Bitten (Black Mountain Bears Book 2) (3 page)

Chapter Three

A
utumn slipped back into her loose sundress and turned toward the footsteps coming from the brush behind her. She frowned when only Gunnar came through, a resigned look on his face.

“So, no Jasper, I take it?”

“Something’s holding him back. I think appealing to his libido isn’t the right approach.”

Autumn let out a rueful laugh. She shook her head as she bent it to tie the laces of her loose, gauzy, peach-colored tunic over her breasts.

So much for her show. And so much for the fantasy of an afternoon she’d hoped for with the two men. She had a day, at most, before her estrous began. A day when she could actually maintain a little control over her reactions to a pair of virile males, to give Jasper a little time to ease into the idea of being chosen and marked by a female. Probably better that he’d run if he couldn’t be convinced of a true mating this soon.

“That was your idea,” she reminded Gunnar with a smile, ignoring the apprehensive twist in her gut. “I appreciate your faith in your seductive prowess—it works on me, if it makes you feel better. But I have a feeling as new as he is to his nature and his race, he might respond better to open, honest truth.”

Gunnar stalked across the stone and found his trousers and shirt, tugging them on in a huff.

“You’re frustrated . . . ” Autumn observed, though he wasn’t sporting a hard-on anymore. “Can I help?”

Gunnar glared at her, his red-eyed gaze cutting to her core. How had he managed to turn her so pliant in a matter of weeks since she’d come back? She’d do anything he asked.

“You know what I want, Autumn. And it isn’t your mouth, as talented as you are with it. I’m just pissed.”

“Don’t be angry at him. This is probably too new for him to process. And we have no idea what kinds of sexual experiences he’s had before.”

Gunnar came back to stand in front of her, his tall, broad-shouldered frame blocking out the sun. The rays of light turned his pale, wavy hair into a halo around his head. Autumn resisted brushing her fingers through it. She’d done the same so many times when he was younger, just as an affectionate gesture. Now that every touch shared between them meant so much more, she hesitated. Even touching his hair would set off a domino effect of sensual reactions she didn’t think she could withstand. They shouldn’t even have attempted an afternoon with Jasper, if her libido were any indication. She’d made the mistake of giving into it once before and had regretted it for the last two hundred years.

“I’m not pissed at
him
.” Gunnar raked his fingers through his damp, white hair, staring back at her desperately, crimson irises practically glowing with purpose. “I’m in love with him. I’m pissed at myself for being so impatient. We . . .
you
. . . just don’t have time. And it’s so fucking obvious how he feels.”

Autumn closed the distance and wrapped her arms around him. Gunnar enveloped her in his huge, comforting embrace, his cheek resting on top of her head. The dull burn in her core that portended the beginning of her estrous flared up. Masturbating only alleviated it so much, if she did it right. Once it was in full swing, this comforting, platonic contact with any male would be impossible.

If she wanted to mate and conceive this year, they had to do it within the next month, and if they wanted to fulfill their promise to Emma, they had to wait until they were outside. She couldn’t pass through the portal while pregnant, lest she risk miscarrying.

She wanted Jasper with them,
needed
him, whether he realized it or not. If she’d learned anything from her old mistakes, it was not to discount the overwhelming power she would be filled with once she conceived. Even if she had properly marked the first male she’d conceived with, so long ago, he would never have been enough to balance the power flooding her body from the new life growing inside her.

Emma needed them to follow through. Their offer to replace her mates as guardians outside the Sanctuary was Autumn’s priority. Her own needs had to take second stage. Her old regrets had no place in the middle of their goals.

Her estrous only happened every four years, and once it did, she was always rudely reminded of her obligation to her clan to reproduce. She’d endured it for over two centuries, but since that disastrous and regrettable event when she’d come of age, she’d had no interest whatsoever in mating. Nobody needed to know about that now, though. Two centuries should be enough time to leave behind a painful past. And the only other person who knew about it was so far removed from her, she’d nearly forgotten what he looked like.

Lie to yourself as much as you want—you still remember him vividly.

What she remembered most afterward was running from him. Not out of fear, but out of a need to escape heartbreak.

She’d left the Sundance Clan in the wake of the biggest mistake of her life and joined her Windchaser fathers outside the Sanctuary. She’d become a runner for the next two centuries and loved it. It gave her freedom and an excuse to avoid the past.

