Fated Shifter Mates Page 9

  “What do you have in mind?”

  “Umm,” said Marcus with long lick up my spine that made me shiver. “This.”

  Drew cupped his hand on my breast. “And this.”

  Cole leaned forward and kissed my mound. “This, mmm.”

  “And,” said Zain. He leaned over me and took a nipple in my mouth and sucked on it hard.

  And I would be lying if I said that having four hot men in bed with me didn’t turn me on. Because I was lit like a Christmas tree and every part of my body tingled and sparked as they licked me in every way possible. I floated into a world of sensation somewhere between Drew nibbling the inside of my elbow and Marcus licking behind my ear. Zain claimed my mouth with a hot kiss that stole the breath out of my mouth.

  Marcus rose for a minute, and I whimpered from the loss of him. But he returned quickly and sitting against the headboard, hitched me on his lap. His thick and hard cock pressed into the crease of my butt. Marcus pulled me up and pressed the head of his cock to my slit, splitting me in half.

  “You’re so tight,” he gasped. He held my hips as I rode him, pulling me down hard, filling me, and each plunge lifted me higher. I opened my eyes to see Zain, Cole and Drew staring at me and Marcus, pulling on their shafts, eyes blown with lust. It was the hottest thing I ever saw, and I fell over the edge, white stars flying through my body and before my eyes.

  Zain

  Our mate was beautiful and seeing how we all brought her pleasure made everything right. Cole, Drew, and Marcus, cousins by blood, were my brothers in my heart. How could I not love all of them and her together?

  I don’t know what the future will bring, but we had to get these bikers off the road, and Xavier Lane in jail. I’m not sure how Ellie would feel about that, but there didn’t seem to be love lost between them.

  As we all cleaned quickly with water from the cold pond, I spoke up.

  “They’ll be back,” I said. “Lane was here twice, this second time with friends. We have to go after them.”

  “No,” said Marcus. “He’ll be back for her”.

  I shook my head because what Marcus is thinking is not how we are going. “No way are we setting her up as bait.”

  “I don’t think you can avoid it,” Ellie said. “If you expect me to stay here, then we are going to have to let him come to me and deal with him then.”

  My cousins grumbled, and I agreed with the sentiment. But she also makes sense, damn it. Putting her in danger, though, goes against the grain.

  “Then let’s go the lodge and wait it out.”

  “He’ll know we are there?”

  “We’ll turn on all the lights,” said Cole, “and fire up the main fireplace to send up a smoke signal from the chimney. The whole valley will know the Clarks are home.”

  The late afternoon sun slanted through the darkening treetops as we walked into the lodge. Drew, Marcus and I spread out and checked the property around the house to make sure no one broke in while Ellie stood on the porch biting her nails. I wanted to reassure her that everything would be fine. But she probably knew better than we the type of criminal we were dealing with. From what Marcus said they were going to kill that FBI agent Cortez.

  Once we got inside, Drew set the fire, Cole and Marcus busied themselves with dinner together, and I pulled Ellie to the couch.

  “Come sit with me,” I said, and she sighed and snuggled next to me.”

  “Don’t get too comfortable there,” said Drew. “I’ll be there in a minute.”

  “You can try,” I said with a smirk.

  Ellie slapped my arm. “Stop.”

  “Sassy? Are you being sassy?” I rumbled in her ear.

  “Yes.”

  “Good. I like it. Drew, go check the perimeter.”

  “Let a guy get a couple sandwiches first. We’ll hear their bikes if they arrive.”

  Her face saddened. “How is this all supposed to work out?”

  “We’ll take it one day at a time.”

  “Don’t let him put you off,” said Drew. “He can take a while making a decision.”

  “Drew,” I growled.

  “Yeah,” said Cole, coming from the kitchen carrying a plate of sandwiches. “Zain’s decision tree is tall.”

  “Don’t ‘dis your Alpha,” I said.

  “I like your tall tree,” Ellie murmured in my ear. She smiled, and sunshine filled my chest despite the situation we were in.

