We’re discussing it now, sweetheart. We want you. Exclusively.”

I let out a giggle because it was absurd. Also, I was almost certain they were joking. That this was part of the whole play-cop thing. Because we’d just met. It was our first date. I wasn’t about to let them dictate my dating future just yet.

Holt glanced at Theo. “Uh oh.” He was doing that mock-stern thing that made my nipples stand up hard and stiff. “I think she’s going to give us trouble on this one.”

Theo walked around to the side of the bed and sat beside me. He cupped my breast with his large, rough hand, and squeezed. “Is that right, baby? Are you giving us trouble?”

Oh gawd. Why was this so hot? I had no idea I had such perverted sexual interests, but I clearly did, because right now I was dripping with excitement. Dying for whatever treatment or punishment they had in store for me.

I licked my lips. “I’m giving you trouble.” My voice was so husky, it didn’t even sound like my own.

Theo pinched my nipple and squeezed hard enough to make my pussy clench and all my muscles contract with a gasp. “That calls for a little punishment.” He held my gaze as he slowly lowered his head to my nipple.

It didn’t feel like punishment. It felt like pleasure as he sucked my nipple into his mouth, then squeezed and pinched it some more.

“What kind of punishment?” I sounded breathless.

“What do you think, Holt?” Theo asked without breaking our eye contact. He flicked his tongue over my erect nipple. “Orgasm denial?”

“W-wait. What?” Um, no.

I hadn’t heard of that, but it sounded awful. I was here for the orgasms, after all.

“Definitely,” Holt agreed. “I say we keep her on edge for at least—” he made a show of looking at his watch, “—what do you think? An hour? Ninety minutes?”

“No, no, no, no.” I pulled against the restraints. “I need it now.”

It was true. I’d never needed anything more in my life. My body was flushed. Feverish. I was panting and needy. I wanted to come, desperately.

“Well, sweetheart, you know the magic word when you need to come.” Holt had climbed between my legs and parted my nether lips with his thumbs.

“Please?” I tried.

“Nope, it’s not please,” Theo said, tugging my nipple enough to make me gasp. Then he made it worse by trailing his tongue underneath my breast and across my chest to the other one.

“Wh-what magic word?” My brain had already scrambled because Holt was tracing the tip of his tongue around my lady bits. Oh my God. Two mouths were amazing.

“Exclusivity,” Holt supplied.

I let out a pshaw sound, but my pussy contracted around nothing, eager for full penetration—and not with a finger this time. I wanted the real deal. The whole thing. Things. Plural. I definitely wanted plural dicks.

Heck, I’d take both of them at once if they were into it.

And I had a feeling they were into it.

I wanted it all.

But I sure as hell wasn’t going to wait ninety minutes to come! It wasn’t like they could stop me from coming. I could make it happen myself.

I closed my eyes to absorb all the delicious sensations. Theo pinching one nipple as he sucked the other. Holt flicking his tongue over my clit again and again. My whole body was lit up with pleasure. Every nerve ending was activated and alive. Ready for everything they were going to give me.

Holt made his tongue thicker and covered a wider swath of area as he licked up and down me. He slid his palms under my ass and squeezed and kneaded my sore flesh as he ate me.

“How long do you think she’ll last?” Theo mused.

“I give it twenty minutes, max.” Holt slid his thumb between my buttcheeks and started massaging my anus again, making it flutter and squeeze.

Twenty minutes?

Um, no.

I wasn’t waiting that long. I was ready. Now. I wanted it.

But unfortunately, I was the kind of girl who needed vaginal penetration to come. I wasn’t much of a clitoral orgasm woman, except when I was doing it myself, like I had earlier in the shower.

I tried to taunt the men. “Hmm, I thought with the two of you, I’d be getting more action than this. Is that the best you’ve got?”

Theo chuckled. “I think she’s playing bad cop with us.”

“I’m not falling for it,” Holt affirmed before reapplying himself to sucking my tiny pleasure button between his lips. His thumb massaged in slow circles around my anus. I clenched, afraid I would relax too much and let him inside.

I didn’t know whether time dragged or flew by. Only that I was being tortured. Kissed and licked and squeezed and caressed, but every time I started chasing that orgasm, they somehow knew, and slowed down or pulled back. It was horrible.

Wonderful, but perfectly horrible.

“Sh-show me,” I choked.

“Show you what, sweetheart?” Holt rumbled.

“Show me what it would be like.”

“Oh, she’s clever,” Theo declared. To my relief, he unzipped his pants. “I guess it is a little unfair to ask her to commit when she hasn’t even been satisfied yet.” His hand dove inside his pants and he groaned when he appeared to give himself a hard squeeze.

Holt screwed two fingers inside me and I bucked against them, trying to take him deeper, but the soft restraints limited my movement. “She’s eager to know what it would be like.” He bent his head and flicked his tongue over my clit at the same time as he stroked his fingers against my inner wall.

Close.

Oh, God, I was so close!

“You want to come, sweetheart?” he crooned.

“Yes!” I wasn’t sure if I shouted, but the word seemed to echo around the room.

“Please, Holt.”

“Aw fuck, she’s saying my name,” my sexy lover lamented. He pumped his fingers a little faster, giving me exactly what I needed.

“Yes!” I yelped.

But then he stopped and just rubbed my clit. “I don’t know, though. It feels like we are close to getting a confession out of her.”

“Coercion!” I yelped. “I have rights.”

“Maybe we should read them to her.” Holt returned to pumping his fingers a few times while I thrashed against my bonds.

“You have the right to be fucked,” Theo said, drawing his cock out of his pants and slowly pumping his fist over it. “You can choose whether it’s easy or hard, and in which tight hole you want to take our dicks.”

I turned my head to face that thick, hard shaft, opening my lips in an invitation.

He settled on his knees on the bed and shifted closer to my face. “You have the right to suck my cock.”

I stuck my tongue out, showing I was ready. He carefully fed the tip into my mouth and groaned loudly. I tasted a drip of his salty essence.

“You have the right to screw a sheriff and a DEA agent at the same time.”

I smiled around his cock.

“You also have the right to screw them individually.”

Holt slid his fingers out and also climbed over me, unzipping his pants.

Thank God. I was finally going to get what I needed. I swirled my tongue along the underside of the head of Theo’s cock.

“You have the right to safe sex,” Theo said.

“Got it right here,” Holt announced.

“He’s showing you his condom,” Theo said, because he was blocking my view. “If you give up that right, you should know that we are both clean.”

Holt rubbed the head of his sheathed cock along my slit, which was sopping and swollen and so very ready to welcome him in. He sank in easily, and a shudder of pleasure ran through me.

Hell yes. Please, please, please yes. I was so ready.

“She thinks she’s going to come,” Holt said.

Alarm bells went off.

He pulled back out.

Theo also pulled out of my mouth. “What’s the magic word, sweetheart?”

“Don’t fuck with me!” I shouted, pulling against my bonds. I was out of my mind with need by this point.

Both men chuckled. “She’s so fierce. I love that about her,” Holt said.

“Mmm-hmm. The way she held that rifle on us earlier? So hot,” Theo agreed.

“No, no, no, no.” I tossed my head because it was the only body part I could freely move. “I am not happy with you right now.”

Thankfully, Holt pushed back in. “Is this what you need, sweetheart?”

The pleasure was even more intense than the first time he penetrated me. In fact, nothing had felt so right in my entire life.

“Yes!” I shouted. “Holt, don’t you dare stop again.”

“Aw, sweetheart. You do like it, then? Ready to commit?”

“It’s not like you can’t change your mind later,” Theo offered.

I didn’t know why they were so intent on wringing this commitment out of me, but I was too mindless with need to argue further. “Okay!” I shouted. “Yes!”

“Yes, we’re exclusive?” Theo prompted.

“Yes! Totally. Please don’t stop.”

Holt let out an animal-like growl and thrust with more force.

“Yes!” I shouted.

“Take Theo in your mouth,” Holt instructed, reminding me of my second lover beside me.

I turned my face once more and opened my lips, sticking my tongue out to usher him in.

He cradled the side of my face as he fed his length into me, careful not to choke me, watching closely for my reaction. I sucked hard and he squeezed his eyes closed and groaned. “It feels so good, Holt.”

“I know,” Holt grunted, picking up speed. “She’s incredible.”

I felt incredible. I may have been the one tied to the bed, but these two men made me feel like a queen. I’d never had so much attention in my life, and I was already buzzing, flying high from the entire evening. But nothing—nothing would ever compare to sex like this.

I thought I would orgasm immediately after waiting for so long, but it felt so good, so right, that we rode it out for a while. Holt cycled through from slow to fast, nuanced to hard thrusts several times, while Theo groaned and shook, close to coming in my mouth.

“Are you ready, sweetheart?” Holt asked when I started to cry out at a pitch that couldn’t be ignored.

I couldn’t speak around Theo’s cock, but I moaned in reply.

This time, he didn’t deny me. He thrust in hard and fast. His movements moved my head, creating friction over Theo’s cock, too.

All three of us groaned as if in pain and ecstasy at the same time.

“You ready, Theo?”

“Fuck, yeah.”

“Me too,” Holt panted. He drove in again and again, harder and harder, pushing all three of us to the crest of the highest pleasure mountain I’d ever climbed.

“I’m coming!” he shouted, his movements so forceful, they bounced us up and down on the bed.

“So am I.” Theo pulled out and jerked his cock with his fist, spilling his seed all over my breasts at the same time as Holt buried himself deep between my legs and came. The moment he stopped moving, my orgasm ripped through me, my muscles clamping down and squeezing around his cock, milking it for every last drop of his seed.

Theo untied one of my wrists and I reached around to grab Holt’s ass and hold him in tight as ripple after ripple of pleasure coursed through me.

It was delicious.

So well-deserved, on all our parts, in my humble opinion.

I felt insanely satisfied. Happy. Overjoyed, really, as the pleasure hormones coursed through my veins.

I wanted nothing more than to fall asleep between these two big strong men. Sweaty, naughty, and oh so satisfied. But I didn’t want to answer questions from my dad about whom I’d been out with, so eventually I forced myself to climb out of bed, get dressed, kiss my lovers goodbye, and head home.

7

THEO

Holt and I both wanted Ali to spend the night, but of course we understood. We’d just met. Sure, I might have just had the most incredible sexual experience of my life—my wolf agreed, although knew it would only be better when I could sink my dick and my teeth into her—but she was human. Had a woman’s perspective on dating. Fucking. Not a she-wolf’s. Still, after she was gone, my wolf went crazy because we hadn’t marked her. She’d left! She’d driven away and we couldn’t stop her, even if we knew her family’s property was being used for meth making. It went against every professional, personal, and shifter instinct I had to let her do so but while Bob Jenkins was an asshole, I didn’t think he’d hurt his daughter. There was no indication from Ali that her father was a threat to her, or that she was afraid of her own place. If there was one whiff of trouble, Holt and I would kidnap her ourselves, lawmen or not.

Those thoughts on top of her leaving made me have to shift and run to let off some steam, or I wouldn’t be able to sleep a wink.

When Holt saw where I was headed, he silently joined me. We shifted and took off, through the wolf-door at the back of my house and into the woods.

The moon was half-full, a silvery glow filtering through the trees. We ran for hours, too keyed up to even hunt, and eventually found ourselves on the outskirts of Ali’s ranch.

It was a mistake to be so close—totally against pack rules. If Bob Jenkins saw us, he’d shoot us for sure. Yet I couldn’t seem to turn away, and Holt didn’t nip my flank or try to get me to leave, either. The two of us patrolled the edges of the ranch, not because we were searching for clues in the meth case, but to satisfy our wolves that our mate was indeed safe. And, my little sister was to ride with Ali in the morning. On the land that probably held a shit ton of trouble. I was torn because I was protective. I needed to let Ariel go, let her ride and make her little girl heart happy. She’d be with Ali. Safe. I trusted Ali. Trusted that, so far, we had no reason to keep Ariel or Ali from being there. Because if I was worried about Ariel going for a ride, then I had to be concerned for our mate as well.

Eventually, we crept close enough to make a horse whinny, and I finally came to my senses, turned, and loped back up the mountain. Holt followed, but instead of going inside, he stood on the back deck, the one that faced Ali’s ranch, and howled.

I dropped to my haunches and joined him in wolf song. A tribute to our beautiful mate.

The one we needed to claim if we were going to survive.

ALI

“—and Cassidy said that she braids the mane for better showmanship points, and there’s even a division for grooming. I want to do that but I don’t have a horse so I’ve been practicing on my own hair, and my sisters’.”

Ariel Decker, Theo’s precocious and adorable little sister, didn’t stop talking. I couldn’t help but smile at her excitement at riding, or the fact that she could say so much without taking a breath. Had I ever been like that?

“We can comb and try some braids when we get back to the stable,” I said, patting Daisy’s flank. I could sense she wanted to go a little faster, but I was keeping this ride in the slow lane.

“Really?” she squealed.

Ariel was twenty-some years younger than her brother, and yet they looked so remarkably alike. Same dark hair and blue eyes. Same dimple in her cheek. Being eleven was a great age. Big enough to go off on horseback rides without parents, but not old enough to deal with middle school and all the drama, heartache, and body changes that went with it. I wouldn’t want to go back to that time in my life for any amount of money.

Of course, I’d had horses to ride, and they’d been my way to escape. My father and brother had known nothing of girl-stuff so I’d been more tomboy than high-maintenance. I’d relied on Trina and her mother for shopping trips and makeup tips. Answering questions about boys.

After Theo had talked with Ariel and their mother about the ride, plans had been settled really quickly. Perhaps because Mrs. Decker didn’t want her ear chattered off about the topic, and had agreed for Theo to bring her this afternoon. As in: the day after our wild night of sex and… God. I shifted in my saddle, my pussy a little sore. And I was a little turned on because I’d had to see Theo again without kissing him or jumping him or sucking his cock, since Ariel had been with us.

After that, it had been hard to think about anything but the two guys and what we’d done together. They’d tied me up. Spanked me. Fucked me. Both of them!

Was I crazy? Yes, I definitely was. Did I care? Not at all.

Because Theo and Holt had been right there with me. Sure, they were guys, and a fantasy was fucking a woman with their best friend. Right?

But I felt like I was more than a kink they were crossing off the list. It felt… more.

“My brother likes you,” Ariel said, breaking me out of my thoughts.

I looked over at her in her pink t-shirt and jeans. She wore a riding helmet, and her dark hair was pulled back in a single braid, just like mine.

She was smiling at me and actually waggling her eyebrows. I’d been wrong. She was eleven going on seventeen, talking about boys.

“I thought sisters didn’t talk about a brother’s love life. They have cooties or something.” I adjusted the brim of my hat, hoping it hid my blush that was heating my cheeks more than the bright sunshine.

She rolled her eyes. “Theo’s different. He’s old enough to be my dad, and it’s past time he found someone. I mean, it’s a big deal when my people find the one.”

I frowned. “Your people?”

She stiffened for a second, but waved her hand in the air and laughed.

“Both hands on the reins,” I prompted, even though Patches was the most docile animal on the planet, and wasn’t going to bolt beneath her.

“I mean the Deckers. My parents are old, and have been together forever. Same with my oldest sister. Theo deserves to have love, and I like you. You have horses.”

It was my turn to laugh. “I don’t think love is based on having horses.”

“No, but it’s based on something deep inside. This… thing that draws people together. He has that with you.”

Huh. Eleven going on thirty. This kid was pretty darn wise.

“How much farther until the pond?” she asked, her thoughts quickly redirected back to our original plan to skip stones and have a snack.

I pointed just to the left. “Over that rise.”

Ariel clucked her tongue and prodded Patches with her heels, although the animal didn’t pick up her pace much. I let her get ahead of me slightly, taking the time to think about what she’d said.

Did Theo think he’d found The One in me? He and Holt had mentioned they were serious about me, about us. But we’d had a good time the night before. Play. The things we’d done hadn’t been signs of love, but desire. Arousal. Mutual kink. Fun. Yeah, I’d gotten off, and I definitely was ruined for other guys, but I didn’t consider it love.

Did I?

No.

And Ariel hadn’t mentioned a peep about Holt. Why would she? She—hopefully—didn’t know anything about sex, especially sex like I’d had with Holt and Theo. Of course it wasn’t love. She had fairytale fantasies because no one had forever with two men.

“Hey, there are people down there.” She pointed, and I moved Daisy faster to catch up.

We were on a slight rise and able to see the breadth of the valley. The pond I’d planned to stop at was just below us, a tributary of a creek feeding into it. Beyond that, the land was dotted with cottonwood trees, and cows were black dots in the distance.

There was also a single-wide trailer—one that I’d never seen before, and which hadn’t been there the last time I’d been out this way.

I grabbed Ariel’s reins and ensured Patches didn’t continue. If I could see them, then they could see us, if they were looking this way.

What was a trailer doing all the way out here? An ATV or some other all-terrain vehicle could cross the valley easily, but there wasn’t a service road. How had the trailer even been placed this far out? I didn’t recognize the trucks as being part of the ranch’s fleet. While my vision was good, I couldn’t make out much detail about the men.

“Why are we stopped? The pond’s right there.” She’d been so eager to ride horses, but now all she wanted was to get down and play in the cool water.

“Sorry, sweetheart. Change of plans. Let’s head to a different spot I know where we can walk through a creek. Maybe we’ll see a beaver dam.”

I had to take her somewhere else. I didn’t know who those men were, or why they were on my land. But having Ariel with me wasn’t the time to figure it out.

Two hours later, Theo came to pick her up. We were outside the stable and practicing mane braiding we’d learned from an instructional video I’d pulled up on my cell.

“Hi, Theo!” Ariel chimed.

“Hey, squirt. Have fun?” he asked, tapping on the riding helmet, then looking my way. His gaze raked over me and I heated all over. Had I actually sucked his dick as his friend fucked me?

Ariel giggled as she took off her helmet, and I blushed.

She leaned close to me and whispered, very obviously, “See, he likes you.”

Theo grabbed his sister by the shoulder and tugged her over to give her a noogie. “Yes, I like her. So let me talk to the pretty lady without you giggling all over the place.”

Of course, that made her giggle even more.

“I didn’t know we had guests.” I turned at my dad’s words. He’d just come from inside the stable, most likely coming in from the far pastures through the back entrance. Neither his voice nor his gaze were filled with welcome, and the way he was looking at Theo told me he wasn’t thrilled to have him here.

“You remember Theo Decker from the other day? This is his sister, Ariel. We just came back from a girls’ ride.” I tried to keep my voice light because Dad might hate Theo, but Ariel was innocent.

“That so? You ride Patches?” my father asked. Fortunately, he wasn’t an asshole to little kids.

Ariel nodded, wide-eyed, completely in love with the animal. “She’s such a nice horse. I want a horse just like her.”

She glanced up at her brother, who didn’t look anywhere but at my father. His blue eyes were narrowed, and his jaw was clenched. If she was going to get a pony out of her brother for her birthday, it wasn’t going to be today.

Yikes. If it hadn’t been eighty degrees out, I’d think a winter frost had cut through the valley.

I cleared my throat. “Ariel, go put your helmet on the hook inside, all right?”

She nodded and scurried off, oblivious to the tension.

“Why is he here?” Dad asked once Ariel was inside the stable.

Theo remained silent but his presence was powerful.

I took a deep breath, prayed for calm. “He’s not here to arrest you. Jesus. He’s picking up Ariel. Horseback riding, Dad,” I prompted.

All I got in response was a grunt.

Ariel came back and hugged me tight. “Thanks, Ali!” She dashed off to Theo’s truck, clearly focusing on the next thing in her day. Most likely dinner. We’d had a snack at the beaver dam, but she was a kid with a bottomless pit for a stomach, and had eaten all the apple slices and cookies herself.

“Thanks, Ali, for taking her,” Theo said. His gaze softened when it turned my way. “I’m sure she won’t stop talking about it for the rest of the week.”

I couldn’t help but smile because I’d had fun too. “She loved it. She’s welcome anytime.”

“The girl is,” my dad added, putting a little more clarity on who he felt was to be a guest.

“Dad!” I faced him and set my hands on my hips.

“I’ll be in touch about the next time,” Theo murmured, and I had to wonder if he meant the next ride for Ali, or the next ride on his dick for me.

Only when Theo left did my dad speak again.

“What the hell, Ali? I thought I made it very clear how I felt about him.”

“Are you angry because he’s wrong about you, or because he might be right?” I countered.

“Don’t push me, young lady.” He pointed at me and glared.

“I’m not eleven like Ariel, Dad,” I replied, with a mixture of annoyance at his behavior, and concern over whether he’d somehow gone off the deep end. “I’m here to be your partner in our family ranch. Why are you so angry all the time? And what’s the deal with the single-wide out by the pond? Why didn’t you tell me it was even there?”

My father stilled. “What the hell were you doing out there?”

“Taking Ariel to the pond like you used to take me.” I hoped the reminder would calm him.

