Dominion: A Shifter of Consequence Tale (Shifters of Consequence Book 4) Read online

  I threw myself toward him and wrapped my arms around Escher from behind. “Don’t you say that. You did save me. You took on all those wolves for me.” I scattered kisses over his shirt. “Then you caught me before I fell to my death. You are my hero.”

  “I’m not. I couldn’t even help my own family, and if you hadn’t managed to escape from the cave, I don’t know what would have happened.”

  “I do.” I gently urged him to turn, and, after a hesitation, he did, but he was staring over my head. “Escher, please look at me?”

  Reluctantly, he tipped his head down and met my gaze. I wanted to cry at the raw pain in his expression.

  “You would have saved me from there, but I am really glad I helped myself a little. I also am aware I’d never have made it out of the forest. And I’d have died before I let them take me back.” I studied his face, loving him and hating his pain. “You saved my life, and if I do have something useful to give to the pack, you saved that, too. Escher, whatever happened before, you were a kid doing the best you could, but now you’re a warrior and my hero.”

  He crushed his lips down on mine, kissing me with a groan that had to have come from his toes, and his arms clamped around me in a steely grip. After a long, searching kiss, he lifted his face and asked a silent question.

  “Yes, please,” I murmured, lacing my arms around his neck. He lifted me and carried me across the room to the sleeping bag and laid me down. “I want you, mate.”

  He knelt next to me. “I wanted it to be so much more romantic, special for you. Not on a sleeping bag on the floor, but I need you.”

  I laughed. “How can you say it’s not romantic to be the first to make love to me in our brand new home?” When a smile stretched his lips, I knew I’d gotten through. Escher was troubled, had grown up in terrible circumstances, and he would have to come to terms with that in his own time, but for now…Well, for now he was kissing me more thoroughly than before while his hands were undressing me one piece at a time and caressing my skin, bringing me to such a frenzy of desire, by the time he reached for my underwear I brushed his hands aside and grasped the delicate lace.

  “Wendi.” His voice, so deep and smooth, made me pause. “I get to do that.”

  “Oh.” I froze. “Oh, I…”

  “I’ve waited a long time.” He had indeed. But not much longer because he gave a yank and my panties fell to the side, ruined. I couldn’t care less. Except I’d made him wait. “And you were worth every moment.” He spoke while rising, undressing himself with quick, compact movements that nonetheless captured my focus. Partly for the grace I realized he always displayed, but also because of what he revealed.

  Since we were wolfy together often, I had seen him naked, but this moment was the time we’d spent those months building up to together. We’d kissed, hugged, touched one another, but never come anywhere close to this point. I couldn’t at the moment think why, but as my mate unbuttoned his jeans and let them drop to the floor, revealing his magnificent erect penis, the timeline held no import.

  Or rather it mattered it be now. And as soon as possible. I wanted him inside me. My whole body was alive, goose bumps rolling over my skin and my stomach flipping. I reached for him, but my mate sank down beside me, grasped both my wrists in one big hand and lifted them to his lips. “Let me explore, mate.”

  I sank back, and, when he released my hands, I let them fall to my sides while Escher “explored” me. But since his version of discovery involved stroking, licking, and sucking, I wasn’t going to last long. By the time he’d trailed his lips from my cheek to my ear, down my throat, and to my breasts, I was panting. When he finished licking and sucking my nipples into stiff, aching peaks, I was whimpering. And when he closed his mouth around my pussy and sucked. I screamed and tumbled over the edge into my first orgasm of the day.

  Smirking, he watched me come, and I had no shame about it. Truth, I hoped we’d all sleep in the same bed sometimes, and while our intimate moments would be private, modesty wouldn’t serve me. But I swore the next time, I’d find a way to make my hero blush. For now, I did not fight his dominance, just enjoyed the pleasure he gave me.