  An inappropriate comment about her tasty bush stuck in my throat. I’m sure it wouldn’t be appreciated now. I kissed the top of her head.

  “So, tell us about your father.”

  Marcus walked into the room holding beers and handed them out to us.

  “I was little, no more than seven, when the Witsec agents showed up and took us away. I didn’t understand why, but my mom was afraid, and I didn’t have much choice. I learned years later that Mom went to them and said she had information if they would protect us. Turns out the government couldn’t make their case against him, though they got a few of his lesser soldiers. When my mom was in court, he threatened her life. After that we moved so often I don’t remember all the towns we lived in, though during my teenage years, it wasn’t as often. When my mom died a couple months ago, I decided to get out. He wanted her, not me. At least that is what I thought.”

  “With what Marcus witnessed,” I said. “We have him cold on conspiracy to commit murder. If he shows up, we’ll arrest him.”

  “And then what? He has a nationwide network of bikers who will do anything he says. You four will always be in danger.”

  “Hey,” said Marcus with a wide grin, “If I can survive a trapped deer, I can handle anything.”

  “It was a fawn,” said Cole.

  “Deer. Fawn. Both have sharp hooves.”

  Ellie bit her lip, and consternation filled her face.

  “There are hundreds of them, and four of you.”

  “The odds sound about right,” said Drew.

  “You let us worry about Xavier Lane and Satan’s Sons,” I said. “Here, have a sandwich.” Ellie shook her head, and my bear rumbled his disapproval. I hold up the sandwich again.

  “Let her be, Zain,” said Cole.

  “Fine,” I said, tearing into it.

  “What was that?” said Drew. “I thought I saw lights outside.

  All four of stood.

  “Take her to the bathroom, Cole.”

  “What?” Why?” said Ellie.

  “It has no windows,” I said. “It’s the safest room on this floor.”

  “Come,” said Cole. “With you safe, these guys can do what they do best.”

  A loud bang shot through the room, and the glass from the window next to the door shattered, spraying shards through the room. I pushed Ellie’s head down, as the door flew open.

  “Back to the hall,” I shouted. We needed a defensible choke point, and the hall was the best place.

  Cole pulled Ellie back toward the hall as men poured in the front door. Marcus, Drew and I looked at each other. We couldn’t shift or these men would witness our secret. We all dove behind the long couch that sat in front of the fireplace though it wasn’t a great defensible location since it was a sunken living room. I pulled on the top of the couch and getting the idea, Drew and Marcus followed so we flipped the great piece of furniture on us. I had the idea that if we had cover we could shift, and it would have worked but for the bullet that winged my shoulder causing me to fall and hit my head.

  Marcus

  Fuck. Watching Zain fall was a shock. He was breathing, and while he was bleeding that wouldn’t last long. Our shifting abilities by virtue of rearranging muscle, bone and sinew gave us extra-fast healing abilities. I was more concerned that he was knocked cold, but I can’t think about that. About six of Satan’s Sons stood inside our lodge now with their guns trained on us.

  Drew sucked in a breath when a man that fit Xavier Lane’s description strolled in. He sneered at us and we let go of the couch to thud i
t back into position.

  “Where’s Ainsley?”

  “I don’t know an Ainsley,” I said.

  He snorted. “Ainsley!” he called. “Come see your daddy.”

  “I told you. There is no Ainsley here.”

  Lane nodded his head to one of his men who pulled the trigger to send a shot whizzing by my head.

  “No!” cried Ellie, and I closed my eyes for a second. “Leave them alone!” She ran out of the hall shaking off Cole and skidded to a stop to face Lane.

  “What do you want?” she snapped. “Why are you bothering me? Why are you following me?”

  Lane’s face hardened, and I could see that this is not the right tack to take with him.

  “They took you from me, Ainsley.”

  “You’re a criminal.”

  “Who told you that? Your mother? Faithless whore.”

  “Don’t talk about my mother. She didn’t run drugs and guns and whatever else you got your hands on.”

  “She poisoned you to me. The things she said I did, I didn’t.”

