Betraying the Pack (9 page)

“My mama taught me to share.”
The wicked grin he gave her said more than his words and painted a picture of
naked bodies intertwined, sharing erotic delights. She bit her lip so as to not
gasp.

“Where we come from,” Parker
interjected, “it is not uncommon for women to have more than one man in her
life at the same time.”

“Oh my God, are you guys like
some Mormon cult then?” Her brow creased. “Wait, I thought they believed in
multiple wives.”

Jaxon whistled with amusement.
“I can’t wait to hear you explain your way out of this one, big guy.”

“Um, well, you see . . .”
Parker tapered off, his face alternately blushing and looking uncomfortable.
“Can’t we just wait until we meet up with Gavin and Wyatt? They’ll probably explain
it better.”

“Explain what? That you guys
belong to some freakish sex cult that shares their women? Count me out.”

Bailey peered out the side
window at the never-ending trail of trees. With her new ability to heal, could
she jump and make it into the woods before they could stop and chase her?

“Don’t you even think about
leaving this truck.”

“Or what? You and your buddy
will tie me down and make me into your sex slave?”

“Ooh, count me in. That sounds
like fun.”

“Shut it, Jaxon,” Parker
growled, his hands turning white where he clutched the steering wheel. “We.
Are. Not. A. Sex. Cult.” He enunciated each word, and oddly enough, despite
what she’d learned so far, she believed him. Not that she let him off the hook
that easily, not with the pile of unanswered questions she had still left to
ask.

“Then what are you?”

“We are pack.”

“What is pack?”

“That’s all I’m saying for
now.”

And it was. No matter what she
said or asked, Parker wouldn’t answer, keeping his eyes fixed to the road. When
she turned to Jaxon instead, he drew a pinched finger and thumb across his
mouth in a zipping motion, then shrugged.

Disgruntled, and more confused
than ever, she sat back with her arms crossed and a scowl on her face. She
didn’t know which was worse, knowing she’d been kidnapped by some guys who were
looking for an orgy, or the fact she wanted to participate.

I am turning into a major slut.

“We should stop in town and buy her some things, seeing as how
everything else of hers was destroyed.”

Gavin’s voice, after such a long period of introspective silence,
jolted Wyatt. Especially since they’d spent the last few hours coasting along
at a moderate speed, keeping an eye open for any vehicles that might be
trailing after them.

“You can emasculate yourself all you want browsing through the
underwear section at the local Walmart, but count me out.”

“There’s nothing wrong with buying a woman some underwear, especially
when she’s your mate,” Gavin replied indignantly.

“Yeah, but she’s not mine. So no way am I prancing around holding up
tops and pants, going, ‘Do you think she’d like this?’” Wyatt adopted a high-pitched
tone that caused Gavin to let go of the steering wheel so he could launch a
fist his way. Taking the blow with a grunt, Wyatt laughed. “You haven’t even
touched her pussy yet, and you’re already whipped.”

“Look who’s talking,” snorted Gavin. “You are trying so hard to
bullshit that you don’t give a damn that your face is turning a deep shade of
brown.”

“Don’t try and make up crap that doesn’t exist,” Wyatt snarled. “The
girl might be your woman, but that doesn’t make her mine.”

“Liar. Keep fighting it then. I can’t wait to see how you’re going to
cope when I make her cry out in pleasure tonight. Her sweet, hot flesh wrapped
around my cock. Her—”

It was Gavin’s turn to grunt as Wyatt smacked him back. “I am not going
to be jealous. Or envious. Or anything, because Bailey means nothing to me.”
Adamant words he spoke, and yet, Wyatt recognized them as false. “Let me off
here.”

“Here” was a deserted spot that marked the outer edge of the park, a
few miles from town. Slowing down, Gavin, put the SUV in park and gave him a
hard look.

“I know you’re in denial, but do me a favor and think long and hard
about Bailey. About becoming her mate. If I have to share her with anyone, I’d
really prefer it to be you.”

“Assuming she’ll even have me. You seem to forget, she knows nothing of
our ways. And with Nathan’s new rules, it’s her choice despite what you did
back at her place. Even if I did want to, I doubt she’ll overcome her human
upbringing enough to ever agree to it.”

“So we show her why two men is better than one.”

A rusty chuckle escaped him. “Damn, like those girls we tag-teamed in
college? Fuck. I’d almost forgotten about that.” Again a lie. No man could ever
forget the incredible eroticness of sharing a woman’s body with another.

“Think about it while you’re taking your run in the woods. And while I’d
really prefer no interruptions tonight for our first time together, you are
more than welcome anytime after that.”

Wyatt didn’t trust himself to reply, not with his mind suddenly full of
images that made his cock stiffen. He swung out of the truck and stripped
quickly in the shadows before he handed his clothes to his friend. Shifting first
into his beast, a bone-melting and crunching transformation that, while painful,
no longer made him scream, he tore off into the woods. He needed to run to
clear his mind before he dealt with the female who roused a myriad of feelings
in him that he didn’t know how to deal with, that made him want things he’d
never imagined.