“That’s Tim Hollaroy’s building.”

I frowned. “Tim Hollaroy? His property’s all the way on the south side of the valley.” Why was that cranky, old rancher over here?

“He’s having problems with his wife and he’s staying there.”

“In a single-wide trailer in the middle of our ranch? There can’t even be running water.”

He shook his head, turned on his heel, and headed toward the house. “Let it go, Alison. You don’t need to be involved in everything.”

I stared at him as he went. What the hell? I didn’t need to be involved in everything? This was my ranch.

Something was wrong here. I could feel it. There was a trailer on our property with barely any access. Those trucks I’d seen had to have roughed it. It made no sense. My father was making no sense. Was that place part of the meth thing the guys had mentioned? Was the trailer being used to make it? I’d thought maybe it was for ranchers to stay in if they were working out this way. But now my father was claiming it belonged to Tim Hollaroy, of all people? Something didn’t add up.

The only answer I could come up with was that he didn’t want me to know.

Which meant I needed to learn everything, because I was doubting my father. Questioning what I’d thought was accurate about him. I was also questioning Theo and Holt, because all three men couldn’t be right. Someone was lying. How could I believe my dad and be in bed with the other two? How could I trust Theo and Holt enough for them to tie me up but not enough with anything else?

Later. I’d go back to that trailer tonight and see if Tim Hollaroy was really sleeping in it. I’d find out the truth. Not what Theo and Holt said, or what my father shared with me.

I’d learn it all on my own.

Five hours later, the last bits of daylight were fading to black over the western mountains. I’d driven on the service road as close as I could get to the single-wide trailer as I could and parked, then hiked in the rest of the way. In the winter, my father would bring us out to the remote pond to ice skate. To make the journey faster, he’d drive instead of ride horseback, so I knew just where to leave my pickup.

Fortunately, the moon was out and it was clear. Seeing without a flashlight was doable. I didn’t want to alert anyone to my presence, especially my father. He didn’t like me snooping as it was, and I felt like we were on shaky ground.

Did he want me to work the family ranch, or not? And what the hell was going on with him? If he wasn’t going to tell me, then I’d find out. That meant sneaking across my own land in the dark to figure shit out. I cut through the tall grass and made my way to the row of cottonwoods by the creek. If anyone was out, I had the protection of the tall trees and also the water softly tumbling over the rocks to cut the sound of my footsteps. That I felt the need to be secretive only made me nervous and a little freaked. I wanted Holt and Theo here with me. They made me feel safe. I craved the super-sized protection they’d provide. I was sure they’d want to know about the new single-wide since they’d checked out the burned out homestead cabin.

But I didn’t want to stir them up over something that might actually be a rancher and his wife having a marital spat. It would only make things worse between the lawmen and not just my father, but Mr. Hollaroy as well.

No, I’d do this on my own, then if something was worth sharing, I’d tell them tomorrow.

They’d each texted me earlier, wanting to see me again. Tonight. While I’d wanted to be with them and I knew exactly how we’d spend the evening, I had to look into the trailer, and it had to be after dark. So I’d pushed them off until tomorrow, which they’d been fine with, since they both had the day off.

I heard men’s voices when I neared the trailer. Nothing distinguishable, only that there was more than one person out here. There were lights on inside, but the windows were covered, as if drapes or blinds had been drawn.

I moved away from the edge of the creek, cutting through the grass to the back side of the trailer. It was set up on cinder blocks, a sign this wasn’t a permanent arrangement. The structure was new, no signs of dents or rust that I could see.

“We have to double the output here. That fire set us back a week.” At the voice, I dropped to a crouch beneath a partially opened window, and stared out into the darkness. My heart was pounding because someone—two someones—were right inside.

While the voice was deep and clear, it wasn’t one I recognized.

“It’s not my fault your people burned that place down. That was my grandparents’ house!”

Oh shit, now that was my father, and he was talking about the homestead. He knew someone burned it down? People who were with or working for the other guy?

“It’s your job to find me places to mix.”

“I got you this trailer, didn’t I?”

Mix? Were they really making meth here?

“You did good. Now my men need to work and to be able to get the product out of this spot. Could you pick a location any fucking further from a real road?”

“I might have a shit ton of acreage, but I have employees. My daughter’s even back. I can’t keep all of them from working the land, doing their jobs.”

“Figure that shit out, Jenkins. Including your daughter. You’re alive because we need you.”

I heard that threat. Knew it wasn’t given idly.

A crash came from inside, which made me jump. I couldn’t stay any longer. I had what I needed. Hell, I had more than what I ever wanted to know.

I moved as fast as I could away from the trailer and back to the creek, crouching down as if I were avoiding rotors of a helicopter instead of hiding from a mysterious and dangerous meth maker. My father had said the place was Tim Hollaroy’s, and that he was staying here because he was having marriage problems. Was it Mr. Hollaroy who was with my dad? I’d met the man many times in my life, but not enough to be able to identify his voice. Still, my dad had fed me clues to lead my mind to think of him. Why would he say this was his trailer if it belonged to someone else? It was a flimsy lie. Yet was Hollaroy the one behind all this?

As I made my way back to my truck, I wondered how long this had been going on. How had my dad been caught up in all of this? Shooting wolves was more his speed, and something that hadn’t really surprised me all that much when I’d heard about what he’d done last year. I hadn’t been thrilled because hunting to eat was one thing, hunting for sport was another.

But meth? It sounded as if he was in way over his head.

I had to tell Theo and Holt. They’d been right. I might be able to sneak across a field and overhear a conversation at a trailer-sized meth lab, but bringing people to justice was out of my skill set.

When I settled behind the wheel, my hands shook. I took a deep breath, let it out. I needed Holt and Theo, more than just for their jobs. I was scared, and wanted the comfort I knew I could find in their arms. Because they meant safety, and right now, I sure as shit didn’t feel all that safe, even on my own land.

8

THEO

I dropped Ariel with my parents and worked late out of the Sheriff’s Office. Holt texted and said he hadn’t managed to coax our mate into coming over for round two. I hadn’t been able to do so earlier since I’d had my sister with me. Frustrated and with my wolf pushing me to act, I returned to Holt’s house, shifted, and ran through the darkness. Craving her was just too much potent energy for my human form to handle. While we’d agreed she was safe on her own property, even though we now knew it really was part of my meth investigation, it didn’t have my wolf settling.

I ran for several hours until my muscles were warmed and stretched and my feet tired, then I headed back. I saw Holt’s SUV heading up the road as I loped through the woods. I picked up speed to arrive at the same time he did.

He wasn’t Ali, but I was glad to be staying with him instead of with my family. It meant we were in this together. We’d figure things out with our mate. Soon, the three of us would become a family of our own.

What I failed to notice was that there was already a truck parked in front of the house.

Ali’s truck.

Fuck, yes.

She had her arms around Holt, giving him what looked like a warm greeting. That meant she was safe. Whole. Here.

I skidded to a stop at the tree line, praying she wouldn’t hear the crunch of twigs beneath my paws.

Of course, Holt had. His head jerked up, and our eyes met in the darkness. His attention drew Ali’s. She turned and gasped. “Is that a wolf?”

“No, it’s my neighbor’s dog,” Holt answered easily.

I was glad that he’d come up with an easy lie, but it was a missed opportunity for him to tell the truth, to nudge our relationship—our mating—along.

“Hey, have you seen the moon tonight?” He looped an arm around her waist and drew her to my back deck. I dashed for the porch steps and shifted mid-stride, in time to use the door handle.

Inside, I hurriedly threw on a pair of jeans and a t-shirt in the guest room before forcing myself into a casual walk to the deck slider to open it for them.

“This is the best surprise,” I said, stepping out, then stilling. My wolf tensed.

Something about Ali’s scent was off. I smelled fear on her, and tension radiated from her face.

“What happened, sweetheart?” I opened my arms and drew her into them. “What’s going on?”

“You guys were right,” she choked, glancing up at me. I released her from the hug and she pushed past me to go inside.

I glanced at Holt, who shrugged.

I followed her in—taking a moment to check out how fine her ass looked in her jeans—and grabbed three beers from the refrigerator. Holt pulled a chair out for her at the kitchen table and she sank into it, her shoulders drooping. He sat beside her.

She lifted her chin, and fixed her gaze on Holt’s then mine, in turn. “They are cooking meth on the property.”

Holt stiffened ever so slightly, and I froze.

Shit.

I’d been right in my investigation these past few months. We’d known from the scent at the burned out cabin. Until the lab samples came back, we had no proof to arrest anyone. Last time I checked, shifter senses weren’t something that could be used as evidence in a court of law.

“Only, it’s not my dad,” she continued. “He’s not part of it. But he knows about it and is enabling it.” She looked down at her hands, which she was wringing in her lap. “He’s being forced into letting them do it on our land for some reason. It doesn’t make sense. Nothing makes sense.”

She’d said they and them.

Ali tugged the tie holding her long auburn hair in a ponytail and let it fall around her shoulders as if she couldn’t hold herself still.

I flicked off the beer top with my thumb, forgetting not to show my shifter strength, and handed it to her. In her worry, she didn’t notice my mistake. I passed the other beer to Holt and joined them at the table. “What did you see? Tell us everything.”

Ali’s beautiful brown eyes were swimming with tears.

My wolf howled at the sight. I reached out to brush them away, but didn’t interrupt. We needed answers. Her coming here showed she trusted us. She wasn’t keeping this information a secret and she had to tell us, to purge it to set herself free of its hold.

That was right for mates like us. This was her problem, but we’d take the burden of it on for her. Not only because it was our jobs, but because we were her mates.

“Today when I was on the ride with Ariel, I saw a trailer left way out by the pond.”

I set my beer on the table with a hard thud at the mention of my sister. I didn’t think I was going to like the way this tale was going.

Ali glanced at me, but continued on when I gave her a nod of encouragement. Yeah, I hid my wolf’s rage really fucking well.

“Later, when I asked my dad about it, he said it belonged to Tim Hollaroy, who was staying there because he’d had a tiff with his wife.”

I glanced at Holt again, knowing he remembered that Tim Hollaroy was at the helm of the wolf tracker business last year. He’d been nailed by the Fish and Game, which resulted in the loss of his hunting license for five years, and a fine of four thousand dollars. In fact, our friend Wade believed he was probably the rancher responsible for killing his mother years ago, when she’d been on a run in wolf form.

Yeah, that fucker.

“I knew that didn’t make sense,” she continued, the words coming out at a quick pace now. As if the dam had been broken on her story. “I mean, the trailer was way off the dirt road. Yes, it was by the pond, which might make a nice view from the trailer windows, but it would be a damn inconvenient place to stay when your own ranch was miles away. Why there, on the far reaches of our land? It makes no sense.”

I nodded and took a slow pull on my beer, letting her talk.

“I decided to go and check things out for myself.”

I stiffened in my seat, my fist tightening around the beer bottle. “You what?” I choked. My wolf snarled.

She nodded. “I needed to know what was going on. So tonight, I went out there after dark.”

“Fuck, Ali,” Holt spat. His eyes took on the glow of his wolf, as if the mere mention of a threat to her safety had him ready to shift. “That could’ve been dangerous. You should’ve called us first.”

She was too distraught to notice Holt’s eyes.

“So what happened?” I demanded. There was anger in my tone, but it was impossible to fight. My wolf was furious that our mate had put herself in danger. Alone. At night. With Hollaroy most likely involved.

“I heard two men in there talking,” she said. “I got close enough to listen, and they were definitely talking about cooking meth.” She swallowed hard. “One of them was my dad. The other guy was threatening him. He said something like, ‘Figure it out. You’re alive because we need you.’”

Her jaw trembled.

I reached for her hand. “It’s going to be okay. I’m so glad you came to us.”

Her eyes were bright with unshed tears. “But my dad…” Her voice cracked, and the tears spilled.

“Sweetheart,” Holt said softly. He pulled her chair back and lifted her easily onto his lap. “We’ll sort it out. If someone’s threatening him, we’ll arrest them. Get them off your property and out of your life.”

“Our lives. Me and my dad’s. Right?” She was on Holt’s lap, but it was my gaze she locked on to, and the pleading in her eyes was more than I could take.

“We’ll take it from here,” I promised.

I didn’t want to tell her that her dad would remain unscathed. If he had a role in this, he’d have to answer for it, but I also needed her trust. I needed her to believe that coming to us was the right decision. The challenge was, she was coming to us as mere men. Not as lawmen. Not as shifters.

But we were those other things too. If her father broke the law, it was our job to see justice served. And if he was endangering our mate, then our wolves would ensure her safety no matter the cost, no matter the human laws.

“Ali, you have to promise us that you won’t put yourself in the middle of it again.”

“That’s my land. My job is to run that ranch. I can’t stay away,” she said, not soothing me at all. Unfortunately, it made sense.

“You have to stay away from that trailer and stick close to the house and stables, or at least be with others who work for your family.”

“Okay,” she agreed.

“What if your dad hadn’t been there, and whoever was cooking meth had caught you sneaking around?” I continued, ensuring she got the point. Her agreement wasn’t enough for me or my wolf.

Holt’s eyes glowed amber again. Yeah, his wolf was frantic too.

She shrugged. “I understand it could have been dangerous.”

Could have been?

“I had to know,” she continued, not understanding the depth of our concern and that our wolves were riled. “I wasn’t going to call you guys in if it was that crusty old rancher friend of my dad’s, watching baseball.”

That crusty old rancher friend was an asshole, and a thorn in Holt’s side. And he was a wolf hater on top of it.

“No, sweetheart,” I rumbled, standing up and swooping her into my arms, right off of Holt’s lap. I carried her in the direction of Holt’s—our—bedroom. “We need you to promise us. We will go apeshit if we think you’re in danger.”

“I can handle myself,” Ali said, but there was a lilt of amusement in her voice rather than the stubborn hardness she’d used a moment before.

“You may have traveled the world, but you’re no match when it comes to meth dealers. We’ll work our investigation and take care of the bad guys, whoever they are. Not you.” I finished my lecture and looked to Holt. “I think she needs to be tied up again. What do you think?”

“A little punishment is in order, for sure,” he said, following. It made my dick hard, getting her beneath us and watching her squirm from a little funishment, but I definitely wanted to exert my dominance over her. To make sure she knew we were in charge, especially when it came to her safety.

Still, I watched closely to make sure Ali was ready for the shift into pleasure, or if she needed more emotional support. There wasn’t anything we could do about Hollaroy or Jenkins tonight, but we could take care of our mate.

Her lips turned up at my suggestion, and she let out a soft chuckle.

“What kind of punishment, officers?” She gave me a coy look that made my dick hard.

Hallelujah. She was game.

Thank fuck, because I needed to taste her again like I needed to breathe.

I was gentle when I set her in the center of the bed. Holt crawled over her and pushed the hem of her tight t-shirt up to kiss her flat belly. “What kind would you like, sweetheart?” he asked.

“Um…” She blushed, and didn’t say anything.

“Gotta tell us,” he murmured, focused on her exposed skin. “Whatever you’re into, we’ll give it to you.”

She arched a brow, bit her lip, then said, “Maybe a little spanking?”

“Good girl. Definitely a spanking,” I chimed in, tugging off her cowgirl boots. Fuck, yes.

“But don’t make me wait for the orgasm this time,” she said, as if she had any say.

Holt laughed and pushed her shirt up over her bra. “Did you hear that? She thinks she’s in charge now.” He shoved a cup down and grazed his teeth over her nipple.

“Well, you did ask her what she wanted,” I reminded as I unbuttoned her jeans. He worked up high, I took low.

“True. That’s on me.” He licked her nipple, then blew lightly and watched it stiffen. Her scent soothed me and my wolf, but I wanted to bite that tender tip. Nip at it. Make it sting so good for her, just like Holt just did. I’d get my turn on those luscious peaks.

He kissed across her chest and flicked his tongue over the other nipple while I pulled off her jeans and socks. “Mmm, I’ve been thinking about you all day. All fucking day. When you said you couldn’t come over tonight, I was heartbroken.”

“Heartbroken, huh?” She let out a soft scoff as she shifted to help us strip her bare.

“No lie, sweetheart. Utterly heartbroken.”

She couldn’t answer because I was taking her panties off with my teeth, and her breath was shuddering out with a whimper. I could catch her sweet scent as my nose slid over her silky flesh.

Holt must have figured he’d better catch up, so he pulled her t-shirt over her head and got rid of the bra. “How do you want her for the spanking?” he asked me. He wouldn’t always defer to me, his scent-match, but this time he did. I’d take the lead. Definitely a great way to play good cop, bad cop.

“I thought about putting her over my lap.” I pushed one of her knees up and licked into her, making her shriek with pleasure. Fuck, she tasted so good. Like sweet, sticky honey. My dick pressed painfully against the zipper of my jeans.

“You know what would be really hot?” Holt mused.

“Hmm?” I wasn’t holding back with my tongue, and her hips squirmed and circled against my mouth to get more. My wolf was thrilled to have her taste on my tongue, her scent in my lungs. Her beneath us.

“Having her over both our laps,” he finished.

“Mmm. That’s fucking hot. I like it,” I replied.

She whimpered when I stopped licking her and moved toward the headboard by Holt as he grabbed the brand new butt plug and lube he’d had rush delivered for just this moment.

“Come here, little prisoner.” The affection in my murmur didn’t match the words.

Holt gently arranged her over our laps—her ass over mine, her torso over his. I brought my hand down with a light slap, watching the flesh ripple and instantly turn pink. Holt cupped her breast and stroked the long, lovely line of her back.

I dipped my fingers between her legs and then brought them out and licked them.

Fuck. I could come just from this. I was that gone for her.

I could smell that sweet nectar in the air. It was burning into my brain.

“She’s already so wet,” I groaned with appreciation.

“Her body knows how well we’re going to take care of her.”

Ali writhed over our laps—I suspected it was to encourage more action and less talking.

“Warm her ass up a little and show her what happens when she makes bad choices,” Holt instructed.

I delivered a half-dozen spanks. For her. For me. For Holt. I started light then got a little more intense with each one. She gasped and I stopped and rubbed away the sting, felt the heat radiate from that lush flesh.

“Ready for a little ass play, sweetheart? Bad girls get played with inside and out. Everywhere.”

She stilled, her muscles going tense. That pink butt quivered, then relaxed. “Yes.”

Fuck, yes. I was sure she could feel my dick get harder beneath her hips.

Holt flipped the lid on the lube. I held out my hand and he dribbled some onto my fingers.

Ali startled when the cool liquid coated her back entrance.

“Shh, just a finger,” I murmured, circling then gently working a finger past that tight ring.

Then out. Then again. Holt watched and drizzled more lube as I breached her deeper and deeper.

“Shit, that’s hot. Doing okay, sweetheart?” Holt asked.

We didn’t need to hear the answer to know she was fine. She was relaxed over my lap, and her bottom tipped up every time I pulled my finger back.

She moaned and I couldn’t help but smile. I slipped my finger free and took the plug from Holt. “Time for the plug,” I said. “Take it like a good girl.”

Her back stiffened at the feel of the solid metal, but she relaxed when I didn’t do more than swirl it, then press gently.

I took my time working it in, and Holt returned to playing with her breasts. The combination made her writhe and moan.

When the plug was fully seated, we paused and stared. He’d bought one with a pretty gem. It was green and sparkly, and the sight of it nestled between her pinkened cheeks? I was going to nut like a horny teenager.

“I get to fuck her this time,” I announced, making Holt laugh. Yeah, it was like calling shotgun in the squad car or something, but I didn’t give a shit. I’d seen her earlier and couldn’t even kiss her. I knew my eyes were already probably glinting their usual silver, like my wolf was already ready to claim her even before the actual sex had started.

“Definitely. Looks like you need it more,” he said.

I squeezed her ass roughly, a large handful, then released and slapped her again. “She’s just so tantalizing,” I complained, as if she was too perfect and it was a problem. “I can’t even take my time with her spanking to wind the coil up slowly because that plug… fuck.” I slid the fingers of my other hand between her legs again and she parted them, making both of us groan aloud. The pretty pink, swollen flesh was hot and wet. Silky soft. Perfection.

I rubbed circles around her clit and watched as she humped my lap. Yeah, she liked the way we touched her. So fucking responsive.

“Theo!” she croaked.

Holt worked her nipple, leaned forward, and kissed and nipped her shoulder. “Don’t forget my name,” he murmured, folding her wrists behind her back to give her the sensation of being restrained. “Give her another round. Show her we mean business.”

I looked his way and he nodded.

“Oh, we do mean business.” I delivered another volley of spanks that made her buck and squeeze her ass. She looked so beautiful sprawled across our laps, her trust and surrender so incredibly priceless.

My dick dripped pre-cum, and my balls ached to be emptied.

“I can’t wait,” I panted.

Holt released her wrists and spun her up to sit on his lap as I went to the bathroom to wash up. I returned quickly and she watched with needy, blurry eyes as I shucked my clothing in record time. She had no doubt how much I desired her when my dick sprang free.