She still returned each cycle at the insistence of her parents, though. She was the daughter of a shaman, so a human mate would not do. Yet none of the males she met inside the Sanctuary held any interest for her.

It wasn’t until she’d returned to the Windchaser clan lodge after spending the most recent cycle Outside that her interests shifted. She’d known the Windchaser clan leader’s son, Gunnar, for his entire life—had practically watched him grow up in between her regular jaunts in the human world with her two fathers.

On this trip, she’d seen that Gunnar was no longer the awkward, white-haired boy she remembered, but a fully fleshed-out—and very handsome—mature male. She’d stopped thinking of him like a younger brother, and after only one hug and a whiff of his amazing, woody aroma, she was done with waiting.

Autumn clung to him now just as she had that day a month earlier, breathing deeply of his scent. Her heart skipped a beat when she caught another sweet musk mingled with his. A soft moan escaped her in response to the little spasm that quaked deep in her belly.
Jasper.

“Gaia, I smell him all over you,” she whispered, pulling back and pressing her nose to his chest.

Gunnar dug his fingers into her hips. “Autumn,” he said, pushing her back a few inches.

Opening her eyes, she realized she’d unintentionally manifested her claws and had punctured a series of holes in his shirt, the white fabric now tinged red around the edges from his blood.

“Fuck, I’m so sorry.” She snatched her hands away from him and backed up a few steps with her hands stuck under her armpits. She hated when she lost control enough for her claws to come out. Trying to get her breathing under control was another challenge, because all she could smell were their scents. When she looked up at Gunnar again, he was smiling.

“What?” she asked indignantly.

He let out a low chuckle that made the tremor in her middle grow into a steady pulse.

“I was a little worried you had only chosen him as your second for my sake, but now I know that’s not the case. You really are just as in love, aren’t you?”

She gave him a sheepish smile. “Baby, I spent two hundred years worried I was broken. Finding both of you within the span of a month is a dream come true. I am sorry to have to tell you, but as amazing as you are all by yourself, you would never have been enough for me.”

He grinned. “I think that’s a bonus. You do realize that
most
males would consider that a bonus, right? Or have you been hanging out with too many humans out there in the land of technology and bigotry?”

Autumn blanched at his characterization of the outside world. Did he really think that about the Outside? Gunnar wasn’t that far off, but . . .

“Sorry . . . I . . . sorry,” he said, stepping toward her and resting his hands on her arms.

“No, it’s all right. You’re somewhat on the money, but the humans I’ve spent time with are good people. Just remember that Jasper grew up in that world, so his reactions are probably part and parcel of his interactions with ‘technology and bigotry,’ as you so aptly put it. Being in here will be an adjustment for him.”

“Unless we can convince him to come with us,” Gunnar said.

“All the pieces are there, but I think he needs a little push, where we’ve just been pulling.”

Gunnar’s narrowed his eyes, his lips quirking slyly. “His sister?”

“Yes, and also Emma, his cousin. He worships her.”

He raised an eyebrow. “The princess? He worships her more than he worships you?”

Autumn’s face heated. She’d seen the surreptitious looks Jasper gave her, but didn’t think Gunn had noticed them.

“He’s known them his entire life. They have a deep connection.”

“Kind of like yours and mine,” Gunnar said, without a hint of humor.

Autumn’s gaze shot to his. “What do you mean?”

“I’ve loved you my whole life. The day you finally looked at me the way you look at me now . . . it was the best day ever. I hated the way you treated me like a younger brother. I kind of envy Jasper that he gets to go straight to being loved by you without having to endure the wait. But I guess he’s already been through the same kind of wait as I have. He just didn’t know it was you he was waiting for all along, and not his cousin.”

“It was the best day of my life, too,” Autumn said softly. “But I think we can top it together. And it was
us
he was waiting for all along. Not just me.”

Gunnar’s eyes held hers and a slow smile grew, along with his understanding.

“I would kiss you right now, if I trusted myself enough,” he said. “Be careful with him when you find him, all right? Make sure he understands what’s at stake. As much as I want a child with you, we can wait. At least until after we’re Outside together.”

“You’re not coming with me to talk to him?” she asked.