  When he rubbed his cock over my slick tissues, I lifted my hips and let my legs fall wider apart. And when he drove inside, all coherent thought fled, I wrapped my legs and arms around him and clung while he drove me nearly mad with his plunges deep into me. I was peaking for a third, maybe fourth time when his teeth sank into my shoulder on the unmarked side, and he poured his cum inside me.

  I fell asleep in the sleeping bag, wrapped in his arms, and slept until morning when he woke me to make love to me again. We would need to talk more, but for now, we were in a good place together.

  More than good.

  Amazing.

  Chapter Nine

  “I’m not ready to let you go,” Escher confessed with a whisper as I got up to get dressed. The truth was, I didn’t want to leave his arms any more than he wanted me to, but…I had to pee. And the bathrooms weren’t quite ready yet, seeing as the toilets hadn’t been installed.

  “I know.” I got on my knees next to him where he lay across the sleeping bag, completely unashamed of his nakedness. In fact, he kind of looked like he was showing off for me.

  There was a lot for him to be proud of.

  I kissed him and giggled as he tried to coerce me for another round.

  Finally, he caved. “Okay, okay. Let’s go back and see the others. You need to eat.”

  Feed her. Mate her. Protect her. Those were Escher’s priorities, and I loved that about him.

  “Yes, I do. And you do as well.”

  He got up and pulled on a pair of pants, sans boxers, and smiled at me while he did. If I thought his smile was a twinge predatory before, it was twice as shiver-inducing now. “You worried about your mate eating, female?”

  He stalked over and nuzzled my neck, making me hazier. “Yes. You need to keep up your energy.”

  “And why would I need to keep up my energy?” His hands roamed to my hips where he grasped them and pulled them against his.

  “Because there’s a house to finish,” I said, cracking up, breaking his sexy talk.

  He chuckled, and the sound seemed to weave through my muscles, filling me with lust once again.

  We got back to Moss’s house, and no one said a word about us. I knew they knew. I mean, we’d made love twice, and I hadn’t showered. Those shifters’ noses knew.

  I observed, sipping on a mug of steaming coffee Brandon handed me, while my men went to work on food. All except Cash who was mostly wiping down the counters and playing sous chef, fetching ingredients and cutting things here and there.

  These men. My mates. This was what I wanted for the rest of my life.

  “I don’t want to wait until the house is done,” I blurted.

  Moss dropped a plate with a crash. Escher and the others stopped in their tracks.

  Cash raced over and lifted me to sit on the counter while Brandon swept up the shards. I waited until it was all cleaned up, but no one said a word.

  Anxiety washed over me, heating my cheeks and kicking up my heartbeat. “Unless you have changed your minds?”

  All four of them rushed me, and I squealed.

  “Female, you cannot be serious,” Escher was first to say. He took my coffee cup from me and sniffed at it. “Who put something in her coffee? She’s clearly delusional.” His tone was serious, but his eyes squinted, showing me he was kidding.

  “I tell you I want to marry you sooner, and you think I’m nuts?” I gave an affronted sniff. “Maybe I am.”

  Brandon squeezed my knee. “Wendi, we were just shocked, I think. Right?”

  Moss and Cash nodded, while Escher grunted.

  I looked to Moss, always the calmest of the group. “What brought on your change of mind, mate?”

  He called me mate, and it did things to me. We hadn’t officially mated yet, but I needed it to be sooner rather than later.

  “I gue
ss my kidnapping. Life is short. It’s fleeting, and I don’t want to spend another moment not being tied to all of you in every way possible. I want to be your wife, and I want all of you as my husbands.” I choked on the last sentence, the emotion clogging my throat.

  “We want that more than anything.” Cash took my hand in his. “Name the date.”

  We were still early in the week. “How about this weekend?”

  Smiles rose on each of their faces. “Sounds great. Let’s make some calls, boys. The pack has a wedding to plan.”

  I exhaled, and Moss stepped closer as the others got on their phones or finished cooking. “I can’t wait for you to be my wife,” he said, letting his lips feather against the rim of my ear.