“I’m so fucking hungry for you, Ali Jenkins,” I growled as I advanced.

9

ALI

Theo’s eyes had a strange, silverish glow to them, almost the way an animal’s looked in the dark. Like that wolf I’d thought I’d seen earlier.

Theo had said it was a neighbor dog, but I knew what I saw. I’d grown up on a ranch. I knew the difference between a dog and a wolf, and that animal had been no dog. It had stood much taller and had the broad shoulders and long body of an enormous wolf.

But right now, I was staring at the very broad shoulders and impressive chest of Theo, who looked like a hunter who’d cornered his prey.

Me. Me, with the plug in my bottom. The one that made me squirm and get wetter by the minute. I felt naughty and oddly cherished. I wasn’t even going to go into how I could be a bad girl and a good girl at the same time because all I could focus on was Theo. Naked.

His body was beautiful—all ripped muscle and glorious form. Like a champion stallion. The kind one paid hundreds of thousands of dollars to breed with your best mare. He grabbed both my ankles and pulled me down so my shoulders were propped in Holt’s lap. He spread my legs and began to kiss up my left calf, my inner thigh, slowing as he reached the apex of my legs. Teasing me.

Electricity zinged through my body. My ass was hot and tingly, my bottom full, my pussy dripping wet. Holt cupped both my breasts, alternately squeezing and kneading them and then pinching and pulling my nipples. Everything felt so wonderful. Intense. They weren’t being gentle, but they weren’t rough either. Somehow, they knew what I needed. How far to take it and make it feel oh so good.

This was exactly what I needed to forget the stress of what I found out tonight.

What I didn’t want to think about. Not now, not naked and about to be fucked.

I trusted these guys to fix everything. Maybe I was being naive since I’d only met them two days earlier, but I believed them when they said they would. I didn’t think it was just because they wanted to get in my pants. Well, they’d already gotten in my pants once. And tonight yet again. They were still here, and eager for more. So was I, and that was because there was something here. Something more. Different. Extra. I believed they were honest, trustworthy men. The kind I’d want to marry and start a family with.

Wait. What? I wasn’t in high school, writing their names in hearts. Why?

Except it couldn’t be done with two men. I’d have to pick. I didn’t like that idea at all.

Theo treated me to another delicious round with his tongue, penetrating me, circling. Flicking. All the while, he made savage, growling sounds that made me whimper and giggle in equal measure.

He reared back and looked around wildly. Desperate. Voracious.

“Here, man.” Holt tossed him a condom.

I truly had to marvel at the way these two seemed to have zero jealousy between them. Theo was going to fuck me while Holt held me. They both seemed to have no agenda other than pleasing me, and getting off themselves. Holt didn’t even seem too concerned about his own orgasm at the moment, even though I felt the hard press of it against my back.

Theo ripped open the condom and rolled it over his thick, impressive erection. He was huge. Big enough that I might worry about it hurting, except that he’d prepared me so well. And I’d had him in my mouth. I remembered how it had felt against my tongue, how I hadn’t been able to take it all. The taste. I whimpered, eager to have him fill me again. This time, my pussy.

He climbed over me and hooked his elbows under my knees to spread me wide.

“Look at the beautiful pussy,” he said. “Eager and greedy to be filled. And that gem making your ass all pretty for us.”

“Please, give it to me,” I purred.

I’d honestly never been into sex games before, but these two just brought it all out. I was into role play, being the vixen, doing it all—including butt stuff, which had never crossed my mind before.

Theo lined the head of his cock up with my entrance and I gripped it to guide him in. We both shuddered the moment he sank into me. It felt so good. I loved penetration so much. There was just something so life-affirming and perfect about it. I was sure it was just biology ensuring that we reproduced, but tonight it felt more like destiny. That he was coming home. Joining us. Some kind of romantic, frilly nonsense, especially since my ass was red from a spanking.

I bared my teeth, feeling a bit like a wild animal myself. “Give it to me,” I demanded. I didn’t want to lie here passively and take it. I needed him to fuck me. To make me feel claimed. To know he was as wild for me as I was for him.

Theo let out a startling snarl and took the order to heart. He fucked into me hard, deeper than I would have even believed possible. Each stroke seemed to carry me away, driving me further and further into ecstasy. The plug in my bottom made it tighter, made the sensations more intense. If Holt hadn’t been holding me, I’d have been shoved across the bed.

I didn’t know how long we moved like that. Holt’s hands stroked all over, caressing my breasts, my sides, my neck, my arms. He kissed my neck and whispered dirty things I could barely decipher in my ear. All the while, Theo pounded into me with my hips surging to meet his. The wet sound of flesh slapping. Our heavy breathing. Gasps. Moans. Growls. It was glorious.

Perfection.

“I have to come.” Theo sounded like he was in agony.

“She’s ready,” Holt answered, seeming to know my body better even than I did. He was right, of course. I was on the precipice, about to explode off the edge. They were just too much.

“Give it to me,” I repeated on a breathy gasp.

Theo’s roar didn’t even sound human. He shoved into me hard, held himself deep. I grabbed his ass and sank my nails into his flesh, pulling him even tighter as my orgasm washed over me like a tidal wave. I cried out, my head tossed back. It was white-hot bliss.

“Whoops. Whoops. No, buddy. Hold back.”

My eyes were closed. My pussy was still contracting. I didn’t understand Holt’s words. They didn’t make any sense at all. It was too late for me to hold back. I’d already come.

But then Theo abruptly rolled off me. Away from me.

No, he didn’t roll off. Holt had pulled him off, and had him in a choke hold. “Chill, dude. Take a breath. Deep breaths. You can’t mark her tonight. Relax, I’m trying to help.”

What?

I sat up, shocked into conscious thought again, although I still couldn’t understand what I was hearing or seeing. My orgasm made me pliant and soft and slow-witted.

Theo was fighting. Kicking and snarling. Reaching for me. His eyes glowed pure silver. His teeth—what the fuck?

What. The actual. Fuck?

His canines appeared longer. Like a vampire’s. No. Maybe it was because I’d just seen a wolf outside tonight, but something about Theo looked decidedly wolflike.

“What’s happening?” I screamed, scrambling off the bed and onto my feet. I was naked, and my sex was swollen and aching and dripping. My nipples were hard points, and my ass was hot and tingly. I wasn’t going to think about the plug right now.

The sound of my voice made Theo suddenly go still. His eyes changed back to normal, his muscles relaxed. The teeth—whoa. The teeth were suddenly normal, too.

I blinked, then again. Wait, what had I just seen? Had a wild orgasm made me hallucinate?

“It’s okay, sweetheart,” Holt soothed immediately, climbing off the bed and approaching me, his arms out. “He’s a wolf shifter. He wasn’t going to hurt you. We’re a different species. We mate in pairs. Fuck!” He swung his fist in the air with frustration. “That all came out wrong.”

Theo was also now on his feet. Theo was naked, Holt still dressed. Both were careful not to come at me. They kept their hands where I could see them, palms out. “Ali, I’m so sorry. I just got excited. It was too good. I felt too much, and couldn’t control it. I would never hurt you, baby. You’re our mate.” He, too, winced and shot a glance at Holt. “We suck at this.”

“Wh-what do you mean, mate?” I asked, a quaver in my voice as my gaze darted back and forth between them. My heart was racing, and I felt lightheaded from the recent orgasm and the following adrenaline push.

“Okay, so… we’re wolf shifters,” Holt attempted to explain again. “This wasn’t how we planned to tell you. But our particular species mates in pairs—two males for one female. There’s only one female in the entire world who can be our match, our fated mate. And that’s you. You’re our mate.”

I took another step back because this was all too much to assimilate, and I stumbled on Theo’s discarded clothing. Both men instantly darted forward to catch me, one at each elbow.

“Come here, sweet thing. Let us take care of you,” Theo murmured, swinging me easily into his arms.

Now that I knew these guys were different, it seemed so obvious that they had super-strength. I was what society called big-boned, and I weighed absolutely nothing to them. Theo carried me back to the bed and Holt climbed on to join us. Theo sat me sideways on his lap, my back cradled by his arm, facing Holt, who stroked his rough palm up and down my lower leg. His touch was warm and gentle.

“Can you… can you take the plug out?” I asked, my cheeks hot. After what we’d done, it seemed strange to be embarrassed, but we weren’t playing any longer.

Theo didn’t say anything, just lowered his arm and gently tugged the object from me. I hissed and shifted at the withdrawal, but settled into his hold again after he dropped it to the floor. Forgotten.

“I’m sorry this is such a shock,” Holt said, his gaze earnest. “We never meant to startle or scare you. I was stopping Theo from marking you. It’s a love bite wolves give to embed their scent into their mate and show other wolves that she’s taken. Obviously, we would never do it without your consent, but Theo got carried away, so I had to stop him. That’s all. He wouldn’t hurt you.”

I shook my head. My heart was still beating faster than usual, but I was starting to calm down. Yet I wasn’t sure if my ears or brain were working properly. “I didn’t think he was going to hurt me,” I said honestly. “I just didn’t understand what was happening.”

Both men remained silent, waiting for me to say more. I looked between them, my mind still reeling. Wolves? Them? Seriously?

“I did see a wolf outside tonight, didn’t I?” I asked.

“Guilty,” Theo said. He reached up and caressed my cheek. It was more reverent than sexual. “I had to dash in while Holt brought you around the deck.”

A hysterical laugh came out of my mouth and I covered it. I’d seen Theo as a wolf? “That was you?”

He nodded, but this time he appeared proud of the fact, which made me smother my humor. I would never laugh at them for being who and what they were.

Then another, more horrifying, thought occurred to me. I sat up ramrod straight and gasped, almost bumping Theo in the chin in the process. "The wolves last year. My dad and the other ranchers had been hunting them. Killing them!”

My mind was spinning out.

Holt seemed to know exactly what I was thinking. "Yeah," he said, his voice turning grim. "You can see why what they did is a big deal to our kind."

"The wolves," I choked again. I thought of Ariel, that sweet innocent child. She could have been shot by my father when they had those wolves chipped. "Were they… what do you call them? Shifters?"

"No," Theo supplied, shaking his head. "They were standard wolves—canis lupus. But one of our kind was killed by Hollaroy years back."

I gasped, thinking of that. Of how my dad had thought it fun to go after the wolves. He’d even admitted to using the tracking collars as a way to find them easily. “Does my father know about shifters? I mean, he—”

They shook their heads. “No. Our species is kept a secret from anyone human, except mates. Like you, now. Your father believes he’s killing animals, nothing more,” Holt added.

"That's why there's so much animosity between the ranchers and the rest of the town,” I guessed. “Wait—is all of West Springs your kind?"

"No. About half," Holt said. “Everyone who lives here in the forest on the West land. Everyone who works at the distillery. There are others who work with humans, like me and the town doctor.”

I processed that, trying to comprehend the new reality for me. It was as if leprechauns really were real, and I could finally see where they’d been hiding all this time.

“And…” I was still digesting everything they’d told me. “You mate in pairs? Not just sex?”

Theo smiled encouragingly, even though I’d repeated what they’d already said. “That’s right. It’s a quirk of our genes. Many males in the pack have what we call a scent-match. Another male who smells exactly the same as him. So they know they’re destined to share a mate. Holt and I learned as teens, and we’ve been hoping to find you ever since.”

I blinked. “Find me.” I set my hand on my chest and remembered I was naked. A slow thrum started up between my legs. These two big, burly men—these wolf-men—thought I was their mate. I felt a little bit like Cinderella. Extremely special. A little bit magical. “And… and now that you have?”

Both men gave me what could only be construed as feral smiles. Like they’d captured their prey, and now they were going to devour me.

“Now you see why we demanded exclusivity on the first date,” Holt said.

“Because I’m… it for you?” They were giving me so much to process, I was trying to keep up. Trina was engaged. To one man. Sure, she and Melissa had wanted me to have a wild fling with Theo and Holt, but I was sure my friends never imagined the hot guys to be shifters or scent-matches. And I was their mate. The One.

They nodded in unison, and eyed at me with a mix of adoration and need.

The early stages of dating definitely meant getting to know each other. Over time, secrets were revealed and bonds formed. I hadn’t gotten too far in the process with guys I’d gone out with. Some definitely longer than the two days I’d known Holt and Theo, but shit…

I’d approached them only for a one-night stand! There wasn’t anything more secretive than what they’d just shared. More unusual. If I hadn’t seen Theo’s teeth or the way his eyes changed color, I wouldn’t have believed it.

I did, though.

They hadn’t been anything but direct and honest with me.

“Would you… would you have eventually told me about this—” I swirled my finger in the air, “—at some point, or only because it kinda slipped out?”

Theo appeared a little ashamed that he’d given it away. They’d made it this long in life without telling a soul, and now he’d revealed himself in the most intimate and close of moments. It meant he’d been out of control, so past his ability to shield himself, and that was because of me.

I felt instantly powerful instead of vulnerable and confused.

“Hell, yes. But maybe not in such a shocking way,” Theo said.

“I have to think on this,” I murmured.

The hope dimmed in their eyes at my words, but as I shifted in Theo’s hold and moved to kneel before them on the carpet, I smiled.

“In the meantime, I want to make you both lose control like that.”

Holt’s eyes widened, and Theo stared. “What are you saying?”

I set my hands on each of their chests. “I’m saying, your wolf revealed himself… is that how you say it?”

They nodded, listening intently. Theo sat his hand on top of mine to hold it in place. His skin was warm, and I remembered exactly what those fingers could do.

“Well.” I bit my lip. “You lost control because you were having sex with me. I love that I can make you do that. You do it to me.” I whispered the last, admitting how strongly they affected me. I glanced up at both of them through my lashes, suddenly feeling a touch vulnerable.

“You’re not freaked out?” Theo asked, clearly concerned.

I shrugged. “Yeah, it’s probably not what I expected to discover about you two, but in comparison to past guys I’ve dated, this isn’t that bad.”

They growled and glared.

“No more guys,” Holt said.

“No more dates,” Theo added.

I laughed at their possessiveness and what they took from my sentence. “I want you so far out of control, I see your wolves.”

Theo growled some more.

“Sweetheart,” Holt said, practically groaning. Then he pounced, more like a cat than a wolf. I fell onto my back with him over me.

“It’s impossible not to go wild with you. And now that you know… ” He loomed, a dark and heated gleam in his gaze as he took in my features, perhaps memorizing.

“Don’t hold back,” I ordered, then turned my head to give Theo my attention. “Both of you. I need everything from you.”

10

HOLT

I need everything from you. I glanced at Theo, gave him a pointed look, telling him everything without words. She’d get everything but our bite. We couldn’t claim her. Not now. Not yet.

She didn’t want us to hold back, but we had to. It was one thing for her to know we were shifters, it was another for her to comprehend what it truly meant to be claimed. She knew we wanted her permanently. That, she could grasp.

But the bites—the bond that would form between the three of us was more than a human marriage. That was why we didn’t care about legal pieces of paper. Claiming was beneath the skin. Permanent. Forever.

Fuck, I wanted that with her. My teeth throbbed to descend and bite her tender flesh. My balls ached to empty into her pussy. Soon. We’d get her with Rachel and Caitlyn, other humans who mated shifters in our pack. Have them help her understand, from a female’s perspective, what it was like. What it meant to be a human and have two shifters as mates.

Just like we wouldn’t touch her without her consent, we wouldn’t claim her without her fully understanding it.

I was ready to pull her up, but realized I was still wearing my fucking clothes. I stood, stripped in record time. I wasn’t sure how I had the brain power, but I had enough forethought to grab a condom and roll it on. The protection was another reason why we weren’t ready to claim her. Shifters didn’t get STDs, but pregnancy was always a possibility. We hadn’t even talked about birth control outside of using condoms. Was she on anything? We didn’t know. If we didn’t know that, then we had work to do.

I helped her to her feet, but not for long. I spun and laid her out on the bed once again with me over her, and kissed the hell out of her. We’d give her pleasure. Us. Everything but the bites.

We weren’t playing now. The plug was gone. There was nothing between us any longer, no games or secrets. Only a thin barrier of protection was all that kept me from taking her completely.

She moaned. I groaned. Every soft, heated inch of her was beneath me. Her lush curves to all my hardness. We might have been playing, shown her how fun it could be to role play, to spank her ass, tie her up. But now I wanted to show her my focus, my need.

I nudged her knees wider with one of mine, settled into the cradle of her hips. My dick rested against her wet pussy, coating it in her arousal.

Lifting from her lips, I stroked her hair back from her face, met her dark gaze. Fuck, yes. It was blurry with arousal. I doubted she even knew she was gripping my ass and pulling me closer. I flexed and rolled my hips in.

“Want more, sweetheart?”

She licked her lips and nodded.

I didn’t wait. I couldn’t. I pulled back slightly, my dick slid over her folds, then settled at her entrance. Slowly I pushed in, watched her face. “Fuck, you feel so good.”

She did. Her walls rippled and clenched around me.

“Holt,” she whispered.

I held myself still once I was fully seated. Then she began to squirm. “More.”

I smiled, pulled back, drove deep.

Her eyes rolled back and I knew just how she felt. So I did it again, then set a pace that had me close to coming like a horny teenager. Leaning down, I sucked on a nipple, and her pussy clenched around me.

“Fuck, I’m going to come.”

Leaning on a forearm, I reached between us and circled her hard, little clit with my thumb. I’d all but forgotten about Theo, but when I shifted, he had room to cup a breast and play with her nipple.

That combination set her off like a firework on Fourth of July. A flush crept up her body and she arched her back, clamping around me like a vice. Her nails dug into my skin, which made my wolf howl. She screamed, arching her body and coming so beautifully.

I was right there with her, my balls emptying as I held myself deep and lost myself in the sensation only a mate could bring. My teeth elongated, and only Theo’s hand on my shoulder kept me from sinking those sharp points into the delicate curve of her breast.

I roared in satisfaction and frustration.

Ali was ours. There was no question she turned to us. Needed us. But we needed time. Except I wasn’t sure either of our wolves could hold back much longer. Or how the growing crisis with her father and Hollaroy would impact our bond.

ALI

Sleeping between two burly lawmen felt incredible. So incredible, I never wanted to get out of bed. Especially when Theo rolled me beneath him and used his tongue between my legs. Again. I came several times, once from his mouth, then again from being filled with Holt’s eager dick, then Theo’s. They’d played with my ass some more, just using lube and fingers. The play made me wet and so ready for them that I realized buttplay may be my new favorite thing. Or maybe it was two men at once.

Make that—these two men.

“I want to see your wolves,” I said after we’d exhausted ourselves with morning sex and were lying in a tangled heap on the bed.

“Yeah?” Holt’s grin was broad.

Theo traced his index finger lightly around my areola. He seemed mesmerized and didn’t look up.

“Can I? Is it… hard to change?” I wondered.

Holt’s laugh was rich and warm. “No, sweetheart. It’s easy. The first time can be hard. But the real difficulty can be learning how to shift back.”

I frowned, considering. It was something I’d never thought about before. Turning into a wolf and back as if there was a switch. It wasn’t like they were Superman and went into a phone booth. Or Wonder Woman, who spun in a circle and magically changed. “When do you learn? Is it like learning to walk?”

Theo kissed my bare shoulder and murmured into my heated skin. “No, the ability comes with puberty. And just like puberty, some get it earlier, some get it later.”

“When did you both get it?”

“Thirteen,” Holt said.

“I was younger. Twelve,” Theo answered. “I don’t know what it’s like for a human to go through puberty, but for a shifter, it can be pretty fucking overwhelming.”

“Oh yeah.” Holt chuckled as if thinking back.

I wouldn’t be paid to go through seventh grade again. A girl and her first period was a hot mess, but turning into a wolf? That had to be kind of scary. Or perhaps exciting.

“Raging hormones that get stronger with the full moon,” Holt continued. “The urge to spontaneously shift every time you get a hard-on. That’s not just embarrassing, it could be damn dangerous to the pack.”

“What do you mean?”

“Say a kid turns furry in the middle of his middle school gym class? The humans might not take that well,” Theo explained.

I laughed. I could only imagine. “Oh God, has that ever happened?”

“No. It gets drilled into our heads from the time we’re tiny to never, ever reveal our secret,” Holt said.

I gasped. “Wait—does this mean I went to high school with shifters? Which ones? Who were they?” I tried to picture the kids in my class, and wondered who was human and who’d been so stealthy I never knew they were… more.

Holt and Theo looked at each other. I sensed hesitation from them.

“Oh. Can you not tell me?”

“You’ll know soon enough, sweetheart. Once we’ve claimed you, you’ll be part of our pack. All the secrets will be yours.”

Once we’ve claimed you.

My belly did a little flip-flop.

Secrets. Yeah, they’d revealed a big one, by mistake, but weren’t too keen on sharing everything with me now. Because I wasn’t claimed.

