Chapter Three

Ashley woke up in a strange bed--her bed--still entwined with two strong, decidedly masculine bodies. She had vague recollections of returning from the clearing in the forest, but the night was such a blur of heat and hunger that she couldn't be sure she hadn't been carried.

It was a different sort of hunger that woke her now, a rumbling in her belly that reminded her she'd skipped dinner.

‘You need breakfast," Blake muttered against the back of her shoulder before nuzzling her hair aside to kiss the back of her neck. "Whose turn is it?"

"Mine." Jud stretched and smiled at Ashley. "What do you want for breakfast?"

She blushed. "I don't know. What do you usually have?"

"When I'm cooking?" He laughed as he sat up. "Omelets, crepes, waffles, bacon, sausage..."

Blake grunted. "Show-off."

She slid her hand into his as her stomach growled even louder. "Anything," she said gratefully. "It all sounds delicious, and I'm starving."

"Then I'll make all of it." He lifted her hand to his mouth, kissing her fingertips before teasing them with a sharp nip. Then he was gone, out of the bed and prowling toward the door without a scrap of clothing or a hint of modesty. "Don't keep her up here," he called back over his shoulder. "The girl needs to eat."

Blake wrapped his arms more firmly around her, but she felt his lips curve up against the back of her neck as the door swung shut. "I should get out of here and let you wash up."

She should have been ready for a little privacy. Instead, she found herself reluctant to release him. "Or you could stay. Wash my back?"

"Oh, if I get in that shower with you, you're not making it to breakfast."

"I can't tell if that's a threat or a promise."

"Me neither." Blake propped himself up on his elbow and smoothed her hair. "How are you feeling this morning?"

Exhausted, a little sore--and more alive than ever before. Ashley bit her lip to hide a smile and shrugged one shoulder, shivering when it bumped into the bunched muscles of his biceps. "Fine. More than fine."

"And your wolf?"

"Quiet," she confessed, then hesitated. "Curious."

His gaze fixed on her mouth, and he stroked his thumb over her lower lip. "Did you like last night?"

The memories heated her skin--the smell of sex and the sensation of the rich green moss against her bare body. The sheer hedonism of fucking under the evening sky, with the moon shining down on them.

Blake was still watching her. She licked her lips, and her tongue grazed his thumb. "I liked it."

"Good." His thumb edged between her lips, but only for a moment. In the next he rolled away with a groan. "Fuck, I'm leaving. My room's next door. Knock when you're ready to go down to breakfast."

"Blake--" Wait. She bit back the word with a groan of her own, because he was right. If he stayed... "I won't be long."

"Good." He reached the door and turned back, letting his gaze drift over her body with a lazy appreciation that gave his next words a very different meaning. "I'm hungry."

Ashley quelled a shudder as the door snapped shut. The sheets still smelled like Blake and Jud, so she climbed off the bed and walked into the bathroom. The huge tile shower was empty, as well as the expansive vanity surrounding the double sinks. She opened the closet door and found several dozen bottles of shampoo, conditioner, and body wash, as well as bar after bar of different types of soap.

She pulled out a matching set with peaches on the labels and grabbed a towel.

The hot water sluicing over her skin was exquisite. She'd grown used to cold baths in her basement prison, and anything would be better after that. But this truly was heaven--from the rough, natural tile of the shower enclosure to the enormous rainfall-type showerhead.

Her stomach was growing louder, angrier, so she allowed herself a few precious minutes to luxuriate under the water, then washed her hair and bathed quickly. Besides her growing hunger, another sensation twisted in her belly--loss, perhaps. An ache of longing she could barely describe, much less articulate.

The clothes she had bought with Mac and Blake had been laundered, folded, and left on top of the massive dresser in her room. She chose a pair of lounge pants and a simple tank top from the stacks and dressed quickly.

She hesitated in front of Blake's door, her hand poised to knock. But she didn't have to. The door swung open, revealing Blake in low-slung jeans and a half tucked-in T-shirt. Wet hair curled on his neck and his beard was newly trimmed.

Ashley wanted to lick him.

He tilted his head and narrowed his eyes. "You smell like peaches."

She wound a wet lock of hair around her finger. "If you don't like it, I have about twenty other choices in my bathroom closet."

He snorted and herded her out into the hallway. "Oh, I like it just fine. But I'm not surprised. Connor likes to buy shit."

"Connor." The one she'd met only briefly when she arrived.

"Don't worry. He won't be at breakfast." Blake rolled his eyes as they reached the stairs. "He doesn't get up before noon."

She dipped her head and tried not to laugh. "I'll have to properly meet him later, then."

Blake's hand settled on the small of her back. "And then you'll know all of us."

He said it like he was talking about more than a friendly conversation or two, and her cheeks burned. "Except for Lucas."

"Except for Lucas," he agreed. "Lucas is...careful."

"What does that mean?"

He stopped on the bottom step and turned to look at her. "Remember what his power felt like?"

Intense. Overwhelming. Maybe even oppressive, except that she had felt very clearly an underlying edge of control, as if he could easily bend her to his will but chose not to. "He felt strong," she answered slowly. "Strong enough to hurt me if that was what he wanted."

"Strong enough to make you hurt yourself." Blake rested his hands on her hips, stroking her through her clothes. "He wouldn't. He's always careful, and so am I. Usually."

There was a hint of something lurking beneath the words--not quite anger, but perhaps a bit of self-directed frustration. "And I threaten that control, is that what you're saying?"

"You threaten everyone's control." But he smiled as he said it, leaning in to kiss the tip of her nose. "It's not always a bad thing."

Mac's voice boomed through the hall. "Breakfast is getting cold. Talk later."

