Hour of the Lion (The Wild Hunt Legacy #1) (42 page)

The glimmer of tears in her eyes was shocking. Terrifying. What had he said wrong?

―I…care about you too. And Alec. But I still went upstairs with—‖

Alec picked her up in his arms and sank down into the blankets. ―You‘re not hearing him.

Shut up and listen, Vixen.‖

She stiffened, her gaze meeting Alec‘s eyes, and then she sighed. ―You‘re right. Okay.‖

Calum sat beside them. He pressed a kiss to her wrist, felt the tiny pulse throbbing away.

―For our race to continue, a woman needs to mate with many, Victoria. And we recognize that.

We honor that. The Gatherings are not only biological, they‘re traditional.‖

―I really didn‘t do anything wrong?‖ She bit her lip.

She looked so like a little girl for a moment that Calum had a flash of how appealing her

children would be.

―And,‖ she continued, ―neither of you are mad at me? Or at Daniel, or—‖

Alec gave a short laugh. ―What‘s there to get mad at? You can‘t fight biology, Vixen.‖

―You really aren‘t,‖ she said wonderingly. ―Okay. Well, okay.‖ She tipped her head back to

kiss Alec and bestowed one on Calum.

―I very much needed that,‖ Calum murmured. ―I was quite worried there.‖

―Me, too.‖ Victoria took a deep breath. ―Where I come from, what I did—well.‖

―You wanted the other men—and then you didn‘t. That shows you‘ve formed an attachment.

To us.‖ Calum nodded at Alec. His brother set Victoria gently onto the blankets, and went to

rummage in the small pack he‘d carried up the mountain.

Finding it hard to think, Calum continued. ―Some people set up households. Much like

human marriages.‖

―Heather told me. And that sometimes there were more than just one man, one woman.‖ She

stared at her hands. ―I was glad, since I… I…‖

Calum‘s heart gave a massive thud. ―Since?‖

She scowled at the floor, then at him, her hands fisting. ―How can this be so fucking hard to

say?‖ Her mouth firmed and her chin came up and she looked like Joan of Arc heading for the

fires. ―Okay. Listen up—I love you. And Alec. Both of you.‖

She pressed her hand over her chest, wheezing a little.

It took all Calum‘s control not to just grab her right then. Alec, finally, returned—the slow

bastard—and handed Calum a lifemating bracelet, keeping one for himself. They knelt together, shoulder to shoulder, as they‘d spent their life. The rightness of it made Calum‘s throat tighten.

Victoria‘s eyes had widened. ―What—‖

Alec cleared his throat, his eyes suspiciously shiny. ―Vicki. We love you—both of us love

you. And—‖

Calum opened his hand, showed her the thin bracelet of tiny silvery discs held together with

interlaced strands of special elastic. ―Will you be our lifemate?‖

Oh. My. God. Vic wrapped her arms around herself, unable to speak. The brothers knelt in

front of her, Alec like a golden god, Calum a dark lord, both powerfully masculine. The most

courageous, honorable men she‘d ever known. Honest. Caring. And they want me.

She‘d never thought she‘d find a family outside of the military. But…they wanted her.

Alec‘s eyes had no laughter in them, just…need. He needed her and Calum… His gaze was

steady, controlled, but she could see—when had she learned to read him so well?—could see he

needed her too. And loved her. They wanted her in their lives. Even as her throat tightened,

tingling fireworks were going off in her chest. Yes, yes, yes.

No. Think, Sergeant. Could she accept? Really? But the idea of saying no was intolerable,

and her answer escaped before she talked herself out of it. ―Oh, yes. Yes, yes. Fucking-A, yes.‖

Alec grinned at Calum. ―I think that means she accepts.‖ He grabbed the knot on her

blanket, yanking her forward to kiss her, oh, so sweetly. ―I love you, Vixen,‖ he whispered.

And then Calum pulled her toward him. He framed her face with his hands, seemed about to

say something, and kissed her instead. Tender and yet with that unconscious demand that she

offer all of herself. He raised his head and traced her wet lips with one finger, then said, ―Give

me your hand.‖

She put her fingers in his, and when he slid the bracelet onto her left arm and pressed a kiss

to her wrist, her eyes blurred with tears.