Lust he could understand. She possessed a fine figure made for
accepting a man’s body and seed.

Protectiveness he could fathom as well, because of her ordeal and her
fragile nature. What male wouldn’t want to step up and take over the role of
hero? However, thoughts of forever, and mating . . . what the fuck was that all
about?

Wyatt understood the whole mating process. A male met a nice-smelling
she-wolf, he bit her, and they settled down to have cubs, sometimes with
another male, or more, joining the group. Or, a male met a human female, he
fucked her, and kept her to himself, living out his days working for the pack while
watching others raise their cubs.

Then there was his situation. A human girl who wasn’t, who’d attracted
the attention, it seemed, of four males, and not just any males, two who could
have been pack alphas. It made no sense. In the history passed down by their
elders, he’d never heard of such a thing. And it drove him nuts that it had happened
to him.

I have no need or interest in
mating,
an easy thing to pronounce to himself and Gavin, but much harder
face-to-face with her, a dilemma made more difficult by the needs of his wolf.
Even now, his inner beast paced inside, agitated that he hadn’t marked the
female and that they were dawdling in the woods instead of making their way
instantly to her side to protect her.

Being forced wasn’t something that sat well with Wyatt, especially not
for something that would affect the rest of his life.
It’s not as if I don’t like her, and if I had to share with anyone,
this group of men would be my first choice.
Well, maybe not the annoying
Jaxon, but still, he could handle the pup. So what exactly bothered him the
most about the concept of mating with Bailey?

Until he found out, he’d fight the urge tooth and nail and take cold
showers.
Lots and lots of them
, he
amended, because as soon as he reached the outskirts of the campground where
Parker and Jaxon had already set up the tents, his wolf took over. Wyatt could
only watch, a passenger in his own mind, as his more bestial side, scenting the
female it wanted, bounded into the clearing they’d chosen to set up camp.

Of course, his wolf had forgotten one crucial fact. She didn’t know
what he and his pack brothers were. As soon as her eyes caught sight of him in
his wolf form—a formidable beast, if he did say so himself—she scrambled up
from the log she perched on and screamed loud enough to wake the dead. Before
Parker or Jaxon could reach her, Wyatt changed back to his human shape, causing
her to let loose with another formidable example of her lung capacity.

Slapping a hand over her mouth, he shushed her. It did nothing to calm
her. She twisted, but couldn’t manage to escape his clutches. Caught, she made
panicky sounds behind his hand that, for some reason, angered him.

As if I’d ever hurt her.

“Stop freaking out. It’s me, Wyatt.” That announcement did nothing to
calm her. Actually, she struggled even more, and Wyatt tightened his grip. “Oh,
for fuck’s sake. Would you knock it off? I’m a Lycan. Big fucking deal. We all
are, so the sooner you get over your hysterics, the quicker I get my hand off
your mouth and we can discourse like grown-ups.”

Ire flashed in her eyes, replacing her fear. Under the palm of his
hand, he felt her jaw work as she struggled to open her mouth. She didn’t
manage to, not with the tight seal he’d created, but the motion and the
situation suddenly caught up to him. It came to him that he stood very close to
her, naked, and while his one hand kept her silent, his other had somehow
curled around her waist to draw her into him. While his psyche might not have
instantly noticed the awkward situation, his cock certainly did, rising and
butting against her lower tummy.

Bite her.
His wolf’s demand
came through loud and clear.
Ah shit.

Wyatt jumped back from her, releasing her in his sudden need to escape.
He glanced about, looking for Jaxon or Parker to help defuse the situation, but
they’d melted into the woods, giving him some unwanted privacy.

At least she didn’t immediately start shrieking, but she looked far
from happy. “A Lycan. What the fuck is that?” she yelled, obscenity peppering
her language and making Wyatt wince. Men cursed. Women, well, they just didn’t,
damn it.

“Can you take it down a notch? I’d rather not announce it to the whole
fucking world.”

“Or what? You’ll maul me again? Go ahead. It’s what you all seem to do
best.”

“Oh, cut the melodrama. We’ve never actually hurt you. On the contrary,
everything we’ve done is to keep your ass safe.” Wyatt kept his words blunt
lest he give in to the temptation to cross the space between them and fold her
in his arms. He could see the tears brimming in her eyes despite her brave
words, and smell her fear. It roused every protective instinct he owned, plus
some he’d never known.

“Safe! You all keep saying that like it answers everything. Well, I’ve
got news for you. It doesn’t. I am not some goddamned object you can just pick up
and carry around. I am a person. Don’t you get that?”

“Yup, a person who’s in danger, so stop your whining.” He intentionally
goaded her, anything to wipe the terrified scent from her. Surely getting her
riled up was better than letting her stew in fear.