The pressure I’d felt last night to make a lifetime commitment to these guys returned. I’d just met them, but they believed I was the one. Their only one. Forever.

It was a lot to take in, especially since getting to know them more was tied to it.

“Show me your wolves,” I blurted, in part to distract myself from the thoughts swirling in my head.

They stared at me in surprise.

“Really?” Holt asked.

I frowned for a second. “Is that a secret too? That I can’t see you like that?”

“No, it’s just… well, it might be weird for you to see your two men turn into wolves. Don’t be afraid,” Theo cautioned.

“I’m not afraid.” I wasn’t. I was excited. Curious.

“We’re big,” Theo added. “Bigger than standard wolves. But we’re not dangerous—not to you. You never need to be afraid.”

I let out a light scoff. “I work with big animals on a daily basis.”

And then I screamed.

It was more out of surprise than fear. Holy shit. Theo had shifted right before my eyes. A giant silver wolf was lying beside me where Theo had been. I couldn’t be sure but I could have sworn it—he—was smiling at me! Mouth open, rows of sharp white teeth gleamed in the morning sunlight through the window.

“Oh my God,” I murmured. I raised my hand, but dropped it.

“You can touch him,” Holt said. “Go on.”

Now I understood why they’d cautioned me not to be afraid. I wasn’t, but I could see how someone not used to working with animals might be. His head was massive—so much larger than a big dog’s. I stroked his silky ears, and when he licked me, I buried my face in his fur and kissed him back. Theo.

“Show me yours,” I challenged Holt, who was watching with amusement.

He shuddered and I heard the crack of joints as he changed form. This time I wasn’t as freaked, but wow. It wasn’t every day you saw your naked lover turn into a wolf.

Holt was black with tan markings. His wolf-eyes were amber. He stood over me, and I giggled when he leaned down to lick my face. I grabbed his neck and curled my fingers into the soft fur.

“You’re beautiful.” I reached with one hand for Theo’s head to rub his ears. “Both of you.”

THEO

After we showed Ali our wolves, I showered, even though my wolf was not too keen on me washing off my mate’s scent.

Now, as I dressed, Holt and Ali were in there together.

Holt had texted his friend, Cord, to see if he and his scent-match, Nash, and their mate, Rachel, would be interested in meeting us at the diner for a late breakfast. It wasn’t because we wanted to share Ali—we sure as hell didn’t—but it was the perfect opportunity for two human females who had wolf mates to chat. In case there was girl stuff they needed to talk over. Like how it works having two mates. Or things we wouldn’t even know Ali might be thinking about or worrying about.

I hadn’t considered it, but it was a solid idea. We needed all the help we could get.

Ali now knew what we were, which was a step forward in terms of claiming her, but this in-between period made her a huge liability to us, and the pack. We’d barely known each other for more than a few days. What if she rejected us? While I couldn’t even consider that possibility, the alpha would say there couldn’t be a rancher out in the world knowing what we were, even if we were fated mates. It would be a huge problem. The most serious of threats to every single shifter in the pack. Hell, everywhere.

If Gibson found out she knew about shifters but we hadn’t claimed her, he’d be pissed.

So we needed to do everything we could to move things along. Move us down the road to permanence. For shifters, a long courtship wasn’t necessary. One sniff, and all parties instantly knew their destiny, as Holt and I knew our fates were entwined with hers.

With a human, it was different.

Ali wouldn’t have the biological need to be with us. We had to make her fall in love with us the human way. Which, unfortunately, neither of us knew anything about. It went beyond sex. It required compatibility. Trust. Friendship. Loyalty. Honor. Faithfulness.

We had all of that. We knew it. It came to us automatically. Ali needed time to believe she’d have all of it with us.

Holt was right. This was a good thing. Any positive words from Rachel would be a win.

When Cord texted back that we could all meet at the diner for breakfast, some of the background tension left my body. According to Holt, Cord and Nash had locked down their human mate, and the two males hadn’t even known each other before they both discovered Rachel was theirs. That was crazy on top of the fact their mate was human. If they could make it work, then we could. They might have answers or pointers for us.

Ali came out of the shower wearing nothing but her panties, and toweling off her long, auburn hair. Her pupils were dilated and her face was flushed with color, like she and Holt had just had another round in the shower. Even though my dick went rock hard at the sight of her beautiful body, knowing Holt had just satisfied our mate again set off an explosion of warmth in my chest.

I liked knowing I could rely on Holt to protect, satisfy, and provide for her. Somehow it calmed my wolf on a biological level. Like, if something happened to me, she would still be taken care of. And seeing her like this, almost completely bare and confident in her body, in us seeing her in this intimate way, helped soothe my wolf and hope we were close to a claiming.

“Hungry, sweetheart? We’re going to take you to the diner for breakfast,” I told her, giving Holt a nod and holding up his phone to show him the text as he emerged from the bathroom.

“Sounds great,” she murmured, then stopped. “Wait—both of you are taking me? Won’t that look weird?”

“I thought of that.” I winked. “We’re meeting three friends, so it will simply look like a group breakfast.”

She smiled, gave a slight shrug as if my answer had been all the reassurance she needed. “Fun. Who are they?”

“They’re another triad like us,” Holt explained, grabbing clean jeans from the dresser. “Two wolves and a human female. We thought it might be nice for you to talk to someone in your situation. Rachel is the newest member of our pack. Nash and Cord claimed her last year.”

“So this is a big secret, right? I mean, obviously. I can’t tell my friends, can I?”

My heart skipped a beat at the possibility, but I calmed when I realized she recognized it was something to keep private.

“Sorry, sweetheart.” I walked over and settled my hands on her waist. Her skin was warm and dewy from the shower. “It’s a hard and fast rule to protect the pack. I know that might be hard for you.”

She shrugged, seemingly undaunted. “I get it.”

I leaned in to nibble her neck, mostly just because I needed to fill my nostrils with her intoxicating scent. “You’re amazing.”

Her laugh was soft and husky. “You two are pretty amazing yourselves.”

Reluctantly, I let her go. I didn’t want to leave this bedroom, ever, but that wasn’t realistic. My dick—or my wolf—weren’t in charge.

Thirty minutes later, we followed Ali to the diner. She’d insisted on driving herself so it didn’t look funny to anyone who might notice, and we didn’t argue. We didn’t need to add navigating town gossip to the list of hurdles we had to overcome with her to get to the claiming.

Hopefully, Cord, Nash, and Rachel would help get us one step closer. Even though our biggest hurdle wasn’t Ali, but her hateful father and the open meth case.

11

ALI

“I heard you found out these two guys are more than they seem.” Rachel, a friendly blonde who looked about the same age I was, waggled her brows from across the table at the diner. Theo, Holt, and I had slid into one side of the booth with Rachel, Cord, and Nash on the other. Cord and Nash were her mates, two scent-match shifters who’d found her and decided to make her theirs, just like Theo and Holt wanted to do with me. Plus, they’d married her, judging by the wedding rings on their fingers.

“Yes.” I laughed in relief because it was good to have someone who understood what it was like to find out there was something superhuman about the guys she’d gone to bed with. And I wasn’t referring to their super-sexy dick skills.

“You just can’t stay away, can you?” Bessie, the diner owner, said to Rachel as she came over and poured a round of coffee for all of us. She’d run the diner for as long as I could remember. I came in with my friends in high school, and I knew my dad met his friends in the mornings here for coffee. It was the unofficial meeting spot for West Springs.

Rachel smiled at me and gave me the inside scoop, leaning forward toward me. “I work here. That’s how I met Cord. I spilled a full glass of water in his lap.” She laughed at her own mistake.

“Because she was so taken with me,” Cord supplied with a wink. I knew he was a doctor in town, his office just down the block, but I hadn’t seen him as a patient myself. I’d been away at school when he’d taken over for the one who’d retired, and thankfully had been well enough to not need him.

“That was before she’d met me,” Nash piped in. I could see why Rachel thought both her men attractive. This one had a quick smile and an easygoing nature. Holt had said he’d been raised in Montana, and only recently moved to West Springs when they’d found Rachel.

Shocked that they were so open about being shifters in front of Bessie, I watched her for a reaction, but she just smiled indulgently at everyone at the table. Everyone except me.

She gave me a curious look that bordered on suspicion, and I realized with a start that she must be a shifter, too. And she knew who I was because she knew everyone in town. Or rather, who my father was. A rancher. A wolf killer.

It made my chest constrict with pain every time I thought of it. The fact that one of their pack had died by a rancher’s gun years back was beyond tragic. It explained and crystallized some of the weird tensions in this small town that I’d never really understood. Like why the West Springs folks seemed so insular, and looked down on the ranchers in the valley.

“Theo, it’s good to see you, son. Haven’t seen you since Christmastime.” Bessie nodded to Theo.

Theo slid his arm possessively around my shoulders. “Well, I’m officially back in town on business, but, ah, the discovery of our mate turned everything on its head.”

Bessie’s eyes widened as she looked between me and Theo and Holt. “You don’t say?” She met my gaze now, and her nostrils flared like she was trying to get my scent. If I didn’t know what she was, I wouldn’t have noticed the subtle gesture, but now I was tracking everything wolfish about my new boyfriends and their pack mates. “Well, how are you taking it?”

I straightened my back. For some reason, it seemed terribly important to me that I answer her question correctly. “The news?” I wasn’t exactly sure what she meant, if it was the surprise of Holt and Theo being shifters, or fucking two guys at once. I went with the first. “I’m a little shocked, honestly. I only found out last night. But I’m still here.”

Bessie gave a soft scoff. “It’s not like they’d let you go, even if you wanted to.”

I blinked. “What?”

“Bessie!” Holt looked slightly alarmed.

“Oh, I didn’t mean it that way.” Bessie waved a dismissive hand. “It’s just that their biology won’t allow it. As a doctor, Cord can probably explain the science behind it.” She tipped her head in his direction.

“We brought her here to put her mind at ease, not freak her out,” Theo muttered, giving my shoulder a squeeze. “So, thanks for that.”

Bessie laughed, nonplussed. “Well, I know when I’m not welcome. I’ll take your orders if you know what you’re having.”

She wrote down what we wanted and left for the kitchen. As soon as she was gone, I demanded, “What was that all about?”

“Nothing,” Theo and Holt said at once.

I looked searchingly at Rachel, who thankfully shrugged like it wasn’t a big thing. “The guys are kind of in a frenzy until they mark you, and even after that, they can be, um, overprotective, to say the least. Don’t worry—you hold the power. They’re hard-wired to keep you safe and satisfied.” Her lips twitched on the last word, and my nipples grew hard remembering exactly how satisfied they’d already made me.

Cord and Nash grinned, proud they could do both for their wife—mate.

“So, are you freaked out?” Rachel asked impishly.

“It takes a lot to spook me,” I admitted, which was the truth. This meth thing with my dad had me upset, but finding out my two boyfriends were actually wolves?

Somehow, I could roll with it. I grew up on a ranch—animals didn’t scare me. Not even big, ferocious ones. I had a healthy respect for nature and the natural order of things. Without knowing the particulars, I even understood what Bessie had been saying about them having a biological need to lock me down.

No one could buck biology.

“I think the mating in pairs thing is almost harder to accept than the shifter part,” Rachel said. “I mean, I love it,” she said quickly when both her mates looked at her, askance. “It’s just that my parents can never know. They think I have one husband. Nash.” She set her hand atop his, but gave a wistful glance to Cord. “That feels emotionally dishonest and weird. Seems like it will be even harder once we have kids. I mean, what if their grandchildren look just like Cord?”

“Again, not sure if you’re helping,” Holt said stiffly.

I laughed. “It’s fine. I want to hear it all.” I shifted in my seat, my pussy—and my bottom—a little sore from the night before. And this morning. What I really wanted to ask her was if I’d always feel so… well used. Naughty, too. “You ought to know that I’m pretty tough. It takes a lot to make me quit something.”

Theo and Holt looked at me with the moon in their eyes, and I realized I’d admitted out loud that I was already considering myself in.

It was crazy. Insane, really. I’d met these guys a matter of days ago, and we’d shared little more than a lot of hot sex, and a couple of meals together. But they were all in with me.

It didn’t feel that hard to picture myself all in with them in return.

They were Wyoming men. Of and from the land I considered home. Something about that seemed to fit. The rancher-shifter relations thing was a problem, but not an insurmountable one. Maybe I could help change the ranchers’ minds about wolves. Somehow convince them the wild animals weren’t a danger to the cattle herds. Or figure out a way to protect the herd that satisfied both parties. I didn’t know how, exactly, but it seemed like I could be a bridge between the two factions.

Maybe that was too optimistic.

Bessie brought our food, and we ate with an easy get-to-know-you conversation about what Cord and Nash did for a living—doctor and contractor—and Rachel’s plans for the future as a teacher. After we finished, I got up to use the bathroom, and Rachel came along.

“So, you have two lawmen on your hands. That’s pretty hot,” Rachel said when we were washing up and applying lip gloss in the mirror.

“So hot,” I confirmed with a laugh. “Although, they won’t use the handcuffs on me. They think I won’t like them.” I blushed, realizing what I’d just shared with a new friend.

“You never know until you try, right?” Rachel gave me a broad grin in the mirror and rubbed her lips together to spread her pink gloss. “How great that you never have to worry about one of them getting shot in the line of duty. Otherwise, I’d be pretty nervous when they went off to work.”

I frowned. “What do you mean?”

I hadn’t had that particular worry yet, but now, I probably would. God, they had dangerous jobs, and I’d never considered they might be killed.

“Because they can’t be harmed by bullets.”

My heart sped up as my eyes widened. What? “They… can’t?”

She shook her head, then turned and leaned against the counter. “Nope. You didn’t know that? Well, let me put your mind at ease. They—shifters, I mean—have superhuman healing properties. Nash got shot last year by my ex.” Her eyes filled up with tears and she took a moment to pull herself together. “It was horrible! I watched him go down, and he was bleeding. I thought he was dead and I was out of my mind with grief, but he was feeling better within a few hours.” She took a deep breath, calming herself. “It was incredible. There’s no mark or scar or anything.”

Wow. Like, holy shit kind of wow. “But I thought… wasn’t there a wolf that was killed by a rancher years back?”

Rachel’s eyes rounded. “Wow. I don’t know. I think if they get shot in the head it could kill them because there’s no time for the body to recover from that before they die. So maybe the wolf got picked off with a head shot.”

I shuddered, thinking how it must have been even more tragic to a community that believed they were immune to bullets to have one of their own taken from them that way. I would find a way to bridge the divide. Whether things worked out between me and these two guys or not, I needed to heal this rift.

HOLT

“I don’t like it,” Theo grumbled after he shut Ali’s truck door and gave the hood a knock. The two of us stood there like abandoned puppies as she drove off after breakfast at the diner.

“Me neither,” I agreed, my wolf practically howling at me to follow her.

We didn’t want to let our beautiful mate go back to her ranch today. Hell, we didn’t want to let our beautiful mate go, ever.

“She’ll be safe,” Theo said in that voice that said he didn’t quite believe it, but wanted to convince himself.

“Yeah. She promised she wouldn’t go near the trailer again, and I trust her.” I shot a glance at Theo. “We can trust her, right?”

He scrubbed a hand across his face as we walked toward his truck. “I think so. But she’s headstrong. I don’t like what she overheard at that trailer. There was a threat to her father’s life, which means hers won’t mean much either if she gets in the middle of whatever is going on out there. Her dad’s done a good job of keeping her out of whatever he’s up to, but she’s too curious for her own good.”

“We need to move on that shit. Today,” I vowed. We needed to get things straight down at the ranch right away, or we’d both go fuck-nuts crazy.

“Right. I’ll call the lab in Cheyenne to find out the results from the samples we sent in to be tested. Hopefully they’re back.” He put the phone on speaker as he drove us both to the sheriff’s office.

“You were right, Agent Decker,” the lab technician said. Judging by his voice, he was a young, eager sort. Proud of his findings. “Definitely traces of ammonia and acetone.”

“Email me the lab results right away so I can get a search warrant,” Theo barked.

Fuck, yes.

“I already sent it, sir.”

“Thanks, Eric. That’s all I need.” Theo ended the call and looked at me. “We have the proof. How quickly can you pull a warrant?”

“Hopefully, we can get a judge to sign off by this afternoon. Tomorrow morning at the latest. The delay would be because some of these judges out here are in the pockets of the ranchers.” I grumbled the last, knowing the fight wasn’t an easy one.

“Fuck,” Theo said. “Well, let’s get the paperwork filled out and filed, pronto. Normally I’d want to poke around without alerting them a little more first, but we can’t fuck around when Ali’s life could be in danger.”

Even though I felt the same, hearing him say the words out loud sent a jolt of panic to my wolf, and a growl volleyed out of my throat. “We need to get her the fuck out of there. I can’t believe we let her go back.”

“I know,” Theo said grimly. “I feel the same way.”

12

ALI

I’d gone away to college. To Chile. Australia. I’d been away from home for years. I thought I’d changed a lot during that time. Grown up. Become independent. Even deciding to return and work the family land, which put me back into the same bedroom I’d grown up in, I felt… different.

But after a few days with Holt and Theo, I saw everything about the Jenkins Ranch in a new way. What the place meant to me. My role as a steward of the land from one generation to the next. Keeping it just as my great-grandparents had made it for my own kids. With some additions like indoor plumbing and Internet, of course.

I wanted to be a rancher. But I didn’t want to do it alone any longer, and I wasn’t thinking of doing it with my father, not after this week. I wanted to have Holt and Theo with me. I doubted they’d be pulling calves or rustling livestock any time soon, but I wanted to see them drive up after a day protecting West Springs. To return to me at night. To share a bed with them. A life.

Yes, even have children.

All of that was new and crazy. I never expected to find The Ones—yes, plural—right in my home town. But these seemingly perfect men were at odds with my father. The man I’d looked up to and respected my entire life. While they hadn’t said I had to choose between them and my father, I felt as if I were being pulled. My father hated the lawmen, and had outright told me to stay away from them. Theo and Holt had snuck onto my land to search for meth, they were so driven to bring down the bad guys, even if it meant arresting someone close to me.

I’d ignored my father’s very clear wishes, and gone and fallen for them. Or I was definitely on my way to doing so. It had only taken a few days and a whole bunch of orgasms, but I was considering long term. And I wasn’t even thinking of their secret, the one Theo had revealed by mistake.

They were shifters. Part wolves. Wolves! Yet I still wanted them. They mentioned forever, but I was taking it one day at a time. One pleasurable day—and night—at a time.

Still, when my father learned that I was with Theo and Holt, he’d flip. Our relationship would be ruined because things were black and white with him. His enemies, or him.

Except it seemed he’d already done that. Holt and Theo had only nudged it along. I’d have liked to imagine I’d have discovered what was going on by myself since I was back to working the ranch, finding the trailer at some point. The burned out cabin. The only reason they had been hidden was the size of the property, and maybe that had been their plan all along.

I’d have felt this exact same way, except with my dad no longer on the pedestal on which most daughters placed their beloved fathers. He’d knocked himself off when he’d chosen to track and shoot wolves the year before—even further now that he was somehow caught up in meth being made on our property.

It was against the law, which was bad enough, but he’d done it on land that I was supposed to work. My safe place. My job. My life. He was putting all of that—and me—at risk!

My respect for him was gone, due to his choices, and the consequences I knew were soon to come.

They would come in part because of me. I’d told Holt and Theo he was involved, at least partially. They could arrest him on that, and I could be forced to testify against Dad for what I’d overheard. He could go to jail and I had to be okay with that.

I just didn’t know why he would allow drugs to tarnish our land and our family name. How he could get caught up in it. I wasn’t an expert on meth addicts, but I’d seen pictures, knew the signs of someone strung out on drugs. My dad didn’t show any of those signs. Was it money? We weren’t poor. Our ranch was worth several million, at least.

After the late breakfast at the diner, I’d returned home to shower and ride Daisy, remembering the guys’ concern for my safety. I’d stuck close to the stables and in sight of the near pasture, not riding anywhere near the pond or the trailer.

I’d hoped to see my father, to confront him right away, but he’d been nowhere I could find. He didn’t return until dinnertime. I was in the kitchen, pulling a meal together. When he came into the room, I stopped chopping the carrots for the beef stew. He looked haggard and panicked, running a hand through his hair.

“What’s wrong?” I asked. I set the knife on the cutting board and reached over to turn down the flame beneath the simmering pot on the stove.

“Nothing,” he grumbled, going to the coffee pot, lifting it, and studying the dregs at the bottom.

“Why is Hollaroy on our land?” I asked.

He dropped the carafe and spun around, finally looking at me. His usually calm, hard gaze was wild. “I told you, because he’s having a fight with his wife.”

I frowned. “That puts him on the couch or in the dog house, but not a brand new single-wide on our back forty.”

“Why does it matter, Alison?” he asked.

I raised my hands in frustration. “Because this is my land too!”

“I’m not dead yet.”

