Astrid Cielo (3 page)

Skylar
breathed a sigh of relief as he saw the sign announcing his and Xavier's
arrival to Pinewood Creek.
 
His GPS
assured him in a horridly polite voice that they were only ten minutes away
from their destination of the Cougar Creek Community.
 
He could almost feel Aspen in his arms after
three very long months of searching.
 
The
mating heat had been riding both Xavier and Skylar hard and they'd fucked so
much in between tracking down their elusive mate that he wasn't certain he'd
have enough energy to claim Aspen once he found her.
 
Skylar refused to think about Aspen being
alone for the past three months locked in her own mating heat.
 

"You're
going to break the steering wheel, Sky."

Xavier's
voice calmed him enough to release the death grip on the steering wheel.

"Sorry,"
he growled.
 

His
wolf was too close to the surface, something he'd suffered for three months
since going back to where he'd left his mate only to find an empty
apartment.
 
Her scent remained as well as
the lingering scent of misery and rage.
 
Xavier had fucked him against the wall he put his fist through to calm
him.
 
He didn't understand how Xavier
could be so unruffled about being away from his mate.
 

"How
can you be so fucking calm?"

"Because
one of us has to be calm enough to beg Aspen for forgiveness, and since you've
been less than levelheaded since you left her then it has to be me."

"I
panicked!
 
I thought we talked about this
and you understood.
 
I've told you I was
sorry for sleeping with my other mate without telling you first!"

"Just
because I understand doesn't mean I'm not fucking angry about being essentially
cheated on.
 
Before we mated we talked
about your preferential attraction to women and I thought we'd settled it then,
but now with Aspen..."

Skylar
pulled over on the side of the road, his burning need to see Aspen still an
inferno deep within his gut, but the need to soothe his mate of three years
made him and his wolf more agitated.
 
Skylar clasped Xavier's hand in his and nipped the knuckle.
 
Three years ago, lonely and spending his life
working for the council Xavier had saved him.
 
How could this man not realize how important he was to him?

"Xavier,
nothing will change between us, except we'll have one more person to love with
all of our hearts.
 
Aspen will complete
us in a way we didn't know we needed.
 
You'll see."

Xavier
smiled, but his dark brown eyes remained wary.
 
Skylar sighed and pulled back out into the road.
 
Nothing he said would change Xavier's mind.
 
He'd have to ensure that Xavier never felt
like a third wheel.
 

Skylar
took the left turn the GPS politely reminded him to take and took in the Cougar
Creek Community.
 
Houses lined the road
that seemed to circle the entire subdivision.
 
A large building sat in the center of the entire community with a play
area for children and a large clearing with just grass.

"Which
house is it supposed to be?"
 
Xavier
said.

"According
to my sources, the alpha's house burned about two months ago and they've been
living at the house near the back of the community.
 
I programmed that address in the GPS."

They
pulled up to a house whose yard appeared to have recently been the site of
construction and before Skylar could stop the car Xavier was out and walking
toward two people embracing on the porch.
 
Skylar barely made it to catch Aspen after Xavier ripped her away from
the male who held her.
 

"Skylar?"

Skylar
clasped her face, his wolf whining at the evidence of the tears she'd
cried.
 
Grey eyes studied him and he felt
his soul calm for the first time in three months, until he heard the growl from
Xavier and looked up to see him punch the guy.

Aspen
gasped when Skylar picked her up and placed her back on the porch before
stopping his mate from killing someone.

***

The
little subdivision reminded him of home, or at least where he and his twin grew
up together.
 
Pinewood Creek.
 

They'd
been on the road since twenty-one and neither had put down roots.
 
They were content with the hunt.
 
Shawn closed his eyes against the rage that
tried to eat him alive.
 
His twin, Shane,
had been taken from him, killed by the Council's lapdog.
 
Skylar.
 
Just the name was enough to make his wolf
want to break free and rip out throats.
 
It didn't matter whose throat it had, just the taste of blood and fear
as he watched the life fade from the weak human's eyes was enough--at least for
a little bit.

But
now he didn't have Shane to cut them up, and then stab the victims several
times to make the chase interesting.
 
They'd switched roles for one day and he'd stumbled upon the scene.

His brother had
just ripped her throat out, a pretty blonde who made his blood boil.
 
He'd wanted to be the one to watch the light
fade from her eyes, taste the fear as she struggled beneath his jaws, but he
had to share.
 
Shawn watched in shock as
another wolf pounced out of the woods onto his twin wolf's back.
 
He should help, but something glued him to
the spot he stood.

What seemed like
hours but could only be a few moments, his brother's throat had been ripped out
and Shane's lifeless body lay in a growing pool of blood.
 
Numbness spread over Shawn's body followed by
a rage so thick he couldn't breathe.

The sound of
retching drew his eyes back to prey.
 
Pussy.
 
He couldn't
even handle his reactions to death.

Shawn ran
through the forest, away from his brother's killer and vowed he would kill this
man and everyone he held dear.

Now
here he stood watching drama unfold.
 
He'd known about Skylar and his mate's hunt for a woman.
 
What he didn't understand was why.
 
