Tremble: A Shifter of Consequence Tale (Shifters of Consequence Book 7) Read online

  “Christy, really, I’m fine.”

  I waited, not saying anything, until he was ready to talk. And I didn’t have to wait more than a minute.

  “No. That’s not true. I’m not fine.” He still stared straight ahead, his profile framed by the hood of his sweatshirt. “I miss you.”

  “I’m right here,” I protested. “I couldn’t get much closer without stripping naked…that’s the problem isn’t it?”

  “That you’re not naked out here on the porch?” He chuckled. “Kidding. The problem is that you’re not in my bed. When we were living in town, I got used to you being there with me. Every night. And since we moved here, first we were all sleeping alone and now you’re sleeping with Samson.”

  “I—”

  “Let me finish. I don’t mind that you’re sleeping with him. He needs you, too. But that’s the thing. Too. If we are going to have a good relationship, all of us, we need to achieve some level of balance.”

  “Okay.” I was very happy to accommodate his wishes. “So, we can take turns? One night with each of you, so it’s fair.”

  “That’s not it, exactly. Remember when we were first together, before I marked you? We were desperate for each other, never really satisfied no matter what we did?”

  “I never thought of it that way, but I guess you’re right. It was different. Never bad, but I always felt like there should be more, even though you made me come…” My cheeks burned. We were big on action but not so much talking about the action. “Anyway, yes, I think I understand. When you marked me, completed our bond, things were more, like you said, satisfying.”

  “And until you and Samson complete your bond, you’re probably the same way.” He pressed two fingers to my lips. “And I don’t need details. But you are right. Although satisfying is an understatement.”

  I nodded.

  “So, until then, if you come to my bed, he’s going to be hyper aware of it and possibly jealous. He will, without really thinking about it, know that we have something more than you do with him.”

  I was flabbergasted. “So, what do I do? Have sex only with him until he gets around to marking me? That could be days, months, years. If you haven’t noticed, he’s stubborn!”

  “You’ll have to get him to do it. As desperate as I am for you, I’m afraid we’d end up ruining our brotherly relationship if you and I are in bed together.”

  My head was spinning. “Well, I’ll be darned if I’ll let him mess up everything we’ve all worked for because he can’t be bothered to bite me.”

  Tris’ soft laughter washed over me. “I’m sure it’s not a question of being bothered. But if you ever want to spend the night together again, you need to make it happen.”

  “I don’t know how,” I vowed, “but I will. I want this relationship strong in every way. And I think I know what to do.”

  He eyed me. “You have a plan?

  “Yes.” One I was not going to share with him since it was about my relationship with Samson. “But do you think it would ruin our lives if we made out a little. It’s so comfy cuddled up to you here.”

  His hand closed around my breast. “I’m willing to chance it.

  Chapter Eighteen

  I had to get him to do it. Get Samson to bite me, mark me, and for so many reasons. We needed to complete our bond for the sake of the pack, for the sake of the relationship between my mates, who had come so far from the two men who’d treated one another as if they had no relationship whatsoever—which seemed to have been, for no reason I could fathom—what their father wanted for them.

  If the man weren’t dead, I’d have a whole lot to say to him. I understood that alphas had to be prepared to defend their title, to fight those who sought to take over the pack. To protect their pack. But how did this relate to the situation between Tris and Samson? They’d been forced to compete against each other, as I understood it, since practically the cradle. They were twins who should have supported one another in all things… And as I watched them piece together the relationship, I recognized that they would have always done that had they not been interfered with. Samson was a natural leader, but so was Tris. You didn’t get to be a SEAL if you weren’t a leader. But I’d never seen anything to indicate that Tris sought his brother’s power.

  His natural leadership came out, yes, when someone came by and needed help with a task or project. He could organize anything, and was rapidly being accepted back into Midnight Alder. Sure, at first, people had been wary, since they’d been told he was banished, but despite any real explanation for that or his return, they seemed to be getting used to him.