My stomach dropped. “So this isn’t a together thing, working the ranch like we’d talked about. It’s you, then me once you’re gone? In what, twenty years or more?”

“Don’t be so melodramatic.”

“Like you are about the talk of meth on our land?”

“Jesus, why do you have to push?” he asked.

“What are you talking about?”

“The meth! The trailer. Hollaroy.”

“I knew nothing about the meth until Holt and Theo came by the other day.”

His eyes widened, and his head reared back as if I’d punched him. “It’s Holt and Theo now? Oh, fuck, Alison, are you seeing one of them? Is that where you were last night?”

I wasn’t a teenager sneaking around behind her parents’ back with the cute quarterback, staying out past curfew. I was an adult. I could make my own choices, and I didn’t need my father’s approval to spend the night in a guy’s bed. I’d have liked it, but it wasn’t required any longer. Not after the choices he’d been making.

“Yes.” I didn’t clarify, or correct that I was seeing both of them.

He reached out and swiped a calendar and address book, shoving them off the counter. I jumped at his outburst.

“Do you have any idea what you’ve done by being with him?” he shouted.

“Why don’t you tell me what you’ve done, Dad?” I said, my voice quiet compared to his.

He faced me again, set his hands on his hips. “I had no choice. I wanted to keep you out of it, but you got involved with the law. The enemy.”

“Since when is the sheriff or DEA the enemy?” I asked.

“Since Hollaroy brought his shit to our property and I have to hide it.”

Oh, fuck. It was true. Hollaroy was involved. No, not involved. He was the one Theo was seeking. My dad was part of it.

“Why didn’t you tell him no?” I asked, my voice rising. “He has a huge ranch. If he’s making meth and distributing it, he could do it from—”

“No!” He began to pace. “He pulled me in. I had no choice. I have no choice.”

“Why? What did you do?”

He waved me off and continued. “Now you’re here, and he’s going to—”

“I’m going to what, Jenkins?” a voice rang out from down the hall.

Dad went pale, and I picked up the knife on the cutting board.

Mr. Hollaroy—I didn’t think of him by any other name—walked into the kitchen. He’d come in the back door without knocking, as if this were his ranch, not ours.

Dad cleared his throat. “Nothing.”

Hollaroy was bigger than my dad. While he was in his early sixties, he was still well over six feet tall. He was stocky, and had a beer gut that could sustain him as a reserve like a bear in hibernation.

I’d known him my whole life, but mostly in passing, seeing him at the diner or the county fair. I’d always found him to be a little intimidating, but now I was downright scared.

“Going to know about your daughter’s fling with the law?” He eyed me in a way that made my skin crawl. Like I wasn’t just a rancher friend’s daughter any longer, but a woman.

“It’s nothing. Rebellion. Just getting back at me,” my dad said. He was protecting me, and I was surprised.

“She’s fucking the law. Our enemy. They came here. They’re sniffing around,” Mr. Hollaroy said.

He had no idea that they had literally been sniffing around.

He waved his beefy hand in the air as he came around the counter, picked up a piece of chopped carrot and tossed it in his mouth. I stepped away.

“This works,” he said while chewing. “She can help us now. No one suspects a woman like her.”

I didn’t know what that meant exactly, but I wasn’t going to ask.

I was actually afraid of this guy. Of the situation. Of how easily he was in control. How he’d waltzed right into the house and eaten off my cutting board.

“What are you talking about?” I asked, frowning and trying to look confused. Sweat trickled down my back and I tried to keep my voice even.

“Your daddy told me Sheriff Cooke and the DEA came by.”

I flicked my gaze at my father, who looked like a bullied fifth grader in his own house.

I nodded. “They did, and he sent them on their way.”

“Yet you followed. What did they tell you about their investigation?” he asked.

“Nothing.”

“Right.” He drew the word out as if he didn’t believe me. “But you’re curious. Questioning. You’ll be useful.”

“No,” I said, without thinking.

He stared at me, then laughed. His jowls shifted as he did so. “You think you have a choice?”

“Alison,” Dad warned, but didn’t do anything else to protect me.

“Send a text to your boyfriend. Tell him to come here at ten.”

I blinked. “Wh—why?”

“Because while they may have slapped me with a fine for shooting those fucking wolves last summer, they’re not messing with my meth.”

“I’ll redirect them away from here,” I said, trying to think quickly of ways to keep Holt and Theo from whatever Hollaroy had planned.

“No can do, sugar. It’s time for a little payback, and you’re going to help. Get your phone, and text him.”

He didn’t say more, only arched a brow and gave me a pointed look.

I took a deep breath and pulled my cell from my back pocket.

“Tell him to come to the trailer. I’m sure you know about it. Ten o’clock. Nothing more,” he warned.

Hollaroy didn’t identify which guy he thought I was with, but since Theo was DEA and this was his investigation, I sent the text to him. My thumbs fumbled over the tiny letters, and I finally got it right.

“Show it to me.”

I held out the cell so he could see my message, which was exactly what he’d said. I wanted to tell Theo the text was a trap, or clue him in that Hollaroy was here. Or tell him that he shouldn’t actually come.

The ding signaled an immediate response. My heart leapt at the sight of his reply.

I told you to stay away from there.

I showed it to Hollaroy and he nodded, clearly satisfied. “He does know about the trailer. You mentioned it to him.”

I blushed, realizing I was caught.

Hollaroy shrugged, and pressed the button on the side of my phone to turn it off.

He rubbed his hands together. “Good. Remember, you and your daddy are expendable. The meth’s on your land. Nothing like the thought of taking out a lawman to make me hungry. What are you cooking us, woman, while we wait?”

13

THEO

“She’s going to get a real spanking this time,” I snapped, slamming my truck door shut and rounding the back.

“Get in line,” Holt added, settling his Stetson on his head.

The sun had set behind the mountains about an hour before, but the sky still had color. It was bleeding to dark quickly. With our shifter eyesight, we didn’t have to slow as we cut across the grassland from the service road.

When I’d received Ali’s text, I’d cracked the screen with frustration. She wanted us to meet her at the trailer? The trailer! After we’d told her not to go anywhere near the place? She’d promised. What in the hell was she up to?

“It might be her land, but she has no idea the kind of asshole Hollaroy is,” I added. My investigation had given me a solid look into him. Holt knew the fucker from the wolf shootings. Hollaroy might not have much of a rap sheet, but that was because he was cunning enough to get away with crimes. Like murder.

My wolf pushed me to move faster. I wanted to toss Ali over my shoulder, carry her off, and claim the shit out of her.

Holt only offered a grunt in reply. We’d spun this in so many circles since she’d called, trying to figure it out. When I’d texted back and she hadn’t responded…

Yeah, I moved a little faster. While she’d told us the new structure was near a pond—where she’d gone for a ride with Ariel—we hadn’t gotten more specifics than that. Hadn’t thought we’d need them.

Holt stuck out his arm to stop me. “Listen,” he whispered.

Breathing, voices. I looked toward where we suspected the trailer to be. We’d pulled up a map of the county, studied the property lines, the topography. Where the burned out cabin was, and the area that was left we hadn’t observed.

“She’s not alone.” His voice dropped even lower, barely audible.

I cocked my head, but couldn’t make out what was being said.

“Her father?”

Holt shrugged.

We moved closer, going silently as if we were in wolf form.

A shot split the quiet of the night, and we froze.

“Theo Decker. We know you’re out there.”

The deep voice caught on the summer breeze.

I stood tall and set my hand on the butt of my service pistol on my hip. “Identify yourself!” I called back.

“I don’t need to tell you who I am. I’m sure you and Cooke recognize the business end of my rifle, since it’s the one that killed those wolves.”

Fuck. Hollaroy. Blatantly admitting to what he’d done. He’d pleaded guilty to the crime of killing endangered wolves. All he’d gotten was a slap on the wrist with a fine. Probably a slap on the back from his cronies.

He’d gotten away with his fun, the smug bastard.

“We doing this in the dark, Hollaroy?” I called. Not because Holt and I couldn’t see, but because I needed to stall. Needed to get eyes on Ali to keep her safe.

With those words, lights came on. They were exterior fixtures attached to the single-wide trailer Ali had mentioned. There wasn’t just a small bulb by the entry door but spotlights around the metal structure. It was overkill for safety, but it did a great job of illuminating the open field. Definitely useful for working late at night. Loading trucks, perhaps?

“Fuck,” Holt whispered.

Hollaroy wasn’t alone. Two goons I didn’t recognize stood sentinel on the outer edges of the illuminated area, rifles resting on their shoulders. Hollaroy was in the center, but the focus of my attention—probably Holt’s, too—was Ali standing beside him. Her father was on her other side.

I studied Ali. She looked the same as usual. Beautiful. She wore jeans and a long-sleeved t-shirt, and her hair was back in its usual long braid. Nothing was amiss, except how she stood tall and proud between our pack’s two sworn enemies.

What the fuck was going on here?

I said as much.

Hollaroy laughed. “You haven’t figured it out? You’re a high-falootin’ DEA agent. All the way from Cheyenne.”

“You’re making meth here on the Jenkins’ property and most likely other places in the county, then shipping it out to sell across the state.”

Hollaroy nodded. “That, and more.”

Holt was beside me, arms hanging by his sides, fingers twitching and ready to grab his service pistol if need be. We were sure as shit being threatened, but not enough to draw our weapons. Yet.

“Glad you came, Cooke. I can get this done in one go,” Hollaroy said.

“What’s that?” Holt asked, his voice deep. Clear on the night air.

“Shoot you both.”

Ali’s eyes widened and a shudder ran through her body, but she didn’t say a word.

I wasn’t fucking concerned. Being shot wasn’t a threat that scared me. But Ali, standing next to Hollaroy? That made even my wolf quake in fear.

Had she been forced to send the text? Was she here against her will? Of course she was. She wouldn’t be in on this.

“Now hold on.” Jenkins, her father, wasn’t so quiet. “Killing wolves is one thing. I didn’t sign on for murder.”

Hollaroy tipped his head back and laughed. “Doesn’t matter. It’s happening anyway. I can’t let these two arrest us. And us includes all of us. You, and your daughter, too.”

Hollaroy tipped his head and his henchmen moved from the sides and came closer, shifting their rifles from a casual spot on their shoulders toward us.

“Drop your weapons, lawmen,” Hollaroy said.

I raised my hands and slowly pulled my pistol from the holster at my hip. I tossed it to the soft grass in front of me where it landed with a thud. Holt did the same. We wouldn’t do anything that would threaten our mate.

“Ali, you all right?” I called.

I could see her throat work on a swallow as she nodded.

“Good girl. We’ll get you out of this,” I added, trying to reassure her. We might be losing our guns, but that didn’t put us in any more danger. As for Ali, no fucking way would we let her get shot. Holy shit. This was our worst nightmare coming real.

My wolf snarled, and a growl escaped. My fangs descended and I knew my eyes had changed color. I could shift and rip Hollaroy’s throat out, but not before he shot our mate.

“Easy,” Holt snarled. He said that for me, not Hollaroy.

Hollaroy laughed again, then shoved his gun at Ali. “You know what to do.”

“Fuck,” Jenkins shouted, grabbing Ali and shoving her behind him before she could take it. “No!”

Turned out, Jenkins wasn’t a total asshole. I had to respect him a tiny bit for trying to protect his daughter. But he’d gotten her into this mess in the first place, so I wasn’t adding him to my BFF list. Ever.

“It’s all right,” Ali said to her dad. “I do know what to do.”

Holt stilled.

“What?” Jenkins asked. “You can’t be serious.”

“Mr. Hollaroy is right,” Ali said. “I figured out about the meth the first week I was here. You’re not that good at hiding things, Dad. I picked the lawmen up at the Bullhorn Bar.”

Even my wolf went quiet to listen.

Ali stepped around her father.

“No!” I shouted, not wanting her anywhere near Hollaroy.

She paused, looked my way, then kept moving. She took the gun from Hollaroy, who smiled. She didn’t notice it because she was looking at us. I couldn’t read her face. It was completely neutral. No emotion whatsoever. Her hands didn’t even shake. And we were too far away to pick up her scent, whether it was laced with fear or other emotion.

“I learned what it was like to ranch in Chile and Australia. Saw all the hard, backbreaking work. Lived it there. Realized when I came back that it was going to be the same thing. Except, I found out about the meth. Sure, at first it made me mad, but then I realized how easily it could work. Why should I castrate calves when I can sit back and let the money roll in without doing a thing?”

“You can’t be serious,” Jenkins said, clearly stunned by what his daughter was saying.

“When they came to the door, I realized I had my way in. A way neither you or Mr. Hollaroy could manage. I also realized they were going to be a problem, so I took care of it.”

“What?” Jenkins asked, his eyes wide and mouth practically hanging open.

“It’s not like they’d want to hop in your bed,” she countered. “A woman has certain skills.”

Hollaroy laughed.

“You told me—” her father said, but she cut him off.

“I told you I’d slept with Theo.” She shrugged. “In fact, I slept with both of them.”

Hollaroy was so fucking twisted that he actually adjusted himself in his jeans. He was fucking aroused by Ali and what she was saying.

“Both of… You did what?”

“Sure, I rejected them at first, but they played right into my hands.” She shrugged. “And me right into their arms. It got them here, didn’t it?” Her voice was so smug and sweet, I couldn’t do anything but stare.

“I know how I reacted, but I had to pretend because I didn’t know how involved you were.”

“I’m your father!” Jenkins said, now looking like the most innocent one of the group.

Ali actually shrugged. “My plan worked. I got the DEA agent here like you wanted. Plus a bonus, the town sheriff.”

The DEA agent. Not Theo.

She glanced over her shoulder at Hollaroy. “I’m in.”

He smacked her shoulder and she stumbled forward slightly.

“Then you know what to do.”

She raised the gun and aimed it at Holt. “Yeah, I can’t have these two sniffing around.”

Then she pulled the trigger.

Holt flinched, then dropped to his knees, then forward. His hands didn’t stop his fall.

Holy. Fucking. Shit. She did it. She shot him.

My gaze whipped up to meet Ali’s and the smoking gun. The barrel shifted to me. Her steady gaze met mine. Then she fired again.

I felt the bullet pierce my flesh, sink into my body. I fell, hit the ground hard, the crushed grass pressing into my face. Fuck, it hurt. I blacked out.

It couldn’t have been for long because I heard, “Damn, girl. I didn’t know you had it in you.”

Hollaroy.

I bit back a moan of pain. I wondered about Holt, but I’d seen him shot. I knew she got him in the chest. We’d never learned if she could shoot, but we knew the answer now. Her aim was true. She’d hit us both right in the fucking heart.

“Let’s get one thing straight. I fooled them. I fooled you. Don’t fuck with me.” She’d never spoken like this before, in a voice I barely recognized. One laced with hatred and… evil.

Hollaroy chuckled, but didn’t argue.

I heard her footsteps approach and I lay still. I was too hurt to move when her hand ran down my side. At first, I thought she was checking to see if I was alive, but I soon realized she was pulling my wallet and my cell from my pocket. She moved to Holt and I presumed she did the same with him.

“They won’t need these.” I envisioned her holding up the items. “And we can’t have them identified.”

The pain in my chest made it difficult to breathe, hard to even move. I was concentrating on staying conscious, not throwing up. Blood seeped from the wound, but I wouldn’t die. I’d be in hell for a while, but my shifter genes were already hard at work. The bullet would come out. Eventually. Hours from now.

Fuck, I hurt. I wasn’t going to die, but maybe it would be better if I did because our mate, the one we loved and craved and needed to survive, had just shot us, and left us for dead.

14

ALI

Dear God, please say I didn’t kill them.

Please let them still be alive.

I’d been careful—shot them close to their hearts, but not in direct line. I had to trust what Rachel had told me was true: that bullets didn’t kill shifters. Not unless they were shot in the head.

But… fuck!

I was scared I’d killed them. So scared. I’d never shot anything more than tin cans.

I knelt at Holt’s side, my heart hammering in my ears. He blinked at me, wheezing, but no words came out. Then he passed out.

Fuck! I’d planned to explain to him what was happening, that it had all been a trap. Now there was no time—Hollaroy was watching me. With shaky hands, I grabbed his gun, wallet and cell phone.

“They dead?” Hollaroy demanded, walking closer.

I sped to Theo’s side and snatched up his things before Hollaroy got there. “Yeah. Both are dead.”

I blinked back the heat and moisture in my eyes. I couldn’t fuck this up now. Not when it was almost over.

Hollaroy had wanted them dead, and he’d wanted me to prove myself. To prove that I was in on his scheme. Otherwise, he’d said he’d kill both my dad and me. I’d had the last few hours since dinner to come up with this plan. Me shooting Theo and Holt in a strategic way to make it look like they’d died was the only thing I could come up with. Kill or be killed. Except shifters couldn’t be killed. So I had to make it convincing enough for Hollaroy to leave their bodies so they could regenerate, or whatever it was called when they magically healed.

But I was operating on very little information. One short conversation in the women’s restroom at the diner didn’t make me an expert. It made my plan thin at best.

What if I’d actually killed them? The men I loved. Had I just murdered the two best things that had ever happened to me?

Tears leaked from the corners of my eyes. No, I couldn’t go there. I needed to keep it together until the guys healed and arrested these assholes. I had to believe that they wouldn’t die. That they would survive this, and finish their investigation. Hold me again. Tell me they wanted me forever.

Clinging to that thought, I squared my shoulders and marched over to Hollaroy. “Here’s their stuff.”

He stepped back, refusing to touch it. He even held his hands up to stop me. “You get rid of it. You did the crime.”

I sucked in a breath, ice cold rushing from my scalp to the soles of my feet. This guy was pure evil. I’d been shaking like a leaf since the minute he walked into our house, but now I could barely put one foot in front of the other. And he was right. I’d been the one to pull the trigger and shoot two law enforcement officers.

This was bad. This was really bad.

“Boss, what do you want to do with the bodies?” one of Hollaroy’s men asked.

“Leave them for the wolves,” I called out instead of Hollaroy.

“And their vehicle? They had to have gotten here somehow.”

“Find it, and make it disappear,” Hollaroy added.

“On it.”

I had no choice but to leave Theo and Holt. I had to follow through. The hard part was done, right? Pulling the trigger. Twice. Now I had to leave them, which, it turned out, was just as horrible. Were they dying right now, and I was just… leaving?

I climbed into Hollaroy’s truck. The engine revved and we drove off.

Things had gone horribly wrong, and I’d had only a few hours to figure out how to save all of us. But what if I hadn’t saved Theo and Holt? What if I’d just killed the two men I loved?

HOLT

What. In the fuck. Just happened?

“Our mate just shot us, that’s what happened,” Theo groaned, flopping over onto his back.

I must have spoken the question out loud. We were lying in the grass, the scent of blood overpowering my senses. It covered my chest, soaking my shirt.

“They left us for fucking dead,” I groaned, turning painfully to my side. “Fuck, that hurts.”

I set my fingers to the bullet hole, which still bled freely. We needed to shift to speed the healing, otherwise we might be here for days.

I closed my eyes and shuddered as my wolf wanted to push forth so I could shift and heal. Soon, but not yet.

The pain was excruciating, both in the wound in the center of my chest, and in my heart from the pain of Ali’s betrayal.

“What the fuck are we going to do?” I said, my breathing ragged. “We’re going to go fucking moon mad.”

“Yeah,” he groaned. “She knew what we were and, shit, had no interest in becoming our mate. She deceived us. Was all of it fake?”

“Can you walk?” I grunted, not able to process everything.

“Not yet.”

I looked at Theo. He’d taken a bullet in the center of his chest, just west of his heart. She’d shot to kill, for fucking sure.

“She played us,” he wheezed.

“I know,” I croaked. I could hardly believe it. Everything about the time we’d spent with Ali had seemed real to me, and yet it was all…a great big lie. “She purposefully seduced us. At the bar, then when we pushed her, she gave in. Fuck, it had been her plan all along. Playing coy, then becoming a fucking temptress. Led us around by our dicks.”

“Hell, she called us out here, leading us to our fucking deaths,” Theo added, stating the obvious since we were bleeding all over the grass. “She was playing the black widow.”

“We need to shift to heal. We can’t head back to your truck after. Based on what they said, it’ll be in pieces in Missoula by morning,” I wheezed. My breath was still short and labored as my body worked to recover from the blood loss and trauma.

“Yeah,” he agreed. “But that’s the least of our fucking problems.”

“Fine; we shift, we heal enough to get the fuck out of here. Then we go back to my place and call it in. Get cleaned up and lie low until the bleeding has stopped. When we show up to arrest them, we’ll say we were wearing Kevlar vests when she shot us,” he added.

She. Fuck.

“Attempted murder.” The words tasted like rotten meat in my mouth. Our mate would go to prison for life. Even if by some miracle we could find a way to forgive her, to work this out for the sake of our own lives, she’d be put away.

