The coyotes converged on Caleb, and he could barely keep his wolf inside. He growled at them, his eyes burning with the brightness of his animal within.

“I told you to go,” he barked, his chest muscles straining against his shirt.

“We decided to stay,” the leader said. “We like this town. Lots of waste and whatnot. You can’t make us leave. I believe there are laws in the human world that protect all citizens. Look around, wolf. We’re all human here.”

“This is a shifter town, pup. Don’t test me. I will bring a million teeth and claws down on your head. Shifters who cannot respect our rules are not tolerated. You have not agreed to abide by our rules, so you must leave.”

“Sure, we’ll follow your rules. Anything against intershifter mating? That girl you were with is hot. Are you tapping that?”

“Don’t you dare speak of her,” Caleb lunged forward, teeth bared. He could barely hold himself back from destroying the young coyote and his pack, but he resisted the urge. As the leader of the Cascade pack, he had to set an example. Taking the first shot at a kid in the middle of town was not a good example.

The coyote swept his foot against Caleb’s ankle. It barely fazed the bigger man, but it did make him angry. That was it. The kid took the first shot. Caleb looked up at him and grinned. His heavy fist knocked the kid in the stomach.

He staggered backward, falling into his crew. The girl with long dreadlocks looked at Caleb and sneered, baring her teeth. The others lunged forward, fighting in human form with so little grace and skill that Caleb was able to sidestep almost every punch and kick.

A fist connected with his jaw and pushed him sideways. A knee tripped him, and he lost balance. He went down hard on his ass, and the pack of coyotes was on him, yipping and growling as they punched and kicked.

Caleb twisted and shot up, dispersing the pack of wild dogs with a series of skillful movements. He and Elijah had studied martial arts with their father, who had learned from his father before him. The wolves were a well-oiled fighting force, even in human form.

Within minutes, the entire coyote pack was sitting, bloody, on the sidewalk or limping away.

“If I catch this pack around these parts again, I won’t go so easy on you.”

“You’re lucky we’re in town, wolf. Or this wouldn’t have been so easy for you.”

Caleb licked the blood seeping from his lip. His eye stung. He didn’t want to admit it to himself, but the coyote’s words were true. One wolf against a pack of coyotes? He’d never survive that.

 

* * *

Lucy watched Elijah as he pulled her backpack from the back seat of the crew-cab truck. She couldn’t help but be worried about Caleb.

No matter how angry she felt at the two brothers, she’d come to care about them. Their night of passion had been more than just sex. It had opened up parts of her that she hadn’t known existed. She would always feel a connection for them, no matter what they did.

They had been such asses to lie to her, but she was beginning to understand the world of shifters better. Perhaps she’d been too hard on them. If she really was their perfect mate, how were they supposed to tell her about paranormals and convince her to stay?

Caleb and Elijah did have a point about that. She put herself in their shoes for a moment and tried to imagine what she would do in their situation. Would she deceive someone for true love?

She shook her head. She couldn’t imagine deceiving her true love to get him to stay with her. It just didn’t make sense in her world. It couldn’t. How could such a beginning ever lead to something good and lasting? Deception was deception, plain and simple. She might not hate their guts for what they had done, but she was a long way away from accepting their behavior or forgiving them.

“Well, that’s everything,” Elijah said, opening the driver’s-side door for her. She walked forward and stood in the door, looking up at him on the other side.

“I guess this is goodbye,” she said, a hint of sadness in her voice. Elijah looked down at her and smiled.

“I could come with you. We could talk this through. You can let me beg for your forgiveness. That kind of thing.”

“I don’t know. What about Caleb?” She surprised herself that her main concern was Caleb’s safety and whether he would be jealous.

“Caleb is a big boy. He can take care of himself. Besides, he’d be overjoyed if one of us went with you and tried to change your mind.”

She sighed. The idea of going back to Portland alone wasn’t all that attractive. There was so much for her to deal with at home. Having Elijah along sounded somehow comforting.

“Maybe. I’m not making any promises. I don’t forgive you. I’m just letting you tag along because I feel sorry for you.”

“Good enough for me. Let’s return the truck to the farm and I’ll ride with you.”

She followed him to the farm. He went inside to get a bag of clothes and was back out to her car in a matter of minutes.

“Let’s go,” he said throwing his bag in the back seat.

“Is Caleb here?” she asked.

“No. But I left him a note. He can get a ride back with someone from the pack. It’s no big deal.”

Lucy worried her lip. Leaving Caleb with a pack of dangerous coyotes didn’t feel right to her. She looked over at Elijah as he slid into the passenger seat. The spitting image of his brother, he made her heart do a little flutter.

She couldn’t help it. The brothers meant something to her, more than she was allowing herself to feel. She pulled out of the parking lot. Once they were back on the road, she tuned in to some music on the radio, and she and Elijah began talking about their lives.

He wanted to expand the design business but needed someone to help organize their efforts and take over the Internet presence, since both he and Caleb were at a loss as to how to deal with it. Lucy’s inspiration struck when he told her about their hopes for expansion. They needed help with something she was completely competent at. It almost seemed like a match made in heaven.

As the long miles between the coast and Portland closed, she began feeling better about the time she’d spent with Elijah and Caleb. Perhaps it had been an honest mistake. They were just two young guys with too much responsibility and the need for someone to mediate and soften them.

She pulled into her parking space in front of her apartment building and turned off the car. Elijah looked around, his expression revealing how unimpressed he was with her place.

They got out, and he carried their bags upstairs. Inside, the apartment was cold and still. It felt as if there was no life there, and Lucy felt the dark, empty energy of her world suddenly collapse in on her.