  “I want you to mate me and mark me,” I whispered back, musing how funny it was that somehow, the one whose roof I slept under every night would be the final of the four to share my bed. It wasn’t because I didn’t find him hot. The man sizzled.

  “Patience, Wendi. Our time will be soon.” He kissed my neck, and I let out a faint moan. “Oh, goddess, how you tempt me.”

  Chapter Ten

  We had a lovely evening together, all five of us, and my maid-of-honor who came by to visit for a little while and for dinner and planning. She was so thrilled for us, as always generous and enthusiastic, but whenever the conversation moved away from her, Christie’s gaze fixed somewhere in the distance. I was reminded of her anger toward the alpha and her possibly more-than-friendly interest in her neighbor. Were one of these things occupying her mind?

  “So, Christie, I was thinking we should have a wedding cake shaped like a turtle with mud-flavored filling.”

  “Sounds perfect,” she said. “Wait, what?”

  The guys were roaring and clutching their sides.

  “Just testing you, Christie. To see if you were listening, which you weren’t.” I cocked my head, thinking. “Want to go for a walk and girl talk?” She was usually the most focused of people, and while I knew she had things on her mind, for the first time since we’d been friends, I felt like we weren’t on the same page. Or at least I didn’t know what was bothering her.

  She’d dropped hints before that her past held some less-than-happy memories, but she’d been the best example ever of overcoming the bad things and building on the good. Lately, I’d been so caught up in my own life, even though Christie was often present, I felt as if I’d missed something.

  Moss’s phone rang, and he picked it up and listened. “I hate to break this up, ladies, but you’ll have to wait for your walk. The alpha has summoned all of us to a meeting.”

  “Just us?” I asked, wondering why Christie’s face had paled. “What’s up?”

  “No.” He was already headed for the door, followed by the others. “The whole pack.”

  I linked my arm through Christie’s. “What’s wrong? Do you know what this is about?”

  “No.” We moved through the doorway and started toward the alpha’s house, keeping a couple of yards between us and my mates and speaking in low tones. “I thought…but that’s silly. How would he know…I—”

  “Christie!” I stopped and tugged her to face me. “Has Tris not let the alpha know he’s back yet? I think you’re right and this call has nothing to do with that, but if the alpha finds out, he’s probably going to be angry with anyone who concealed the knowledge from him.”

  “You don’t understand.” She tried to take a step, but I held her back. “We’re going to be late. He wants everyone there.”

  “Wouldn’t everyone include his own brother? I don’t know why he left town, but I assume you do? You’ve been spending so much time together, haven’t you?”

  Moss looked over his shoulder, one brow arched in question, and I waved to let him know we’d be along in a second.

  “Christie? We need to catch up, but if there’s something bad, don’t keep it to yourself. He wasn’t”—it couldn’t be so bad, could it?— “banished?”

  “Can we talk about this later?” Her tone was low, hushed, and entirely unlike my friend.

  “No. You’re scaring me.” But we both started walking again. We didn’t need to make whatever had her like this worse by making the alpha mad, too. “Can’t you talk to me about it?”

  “Not right now.”

  “After the meeting?” Her reticence was very unlike my sweet Christie.

  “As soon as I can.” And then we were in the great room of the alpha’s house, so packed we had to squeeze in just for standing room. Usually when the pack got together it was outdoors for a run, and not everyone was there. Tonight, I realized how many members there actually were in the group. And the anxiety level was so high, it held a scent, acrid and sharp. Christie and I were surrounded by my mates, which gave us at least a little breathing room, for which I was grateful, but I was also more and more concerned.

  After a few minutes, the alpha appeared at the top of the stairs. Samson was flanked by two betas, and if I’d had any delusions he could have good news for us, his expression cleared that right up. He only came halfway down and stopped on the landing, but he didn’t have to wait for quiet because once he came into sight, the low, anxious conversations trailed off into more anxious silence.

  “Pack, thank you for your attention and for coming here with no notice. I’d hoped never to have to make an announcement like this during my term of office, but we have received word of something we must address and quickly. I apologize for packing you all in like this, but outdoors there is a danger of others overhearing.”