  After all, many had known him since he was a little boy. And even if they hadn’t had a voice in his leaving, maybe they hadn’t liked it.

  Wrapped in my fluffy robe, with nothing under it, I tiptoed down the hall toward the master bedroom. Samson had retired for the night a couple of hours before, and I was hoping by approaching him after he was asleep, I could catch him off guard and get him to do what I wanted.

  I pushed the door open, and it was dark in the room, with only a low glow from the fire burned down to coals. He lay on his side, eyes closed. I padded around to the far side of the bed and dropped my robe on the floor before sliding in next to him and cuddling against his back.

  If I’d thought he’d just relax into me, I should have known better. Samson jerked awake and rolled over, grabbing me as he moved. His hands tightened on my arms, and I let out a whimper. “Samson, it’s me.”

  He eased his grip, but I’d have bruises. At least for a bit. Sneaking up on alphas could have that result. He’d never hurt me if he knew it was me. “Christie, I thought you were…”

  “I’m here.” I snuggled into him. “I missed you.”

  “You did?” He rolled over on top of me. “I miss you whenever I’m not with you.”

  I linked my arms behind his neck, tipping my face up for his kiss. His lips were warm, his hands roaming, and within moments he had me begging him to make love to me. A warm, sleepy Samson was the sexiest thing on the planet. Or one of them.

  He used his knee to part my legs and lay between them, but instead of responding to my urgency in the way I’d anticipated, he brought his mouth to my breasts and spent endless moments sucking, licking, and nibbling, driving me higher than I’d ever been before. I forgot to beg, forgot why I’d come in tonight, and all I knew was the passion of a woman for a man. He reached between my legs and caressed me until I was out of my mind, writhing under him.

  Then and only then did he fit himself to my opening and drive inside me. I clung to him like a spar in a tossing ocean, unable to find any balance whatsoever while he rode me. Samson’s mastery of my body was amazing and thrilling, and although I never did remember my mission, as I tumbled over the edge into my third orgasm, and he poured his cum into my willing body, his teeth pierced my shoulder on the opposite side of where his brother had, completing our mating and sending me into my fourth and fifth orgasms right on top of one another.

  Later, when he spooned me, and I hung between awake and asleep, he nipped my earlobe. “Satisfied, mate?”

  “Oh yes. I think if I came again, I’d explode.”

  “I mean by our mating. Isn’t that what you came here for?”

  I grunted and buried my face in the pillow, smiling. My mates were both way too smart for me. I’d never be able to fool them. But then…why would I ever want to?

  Chapter Nineteen

  “Not on your own. Not yet.” Samson’s resolve was firm, but I realized he had a point. It wasn’t like I could bring my sword with me while I was in wolf form. Well, technically I could hold it in my mouth, but ouch.

  “Okay, well, then both of you can run with me.” I crossed my arms over my chest. “There. Problem solved.”

  Tris and Samson looked at each other and shrugged. At times like this, I was reminded that they were twins but, in my eyes, completely opposite.

  “Who drew the short straw?” I asked, putting my fist
on my hip.

  “Both of us,” they said in unison.

  In minutes, the three of us were in the expanse of land behind the alpha house. Now that I was completely and fully mated to both of them, there was a lightness in my step, a floaty-ness in my chest. It made sense to me.

  The sunlight danced in and out of the branches, making a shadow-show along the snow-covered land. Winter had come upon us swiftly. Christmas would be here soon, and I couldn’t wait to celebrate it with my mates.

  As we continued to run, the cool wind nipped at my skin underneath my fur and burned my nostrils.

  Still, this was the most content I’d been in a long time.

  It didn’t last long.

  As we turned, the three of us moving as one, I gasped at the scene in front of me.

  Opal, in all her fairy-like glory, held Emily, one of our young pack women, in her arms. The veins in Emily’s neck strained as did her muscles. Her fists were balled at her sides while she kicked and thrashed about, clearly trying to get away or shift into her wolf—maybe both.