I shook my head, trying to clear it of the slow, heavy thud of my thickened blood in my temples.

“Wait. Before that, we need to talk to Gibson,” I realized with a sickening jolt. “This situation seriously affects the whole pack.”

“Fuck,” Theo swore, pushing up to sitting, then pressing his hand to his chest as he winced. “Fuck!” His shout carried on the air.

“Save your strength for healing,” I muttered, even though I shared his despair.

“Healing?” he countered. “Our mate shot us. What the hell do you think Gibson’s going to do to us when he finds out a human knows about shifters and she’s not claimed? And she’s the fucking enemy?”

“Fine,” I snipped, knowing we were fucked. “We shift. Heal up some. Then run straight to the alpha.”

“Agreed.”

I closed my eyes and let my wolf take over, forcing an instant shift so I could heal.

I heard a scuffle, rip, and whine beside me, and knew that Theo had shifted into wolf form as well. We lay there and let the healing happen.

After some time with the sky and the stars spinning, my panting slowed. I started to feel the earth beneath my heaving flank. Felt… better. Not completely healed, but I didn’t have a gaping wound any longer. Dragging myself up to my four paws, I found Theo and bumped him with my nose.

He stood, and we headed for the hills. It wasn’t our fastest pace, but we made good time. I wasn’t sure if it was our anger or the need to update our alpha that pushed us.

When we’d run up to the house, we stopped and howled. Waited. I was too fucking exhausted to do more to announce our presence.

Within a minute, the front door was thrown open and the alpha stood on the threshold with his hands on his hips. It wasn’t often he was disturbed in the middle of the night, but his role gave him no time off. And he knew a call for help from his pack when he heard one. No doubt Ben and Shelby were roused by it as well. Shifters didn’t need to use doorbells.

We shifted, collapsing onto his front lawn. The moment he saw our condition, he cursed and jogged forward, Ben on his heels. He pulled my arm across his shoulders to support me, and Ben did the same for Theo.

When Shelby saw us, her eyes went wide but she didn’t comment, she simply disappeared, returning with towels for the fresh blood and to wrap around our nakedness.

Gibson and Ben dumped us into kitchen chairs and we pressed the balled up towels to our wounds.

“Who did this?” Gib demanded.

I hesitated. Why even now would I want to protect Ali after what she’d just done to us?

Oh yeah. Biology.

Fucking fate and biology.

“Ali did,” Theo said in a low, defeated tone. His head was down, his shoulders slumped. Fucking defeated. I knew how he felt. “She’s in on it, with Hollaroy and her dad. The meth, everything. She seduced us to find out what we knew about the case.”

Shelby gasped, standing in a sleepshirt. She’d filled two large glasses with water, which she handed to each of us. It was all a shifter really needed to heal. Fluids would help the regeneration of new blood. “Are you sure?”

I looked to Theo and we nodded. “Yeah, we’re fucking sure. She basically laid it all out. Like she was proud of it,” I said bitterly. “Then she shot us.”

Gibson crossed his arms over his chest. “Tell me everything.”

I explained about Ali coming to see us, seemingly distraught about the trailer she’d found out in the middle of nowhere, and the conversation she’d overheard. Then about her text tonight asking us to meet her there, where we found her, her father, Hollaroy, and his goons waiting to kill us.

“Let me get this straight. The meth investigation led you to the Jenkins property. Hollaroy’s the ring leader but Alison Jenkins, your mate, is involved?”

“Lured us to our deaths,” I clarified.

“Shot us point blank,” Theo added.

“And she knows you’re shifters?” Gibson asked.

“Yes.” I took a deep breath and winced, knowing this was the worst of it. We could accept the consequences of being misled by our mate, but how our actions were dangerous to the pack? It was the worst thing that Theo and I could ever do. “And she’s not claimed.”

The roar that came from him shook the walls. The alpha power was so strong, the force of it threw us back against our chairs.

15

THEO

Shelby let out an involuntary whimper of surrender, even though Gibson’s roar wasn’t directed at her. He immediately tucked her under his arm and kissed the top of her head.

“They all know about shifters?” Ben asked. “Hollaroy and her dad? Who else was there?”

I hesitated, reviewing what had happened. Had Ali mentioned anything to them about us being wolves?

“Two men of Hollaroy’s. We don’t know who she’s told, if anyone. No one mentioned it,” Holt said after meeting my eye. “Earlier, we put in for a search warrant for the trailer because we got the test results back from a burned-out cabin on their property. We weren’t able to get it by close of business.”

“I’m thinking I call it in and get the three of them arrested tonight before they kill anyone else,” I offered. While we were in West Springs, this was the DEA’s case, not Holt’s. “As soon as Holt and I get cleaned up and regain some strength, we can take charge of the prisoners.” I shifted in my chair to get comfortable. The pain was tolerable now, but I was filthy, tired, angry and… shot. The bullet had come to the surface and fallen to the ground outside the trailer. Once that had worked its way out, I started to heal much faster.

Holt’s eyes glowed amber with anger.

Gibson paced around the kitchen. “If she goes to jail, you two could die of fucking moon madness,” he said after a long stretch of tense silence. He was working through his own issues, completely different from the human laws that Holt and I worked to uphold.

“Yeah,” I agreed. “We considered calling it in but leaving out the attempted murder part, but needed to get to you first.”

Gibson nodded and handed me his phone. “Do it.”

I didn’t know the number for the Cheyenne office. It was in my fucking phone, which Ali had taken. I had to search online and work my way through from the main phone number. It took five minutes, but I gave the information to the on-call agent. Fortunately, I knew the guy, and he would get on it.

When I hung up, all eyes were on me. “Backup is in Cheyenne. They won’t be here before dawn.”

Gibson nodded, then glanced at the clock on his kitchen stove. “You can’t go arresting anyone now. You’re too weak. You need to finish healing, and to rest.” He paused; stroked his beard.

“What are you thinking, Gib?” I asked.

“You need to claim her.” It was Ben who answered, like it was the easiest puzzle to solve. “Before she goes to prison.”

Holt and I stared at him like he was covered in pig shit. “Did you miss the part about her killing us in cold blood?” Holt demanded.

Ben shrugged. “Takes more than a rifle to kill you. And there’s two of you. It’s not our way to claim a female by force, but considering what she did to you, I wouldn’t feel too bad about you doing what you need to do to survive fate’s shitty deal on this one.”

My stomach turned. Even after everything, even knowing it could save my life, I couldn’t imagine ever forcing Ali to do anything she didn’t want to do. Male wolves protected their females. They worked to make them happy.

Ali had intended to kill us. Point blank, and in cold blood. Officers of the law. Even a good defense attorney would know she was going to prison for life, without the concept of conjugal visits.

I looked to Shelby to see what a she-wolf’s take on this was. Her brows were down, and she tapped her lips with her index finger. “Ali knew you two were shifters?” she asked.

“I thought we established that,” I said, at the end of my patience.

Gibson growled at me for being less than polite with his mate, but she laid a hand softly on his bulging biceps, still looking at me. “I just mean, could she have known that you’d survive a gunshot wound?”

“No,” Holt said immediately, shaking his head, then wincing. “We never discussed that.”

We’d barely had time to discuss much of anything. We’d only shown her our wolves once, and while she’d been excited about it, it could have been fake, like everything else.

Except… something shifted inside me. A scrap of hope flickered and caught flame.

“Nash was shot in front of Rachel last year,” Holt said slowly. “I got called to clean up the goddamn mess. She saw it happen, and knows the extent of the injuries a shifter can survive. Is it… is it possible she said something to Ali?”

I eyed him warily. “Doubtful.”

“Let’s find out,” Shelby offered, picking up her phone from the counter. She dialed a number, then put the phone to her ear. “Hey, I’m so sorry to wake you up, but it’s an emergency,” she said in a soft voice, walking away from us. “Can I talk to Rachel? Thanks, Cord.” There was a pause, presumably her waiting for Rachel to take the phone. “Rach, hey, listen, this is a weird question but it’s important. Did you by chance tell Ali that shifters can heal from gunshot wounds?”

Shelby had walked into the living room by now, and even with shifter hearing, I couldn’t catch Rachel’s voice on the other end.

“You did?”

Theo and I both let out our breaths. Our gazes met across the table. What the fuck did all of this mean now?

“That’s all I need to know. No, the guys got shot, but they’ll be fine. We’re just trying to figure out if Ali knew that when she shot them.” She paused. “I know. Yes, Ali shot Holt and Theo. I’ll fill you in more tomorrow. Thanks for the help. Goodnight.”

Holt touched his quickly healing wound. “Do you think…”

I nodded slowly. “Maybe.” I pulled the towel back from my chest and took a good look. “She hit close to the heart on both of us.”

“Close, yes,” he confirmed. “But still a miss.”

Trust me, I’m a very good shot.

“A purposeful miss?” I surged to my feet, then staggered as the room spun. The run all the way to Gibson’s hadn’t helped the healing process, but I didn’t care.

I couldn’t wait to heal and get to our mate and spank the truth out of her. “We need to get to Ali,” I said to Holt.

“Fuck,” he swore. “We’ve only been looking at this one way. That she’s guilty and been playing us. If she’s innocent… oh, fuck. She could be in danger. She shot us! Why else would she do that if she didn’t have a choice?”

“Unless she forgot you could heal,” Gibson said, pointing out the worst case.

“She didn’t forget.” I was suddenly certain. Our mate was smart and tough. If she was in danger, or if she believed we were in danger, she would do something like this. Something so insane and crazy.

“You need to rest and heal before you do anything.”

“Alpha,” I began, but he gave me a look.

“I know you need to protect your mate. I understand that. Do you think I want a human out there knowing about shifters if there’s even a chance she’s actually guilty? I want to ride to the Jenkins ranch myself.”

I knew he was right. He was always right.

“They think you’re dead. Or at least lying out there in the field, dying.” He pointed toward his front door. “I can’t believe I’m fucking saying this, but there’s time.”

“Yes, Alpha,” Holt and I said in unison.

“When your backup arrives, do it right. By the book. Take down Hollaroy and anyone else involved because I want this shit over. Then get the truth out of your mate and claim her. For your sakes. If she’s guilty…” He left that hanging, and looked to Ben. “Claimed or not, I may have to ensure pack law is enforced.”

My wolf wanted to snarl and snap and go after Gibson at those grim words. But deep down, I understood. I couldn’t help the growl that escaped me at the idea of Ben, the pack enforcer, killing a guilty Ali—someone who, even if we claimed her, was a threat to the safety of the pack because even in prison, she could reveal us.

Fuck!

16

ALI

I puked when I got home, and barely slept all night. When I did, I dreamed of dead bodies and blood and Theo and Holt dying while I watched. Pulling the trigger and watching Holt, then Theo, buckle from the bullets that struck them was on a perpetual loop in my brain.

I woke to the crunch of tires over gravel at a time when no cars should be pulling down our drive.

I leaped out of bed and flew to the window, my heart in my throat.

Fuck!

One van and two cars drove swiftly in a line and parked in front of the house. The doors opened and officers wearing shirts, sweatshirts and jackets emblazoned with the letters DEA poured out.

I shot a glance at my dresser, where the evidence of my crime still lay—Theo’s and Holt’s wallets, their weapons, and their phones. I’d saved them, hoping I’d hear from them. Hoping they were still alive. Had recovered. Would understand what had happened. Why I’d hurt them. Because while Rachel had said shifters couldn’t die from a bullet to the chest, it didn’t mean they still weren’t shot. That they didn’t bleed. Or feel pain.

But they hadn’t contacted me. Hadn’t come by.

I yanked on a pair of jeans as a pounding started on the front door.

“DEA, we have a warrant. Open up!”

I heard my dad curse from his bedroom.

A sob rocketed up into my throat, and my hands shook. For one panicked moment, I thought about running. If I got arrested now, I’d have no chance of ever explaining myself. Ever proving my innocence. Yes, I’d shot the county sheriff and a DEA agent. But I’d done it to save them! Except no one but they specifically would understand.

But then… if Theo and Holt were dead, I wasn’t innocent, was I?

Oh, God. Had I actually killed them? The DEA would find their phones and wallets as proof. The case was a slam dunk for any prosecutor.

And Hollaroy would get away.

I jogged down the hall to answer the incessant knocking. Four men crowded in, one shoving a badge in my face, but my heart stopped.

Behind them, I saw a familiar vehicle. A sheriff’s patrol SUV.

And out of it were climbing two very familiar figures. Theo and Holt.

I fell to my knees with relief. They were alive.

Theo and Holt had survived the gunshot wounds. They weren’t dead. My plan had worked!

Why, then, when their gazes found me, did it seem like they hated me?

My dad gripped my arm and hauled me to my feet. “Stop that, Ali. You’ve done nothing wrong,” he said gruffly. He was lying, of course. At least, he thought he was lying. He’d stood right beside me when I’d shot two law enforcement officers in cold blood. They hadn’t even been armed.

Except, I hadn’t done anything.

Well, I had—I’d saved the lives of the two men I loved. I stood rooted to the spot as strangers—DEA agents—forced both my dad and me into handcuffs, and started reading us our rights.

They led us outside into the early morning light where Theo and Holt still stood by Holt’s SUV, simply watching the events instead of rushing in to help. Their arms were crossed and they looked so serious. Why weren’t they calling to me? Pulling me into their arms? Telling me everything was going to be okay?

“Theo? Holt?” I croaked.

Finally, Theo walked forward and nodded to the agent escorting me to the car. “I’ll take her in myself,” he said gruffly.

“Of course, Agent Decker,” the female agent said.

“Have you read her her rights?” he asked.

She nodded, as if this was something they’d done before. “Yes, sir.”

“Good.” Theo didn’t look at me as he took my upper arm and led me to the car. His grip was gentle, but his direction was sure. Holt opened the door to the back seat and put his hand over my head to protect it as he pushed me inside.

“Guys?” I said, but neither had looked at or spoken to me.

They climbed into the front—the area separated from mine by bars—and drove away.

“What’s happening?” I twisted to watch my dad being put in the back of one of the other cars. “Guys?”

“You don’t seem surprised to see us alive,” Holt said coolly.

Tears pricked my eyes as I jostled on the plastic bench seat. With my hands behind my back, it was hard to keep balance. “I’m not,” I said. “Wait—did you not know I shot you on purpose?”

Now Theo finally twisted in his seat to look at me. “Well, it seemed pretty obvious you shot us on purpose, sweetheart.” He raised his hand and although I couldn’t see well, appeared to be rubbing his chest.

I opened and closed my mouth. “Theo! I knew those bullets wouldn’t hurt you. Don’t you see?” A tear streaked down my cheek. Oh my God, they didn’t believe that I’d saved them. “Yes! I shot you on purpose, but not to murder you! I shot you to keep you alive.” I couldn’t hold back the tears and began to sob—releasing all of the fear and anguish, heartbreak and panic since Hollaroy arrived at the house the night before.

“Pull over,” Theo said tersely.

Holt swerved sharply and the car skidded to a stop on the side of the road. He twisted to look at me as Theo threw his door open and climbed out.

“Holt,” I choked, tipping my chin down.

“Fuck, baby.” Holt also flung his door open.

A moment later, both men were sandwiching me in the back seat.

“Don’t cry,” Holt murmured, pulling me onto his lap. My head bumped the top of the cab and he immediately turned and lifted us both out of the car. Theo stomped around to the same side, where he picked me up by the waist and plopped my butt down on the hood like I weighed nothing. His hands didn’t leave my waist. I blinked back tears and stared into their faces. They were right in front of me, leaning down so their gazes met mine.

“I’m sorry, sweetheart,” Theo murmured. “We couldn’t be sure what was going on. Tell us what happened.”

“Unlock the cuffs,” Holt said roughly. He seemed angry, although I couldn’t tell who with.

I sniffed as Theo did just that. Once the cold metal was off, I threw myself at Holt, wrapping my legs around his waist and my arms tightly around his neck, starting to cry again. They were alive!

“Shit,” Theo muttered, rubbing my back as Holt held me snug against his body.

“I’m so sorry,” I said on a sob. “I… I hoped you’d have understood. And I planned to explain when I took your cell phones and wallets, but you’d passed out, and Hollaroy was coming over so I couldn’t.”

“It’s okay, sweetheart,” Holt murmured, his hand cupping my ass to keep me super close. “We’re both okay. The worst was thinking you’d betrayed us.”

That was the last thing I wanted, but to be expected, considering.

Eventually, Holt set me down and Theo gathered me into his arms. He felt so good too. I needed both of them, and I knew in this moment, I couldn’t have anything less.

I took a deep breath and tried to pull myself together. “Hollaroy came over at dinnertime last night. He’d found out that I knew about the meth, and he was going to kill me. My father too, so I pretended to go along. But then he said I had to prove my loyalty by taking care of the DEA problem. He said if I didn’t kill you, he’d kill me and my dad.” I let out the trauma of the night before another burst of tears.

Both men closed me into a tight hug, Theo at my front, Holt at my back.

“I had to make it seem like I was more than just shooting you. I had to make Hollaroy think I was really cunning. I worried he’d still shoot me and my dad otherwise. If he thought I was ballsy enough to seduce two lawmen, then maybe he’d think I was badass enough to keep around.”

“Fuck, Ali,” Holt murmured. “I’m so sorry you had to go through that. We never should have let you go back to the ranch. We should’ve gotten the search warrant and taken care of Hollaroy first.”

“Did you get him?” I asked. “God, please say you arrested that slimy bastard. Did agents go to his house, too?”

“Yes,” Theo said. “Agents took him first. He’d already been arrested when we got to your place. Did he hurt you?”

His gaze raked over me.

I shook my head.

“He won’t threaten you again,” he vowed.

“If he comes near you, he’s a dead man,” Holt growled. I knew he wasn’t talking about from a bullet.

“Wh-what about my dad?” I wondered.

Theo hesitated. “I don’t know, sweetheart. We need to figure out his involvement and how much of it was coerced. If he testifies against Hollaroy, a plea bargain will probably be cut.”

I let out a shuddering breath. “I can’t believe you thought I would actually try to kill you.”

“You’re a pretty convincing actress,” Theo said, adjusting his hat, but he looked chagrined.

“Damn good shot, too,” Holt added with a grin.

I reached out to touch his chest. In the place where he should have a giant hole, there wasn’t one. Through the shirt, I only felt a ridged outline of what felt like an old scar. “I’m sorry,” I whispered.

“Don’t be sorry,” Holt said. “Just say that you’re ours.”

“Of course, I’m yours,” I breathed.

Twenty-four hours ago, it might have seemed too fast or too soon, but after all we’d been through, nothing could make me more sure. I loved these two men. I would kill for them—I kind of already had. I would protect them the same way they wanted to protect me.

So no, I wasn’t going to play hard to get. That wasn’t my style anyway. I was a straight-forward, straight-shooting, Wyoming rancher. And I wanted these two wolves by my side for the rest of my life.

Theo picked me up in a honeymoon carry. “Do you know what that means, Ali?” His eyes glowed silver in the morning light.

I laughed. “That you’re going to bite me?”

“Damn straight. We’re going to fuck you long and hard until you’re good and sorry for shooting us, and then we’re both going to leave our marks on you so no other wolf ever comes near you.”

“Sounds enticing,” I purred, so happy, I couldn’t help but smile.

“Sounds damn necessary,” Holt said. “Get her in the SUV before I claim her right here by the side of the road.”

Theo chuckled as he put me back in the back seat. He climbed in beside me.

“Don’t forget the handcuffs!” I sang out sweetly.

Holt laughed. “Oh, I’ve got your cuffs, sweetheart. We intend to keep you under house arrest for the rest of the week after the heartbreak you caused us.”

He climbed behind the wheel and drove in the direction of his place instead of the sheriff’s station. Theo put his arm around me, and I nestled into him.

“I do have horses to feed,” I said, thinking about the delicious but impractical sound of house arrest.

“We might give you time off for good behavior,” Theo rumbled, his hand sliding up the inside of my leg.

“Oh, but I don’t intend to be good.” I smirked, meeting Holt’s heated gaze in the rearview mirror.

The SUV filled with the rumble of two men’s growls. A sound I was going to crave for the rest of our lives.

17

HOLT

I barely drove the speed limit to get our mate back to my house. Our house. I had no idea what was going to happen with the ranch when Ali’s father went to jail. He was going to prison, that was for fucking sure. No charges would be brought against our mate. We’d never called in the attempted murder, and we could vouch for her full cooperation in apprehending the other two.

The land would belong to Ali’s dad, or whoever was on the fucking deed, incarceration or not. Still, the ranch needed to be worked. Animals tended. It was Ali’s dream to run her family’s land, and I wouldn’t deny her.

Neither would Theo.

Maybe we’d ultimately move to the ranch. It was something to decide later, along with so many other things.

For now, we would make her ours. Claim her with our cocks and bite. Assure our wolves that she belonged to us. Permanently.

Theo tugged her into the house as I followed. Her laughter made me smile. My wolf was soothed. Slightly.