  “Liar!”

  “They couldn’t make their case against me.”

  “No. Other people went to jail for you. In any case, I want nothing to do with you.”

  “Too bad. Where’s your mother?”

  “She’s dead, asshole,” Ellie said with vehemence. “You worried her to death.”

  He chuckled, and Ellie’s expression betrayed the depths of her anger toward Lane.

  “Spitfire. Like your mother. So, the witch is dead.”

  “I said shut up about my mother.”

  “Where’s her locket?”

  I hadn’t thought about it, but Ellie did wear a locket. Her tee shirt covered it now.

  Lane stepped forward, closer to Ellie, and she backed away.

  “I don’t know,” said Ellie defiantly. “I don’t remember a locket.”

  “No. She had it. I saw it that day in court. Other times too, when I got close. Of course, she’d find out somehow, and you’d be gone in a couple hours. Clever of her to keep Witsec moving her around. Now, Ainsley, the locket. Or your friends will suffer for it.”

  Ellie glanced at us and sucked in a breath when she saw Zain unconscious and bleeding on the floor.

  “Then you’ll leave and not bother us again.”

  “Oh, we’ll leave. Give me the locket, Ainsley.”

  With inching slowness, Ellie unclasped her necklace then handed it to Lane. With a grin, he pried open the back, and a key fell into his hand.

  “Very good. Okay, come along, Ainsley.” He turned to walk out the door.

  “I’m not going anywhere with you.”

  “Which one of your friends do you want to die first?” he said. “Come, we have a long journey before we get to the bank that has the safety deposit box holding the money she stole from me. And since she isn’t here to claim it, it’s going to have to be you.”

  “Don’t do it,” called Cole.

  Lane glanced at him as if Cole was a bug not worth the biker’s time. “Do you want him to die first, Ainsley?” he said with a sneer.

  “Don’t hurt him. Don’t hurt any of them.”

  “I don’t see where I have a choice.”

  “Then kill me too, because if you do single thing to harm them I will not go with you.”

  “Ellie,” said Drew. “You don’t have to do this.”

  Her face was heartbreakingly sad.

  “I told you he wasn’t going to leave us alone. I have too. Goodbye. Tell Zain, it was all wonderful.”

  “No, Ellie!” cried Cole.

  I stood and watched all that was our life crumble away as Ellie walked out the door escorted by two of Lane’s goons. How could she do this? How could we let her?

  “Now,” said Lane. And the four men standing next to him opened fire, hitting me, Drew and Cole as we ducked and turned, looking for a way to avoid the bullets. The last thing I remember hearing is Ellie’s screams.

  Drew

  Pain shot through my body as I woke. A chilly wind streamed through the smashed-out window that displayed the night sky. Then a shadow stood over me.

  “How are you?” rumbled a thoroughly-displeased Zain.

  I forced my eyes open and groaned as I remembered Ellie getting dragged away by Lane’s bikers.

  “Ellie,” I said miserably. “They have Ellie.”

  “Marcus and Cole told me.”

  I held my pounding head in my hand and scanned the room. Marcus and Cole weren’t here.

  “Where are they?”

  “Scouting the property and looking for Ellie.”

  I sat up with a groan.

  “Man, what did they do to me?”

  “Gunshot. Grazed the head, nicked your ear. It’s healed there, mostly. There’s a notch in your earlobe.”

  “Fabulous,” I said rubbing my ear. “What’s the plan?”

  “We’re going to get her. And then we’ll call the FBI and clean this scum out. I’ve called Cortez and let him know what happened. He’ll call people he knows in Witsec to see if they know anything about Lane’s alleged missing money and where it might be. FBI’s on the case, but I figure that it’s safer for Ellie if we get her out before the FBI catches up with them.”

  “I’m with you.” Zain held out a hand and helped me up. He looked fine, and probably on his next shift the bullet in his shoulder will pop out.

  “How’s your head?” I asked. “You were knocked out cold.”

  Before he could answer, Marcus and Drew burst in the shattered doorway.

