Their Unexpected Mate [Paranormal Protection Unit] (Siren Publishing Ménage Amour) (9 page)

Repressing a shudder of need, he placed his hand on hers to keep her fingers from splaying too far and her realizing just how her touch was affecting him. Squeezing her hand, he thought of just how good it was going to feel to finally be with her, to be with his mate. A sigh of delight, of sheer need raced through him and he found himself motoring faster, getting them to her place sooner so that they could discuss with her just what was coming, the need that they felt to have her in their lives.

Mac frowned when he looked around the area. “Scythe, we have a shit storm of trouble,” he said simply as he touched his finger to the communications device in his ear. “I’ve found—” He then rose. Turning, he lifted his hands and looked at the threat.

Scythe stilled and scented the air. “On my way,” he said and started across the hills toward where his friend and partner had last been situated.

Moving with the grace of the wolf that he was, Scythe stalked the woods, kept his eyes on the surrounding area, and listened to the sounds of the world around him, his weapon drawn and at the ready.

Mac watched everything happening. He had seen the tracks in the fresh mud around the small creek that wound its way through his mate’s property. Someone had gotten onto his Katherine’s property and had been trying to get into her home. His bear was pissed, as was the man.

Lifting his face to the wind, he sniffed. He could smell the intruders and it was all he could do right now to keep from shifting and going after the motherfuckers who had invaded his woman’s place, who had come onto the property with every intention of going into his mate’s home. Pulling out his phone, Mac called Sullivan and growled. “Do not allow her out of your fucking sight. There is danger, far too close to her home. I will explain later,” he said simply, without hesitation, and with pure demand to comply in his voice. Without waiting on a reply, he closed the clamshell of the phone and turned with weapon drawn when he heard movement behind him. Dropping to his knee into a shooter’s stance, in one smooth movement he had the safety flipped from the weapon and aimed, as quickly as breathing.

Holding up his hands, Scythe said, “It’s me.” The wolf inside of Scythe was pissed, its ire was raised, and he had one hell of a time reining the bastard in. He scented the wind as well and growled. Turning along with Mac, they both went on the prowl, their military training as well as the beasts inside them making their movements silent.

Moving like the shadows that they were, both massive men approached the danger that was threatening theirs, their bond-mate, their woman, and together they tried to ensure that their presence wasn’t detected until the very last second.

With hand movements only, the men stopped as a unit. Scythe nodded and watched as Mac moved closer toward the shadow that was bending there near the brook, watched as he pulled a blade from his leather boot slowly, soundlessly. Mac watched the bent form for only a couple of moments before grabbing him by the back of his neck and pulling him to his feet, the knife at the man’s throat. “Don’t even swallow or I’m slicing your fucking throat open,” he growled, allowing the bear inside of him out just a small bit to snap at the man’s neck slightly.

Nodding to Scythe, who came around the corner, Mac pulled the knife back just a hair. “Tell us who sent you and why,” Scythe said as he stood in front of the man.

“Fuck you. I’m more afraid of them than you,” the man said and tried not to gulp, or he would slice his own throat. “I know that at least you all have some honor. These fuckers don’t.” The intruder kept his eyes on the large and formidable man in front of him because he knew that these men were deadly. Anyone who could get up on him without him knowing it was dangerous.

“Then tell us who these honorless weres are and we will take care of the fucks,” Scythe said slowly, his eyes on the man that his best friend held at knifepoint.

The man, instead of talking, pressed in closer to the silver knife held at his throat. He didn’t even flinch when the knife cut into his skin. Instead he allowed the gurgle to escape and then smiled. “I would rather die than have them know that I’ve fucking helped you.” He groaned and pressed closer to the weapon at the hand of Mac. “Kill me!” he demanded with spittle flying from his mouth.

“Not today,” Mac said instead of killing the shifter that had come to hurt their bond-mate. Pulling the blade from the man’s throat, he looked to Scythe and said, “Are they on the way?”