The need to claim was so strong, it drove my every thought.

My dick pulsed behind the zipper of my jeans. My balls ached to be emptied deep inside Ali’s pussy. Marking her.

I kicked the door shut behind me, then stripped as I made my way to the bedroom. By the time I stood before the bed where Theo was kissing and ridding our mate of her clothing, I was bare.

Ali broke the kiss and looked to me. Her cheeks were flushed, her eyes alight with happiness and eagerness. Desire. Love?

Fuck, she was beautiful. All creamy skin, lush curves, toned muscles. Her breasts were high and round, with dusky rose tips. She wasn’t small or dainty. She could handle us and our wolves. How we’d take her roughly, with intent and full of passion. The way her nipples hardened as I watched, and the scent of her arousal drifting to me were signs she was right there with us.

A perfect match, fated or not.

Then her gaze dipped to what I was holding up. Handcuffs. The one thing I hadn’t left in the other room.

My wolf practically howled at the way her pupils dilated with the implications of what we were going to do with them.

Theo stepped back, giving me room.

“Wh-what are you going to do with those?” she asked, licking her lips.

I groaned at the sight of her pink tongue flicking out, imagining it licking the pre-cum from the weeping slit of my dick.

“Keep you from getting you away. To get you to feel how desperate and frantic we were.”

I crawled up the bed and said to Theo, without glancing away from our mate’s dark eyes, “Get me a tie from the top drawer.” Then, to Ali, I said, “Give me your wrists, sweetheart.”

She knelt before me and held out her hands, palms up. My gaze met hers, silently seeking her consent. I’d fuck her any way that made her happy and pleasured. If it wasn’t in my cuffs, I had plenty of other fantasies to fulfill.

She nodded, and I clicked the cool metal around first one wrist, then the other.

Theo handed me the tie, one of the few I had which I pulled out for weddings, which was exceptionally rare since they were human events.

“Lie back, sweetheart,” I murmured, and waited as she settled herself in the center of the bed. “Arms over your head.”

She shifted down, her breasts swaying.

“Good girl.”

I wrapped the tie around a slat of my headboard, then slipped it around the cuffs, then knotted it so she wasn’t able to go far, but we could still maneuver her as we needed.

“Not too tight?” I asked, my finger ringing her wrist where the sharp bite of the cuffs could leave a mark.

“No. I… I like to feel it.”

“Pain?” I asked, arching a brow. I was looming over her and could carefully study her for deceit. It took a certain kind of person to crave pain. A spanking was one thing, but pushing it beyond that was a kink I didn’t think she had. Not that I thought she was lying, but I wanted to make sure she wasn’t giving us what we wanted at a cost to herself.

She paused to think before answering. “Pain? No. The… bite. It morphs to heat. To pleasure.”

She had to use that word. Fuck.

I looked to Theo, who was sliding down the zipper on his jeans. He hadn’t missed it either. “You like the bite? We’ll give you bites.”

I grinned, then kissed her. I couldn’t hold off a second longer. Cupping her face in my palms, I plunged, licking into her. Tasting. Telling her without words how I felt. I moved lower, working along her jaw, down her neck, across her collarbone and to her upturned breast.

Her scent was driving me wild. Her taste, I could never forget.

“Where should I leave my mark, sweetheart?” I asked, gently nipping the lower swell of her breast. “Here?”

Her breath hitched and her flesh quivered.

“Mmm,” I murmured, nuzzling the delicate curve before shifting lower.

Pushing her thighs apart, I settled between them, pulled her legs over my back so I could get my mouth on the source of all that slickness. I wanted her taste on my tongue. My wolf craved it. Needed it.

Her clit was hard and swollen, eager for my attentions. I laved it. Flicked it. Sucked it. I watched her closely as to exactly what set her off until I found just the right combination of touch. Then I slid two fingers into her and curled them.

“I’m going to come!” she cried.

I slipped from her and pulled back. She lifted her head to look down at me. “No! Why did you stop?”

She looked frantic, on edge. Her body was practically vibrating with the need to come.

My wolf wanted to satisfy her, but she needed to understand something first.

“Because… this feeling? This desperate need? It’s how we felt when you texted that you wanted us to meet you at the trailer.”

“I didn’t have a choice,” she countered.

“And when Hollaroy threatened you.”

“And when you shot us and we thought you were one of them,” Theo added.

She shook her head, her hair sliding across the pillow. Tears slipped down her cheeks and she tugged at the metal, making it rattle. Theo went to her and wiped her cheeks.

“I didn’t mean any of it.” Seeing her like this was agonizing, but it had to be done. She had to know the depth of our hurt, of our need for her. This wasn’t just a biological need to survive. To avoid moon madness. We wanted her. We needed her.

“I saved you,” she gasped.

I nuzzled against her inner thigh. “You did, sweetheart. You sure fucking did.”

“I didn’t want you to die,” she admitted. “I love you both!”

Theo growled, and a grin spread across my face. My wolf practically howled with satisfaction. “Ah, Alison Jenkins, I love you too.”

“I love you as well. From the first moment we saw you,” Theo added.

“But we do this together now. All of us,” I said, kissing the crease of her leg, just beside her pussy.

She nodded frantically.

Fuck, yes. I breathed in her potent scent, knew she was giving us everything. Body and soul. So I gave her what her body needed: satisfaction. I gave myself and Theo the vision of her coming for us. Knowing she trusted us enough to be restrained, at our mercy. That she loved us enough to give us… everything.

I turned my mouth back to her sensitive clit and slipped my fingers back inside her. As if I’d pushed an orgasm button, she came. Her wetness dripped down my fingers and her thighs tensed over my shoulders. My fingers were clenched and milked, and I rolled my hips into the mattress with my need to fuck her.

Only when she slumped onto the bed did I shift away and look at Theo.

He was watching, stroking his dick.

“Ready?” I asked, although I knew the answer.

He dropped onto the bed so he was lying beside Ali. I lifted her, carefully turning her over onto her stomach so she was straddling Theo. With the tie allowing for movement, she was still restrained but there was enough give and reach for her to have her hands above his head. The position put her hanging tits right in his face.

“Perfect,” he said, right before sucking one tip into his mouth.

“We’re going to fuck you together, sweetheart.”

I swatted her ass lightly and she arched her back. I could see all of her. All pink and swollen, wet and ready.

She moaned and wiggled as he suckled her other nipple.

“I’m going to fuck your ass while Theo fills your pussy. Then we’ll give you our bites.”

She stilled and looked over her shoulder at me. Her hair was a wild tangle, her skin flushed. Her gaze was hooded.

“You want both our dicks? And our bites? We’ll fuck you, fill you, and finally claim you.”

“O-okay.”

18

THEO

I shifted Ali so her forearms rested on my chest. Her cuffed hands and the tie that secured her to the headboard were on the right side of my head. I stroked her hair back, met her dark eyes.

“So beautiful,” I murmured.

A smile curved her lips. The orgasm had made her soft and pliant. The admission of affection had left her dazed as well. All barriers were down. We were completely exposed. No secrets were between us. It made this moment even more special.

“You want what Holt said? Us at the same time?”

She bit her lower lip. “I’ve… I’ve never done it before.”

The idea that we were her first made my wolf howl.

“Truth? Neither have we.”

Her mouth fell open and her eyes widened. “I thought… you said…”

“I’m not sure if this is the right time to get into this, with you naked and Holt about to stretch your ass open for his cock, but yeah, we said we’ve been with females together. But only after a full moon run when the need is strong. It’s biological. No emotion.”

Holt stroked her back and kissed her shoulder. She looked back at him. “We never took a female at the same time,” he said. “Not together. And we definitely had no intention of giving any of them our bites. It’s impossible to claim a female who isn’t your fated mate.”

“Don’t you see, sweetheart?” I continued. Her scent swirled around us, the need was powerful. But so was ensuring she knew the depth of how we felt about her. “You’re the one who makes us whole. A family. One.”

A tear slid down her cheek and fell onto my chest. I wiped it away with my thumb.

“I want both of you. At the same time,” she whispered. “Just… go slow.”

My wolf preened. My dick swelled inside the condom. Holt growled.

I nodded. “Take me for a ride.”

Her eyes heated and she smiled, wiggling on top of me. Shifting, she set her hands on my shoulder and pushed up. I grabbed the base of my dick and held it as she worked herself into position, then lowered onto me.

“Fuck,” I hissed.

She moaned and tossed her head back. We’d never taken her with her on top before but in this position, I went so deep.

“Good girl,” Holt said. “You fuck Theo while I get your ass ready.”

She clenched down on me when Holt put his slickened finger to her ass, and did it again when he breached her slowly. I could feel him working her open through the thin wall that separated him from me.

Soon, Ali relaxed and began to move, ever so fucking slowly, as Holt carefully finger-fucked her ass to stretch her open and coat her with lube.

“How’s it feel, sweetheart? Fucked by Theo while I open your ass up? Handcuffed and restrained and at our mercy?”

She milked me, and I felt her get wetter even through the condom.

Sweat beaded on my brow, and I wasn’t sure if I could last at this pace. It was like the sweetest torture.

All the while, Ali moaned, gasped, and cried out our names.

I felt it when Holt pulled his hand free. “It’s time.” With a hand on her back, he nudged her down and onto me, her hands once again going over my head.

“Please, I want to touch you.”

I could deny her nothing. Holt shifted off the bed, grabbed the key to the handcuffs and opened them, dropping the metal onto the top of the bed.

Ali’s hands were back on my chest, stroking me, touching me.

“Fuck, get in our female, Holt,” I ordered.

Ali laughed, and I thrust deep.

Yeah, she might be the one with all the power, but she’d know whom she belonged to.

Me. Holt. Forever.

ALI

Oh. My. God.

Sexy fun times with these two was amazing. But this? This was different. They’d used the handcuffs to restrain me, but it had turned intense really quickly. I couldn’t believe Holt had denied me my orgasm to have a heart-to-heart talk. But now I knew they loved me. Both of them. And I’d said the words in return.

I hadn’t known them long. Only a few days. It was insane what had happened in that time. So much. Too much for a normal relationship.

We weren’t normal. The three of us were forging our own way. Even in bed. Sex would never be vanilla, or Tab A and Slot B kind of action.

No, it appeared it was going to be Tab A and Tab B in Slot A and Slot B.

Crazily enough, I wanted it.

Holt had taken his time prepping my ass to take his big dick, although I still had to question if it would fit.

But Theo was in my pussy, buried deep, and they’d played with me, worked me up. It seemed fucking Theo was foreplay for Holt taking my ass.

Instead of his fingers that had been stretching me before, I felt the hard press of his cock. I stilled, braced. He leaned forward and kissed my shoulder, grazing his teeth over the spot. “Shh. Breathe.”

I did as his growly voice said and exhaled, then relaxed against Theo. I shifted so I could look down at him. As Holt began to work his way into me, I held Theo’s blue eyes. He was my anchor.

I winced and moaned, wiggled and clenched my fingers on Theo’s chest.

“Oh!” I cried as Holt popped inside.

Theo squeezed my hips as I was sure he felt it too.

“God, it’s so full. I—”

“Just wait, sweetheart,” Holt growled.

I felt a cool drizzle of more lube where he and I were joined, the slide of his finger as he coated himself, then he slid in a little further.

“Fuck, I’m not going to make it,” Theo admitted.

I arched my back and canted my hips back as Holt bottomed out in me.

“I… are you in?” I asked when he stilled.

He didn’t answer, only pulled back. Theo thrust up.

All three of us exclaimed at the shift.

Then they switched directions, and I lost it. My mind went blank, gave over to the feel of them inside me. I’d never been so full, so stretched. So… open.

I couldn’t go anywhere, pretty much skewered by their huge dicks. I didn’t need restraints to be kept between them. I couldn’t have moved if I’d tried.

They fucked me at a slow, careful pace. “Oh… I… yes—I’m… two. Oh God,” I said.

The sensations and feelings built and built until I clenched down and let go.

“I’m coooommmmiinnngggg!” I cried, only seeing bright lights behind my eyelids. My skin bloomed with sweat, my toes curled. My fingers dug into flesh. I couldn’t focus on who grunted. Who growled. Who thrust and who pulled back.

I felt them tense, press deep and then—

Exquisite, sharp pain in my shoulders. Then bliss. An orgasm unlike any other.

Their teeth were in me. Claiming me. Marking me at the same time as I felt their seed fill me—Holt’s deep in my bottom, and Theo’s in the condom buried deep in my pussy.

They pulled back and licked at the marks I’d always have to remind me of this moment, but I didn’t think further. I only felt. As my mates gently cared for me, I drifted into a deep, delicious slumber.

19

HOLT

“Are you sure you don’t want to run with the pack?” Ali asked as we drove to the pack lodge for the full moon potluck. She sat between Theo and me with a large pan of fresh baked brownies on her lap.

We’d picked her up at the ranch, and planned to forgo running for the monthly full moon to stay with her. This would be her first introduction to everyone—she’d only met Nash, Cord and Rachel so far—and not knowing how well she’d be received put the two of us on edge.

Not that we’d mentioned a word of that to Ali.

It had been a week since her father’s arrest, and she’d had a lot on her plate, running the ranch with only her employees for help while dealing with the stress of her father’s problems with the law.

Jenkins had cooperated fully, giving detailed information on Tim Hollaroy’s operation, which included nearly two dozen meth-cooking trailers scattered throughout the valley on ranch land. Hollaroy had roped Jenkins into participating after a few joint business dealings had gone south. Where Hollaroy had cash on hand to tolerate the loss, Jenkins hadn’t wanted to risk his property, and had borrowed from Hollaroy. That move had been to Hollaroy’s advantage. The bastard had seen an opportunity to use Jenkins, blackmailing him and forcing him to host meth lab sites on his land. Jenkins hadn’t felt like he’d had much choice, especially once he realized he’d be the guilty one having the mini-factory on his property. He’d be the guilty one, just as Ali had when Hollaroy had forced her to shoot us.

Hollaroy had kept his hands clean while pulling the puppet strings. So clean that he’d never put a trailer on his own land, only others’.

As for Jenkins now, Theo had already brokered a deal to get him off with a shorter prison sentence in exchange for his testimony against Hollaroy. There was no way we could allow him to get away with just a slap on the wrist. That had happened with his fucking wolf tracking and shooting. Not only had it been illegal, but the way he’d gone about it had shown he was callous and his morals were for shit.

I knew Ali wouldn’t be thrilled about her dad going to jail, but in our role as lawmen, we wanted him to have actual consequences for his actions. While it was up to a judge and jury—or at least a lawyer making plea deals—we hated to see criminals get away with crimes, especially since it was our job to investigate and find the evidence of their guilt.

Perhaps the lack of these consequences was what had led Jenkins to this point in the first place. As shifters, we had to make it right with the pack. To give them at least some level of justice, even if it was a little late.

Theo had gone back to Cheyenne for a week to put in his notice and wrap things up with his job, but I’d gone down to the ranch every afternoon to help Ali where I could. She’d found it more hilarious than helpful when it came to me and ranch tasks. Fortunately, to make up for my shortcomings, I’d spent the nights pleasuring her—which I was very good at.

“Run? We’re sure. We want to stay with you,” Theo said firmly. “We don’t need to run to let off steam. We have you now.” He grinned, probably thinking about how we’d satisfied her before we climbed into the truck.

“Am I going to need protection?” she asked, biting her lip.

Damn. Our female was too smart to fool. She had reason to be worried. She was a rancher. Illegal activity had occurred on her land. She had shot us. None of it sounded good on the surface, but I had to hope the pack would take the time to see through the mess of it and know Ali was innocent. And ours.

She wasn’t going anywhere, so they needed to come around. I only hoped they already had.

“Nope,” Theo said with total confidence. He was only sure because the two of us had agreed we wouldn’t leave her side tonight, and would make sure everyone in the pack knew she was one of us now.

“Will I get to see the wolves?” Ali asked. I took a moment to see this monthly event through her eyes. Shifters were a new concept for her, and a group of us, becoming our wolves and going out to run through the mountains with a full moon? It didn’t matter how worldly she was, it was definitely unusual for her.

“Yeah,” I said with surprise. I’d never considered that seeing the whole pack as wolves might be something she craved. Proof, maybe, of what we were. Theo and I had shifted several times for her, as she loved to pet and stroke our fur… fuck, that was incredible. “Of course.”

I pulled up in front of the lodge, and parked. We’d arrived early because we planned on leaving early and not joining in on the run. We would enjoy the post-run fuck though, without the run. We didn’t have to find a horny she-wolf for a little fun. The mere idea left a bad taste in my mouth. No, I wanted Ali, and we’d have all kinds of fun with her. We were quickly learning her need for domination was something that made us all hot.

We walked into the sprawling old meeting building, which had been erected over one hundred years ago by the first shifter settlers in the area—the West family.

“Ali!” Ariel raced over and gave Ali a giant hug. It was great to see her close with the girl, and that Theo’s family already considered Ali part of their family, even if they hadn’t met yet.

“What am I, chopped liver?” Theo asked, stroking Ariel’s sleek hair.

“No, but you don’t have horses.” Ariel gave her brother a hug and then bestowed one on me. “Hi, Holt.”

“That’s right, you got to ride one of Ali’s horses, didn’t you? Of course she’s your new best friend,” I said.

“She’s my new sister,” Ariel corrected.

“That she is, kiddo.” Theo dropped a kiss on top of his baby sister’s head, and squeezed Ali’s hand.

“Aren’t you going to introduce us?” Theo’s mother, Marjorie, asked, a broad smile spread across her face. Her eyes were on Ali, taking in every inch of her, as if she’d been waiting for the moment her oldest presented his mate. Perhaps she had. It was poignant, and I couldn’t wait for when I could show off Ali to my parents. A trip to Alaska was going to happen.

Theo’s father, Hank, stood beside her. I shook his hand as Marjorie enveloped Ali in a warm hug. Theo had a traditional two-parent household. Not all the pack members in Two Marks had scent-matches or fated mates creating triads. The fact that Theo did was probably a source of pride for them, though, because it was considered special to be blessed with the genes that made our pack species unique.

“Congratulations,” Hank said to me, obviously as pleased as his mate at seeing Ali. “We’re happy for all three of you.”

“We’re thrilled,” Marjorie said, wiping a happy tear from her cheek. “You have no idea how much a mother suffers when her son approaches his thirties and hasn’t found his mate.”

“No reason to worry, Mom.” Theo kissed her head as she reached out and held my hand in both of hers, patting it with affection. Marjorie was like a second mom to me, and my wolf was soothed by her caring.

“I worried about both of you,” she declared with still-wet eyes.

I stiffened slightly as Gibson, Ben, and Shelby arrived. Of course Gibson and Ben knew how things had resolved, but they had yet to meet Ali in person, and of course, the last time we’d seen our alpha, he’d made a direct threat against our mate.

Claim or kill.

He strode over, his cowboy boots thunking on the wooden plank floors. “This must be Ali,” he said. Gib wasn’t the overly friendly type, but I relaxed slightly, recognizing the good will in his words and stance.

He took a deep breath, which told him she was claimed. Our bites on her neck were hidden beneath her shirt, but our scent embedded in her couldn’t be missed by one as powerful as him. While we’d told him we’d claimed her, he had his proof now.

“Ali, this is Gibson West, our alpha,” I said, holding a hand out toward Gib, then Ben. “Ben is our pack enforcer, and they are both mated to Shelby, who came here from Montana last year.”

“Nice to meet all three of you,” Ali said, offering a handshake to each. She smiled, but I could tell it was a touch unsure. She knew the importance of the alpha, and how he was the one whose judgment of her was the most important. “I, uh, I wanted to say that I know relations have been strained between the pack and the ranchers, but I intend to make sure that changes. The ranching community will get on board with protecting and honoring the wolves of this area.”

“That’s a bold promise,” Gibson observed neutrally.

“Well, I’m a bold woman,” she countered, tipping her chin up.

A slow smile grew on Gibson’s face. “I have heard that about you,” he said mildly.

Ali flushed, and I wrapped an arm around her waist from behind, pulling her tight against my body. She melted against me and I was glad to offer her the reassurance she needed.

“Welcome to the pack, Ali,” Gib said, his words loud enough to carry. There was a formal ring to his voice, like this was an induction. “We appreciate you protecting our pack members, as we will always protect you.”

Goosebumps covered Ali’s skin. I kissed the mark I’d left on her shoulder. Theo reached for her hand.

“Thank you.” Her voice cracked a little as she answered, and she cleared it and offered a wobbly smile.

It was done. Gibson had accepted her into the pack even though she came from the enemy camp—to his eyes, and everyone else’s who surrounded us. But if the alpha considered her one of ours, then the others would as well.

“There you are!” Bessie, the diner owner, peeked out from the kitchen and gave us a wave. “Come on in here. We were just talking about you three.”

“Who is we?” Ali murmured, leaning into me. We had yet to tell her about shifter hearing, so she wasn’t aware that Bessie had probably heard her question.