  Everyone looked around, as if those to the right or left, front or back of them might have advance knowledge of the alpha’s topic. The scent already in the room spiked, nearly burning my nose. But every head tipped back, every person focused on the alpha who stood, legs slightly apart in a battle stance. Somehow, he seemed to meet each gaze—I know he met mine. I’d heard about being able to cut the tension with a knife but thought it was just an expression. Until tonight.

  “We are at war with Rattlecreek. They have declared on us, and you know what that means. No one leaves our lands without permission. It’s too risky. If you live in town or elsewhere, find a bed here somewhere for the duration.

  “I will post extra guards tonight, and tomorrow we will begin to prepare in earnest. They will not find us unprepared. We have been more than tolerant. More tolerant than we should have been, I suppose, but now it’s time to make sure we are no longer subject to their criminal actions.”

  The alpha came down a few more steps and spoke in a lower tone, but it carried all the way over to where we stood not far from the door. “May the goddess have mercy on them, for we shall not.”

  Chapter Eleven

  Everyone trailed out of the alpha’s home after he turned and went back up to his office, presumably, upstairs anyway. They didn’t leave in silence because a group this large can only be quiet for so long, but the low hum of chatter made it clear the alpha had their full support. We trudged to Moss’s house together, the excitement we’d felt over our decision to get married a fuzzy memory. Had it really been earlier tonight?

  Escher headed straight for the kitchen and got out the ingredients for pancakes, a late-night favorite around here, although I recognized he was hiding behind cooking again. At least we could all enjoy it, even if it wasn’t necessarily a good mental-health thing for him. While he mixed the batter, Cash hefted the huge cast-iron griddle to the stove and laid out bacon along one side of it. I’d noticed on other occasions how he could reach my troubled mate when nobody else could. Years of living with Cash’s family had made them Escher’s, too, and while all of my mates were close, these two were like brothers. He spoke to Escher as they worked, talking about the work planned next for our house, and soon, we were all involved in making yet another midnight feast. I’d thought many times since arriving here how lucky shifters were to burn calories as fast as we did. The suppressants, or whatever they were, I’d taken all those years had affected my metabolism I beli
eved because, while I was unable to walk or shift, I’d eaten less than many humans. Less than my elderly aunt who had full use of all her abilities.

  Even Escher was more relaxed and talking with everyone by the time the table was piled with pancakes accompanied by a gorgeous dark-red compote created by Christie from a bag of frozen berries she found way at the back of the freezer under a trout whose year of origin I had doubts about. However, there was no yucky carryover into the delicious berries I spooned over my golden pancakes. Escher always made them with the crispy edges I loved that nobody else could quite accomplish. We also had crispy bacon and a pitcher of orange juice only slightly spiked for those who wanted it with a little tequila.

  We all wanted it.

  I think we needed it. What we’d learned had changed everything. How could I plan a happy day like our wedding while we were in a state of war. I actually hadn’t known a state of war was a possible thing among shifters, which went to show how little I knew about the world I was born to inhabit.

  But as the guys chased Christie and me into the living room to chill out while they did the dishes and generally cleaned up the mess, my mind was weighted with so many issues. For example, if I was pack healer, would I be dealing with the result of weaponry? Did shifters fight with teeth and claw in wolf form, or did they also use guns and knives and, I don’t know…grenades?

  I needed to know all these things, and learning them was not going to be an instantaneous thing. But the war would begin whether I knew what I would need to do or not. I couldn’t get married right now. Hours before, we were saying we didn’t want to wait for the house to be finished, and now we were facing a whole other set of challenges.

  “Christie, will you stay over?” I hoped she wouldn’t insist on defying the alpha’s command. “It’s not safe to leave.”

  “I-I…yeah. What choice do I have?” She perched on the edge of the sofa, hands laced tightly together in her lap. “Wendi, I’m scared.”