“Yes, Beta team is on their way now. They should be here in…” He looked at his watch and smiled. “Three, two…” And then there was the roar of a Dodge Ram pickup’s V10 engine coming up the backside of the property. “Let’s pass this asshole off. Let Bulldog and the Beta team get out of this little bastard who it is that’s coming for our mate.” He looked down at the shifter. “And she is our mate. Since you are a shifter you realize the import of that statement. The woman that you were going to hurt is the mate of three shifters. Three shifters who have been trained to kill, even beyond what our animals know. Three.” He leaned in and growled. “Three who will move Hell to see their mate safe. I suggest that you talk to the Beta team before we are able to get there to have our chat with you,” he said angrily and then pushed him up to his feet and toward the lion twins that approached.

“Everything. We want to know everything,” Scythe said simply. “We need to know who it is that has hired him. We need to know who it is that wants our mate,” he said with a low growl.

Skittles, their tech guru, jumped down from the back of the truck that had pulled up and sauntered up to them. Skittles was one of the only magic wielders of their unit. He said, “I might have a little information on that.” He ran a hand through his shaggy, dark-blond hair. “Seems as if your mate has a stepbrother. A true asshole, from what I’ve found out,” he said and pulled his ever-present iPad out of its protective cover and began to tap at the screen. “Seems as if the man is in over his head in debt, even though his late stepfather left him an assload of cash,” he murmured and scrolled until he found what he wanted. “Seems as if when his sister scampered off to this beautiful little bit of hell he started to freak because she froze her accounts. The house accounts, that is.” He moved from foot to foot. “Now the Mafiosi that he was in bed with are pissed because their cash isn’t being laundered just so.” He snapped his fingers and then said with a grin, “There it is.” He turned the screen to the man and grinned when he saw the shifter in cuffs flinch. “Yep, thought so.” He looked to Scythe and Mac.

“Seems as if big brother has given his sister’s location and her bank balance to the gentleman in question and he has decided”—Skittles looked again to the shifter in cuffs—“that he wants little Miss Katherine, am I right?” At the man’s look and swallow he nodded. “Thought so. So, boys.” He looked to Mac and Scythe. “If you can, I would ensure that there was always one of you at her side, because if he sent this weasel next will likely be the snakes.” He shuddered. “And we all know how fucking much I hate goddamn snakes,” he muttered.

Scythe growled when he spoke next. “Damn.” Snake-shifters were literally the lowest of the low. They would do anything at all for money. Well, anything except go to the cold parts of the world. “Think we can talk her into going to Alaska until winter here in Montana?” he only half joked.

Mac snorted. “Yeah, don’t think so.” He rubbed the bridge of his nose. “Have Bulldog have a go with our weasel friend here.” Bulldog was their leader, their Alpha in their self-made pack.

“Got it,” Ramsey said and looked to Riordan. “Rio, how about we tie him down in the bed of the truck and take the long way back to our HQ?” By tying him down they would ensure that the asshole wasn’t seen, and they would also make sure that the man had one bumpy-assed ride back to their base of operations.

Knowing that their brothers-in-arms had the shifter in hand, Mac and Scythe took off for Katherine’s home. Hopefully they wouldn’t be too far behind Sully and Katherine.

Katherine didn’t know why Sullivan had decided to take the long road back to her home, but she didn’t care. She enjoyed being on the bike behind him. Freedom was hers on the back of his bike. Closing her eyes, she smiled and leaned back, her arms wide and laughter spilling from her lips. Not knowing what was happening at her home, she simply enjoyed this time with Sullivan.

“Are you enjoying yourself, kitten?” Sully asked through the in-helmet microphone.

“So very much,” she said without hesitation. “Kitten.” She grinned. “I like that,” she admitted and wrapped her arms back around his middle. Hugging him close, she squeezed tightly and then loosened once more.

“Don’t let go, babe. I happen to like it when you hold me tightly,” he said and rested a gloved hand over her hands that were wrapped around his middle. “Don’t let me go, babe.” He meant far more than just her arms around his waist.

“I think that I’m going to take you up on that,” Katherine murmured. She was conflicted, uncertain about her feelings for the three men, but in that conflict there was an honesty of feeling that she had never before known. It was something that she wanted to hold onto, something that she wanted to understand fully and completely.

“Good, darlin’,” Sully said and gave her hand another squeeze, releasing her so that they could get themselves turning down the long drive to her home. Tonight would be the night that would determine the fate of himself and his brothers, because tonight they would either claim their mate, or they would fall apart when she ran from them screaming.