“Don’t forget that shifter hearing makes private conversations impossible around here,” Theo murmured back. Yeah, we’d thought the same thing.

“Oh?” Ali asked, blushing. I kissed her temple, letting her know she was perfect just the way she was. No one expected her to know everything about a completely different culture—even if it had been in her own town—all at once.

We stepped into the giant kitchen and found Rachel and Caitlin working with Bessie at the center island. Rachel was cutting watermelon into slices while Caitlin formed burger patties between her hands.

“Hi guys,” Rachel greeted us.

“Heard you put a bullet in each of your mates,” Bessie chirped, arranging hamburger buns on a giant platter. There was no rancor in her voice so I didn’t take exception to the topic. “That’s one way to start off a new relationship.”

Ali didn’t take offense, either. She smiled and walked over to the counter, picking up another bag of buns and pitching in like it was the most natural thing in the world to her. “It was that or take the chance Tim Hollaroy would shoot for their heads. I just hoped Rachel knew what she was talking about when she told me they’d recover.”

Rachel set another patty on the plate. “I’m so glad we talked. God, you must have been so freaked out!”

“Takes more than a bullet to put our kind down,” Bessie said, steering the conversation away from getting Ali upset again.

Our mate sometimes woke up in the middle of the night from bad dreams, sweaty and panicked about what she’d done, but we soothed her. Told her we were fine. That we’d never leave her.

“Usually,” she added. Then, with a smile, she offered, “Welcome to the pack, honey.” The short stout she-wolf came around to the same side of the island and wrapped Ali in a grandmotherly hug.

Ali received the embrace with grace, and looked at me with wide-eyed surprise. “Thank you. I’m honored. It’s the best thing that’s ever happened to me.”

I loved the sound of that.

“You hear that?” I said to Theo. “Looks like she won’t be aiming for our heads next time, after all.”

This time, Ali laughed, which was what I’d hoped for.

“Hi, I’m Caitlin.” Landry’s and Wade’s mate washed and dried her hands to offer a handshake to Ali. “I’m also relatively new to the pack.”

“We’re the newbie not-wolves,” Rachel said, pointing between herself and Caitlin. “They don’t seem to hold that against us, though.”

“Of course we don’t,” Bessie said firmly. “You’re the future of this pack. Fate wouldn’t have picked you for our young men if you weren’t the answer.”

“Answer to what?” Ali asked.

“Their particular species of shifter is going extinct,” Caitlin explained. “We believe the mating instinct being triggered by human females, not just here but in other packs as well, is nature’s way of ensuring survival.”

“Caitlin is a wolf biologist,” I explained.

“Is that how you met your mates?” Ali asked.

“Uh, yes.” Caitlin’s embarrassed laugh rang out. “You’re not the only one with a complicated start. They caught me trespassing, trying to tag wolves. You can imagine how that went over.”

Bessie chuckled but Ali had stilled, biting her lip and looking at the floor. “Yeah… I heard about the wolf tags. I know my father was a part of that, and I’m terribly sorry for the pain it caused.”

“You and me both,” Caitlin said. “I thought I was doing research. I had no idea my advisor was selling the locators on the tags to your father and the other ranchers.”

Perhaps it was the fact that Caitlyn had also been involved in something that had hurt the pack that made Ali feel included. That bad things happened, that innocent people were caught up in them. It was the end result, the choices one made, that proved who they were. Proved their honor and ultimate value to the pack.

Caitlyn and Ali had both chosen the right path, and that was why fate had made them one of us.

Bessie thrust the platter of hamburger patties at me. “Bring those out to be grilled please, Sheriff.”

“Yes, ma’am.” I cast a glance at Ali, worried about leaving her alone.

“Go on.” Bessie shooed me and Theo, handing him the platter of buns. “She doesn’t need a babysitter. We’ll take good care of your female,” she promised. “She might need a little girl talk time.”

I smiled as we left the kitchen, warmth spreading through my chest. If we’d been worried the pack would shun Ali for being a rancher, we were wrong. Our pack trusted in fate.

Fate chose us for Ali, and Ali for us.

It made no mistakes.

We joined the men out on the deck as the grilling began and the meeting lodge filled with families. Our community. Young and old, together.

When Ali emerged with the other females, she appeared completely comfortable, laughing at something one of them had said before she scanned the crowd of shifters to find us.

I pushed myself away from the railing I was propped against and cut through the crowd to claim her, with Theo right behind me. The ten minutes we’d been apart were long enough.

“Everyone here knows you belong to us, but I’m still jealous when you’re not by our sides,” I growled in her ear when I arrived.

She tipped her face up to smile at me. “You’re ridiculous, Sheriff.”

“And you’re beautiful,” I said.

“Smooth one,” Theo critiqued, and I elbowed him in the side as he bent to steal a kiss from our mate.

“Are you really sure you don’t want to run?” Ali asked again.

My brow wrinkled. “Why are you so preoccupied with us running?”

She stroked a fingertip inside the collar of my shirt, touching the hollow of my throat. “Well, I remember you two said how horny you get after a full moon run.” Her voice was low and sultry. Even though it was barely above a whisper, I was sure everyone had heard. I didn’t give a shit.

“I just wanted to be sure I was the recipient of those raging hormones or pheromones, or whatever they are,” she added. My dick was instantly hard, and thoughts of the pack, of the run, were gone.

I took one glance at Theo and knew he was on board with my decision-making. “That’s it,” I said, throwing her over my shoulder. “We’re out of here.”

“Hey, where are you going?” Theo’s mom said on a laugh. “I wanted to introduce Ali around to everyone!”

“Next time,” Theo grunted, close on my heel as I strode through the meeting lodge with Ali giggling over my shoulder.

“Put me down,” Ali said, laughing.

“No chance of that, sweetheart,” I said, giving her jean-clad ass a light swat.

“Nope,” Theo agreed. “Sounded to us like our female needed servicing. We don’t let a call like that go unanswered.” He threw open the passenger door to my truck.

“That’s right,” I agreed, setting Ali down on the seat. She slid into the middle. “Your pleasure is our top priority.”

“I’m good! I can wait!” she protested, laughing, but Theo climbed in beside her, blocking any exit she might have.

“Nope. There’s no waiting. You ask for it, we deliver. That’s how it goes.”

“That’s how it goes.” I climbed in behind the wheel, started up the truck, and took off like we were in hot pursuit of a suspect.

Ali reached a hand out to touch each of our knees. “I love you guys.”

My heart skipped a beat, then hammered at a wild romping pace. “I love you to the moon and back, Ali Jenkins.”

“I love you further,” Theo said, and all three of us laughed.

It had been a rocky ride, and I didn’t expect for our relationship not to have any bumps along the way, but Ali was ours, and we were going to prove it—as soon as we got home, and for the rest of our lives.

Epilogue

ALI

Theo dismounted from Chester, our prize stallion, and dropped to the ground with surprising grace for such a large man. Chester nuzzled Theo’s neck and my mate rubbed his forehead.

“He likes you better than me now,” I observed, sliding off Daisy.

Theo smoothly removed the saddle and blanket from Chester and began to brush him. He was now well-versed in all the duties at my ranch now.

He’d had his pick of jobs in West Springs—deputy sheriff, head of security at the distillery, even private eye work, but amazingly, he’d chosen to work on the ranch with me.

“My mate requires protection,” he’d said stubbornly, even though I told him I was a big girl who could handle a rifle like the best of them. Which he and Holt both knew well enough, and wouldn’t forget any time soon.

It had taken the horses and the cattle a little time to grow accustomed to his wolfy scent—which they noticed, but I only smelled… Theo—but now it seemed he had control of all of them. One sharp command and every animal obeyed, even the most stubborn of bulls. I wasn’t sure if I should be awed by the action, or jealous.

“He knows I’m the alpha around here,” Theo rumbled. There was a suggestive purr in his voice that dared me to disagree, just so he could prove it. Because in bed, he and Holt were in charge of me. I rubbed my thighs together at the thought.

He had a habit of ravishing me anywhere and any time he got me without the ranch hands around—stable, large boulder or anywhere else he found fitting, included.

Of course, I had to play along. “So you think,” I said as I hung Daisy’s saddle up and grabbed the curry brush. I tried to keep the smile off my face, but his large arm snaked around my waist and it broke free.

“Did you need a demonstration?” Now there was no mistaking the suggestion in his voice. The promise of delicious, dominant manhandling.

I leaned my head back against his shoulder, closing my eyes to savor how good it felt just to be held by my mate.

Officially, Theo was my new head of operations. It was a job that required him to live on the property, and since I happened to have plenty of room at the ranch house, he’d moved in. That was what we told the ranch hands and anyone who asked. Also officially, I was engaged to the West Spring’s sheriff. Holt had moved in as well, so all three of us lived together under one roof. Our new very unique family.

The wedding was next month. I was getting married because I’m human and we were closely involved with other humans. And, to me, the ring was important. The vows. I’d say them to Theo as well privately, but while I had their marks on my shoulders, I also wanted what I’d dreamed of as a little girl—a husband and family on this ranch. I realized I had more than I’d dreamed of because I got two men who loved me.

As for my dad, he wouldn’t be out of jail, and would miss the event. Right now, I didn’t really mind. I hadn’t come to terms with what he’d done, what he’d allowed me to do when I’d shot Holt and Theo that fateful night. He had tried to protect me, but it hadn’t been enough. Too little, too late.

Because of it, he’d received an eighteen-month sentence. Honestly, it was totally okay with me. He’d earned it. I’d saved him, and it was going to take that year and a half for me to work on it.

I liked having this time to learn to run the ranch without him and with my new mates. I didn’t know what we’d do when he got out, but my mates promised we’d figure it out together. I’d worry about it later. For now, I was happy. So fucking happy.

My brother, Steven, was coming back for the wedding. Holt’s parents were coming too, from Alaska, so I was looking forward to meeting them. Apparently they were as over the moon about our mating as Theo’s had been.

“Hmm.” I pressed my ass against Theo’s lap. “Aren’t I your boss?” I taunted, my voice husky with arousal. My body had been trained to come alive at the mere suggestion of his dominance, the timber of his voice. Holt’s too.

His hand slid between my legs and he pressed the seam of my jeans against my clit, making a slow pulsing movement. I groaned, the urgency suddenly ratcheting up. “You’re my boss on the ranch, but I’m the boss of this sexy body of yours,” he murmured.

My laugh was so full of velvet and honey, I didn’t recognize it as my own. “I think I do need that demonstration,” I replied, wiggling against him again.

“I thought as much,” Theo agreed. He took the brush from my hand and set it down, then put both horses in their stalls with fresh hay.

When I turned from hanging up their bridles, he was right there, tossing me over his shoulder.

I gasped, then laughed and ogled his taut ass as he walked. “Where are we going?”

“To the house. I need to give you a proper demonstration. In fact, I’ve called the sheriff to file a complaint against you.”

I giggled then panicked as we stepped out into the afternoon sunlight. “Theo!” I yelped. “Someone might see.”

“No one is around,” he promised.

“No one but me,” Holt rumbled, appearing out of nowhere.

“You really did call the sheriff on me!” I exclaimed. My cheeks heated from excitement.

Theo chuckled. “I heard him pull up.”

Right. That shifter hearing thing got me every time. It was crazy having partners with superhuman abilities. It made them all the more attractive to me. They weren’t just strong, virile men. They were able to lift vehicles in the air with their bare hands. They saw in the dark. They heard every whisper and hum I made.

And there were two of them. As if one wouldn’t be enough to satisfy me for the rest of my life. I hadn’t wanted to choose from the first moment I saw them on my doorstep. Now they lived here with me.

Holt gave my upturned ass a light slap. “You planning something fun for our mate, Theo?”

“It seems she requires another demonstration of who is alpha around here,” he replied, his long legs carrying us swiftly toward the ranch house.

“Mmm, that sounds like fun to me. I get to spank her!”

I laughed and kicked my legs just to make it difficult for Theo. Not that he had any trouble managing my weight.

When we stepped into the house, Holt said, “Put her down, I need to kiss that mouth on her. It’s been eight fucking hours since I’ve tasted her lips.”

Theo lowered me to my feet and I turned and twined my arms around Holt’s neck. “Here I am,” I said softly, lifting my lips to brush his. “Did you miss me?”

“Always,” he said with conviction.

I’d missed him too.

“Do you get jealous of Theo being here with me all day while you’re at work?”

He thought about it and offered a small shrug. “Jealous? No. Knowing he’s here with you keeps my wolf from getting antsy about being away. I know you’re safe and satisfied. But that doesn’t mean I don’t think about you all day.”

I reached for the back of his head and pulled his lips against mine, aggressively claiming his mouth the way he usually claimed mine. I swept my tongue between his lips and he groaned, his hand clamping down on my ass and squeezing roughly. I heard and felt his growl of satisfaction.

I jumped to straddle his waist and he carried me toward the bedroom. Theo followed, yanking the top covers off our giant California king mattress to ready it for us.

“Shower.” I spoke against Holt’s lips and he carried me into the ensuite bathroom and turned on the water before he lowered me. We undressed each other. He took off my hat and I removed his.

Theo reached around me from behind and unbuckled my belt as I worked the buttons on Holt’s shirt. Holt pulled mine over my head as Theo got my zipper down. And then we were standing there, a tangle of hands and mouths and bared skin as we kicked off the rest of our clothes and stepped into the shower together.

With Nash’s help we’d remodeled the ranch house a bit to make a huge master suite. One of the best perks was the giant walk-in shower with three shower heads, one on each tiled wall.

I stepped under the spray at the same time as someone’s hand crashed down on my ass.

I yelped and turned, a huge smile on my face. It was Theo.

“Hands against the wall, pretty lady. It’s time for your spanking.”

“Mmm. Yes, please.” I placed my hands against the wall and Holt adjusted the spray of water so it didn’t hit my face, but splashed across my breasts instead. Both men positioned themselves behind me, one to each side.

Holt’s hand slapped down on my left cheek, then Theo’s on my right.

My pussy wept with excitement, the hot tingling from each spank going straight to my core.

I closed my eyes, surrendering to the sensation.

“You okay, sweetheart?” Holt asked.

“More,” I begged, arching my back and thrusting my ass out for more.

He chuckled and the men picked up their speed, their slaps falling faster.

“Maybe she needs her pussy spanked,” Theo suggested.

I groaned loudly at the idea.

“Spread your legs wide, Ali.” Holt toed my feet apart. “Stick out that ass even more, and show us you know who’s in charge of this sweet body of yours.”

I moaned again. I was close to orgasm from nothing more than a kiss and a few spanks. I tipped my hips to give them better access to my ass and pussy, and one of them, I wasn’t sure which, slapped lightly between my legs.

“Oh… oh!” I moaned. They’d never done that before and… oh my God.

“That’s right, sweetheart. This pussy belongs to us, doesn’t it?” Holt demanded.

“Yes, to you,” I agreed immediately. I was already desperate for release, willing to say anything to make sure they kept going.

Another light slap fell, and another, the reverberation traveling north to my clit and south to my anus. Heat swirled between my legs, climbed in my core.

“Please,” I begged. “I need one of you inside me.”

“I’m your Huckleberry,” Holt said in a perfect Val Kilmer imitation. We’d had a recent Western movie-watching spree, and Tombstone had been one of our favorites.

“Please… now,” I begged.

Theo delivered several searing spanks to my ass before he moved around in front of me to play with my breasts as Holt positioned himself at my entrance. “I’m riding bareback, sweetheart. I can’t wait for the wedding to start trying.”

“Yes,” I agreed. “I want you bare.”

I’d never considered having children so young, but the guys had been working on me. They were eager to raise pups—yes, pups—on the ranch with me, and I couldn’t come up with a single reason why we shouldn’t start trying right away. I knew without a shadow of doubt that they’d take care of my every need throughout pregnancy and after.

I’d still be able to run the ranch because these men knew it was important to me, and supported me completely as the boss of my domain.

Holt let out a growl of approval as he shoved in deep, and Theo rewarded me with a passionate kiss, his large hands cradling my head. “You’re ready?” Theo asked.

“So ready.” My eyes went misty, or maybe I was going blind from the incredible sensation of Holt plowing into me. I reached down to grip Theo’s cock, fisting it tightly and tugging until he began to growl like a wild animal.

“Fuck, yeah.” Holt’s voice came out strangled as he gripped my hips tightly to pump in deep.

Theo brought his thumb to my clit, working it at the same time as Holt thrust in and out of me.

I couldn’t help it. I was already a goner. I let out a cry of shocked surprise and then came, my channel tightening around Holt’s cock. I somehow remembered to keep pumping my fist over Theo’s erection.

“Fuck, baby, fuck!” Holt shouted. He grabbed the front of my hips to hold me back tight against him while I finished coming, lifting me up and down to still give us some friction. Theo kept working my clit, and I kept screaming out my release.

Holt returned to hard, deep thrusts, and soon he joined me in coming.

By the time I finished, my legs were total jelly. Theo covered my hand with his and helped me finish the handjob until he came in hot spurts all over my belly.

And then they were kissing me, stroking me. Holding me up. Murmuring how much they loved me, how beautiful I was. How excited they were to put pups in my belly.

Somehow, we finished washing up. Someone lathered my hair and soaped my body and I tried to return the favor, despite my lack of hand-to-eye coordination or brain cells.

They wrapped me up in a large towel and carried me to the bed.

“I call her pussy for round two,” Theo announced, and we all laughed.

“I might need some sustenance first,” I said.

“We’ll feed you,” Holt promised, tugging the towel down to lick and caress one breast. “You know we’ll always take care of you, don’t you, sweetheart?”

“Yes,” I murmured, my voice carrying all the love in my heart right out into the open. “How did I get so lucky?”

“Nah, we’re the lucky ones,” Theo insisted, his hand tracing up the inside of my leg. “You’re our reason for living.”

“You’re all I ever need,” I said, and it was true.

With these two by my side, on my ranch, in my bed, it felt like there was no problem we couldn't solve, no trouble we couldn’t handle together.

“I love you,” Theo said.

“Ditto,” Holt agreed.

“Double ditto,” I said, and offered my lips to each of them for a tender kiss.

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Also by Renee Rose

Chicago Bratva

“Prelude” in Black Light: Roulette War

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Vegas Underground Mafia Romance

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Mafia Daddy

Jack of Spades

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Theirs to Protect

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Saved

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Black Light: Roulette Redux

Black Light: Celebrity Roulette

Black Light: Roulette War

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Tempted

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Wild

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Savage

Fierce

Ruthless

Wolf Ridge High Series

Alpha Bully

Alpha Knight

Bad Boy Alphas Series

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Alpha’s Danger

Alpha’s Prize

Alpha’s Challenge

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Alpha’s Desire

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His Captive Mortal

Alpha Doms Series

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The Alpha’s Promise

The Alpha’s Punishment

Other Paranormal

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Sci-Fi

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Training His Human

His Human Rebel

His Human Vessel

His Mate and Master

Zandian Pet

Their Zandian Mate

His Human Possession

Zandian Brides

Night of the Zandians

Bought by the Zandians

Mastered by the Zandians

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Kept by the Zandian

Claimed by the Zandian

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The Outlaw’s Bride

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Medieval Discipline

Lords and Ladies

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Also By Vanessa Vale

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About Renee Rose

USA TODAY BESTSELLING AUTHOR RENEE ROSE loves a dominant, dirty-talking alpha hero! She's sold over a million copies of steamy romance with varying levels of kink. Her books have been featured in USA Today's Happily Ever After and Popsugar. Named Eroticon USA's Next Top Erotic Author in 2013, she has also won Spunky and Sassy's Favorite Sci-Fi and Anthology author, The Romance Reviews Best Historical Romance, and has hit the USA Today list eight times with her Bad Boy Alpha and Wolf Ranch series, as well as various anthologies.

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About Vanessa Vale

A USA Today bestseller, Vanessa Vale writes tempting romance with unapologetic bad boys who don’t just fall in love, they fall hard. Her 75+ books have sold over one million copies. She lives in the American West where she's always finding inspiration for her next story. While she’s not as skilled at social media as her kids, she loves to interact with readers.

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Table of Contents

- Cover
- Title Page
- Copyright
- Want FREE Renee Rose books?
- Get A Free Vanessa Vale Book!
- Contents
- Chapter 1
- Chapter 2
- Chapter 3
- Chapter 4
- Chapter 5
- Chapter 6
- Chapter 7
- Chapter 8
- Chapter 9
- Chapter 10
- Chapter 11
- Chapter 12
- Chapter 13
- Chapter 14
- Chapter 15
- Chapter 16
- Chapter 17
- Chapter 18
- Chapter 19
- Epilogue
- Note From Vanessa & Renee
- Want FREE Renee Rose books?
- Get A Free Vanessa Vale Book!
- Also by Renee Rose
- Also By Vanessa Vale
- About Renee Rose
- About Vanessa Vale