―My turn.‖ Alec cupped her face, using his thumbs to wipe away the wetness. He took her

hand and slid his bracelet onto the same wrist. ―I‘ve wanted to do this for so long,‖ he muttered,

making her laugh before she kissed him.

―Now you.‖ Alec handed her two larger bracelets.

Her eyes widened. ―I get to tag you as mine?‖ Damn right. When they offered their left

hands, she slid one on each man, admired the glinting discs against the dark and golden skin.

―Hey. What happens when we trawsfur?‖

Alec‘s smile was almost lethal. ―We‘ll show you. In a bit.‖ Grinning, he hauled her out of

the blankets. ―Why don‘t you have something to eat? Calum and I need to chop up some

firewood before we leave.‖

Leave huh? She sighed. Reality always came too soon. After she took care of necessities,

washed up, and dressed, she found that they‘d left a pot of soup simmering on the fire. Coffee.

Soup. Not a bad breakfast.

As the men came back in, stomping snow off their boots, she blinked at the view through the

open door. The last rays of the sun showed in the west. ―I slept all day?‖

Calum joined her at the table, nuzzling her neck. ―We thought you‘d never wake up. How do

you feel?‖

―Fine.‖ Her eyes narrowed at his odd expression. ―Why?‖ she asked suspiciously. Why were

they watching her as if she was a fresh-baked chocolate chip cookie?

Alec came up behind her, wrapped his arms around her. ―The bracelets show we‘re

lifemated—married, so to speak. Tonight is‖—he thought for a second—―kind of a bonus ritual.

If everyone in the lifemating is the same animal, like we‘re all werecats, then there‘s a special

magic for us.‖

―Like what?‖

Calum glanced at Alec, smiled slightly. ―You‘ll see.‖

―Let‘s go play in the snow,‖ Alec said, his voice hoarse.

Again? ―Excuse me, but it‘s really cold out there, guys. I don‘t feel like freezing my ass o–‖

Calum‘s eyes were intent. ―Strip, cariad. Now.‖

Her nipples tightened under the power of his gaze, and heat unfurled inside her. Protest?

Hell, no. Sir, yes, sir. She pulled her shirt over her head, then the rest.

Following suit, the men dropped their clothing on the floor and dragged her out the door.

Fuck, it couldn‘t be more than twenty degrees. She shivered, her feet burning on the frozen

ground. Forget sex; find me a fire. She backed up to the threshold.

Calum‘s eyes caught hers, darkened. ―Trawsfur. Now.‖

It felt as if he‘d shoved her through that weird shifter door in her head. How did he do that?

The tingling washed over her skin, sank deep inside, and she could almost feel her bones

changing. She dropped to all fours and chuffed a complaint at him. But at least the snow didn‘t

freeze her paws. Her lifemating bracelets gleamed on her front leg, half-buried in thick tawny

fur, and delight washed away her irritation.

Still in human form, Alec leaned over, stroked her back. As his scent curled around her,

heady and powerful, she purred and butted her head against his bare leg. He put his hand

underneath her muzzle. ―Vixen,‖ he said. His grin was carnal. Dangerous. ― Run.‖

Without him? It must be part of the ritual. So she leaped away, bounding up the mountain,

the snow flying behind her. Her muscles stretched and warmed, and a minute later, she heard the

men behind her. The scent of their musk on the wind changed something inside her and heated

her blood. Her leaps grew longer, stronger.

A shadow—Calum‘s dark fur—flashed through the trees to her left. He ran in front of her,

his powerful grace mesmerizing.

She barely saw a movement to the right before it struck, blindsiding her, and tumbling her

onto her side. Her paws scrambled uselessly in the snow for a second. Too long.

Even as she rolled back onto her stomach, the golden cougar was on her. Alec. His teeth

closed on her neck, holding her securely. His front paws wrapped around her, pinning her in

place, and heat rose within her at the feel of his body on top of hers. She yowled, almost

maddened by the all-consuming craving that roared through her. His purr deafened her ears as

she lifted her hind quarters to him, need gripping her even more savagely than his claws.

He entered her, long, hot, and hard, almost painful with his urgency. She took him in, filled

with him, the feeling dizzying. And suddenly, they were human, her breasts swayed with his

thrusts, her hands buried in the snow. His grip—human fingers—tightened on her hips as he

hammered into her from the rear, deep and fast. She braced herself on her forearms, pushing

back to meet him. Each thrust sent shivers through her, the sensations more and more

compelling, until she screamed as she exploded, coming over and over in massive shudders.