Now as he watched the dark, haired male he'd
come to know as Xavier react to another male holding the female they'd been
searching for he knew.
 
Mate.
 
They were a rarity among their kind...shifters
tended to be territorial.
 
He and his
brother had been one to share a kill, but never a bed partner.
 

He
could feel his mouth stretching, but couldn't believe it.
 
He ducked and looked at himself in the side
mirror of his car.
 
The smile that he saw
was foreign to him.
 
But he couldn't
refute the happiness that coursed through him.
 
It seemed that he'd hit the jackpot with vengeance against this male.

"I'll
avenge you yet, Shane."

Shawn
climbed back into his Mustang, red just like his brother had wanted, and revved
the engine.
 
His wolf howled within the
confines of his mind.
 
Soon, he assured
his beast.
 
He waited to see them carry
the female to their vehicle with other shifters in tow before he left.
 
He had some hunting to do.
 
He needed to make his presence known.

***

Aspen's
scent haunted him.
 
From the first time
he'd captured a whiff of her unique scent clinging to Sky's skin, he'd
struggled with his wolf for control.
 
Although extreme jealousy and rage had been his first instinct, he
quickly realized her scent for what it was--his second mate.
 
And though he'd never heard of such a
combination before--three true mates--he was willing to see where this
led.
 

The
tantalizing mix of jasmine and forest made his mouth water, but he'd never
smelled it quite from the source, having never met Aspen in person before.
 
He was totally unprepared for the immediate
connection he felt with her when her particular scent reached him in the
passenger seat of Sky's Tahoe.
 
The
subtle scent of her sadness only enraged him and his wolf to the point he
didn't know who he was anymore.
 
Before
he could piece together his intentions, he'd ripped Aspen from the unknown
male's arms and punched him in the face.
 
His wolf howled in satisfaction, even as his human side gloried in the
satisfying crunch of a broken nose he'd dealt.
 
No one touched his mate.

"Xavier!"
 

Someone
tackled him, taking him to the ground.
 
His first instinct was to growl, but familiar lips claimed his, familiar
but rough hands pinned his arms above his head and soothed his beast in the way
that only Skylar knew how.
 
Xavier's wolf
whined with need--not only of Sky, but of the tantalizing cat whose scent still
teased his nostrils.

"What
the hell is going on here?"

Skylar
relinquished his lips, but the firm grip on his arms, and the firm way Sky's
hips held him to the ground mixed with the stern look in Sky's eyes had Xavier
nodding, agreeing to an unasked question.
 
Xavier went loose and pliant underneath his mate.

Xavier
looked up at the bare-chested male with brown hair and golden-brown eyes who
stood in the middle of what Xavier could only describe as chaos.
 
Xavier looked to the porch and found Aspen,
her face pale and tears tracking down her cheeks.
 
She'd curled herself into a ball, and even
from this distance, he could see the terror in her grey eyes.
 
Xavier knocked Skylar to the side with ease
and would've made it to his mate had three men not tackled him.

"Calm
the fuck down, Xavier!"

"Get
your friend under control or I will take care of this!" The bare-chested
male stated.

Xavier
continued his struggle, his only goal to hold his Aspen who so obviously needed
him.
 
The scent of her pain and sadness
were torture to both him and his wolf, and his wolf howled in protest.

"What's
going on?"

A
petite brunette sat on her knees, pulling Aspen's head into her lap, soothing
Xavier somewhat, especially when Aspen clung to the unknown female.
 
Xavier stopped struggling, and worked at
getting his wolf back under control.
 
He
ignored those around him, listening to the petite brunette speak to his Aspen.

"Aspen, sweetie, what's
wrong?"

"I...my
stomach
hurts
-"

"Oh my god!
 
Caleb we've got to get her to the hospital
now!
 
Andrew!"

Xavier
found his voice, his wolf struggling against him to reassert control.

"What
is wrong with my mate?"

Xavier
felt Skylar release him to move toward Aspen and the bare-chested male
intercepted him, taking him to the ground.
 
Xavier's wolf howled and his control snapped.
 
There was no way anyone could watch two mates
in trouble.

"I
don't see how anything gets done with you men!
 
Stop this instant!
 
Aspen needs
help now!"

Xavier's
wolf whined, but relinquished his control over Xavier as the petite brunette's
words reached his brain.
 
She was
right.
 
They needed to stop fighting and
focus on Aspen.
 
He swallowed a growl
when the male known as Andrew stepped onto the porch and bent to look at Aspen.

"Andrew!
You're bleeding!"

"It's
alright, Sis.
 
Just a broken nose, I'll
be okay.
 
Now, Aspen, tell me where do
you hurt?"

"In my stomach."

"I'm
going to need you to point to it, okay.
 
Great.
 
Now, we're
going to load up and go to the emergency room.
 
I'm sure it's nothing since I didn't see you receive a blow, but better
safe than sorry with your condition.
 
I'll call Dr. Sanchez on the way in.
 
Okay."

Xavier
breathed a sigh of relief as he watched Aspen's face regain some color.
 
He stepped cautiously towards her and when
she would've gotten up by herself, Xavier stopped her.