  “Put her down!” I screamed as loudly as I could after shifting to two legs even though it was a risk. Opal had stopped me from shifting before and, even though Gigi had given us some training on imagining a wall around our minds, I didn’t know if I could make it work yet.

  Opal’s gaze ticked to me, and a grim smile rose on her lips. Something about seeing me here had spooked the white-haired devil in a beauty’s body. Emily took the opportunity, as Opal’s hold on her loosened, and wriggled free. Once she was on her feet, she ran as fast as she could in the direction of home.

  Smart girl.

  “Now look what you’ve done. You’ve ruined my day.” I believed her words even though her voice sounded like playtime.

  “Well, you would’ve ruined ours in taking one of our pack members. We’re even, bitch.”

  Opal rolled her iridescent eyes and cocked out her hip. Inside my mind, I felt a tug as though she’d hooked me with her magic but didn’t quite know how to reel me in. Immediately, I threw up that imagined wall around my mind and hoped to the gods it kept her out.

  Samson and Tris had shifted to two legs, and, from their stern expressions, they were also trying out Gigi’s methods.

  Shit, I should’ve chomped my sword with my wolf teeth and paid the consequences.

  The woman took a step forward, her eyes steely and determined this time. She bit down on her bottom lip while the wormy wiggling in my mind increased in strength, but not enough to penetrate my shield.

  Damn. Gigi’s craziness actually worked.

  Just as I’d felt like we’d won a small battle, her eyebrows drew down as she flexed her fingers. “Well, someone’s learned some piddly mind-blocking. But my magic won’t be thwarted in such paltry ways.” She whipped her head toward me. “You still can’t shift, though, can you, princess?”

  Reaching inside me to converse with my wolf, I found that she’d hidden within the depths of me. Opal’s magic still had an effect on me, and, in that moment, standing in the clearing with the sun beating down on us, I felt utterly helpless. No sword. No wolf. Just me and my mates and our fists.

  “It’s funny that you always stop us from shifting.” I turned the tables on her. “It’s almost like you’re afraid of coming up against my wolf—our wolves. Scared of a little fur, Opal?”

  For a split second, something in her demeanor changed. And if I wasn’t mistaken, her fear showed.

  “Don’t be stupid, little warrior. I simply find your beastly side disgusting and too carnal for my taste. Magic is so much more sophisticated. Oh…” She laughed a little, and the sound chilled my bones. “I see the matings are complete. I bet you feel all full of yourself now, don’t you?”

  I ignored her attempt to change the subject. “Answer the fucking question, Opal. You’re terrified of our wolves, aren’t you? Our teeth. Our fur. Our speed. Our stealth. All of it. That’s why you don’t hesitate to stop us from shifting.”

  “Oh, there you are, making assumptions. Of course, I’m not afraid of a little wolf. Especially yours.”

  She lied through her teeth.

  “Come on. Right here. Right now. Let’s end this. I don’t want to see you on my land anymore, and I never want to see one of ours being taken by you.” Samson had gotten a little big for his britches. We had no weapons. We didn’t have our animals.

  “Nah, I don’t feel like it,” Opal said with a wind chime tone. “I’m tired of this. But mark my words, warrior. You and your mates will pay for interrupting me today.”

  I laughed, long and hard. It was fake, of course, but she couldn’t know that. “I told you”—turned to face my mates—“she only plays games. She won’t actually fight us. Like a ghost, she floats in and out, kidnapping innocent girls, but in the end, that’s all she’s good for—spooky tricks and taking things that don’t belong to her.”

  Tris laughed, catching on to my game. “Let’s not forget the scorch marks on the trees. All she has are cheap tricks.”

  Opal grew more furious by the second. The veins in her neck bulged and pulsed as her nostrils flared. For such a beautiful, ethereal woman, she sure did look awful when she was perturbed.