Blake snorted and gripped her ass. "See? Mac doesn't like anyone but Connor, but he's grumpy because you're not in there with him."

She nearly stumbled, and had to brace both hands on Blake's hard, hard shoulders to steady herself. "But all that will change, right? When I take a mate."

"Honestly?" He tightened his grip and hoisted her easily, spinning to set her down at the base of the stairs. "I don't know. Most of us have never seen a healthy mated couple as part of a pack."

She headed toward the sound of clinking dishes. "Someone must know."

"I don't think it matters." His hand found the small of her back again, as if he couldn't stand not touching her. "Your mate will be possessive, but nothing will stop the rest of us from being affectionate."

Even with Connor absent, the kitchen and attached dining room bustled with activity. Lucas was already seated at the head of the table, a full plate and steaming cup of coffee in front of him. Mac and Jud were still working busily as they heaped the table with endless platters of food.

Ashley moved to help them, but Blake steered her toward the chair at the foot of the table and pulled it out for her. "Coffee, tea, or juice?"

"Juice. Orange, please." She fixed Lucas with an arch look. "I thought I wasn't a guest."

"You're not." He grinned. "Neither am I."

Jud set a plate in front of her with a flourish. "It's your first day. But if it makes you feel better, you can help Mac and Blake with the dishes."

He'd made her a crepe, filled with warm apples and cream cheese, garnished with whipped cream. She cut into it, and the filling oozed out onto the plate with a rush of cinnamon-scented steam. "You're a dangerous man, Jud."

"I'm a dangerous wolf," he corrected with a wink. "Big and bad."

"He's bad, all right." Blake delivered Ashley's orange juice and took the seat next to her. He dragged a plate toward him and filled half of it with bacon. "Where's my fancy fruit breakfast?"

"Ask again after you've finished your pig."

Blake grinned and reached for the sausage.

Mac grunted as he took the seat opposite Blake's. "Jud thinks he can butter Ashley up with a gourmet breakfast and she'll swoon."

She chewed and swallowed her first bite of apple-filled heaven. "Would it be shallow of me to admit it's working?"

"Depends." Blake gave her a look, one that prickled up her spine and lifted the hair at the back of her neck in sudden, primal awareness. "Wanna come watch me chop wood after breakfast?"

Her imagination conjured the vision all too easily. Blake, stripped to the waist, his skin glinting in the sunlight as he lifted an ax, every muscle moving in perfect concert.

Blake smiled. "Is that a yes?"

Arrogant bastard. Ashley shook her head, but she couldn't help her lips curving into an answering smile. So she changed the subject. "You said you'd never seen a healthy mated pair," she pointed out. "Does that mean you've seen unhealthy ones?"

Lucas paused with his coffee cup almost to his lips. "Your girl knows which hard questions to ask."

Blake's smile faded. He finished his bacon and washed it down with half a cup of coffee before shrugging one big shoulder. "The wolf chooses. Some people aren't in touch with their inner natures, and so they don't like the choice."

For a moment, she let herself imagine being mated to someone she disliked. Being trapped in a whole new way, only this time by her own body rather than four walls or chains. "Oh."

"Hey." Blake slid his hand over hers. "You're learning to listen to your wolf. She'll learn to listen to you, too."

Lucas cleared his throat. "Blake has an overly simplistic view of these things sometimes. I think it's fair to say that mating is as complicated a dance as any other situation involving strong feelings."

"Too complicated for an empty stomach." Jud returned to the table with a huge platter of scrambled eggs. "Shifting forms burns a lot of energy. You need to keep up your strength."

It wasn't the only way she'd been burning energy. Her cheeks warmed as she realized the only man in the room who hadn't seen her naked yet was Lucas--and part of her couldn't help but wonder why. Her parents had spoken about their lives as wolves only rarely, but Ashley had learned enough to know that alphas were entitled to the first and the best.

By right of power, Lucas should have already claimed her.

Whatever held him back, he had to have his reasons. Ashley distracted herself by asking questions. "I know your story, Lucas, and a little of Blake's. What about everyone else?"

Jud glanced at Mac, who was still shoveling food into his mouth, before taking a seat next to him. "I belonged to a different pack back east. We were losing territory to the humans bit by bit, until the pack couldn't afford to hold on to what we had." His lips twisted into a dark frown. "The alpha sold our land to a developer."

It wasn't exactly the bloody, confrontational end she expected. "So you left?"

"I had to. I didn't have a home anymore, but I wasn't comfortable with the humans, either." He heaped food on his plate and shot her a teasing smile. "So I became a thief. It was easier back then, before all the electronic security."

She almost choked on an apple. "You what?"

"I stole things." His grin was dangerous. Wicked. "Mostly from humans who had more than they needed. Like the ones who stole our territory."

Wicked, that was a good description of Jud. But he had a way of making his misbehavior sound rakish and endearing rather than obnoxious. "You're bad."

"I know, but I make up for it in so many other ways."

Blake grunted.

His chair skidded back an inch as Mac kicked it under the table. "Don't be such a jealous asshole."

Glaring, Blake scooted his chair back to the table and reached for the eggs. "Lucas is the one who found us all. Gave us something to do instead of wandering. Something to focus on."

"Which we all needed." Mac refilled Ashley's juice glass. "Though some of us were worse off than others."

"Like you?" she asked softly.

He went still, but only for a fraction of a second. "Yeah, like me."

The words were final, unyielding, and Blake's demeanor changed in a heartbeat, from irritated to protective. "We were all fucked up in our own ways. Hell, they had to teach me how to talk to humans."

"We try," Jud drawled. "You're a work in progress."

They all cared about each other so much. It was obvious, almost tangible, as she sat, looking around the table at them. The only question was whether her presence would upset the delicate balance they'd all struck.