It worked. Her jaw dropped. “Whining? Screw you. I am so sick and tired
of all the bullshit and lies. I’ve had it. I am not doing anything or going
anywhere else until someone gives me some answers.” She planted her hands on
her hips in a belligerent stance.

Face-to-face with her wrath, Wyatt found himself utterly enchanted. Her
eyes flashed, her cheeks bloomed, and her chest heaved. Hot damn, did his wolf
fight for control, wanting to mark the feisty female who’d managed to upset his
carefully balanced world—a woman he wanted to suddenly claim as his own with a ferocity
that shocked him.

Not without a fight I’m not.
He
couldn’t claim her if she didn’t want him.

“Were your ears not working earlier? I told you the truth when I said
we’re Lycan. As in werewolves. You know, men who turn into wolves.” He flashed
some teeth at her.

Uncertainty crossed her face. “Impossible.”

He snorted. “Really? ’Cause just a second ago you were screaming mighty
hard for someone who didn’t believe her own eyes.”

“It’s the stress of it all. I must have imagined it.”

“Imagined a massive wolf turning into a man? If that’s the case, how
come I know exactly what you saw?”

“I’ve heard of hallucinations being contagious. Some kind of crowd
effect.”

“Think again, sunshine. It was real, and you know it.”

“Oh yeah? Then show me again.”

“Why the fuck would I do that? My ears are still ringing from the last
time.”

Crossing her arms over her chest, she tapped her foot. “Listen here,
asshole. In the last little while, I’ve been kidnapped, drugged, almost raped,
attacked by wolves, rescued and then kidnapped again, attacked, and brought to
some faraway woods with killer squirrels by a perverted sex cult who thinks
they’re werewolves. I think I deserve a little understanding, so would it kill
you to fucking show me your furry dog again?” She ended her speech on a holler.

“Are you on your period or something?” he replied. “’Cause you’re
awfully crabby.”

“Oooh!” Her inarticulate cry of rage went well with her swinging fists
and charge that took her right into his body. Not that she did any damage. He
caught her flailing wrists and yanked her arms above her head, pulling her taut
against his body.

“Enough of the temper tantrums, sunshine. I am a Lycan. Accept it, and
no, I am not changing my skin like some trained circus animal to prove it
again.” Besides, he didn’t trust his wolf to not take what it wanted, mainly
Bailey.

“Nothing makes sense anymore.”

“I don’t like this situation any better than you. You think I want to babysit
some human girl who’s not a wolf?”

“Then let me go.”

He shook his head. “No can do. You’re a part of this group now whether
you like it or not. Gavin made sure of that when he marked you.”

“That’s the second time you’ve said that. What the hell are you talking
about?”

“Remember when you bit each other?”

She nodded her head.

“With Lycans that’s the same as marriage.”

“What!” Her eyes just about fell out of her head. “I never agreed to
that.”

“Doesn’t matter. The blood bond has been formed between you and Gavin.
It’s unbreakable.” He didn’t mention that death could sever it. She might take
that as an invitation to go on a murderous spree.

“I don’t believe you.”

“Believe it, sunshine. And be careful, you’re making my wolf really
agitated. I’d hate to accidentally bite you too. I doubt either of us would
like that.”

“You mean, be married to two of you?” Her voice dropped to a whisper.
“Parker said something about that, but that’s crazy. I mean, normal people
don’t marry multiple people.”

“But we’re not normal.” He drew her closer as he said this, his gaze
locked to hers. Her body trembled, and he couldn’t stop himself from touching his
lips to hers. A touch he hadn’t meant, but once started, he couldn’t stop. He
took what she so innocently offered, tasted the sweetness of her mouth, and
wanted more.

The crackling sound of underbrush as several someones approached camp
in an obvious fashion made him release her and stumble back as if burned.

Not burned enough, though, according to his throbbing cock. It screamed
at him to finish what he’d started, a need forgotten when Gavin stepped from
the woods flanked by Jaxon and Parker, who helped him carry some boxes.

“Did you marry me when you bit me?” she blurted upon seeing Gavin.

Looking startled, Gavin hesitated. “Um, kind of.”

“I want a divorce!” Bailey yelled. “You—you jerk.”

“No,” was his flat reply. Stormy blue eyes met Wyatt’s. “What the fuck
happened while I was gone?” he snarled.

“Mr. Calm and Collected accidentally strode into camp wearing his
wolf,” Jaxon announced, earning himself a throttling for later.

“Then he shifted to try and calm her,” Parker added.

“And that’s when I found out we’re supposedly married. I didn’t agree
to that, so you annul whatever you did, cowboy, right now!” Bailey practically
spat, she was so livid.

Wyatt didn’t envy Gavin’s duty of calming her down and refused to feel
guilt over having caused the current turmoil.
She would have found out sooner or later. No time like the present, I
always say.