Feeling his tension, Katherine squeezed him again. “You worry too much, Sully,” she murmured and rubbed her hands up and down his chest, needing to pet him, as strange as that was.

“I know, darlin’, but when it’s your heart on the line you can’t seem to help from worryin’,” Sully admitted to her. “We will talk about it later, darlin’. Just promise me you will keep an open mind, darlin’?”

“Always,” Katherine said with a smile. “My middle name is ‘open-mind,’” she teased.

Sullivan certainly hoped so. He truly, truly prayed that the woman would be able to handle what they had to say, because if not he and his friends were in some serious fucking trouble because she was it for them. She was their one and only chance at any happiness at all.

Pulling up outside of her home, he helped her off the back of the bike first, holding on to her hand until she was steady on her feet, and then got off behind her, never once letting go of her hand as he did so. Taking the helmet off her head after pulling his off, Sullivan leaned in and brushed his cheek to hers. He growled. “I happen to really, really love riding with you, darlin’.”

Katherine felt her womb clench and her panties wet with need from a growl that she felt all the way to the soles of her feet. “God, I love that growl,” she panted, since she couldn’t seem to form a coherent thought to speak properly.

“Oh, baby, you are going to love tonight then,” Sullivan told her honestly and leaned in to press an openmouthed kiss to the side of her neck. “Come on, the boys are about to come up on us, darlin’, and we have a long talk to have before our night can begin.” His teeth very lightly nipped at her shoulder where neck and shoulder met. At her shiver, he grinned. “Later, darlin’, I’m going to mark you here as mine.”

“Goodness,” she whimpered. “That’s. Wow.” She fanned herself and nodded. “All right, yes, let’s head in, shall we?” Her words and thoughts were a complete jumbled mess but hopefully he understood just what it was that she was needing at that moment.

“Sure thing, darlin’,” Sully said with a proud grin, one that clearly said,
Yep, I did that
. He had made her forget everything. Hell fucking yeah, that felt amazing! Inhaling deeply, he had to fight his bear from the growling that was coming upon him. He could smell his mate’s need and his bear wanted to take care of her, now. Leaning down, he brushed his lips against hers, would have taken the kiss deeper but heard the bikes of his brother and brother-in-arms. Their little bond- mate was going to be in for the shock of her life tonight.

The frustration she suddenly felt flared in her eyes when he just brushed his lips to hers. Sullivan watched her worry her lower lip with her teeth and could have sworn he watched her stomp her pretty little foot before she spoke again. “Don’t give me promises you don’t intend to keep,” she warned him.

“Don’t you worry, darlin’. I fully plan on keeping every single promise that I make you. That is my vow, love,” he said simply and winked at her. “Come on, let’s get inside,” Sullivan said as he watched as Mac and Scythe pulled up. From Mac he got the truth of what happened through their mental link. He was ready to rip someone’s head off but kept himself from baring his teeth and growling. With his hand at her back he led her to her front door and let her unlock and open the door.

Stepping into the home before her with Scythe coming up behind her and distracting her, Sully quickly did a scent scan of the place to ensure no other had been there. Satisfied they hadn’t, he smiled as he watched Scythe, one of the deadliest men that he knew, pepper their mate with words of sweetness, and shook his head.

“Do you know just how beautiful you are, sweet?” Scythe asked as he ran a thumb over her jawline and whispered softly. “Beautiful.” Leaning in, he inhaled her and smiled. “Are you ready to hear the explanations that we have to give you, darling?” he whispered against her ear, his tongue darting out and touching the spot where Sully had gently nipped at her beautiful shoulder.

“I’m ready,” she told him quietly. Looking at Trey, she smiled. “Will it explain why you boys like to bite and lick?” She braced her hand on his chest and gravitated into his body. As she leaned against him, her nipples pebbled and the scent of her weeping pussy filled the space, the scent of her need and desire.

“I hope you don’t break our hearts,” Scythe whispered against her ear and pressed a kiss behind it after whispering his words to her.

“I doubt that’s going to happen.” She had known Trey the longest. She felt comfortable with him, but she did with Mac and Sully as well. These three men seemed to call to the very soul of the woman that she was. They meant more to her than she could possibly explain.