  “I got a call,” said Marcus, “from another group of bikers I caught up with yesterday. They saw Satan’s Sons about thirty miles south. They didn’t get far in the dark last night.”

  “Let’s go,” said Zain strapping on his gun.

  The drive south was grim, and we barely spoke. The events of last night played out in my head. I should have gone out on patrol when Zain told me, but I thought he was just trying to steal some extra time with Ellie. Looking back, I just didn’t want to leave Ellie’s side, which was common with a mate bond. My parents were like that, following each other around the house, and since I was a kid, I didn’t think anything about it. Now, I understood exactly how they felt.

  But that doesn’t absolve me of the guilt that gnaws at my gut. I let myself get distracted, and we all suffered. But what’s worse was that Ellie was in the hands of a maniac.

  How stupid could we be?

  The miles rolled under us, and the moon rose. I looked out over my shoulder to stare at the pale orb with its smiling ghostly face, neither male nor female, staring down on the earth. On a night like this, being derived from nocturnal black bears, we’d shift and prowl the woods to hunt or fish. Walking under the moon, with only our thoughts and our paws padding the earth centered us.

  Marcus scowled at his phone as we traveled, trying to figure the most likely place they would be. He called the numbers of the few campgrounds in the area, waking up sleepy campground owners.

  “Got it!” he said. “A group of ten registered at the Happy Trails campground.”

  Zain’s face grew grimmer as we sped down the highway.

  “We’re going in, getting her, and leaving them to the authorities.”

  Nervous anticipation knotted my stomach, and anger fired through my veins. How dare these men walk on our property and take our mate? I growled.

  “Easy,” said Zain. “Save it for the bikers.

  We slid in slowly with the lights off into the entrance of the camp. Technically still the off-season, it was nearly empty, and in the distance through the scattered tree trunks do we see a flickering fire.

  Zain stopped in front of the main building, a log cabin with a broad porch that sat at the fork of two dirt roads that ran around either side of it. He turned the truck to face the driveway.

  “I’ll be right back. I’m going to inform the owners what’s going on. Get ready.”

  I couldn’t be more ready. From the express
ions on their faces, Marcus and Cole were too.

  The minutes ticked by, and Cole shifted in his seat. Marcus drummed his fingers on his thigh.

  “This is taking too long.”

  “We can’t take the chance of exposing the owners to danger,” I said.

  “I know, but what if there is a problem?”

  “Give him a few minutes. If Zain was in trouble, we’d hear about it.”

  Cole grumbled and opened his window. The whine of it resounded in the air around us.

  “Quiet,” I said.

  Cole grumbled and stuck his head out of the window, then pulled his head back in. “Nothing. I scent nothing.”

  “You mean Ellie,” asked Marcus.

  Cole nodded.

  Suddenly the truck door opened, and Zain climbed in.

  “Okay, I told the owners what we want to do, and we have their permission to search the premises. They didn’t like them when they showed up, but now that they know who they are, they want them gone. I told them to lock and bar their doors and windows and to get into the basement. I’ll call them when things are clear.”

  We nodded and waited for Zain to give us the signal to start.

  “The bikers are the only occupants of the campground, so that fire to our right is them. Marcus and Drew, you’ll shift and flank their sides. Cole, circle around the back in human form to find Ellie and get her away. If you can head to the truck, fine. If not, hold out in a safe corner.

  “Right,” he said.

  “I charge the front. Hopefully they are asleep, and we’ll surprise them.”

  “Damn straight,” said Marcus. “Trying to kill an FBI agent, shooting up the area law enforcement, kidnapping, and fleeing the scene of crimes is a tiring day’s work. They should be out cold.”

  “Let’s hope,” said Drew as he stripped.

  Cole slid out of the truck and made his way toward the campfire giving the area a wide berth. He’s an awesome woodsman and stealthy as a man or bear. Zain counted on his abilities here to get to Ellie quietly and safely. We gave him time to get there as we took off our clothes and in the moonlit dark slid into the shadows to make our way toward the biker’s camp.