Elijah dropped the bags in her bedroom as she went to turn on the heat and start a pot of tea. After the long drive and so much stress, the last thing she felt like was cooking.

“Do you like Chinese?” she asked Elijah as he sat down in front of the TV and turned it to a basketball game.

“That would be great,” he said, patting the seat next to him. Lucy took two cups of tea and set them on the coffee table before sitting down next to Elijah. He flipped through the channels and came to the beginning of a romantic comedy. She ordered them Chinese, and it was delivered halfway through the film.

They ate while watching the funny movie. Elijah laughed with his mouth full of chow mein noodles at the silliest things. It made Lucy feel even more comfortable in his presence.

After they’d finished eating, she snuggled up against his warm form and watched the end of the movie. A second movie started, and they sat there together, warm and cozy in her apartment. She tried to forget about what she had to do in the morning and just let herself feel safe in Elijah’s arms.

She felt her eyelids fluttering closed, and Elijah kissed the top of her head. “It’s bedtime, beautiful,” he said, slipping his arms under her knees and lifting her up as if she were a tiny child. He walked with her to her bedroom and deposited her on her bed.

He pulled off her shoes and kicked off his own before climbing onto the bed with her. Lucy looked up into his eyes. Elijah could be so kind and gentle when he wanted to be. His eyes glowed with warmth, and he smiled down at her. Lucy closed her eyes and tilted her head, inviting him to kiss her.

His lips fell on hers, soft and sweet as he kissed her with tempered passion. He kissed her cheeks and her eyelids, her forehead and her temples. He kissed down her chin and over her neck and collarbone.

She drew a sharp breath in as he ran his hand under her shirt and dipped it inside her bra. She opened her eyes and blinked at him. What would Caleb think?

“Will Caleb mind?” she asked, worried his brother would be jealous.

“He won’t mind. Caleb and I share everything, even if he isn’t here. As long as I don’t bite you alone, he would do nothing but cheer us on.”

Lucy groaned as Elijah tweaked her nipple and ran his tongue over her lips. His kiss grew more insistent, and he plunged his tongue deep into her mouth. She raised her arms up around his broad shoulders. His hands ran down her belly, caressing the soft flesh, before one dipped inside her jeans.

He pushed his fingers into her panties and dipped a finger into her wet slit. He growled into her ear.

“You are so wet for me, Lucy. God. I want to fuck you. I need to see your pussy now.”

He pulled her clothes off with such a quick flurry of hands that she was naked in what seemed like seconds. He threw off his own clothes just as quickly and parted her legs.

“Caleb got your pussy all to himself the last time. Now it’s all mine.”

He spread her legs and dove in, his tongue landing on her clit without warning. Lucy groaned and arched her back. Elijah didn’t tease or taunt; he went for it. He licked her all over, up and down, wetting her pussy with his thick tongue. He pressed against her clit and slid a finger inside her pussy, fucking her with his hand.

“You taste so sweet,” he moaned. “No wander Caleb wanted you all to himself.”

Elijah had brought her to the edge of orgasm so quickly that her head was spinning. She threaded her fingers through his hair as he ate her pussy with furious abandon.

He slipped another finger inside her, bending them upward as he slid in and out of her. His fingers pressed against her G-spot as he sucked her clit into his mouth. She erupted with pleasure, her pussy clenching on his fingers.

Just as she came, Elijah was on top of her. He kissed her, the taste of her juices still on his lips. His cock slipped easily inside her soaking entrance. He inched into her, holding himself back from plunging inside.

Lucy groaned under him, wanted to feel him fill her with his massive shaft. He placed his hand on her hairline and looked into her eyes. His eyes glowed hot with desire, and she could see him straining to enter her slowly.

“You’re so tight. I’m going to fuck you hard and fast, Lucy,” he groaned, sliding just an inch farther into her. The wait was torture. His girth stretched her wide, but she couldn’t stand it any longer. She needed him.

She wrapped her legs around him and pulled him deeper. He growled, and his cock sank deep until his balls brushed against her ass. She moaned with the slicing pain and pleasure of being filled again with so much cock. Just the day before, Caleb had filled her, leaving her swollen and sore.

Elijah breathed into her ear and nibbled at her lobe. “I can’t hold back any longer, Lucy. I know you’re sore, but I have to fuck you. I need to fill your sweet little cunt with my seed.”

She wanted that more than anything. Consequences be damned. She’d think about it tomorrow. Her life was a hot mess anyway, and she’d already let Caleb come inside her.

“Yes, please. Fuck me.”

That was all it took. It was as if something snapped inside Elijah, and she saw a side of him she’d never seen before. His wolf seemed barely hidden behind the mask of the man. He growled, baring his teeth as his hips thrust against her core.

He pumped into her pussy hard and fast, without hesitation. There was nothing gentle about this fucking. It was so unlike Elijah that all Lucy could do was hold on for dear life. His massive cock thrust again and again into her wet, swollen pussy.

“Oh, God!” she screamed, clinging to him like a drowning woman. He pushed against her G-spot over and over, making her come with such insistence that she didn’t know where one orgasm stopped and the next began.

The sound of flesh smacking flesh filled her ears along with the sound of her own moaning breaths. Elijah groaned into her neck. His cock strained inside her as he thrust several times, hard.

His cum shot deep into her womb, filling her with hot, sticky seed. The feeling of it propelled her rocketing into another orgasm. They breathed into each other’s necks as their bodies throbbed together in time.

Finally Elijah rolled away, and she slid under his arm to rest her head on his chest. It had been another mind-blowing experience, the kind of thing a girl might travel across the world to get another taste of. She bit her lip, her pussy still pulsing.