With the roar of a conqueror, he spasmed inside her, filling her with hot seed.

Shaken at the suddenness of the mating, the strangeness, she could only quiver under him

and try to get her thoughts together.

As he withdrew, she hissed at the emptiness, the loss.

He rumbled a laugh. ―Our mate.‖ He kissed her cheek before standing. As the moonlight

glinted over his skin, he blurred into a cougar again. She felt the tingle and without warning, she

was in animal shape.

Confused, she started to turn to face him. What the hell is going on? He bit her sharply on

her hind leg, then again, spurring her up the mountain.

Bastard male. Running hard, she left him behind. She didn‘t need him, didn‘t need anyone,

only herself and her powerful body. The moon rose over the eastern peaks, flooding the snow-

filled forest with an eerie glow. The air was sharp enough to cut and scented with pine. Her

blood sang joyfully with the rhythm of her paws.

As she ran beneath a cliff, something moved on the overhang, and a dark cougar landed on

her, pinning her flat.

Calum. His muzzle rubbed over her fur, engulfing her in his scent, before he sank his teeth

into her neck. She lunged forward, trying to escape, and his claws curled into her sides in

warning. His fierceness sent need sizzling in her veins even as his heavy weight pinned her in

place. Heat blazed through her, and she lifted up to receive his savage thrust.

Oh God. His penetration blasted awake every nerve ending, and she pushed up higher.

As his cock hammered into her, somehow, somewhen, they shifted to human, and his bare

chest rubbed against her back. His hands were implacable on her hips, not letting her move or

evade him. He was hard and thick, filling her almost too full, and she was still sensitive from

Alec‘s use. His fingers found her breasts, her nipples, pinching just enough to send hot jolts of

pleasure to her core. The burning inside grew, pulsing with his thrusts, becoming unendurable.

His knees pressed hers outward until she opened fully, and he could slide into her even deeper.

Panting, she tried to move, but one arm curled around her stomach to hold her in place.

Growling, he slowed, each stroke sending her closer. And then, with one final intense thrust, he

ground into her, so deep, and a blizzard of pleasure engulfed her, spasm after spasm, as his own

release came.

Legs trembling, she sagged in his embrace. He nuzzled her neck, his beard shadow

scratching and making her shiver. ―Beautiful Victoria,‖ he murmured. ―Our mate.‖ As he slowly

withdrew, he kissed her nape, his lips soft against the burning bitemarks. And whispered, ―Run.‖

Over and over through the night, she‘d bound away, escaping in the moon-dappled forest.

Each time, they‘d trap her and then take her, shifting back and forth between human and cougar,

giving her pleasure each time until the moon disappeared behind the western mountains. Until

her legs in either form shook and she staggered.

As darkness crept across the world, the two male cougars joined her, one on each side,

maneuvering her back to the cabin.

Shifting to human, she pushed the door open and stepped inside. Her legs gave out, and only

Calum‘s quick grip kept her from falling. Lifting her easily, he carried her to the blankets.

As Alec tossed a log onto the fire, Calum pulled her into his arms. Alec snuggled on the

other side, sandwiching her between them.

―You guys have a really warped notion of a honeymoon,‖ she whispered, shivering a little at

the memory of teeth biting her neck, claws holding her.

Alec‘s hand cupped her breast, comfortingly, possessively. ―Only lifemates who are all the

same animal get to mate in both forms,‖ he murmured. ―I love you, Vixen.‖

Calum‘s big palm settled warm against her stomach, his voice rumbled in her ear, ―I love

you, little cat.‖

Married. She was married. Well, yeah, so they called it lifemated, but it was really being married.

Vic turned off the shower and dashed into the bedroom. Calum had already left, and the

clock said three o‘clock. Talk about running really late, dammit.

It was this married stuff doing it too. Married. Over the past few days, she kept repeating the word, and her stomach quivered like fucking Jell-O each time. Whatever happened to planning

out major life-altering events?

She‘d never been so happy. Ever.

After yanking on a shirt and jeans, she smiled. Her life had started to feel almost normal—as