  “You have no idea what you’re talking about. But one day soon you will. You can practice and play sword fight all you want. It will be of no use.”

  I opened my mouth to retort, but in seconds, she was gone, leaving notes of iridescence in her wake.

  The hawk squawked above us, almost a cackle.

  We had to be ready. There was no more time to waste.

  Chapter Twenty

  Since our last encounter with Opal, I was more determined than ever to be ready to fight her. If we didn’t end this, she would harm more of our people, something I couldn’t tolerate. And that meant training until I dropped. When my hands blistered, I shifted to heal them then shifted back, wrapped them in strips of cloth, and went on.

  My mates and some of the betas took turns sparring with me, although Tris and Samson tried to encourage me to limit the hours I spent on the practice field. They insisted that overdoing it was only going to cause me more problems, but I ignored them, rising with the dawn and stopping only long enough to gobble meals and go to class because I felt compelled not to let anything go. To fail in any aspect of my life. I needed, above all, to perfect my fighting techniques with and without the sword.

  One of the betas had some training in martial arts and offered to teach me some of the skills he’d acquired, so that was what I did afternoons. While I thought I was in good shape, I learned about muscles I never knew I even had, but I was glad. Shifting would take care of cuts and a lot of the bruises, but my unrelenting physical exertion was resulting in deep muscle aches that even hot baths and massages by my mates couldn’t entirely abate.

  Still…the massages had a tendency to lead to other activities that were at least distracting for a while. My mirror-twin mates were very different in their lovemaking, but equally amazing. Tris was slower, enjoying lots of foreplay. In the time we’d been together, he’d made it his business—or his pleasure—to learn my body and mind in a way I’d never dreamed possible. He could toy with me until I was squirming, whimpering, and begging him to finish me off. And he did it with a smile. He also loved my mouth on him, and I tortured him in the same way he did me. It was our love language.

  His brother, while he never failed to take me with him on the ride, could never be described as slow in any way. He was powerful and could bring me multiple times while I clung to him, awash in the storm that was Samson. Yet his sensual massage to ease my aches was a revelation. He had skills when he chose to use them.

  Wendi thought she was the luckiest woman on earth, but I silently disagreed. No four could be better than my two.

  One afternoon, as my martial arts trainer was working with me, I caught sight of my mates standing side by side on the porch. I was too far away to hear what they said, but they looked relaxed, leaning on the porch rail a
nd talking while they watched me in action. My heart swelled with love for both of them, and pleasure at the fact they were able to be together this way after so many years. As tempting as it was to take credit for their relationship, it wasn’t me.

  Sure, our mating helped to solidify the bond, but they’d had to make the hard decisions to get past a lifetime of being forced to compete for everything they got. Thinking of it brought my temper to a boil every time. The only reason we had the happy life we did—evildoers aside—was because they had incredible strength. And maybe the bond of twins from the womb. But how much worse did that make their father’s behavior?

  If Tris hadn’t joined the Navy and become a SEAL, what would have happened? Would they both have survived long enough to meet and mate me? I would never know because he did enlist and spent years away from his brother and his pack. Banished for his career choice. I’d asked him a few times why he even came back, but he just smiled and shrugged. Either he didn’t know himself, or he chose not to share at this time.

  Lost in thought, I continued with the exercises with my trainer until…I didn’t. The next thing I knew I was flying through the air to land hard on my back “Oof!” I struggled to get my breath.

  When my vision cleared, I looked up to see Erik, the black belt, standing over me, holding out his hand. I managed to draw a breath and reached out to grasp his hand, allowing him to pull me to my feet. “You don’t have to say it.”

  “Apparently, I do,” he said. “I waited quite a while as you spaced out and went through the motions, but, Christie, if you do that in battle, you’ll be worse off than just out of breath and a little sore. You’ll be dead.”

  I parted my lips to respond but stopped when my mates arrived to flank him. There was no more easy smiling or relaxed stance.

  “Mate, what happened?” Tris asked.