Gunnar snorted. “I need a few moments alone, and I think if I’m not with you when you talk to him, you’ll have better luck. He might not be able to look me in the eye, considering our little
tryst
.” He waved his hand to the shadows of the forest where she’d heard the two men together earlier. Her pussy clenched at the memory.

Autumn took a deep breath, nodded, and gave Gunnar’s arm a squeeze, then turned and made her way to the forest path. His mention of wanting a baby echoed in her mind as she walked. The old ache returned, along with the old regret.

The shift in her desires since seeing Gunnar, and then finding Jasper, still made her head spin. She wanted everything. Not only a pair of mates, but a child with them. Her midsection ached with longing when she thought about it. It wasn’t the same ache of need she felt when near the two men, but a more private need, one she had heard all females felt when they met their true match. She’d considered it ridiculous, until only a few weeks ago.

Then her reunion with Gunnar, followed by finding Jasper near death, had awakened it all in a rush. There wasn’t enough time for a slow courtship. Autumn’s estrous was beginning, would be in full swing soon. If she wanted it all, she had to convince Jasper to admit what she and Gunnar both knew he felt.

That was the easy part. Convincing Jasper to join them Outside before the month was out would be the hard part. Convincing him that her motivations were as much for love as for the preservation of their race would be even harder. She knew he’d already been informed of the circumstances surrounding their enemy and the existence of the other races. Of them all banding together to prepare for an all-out war. What the hell could he possibly be thinking now, except that she was simply desperate to conceive to fulfill the need to build an army for their inevitable war?

How the hell could she convince him it was nothing like that?

For that matter, how could she convince him she didn’t simply want him for breeding stock? After spending years among humans, she had a very different perspective on relationships than most ursa had. Her female human friends were so bound to the idea of the man being the provider and protector, the initiator during sex . . . all alien concepts to her, but alluring in some way. Jasper had grown up in that world. He
smelled
like that world, and she loved it so much she’d spent her nights imagining herself with Jasper and Gunn, eking out an idyllic little existence out there. And blowing the minds of the humans who witnessed it.

She was still smiling at the idea when a hand clamped over her mouth and a heavy arm wrapped around her torso.

“Scream and I’ll make sure you regret it.”

Defiantly, Autumn tried to scream, but she couldn’t catch her breath enough beyond the constriction of the arm pressed to her windpipe. Her vision grew dark as she clawed at the arm that held her. Just before she blacked out, she recognized his scent and the inflection in the low growl that rumbled in her ear.

Aidan?

Chapter Four

T
he pounding at his door startled Jasper out of his reverie. He’d been standing at the window watching the sunset, still struggling to avoid thinking about the afternoon. Small blasts of memory plagued him in between reading one of the most convoluted philosophical treatises he’d ever picked up. The library at this place astounded him, but nothing he tried reading managed to take his mind off Autumn and Gunnar, so he’d simply surrendered his mind to thoughts of them. He’d finally worked his way around to a decision of sorts—the decision to at least get them together so he could tell them both how he really felt and why he had to let them go.

The knocking on his door grew louder and more insistent. He finally couldn’t ignore it anymore when the door opened.

“Tell me you agreed. Please.”

Jasper turned from the window and stared, simultaneously aroused and terrified by the huge man who had just burst into his room.

“Agreed with what?” Jasper asked.

Gunnar stalked over to him and gripped him by the shoulders. Their eyes locked and for a second Jasper was sure the other man was going to punch him.

“With this.”

Gunnar’s lips crashed against Jasper’s, his tongue plowing between Jasper’s lips. Jasper’s will crumbled and his hands reflexively went to the sides of Gunnar’s face, holding on for dear life. Christ, the man could kiss. Jasper didn’t think he could ever get tired of what Gunnar could do with his mouth.

Both men were panting hard when Gunnar finally pulled away.

“Fuck,” Jasper whispered. He rubbed at his bruised mouth, smiling a little.

“Sorry, I couldn’t help myself. You need to understand that this isn’t a game for us. I don’t know what she told you already, but you and I need to agree to this partnership before she can mate us together.”

“Partnership? What partnership? We barely know each other.” Jasper turned and walked back to one of the reading chairs he’d spent half the afternoon sitting in. Being that close to Gunnar made it too difficult to think. He sank down with a sigh, still wallowing in the emotional repercussions his decision would leave him with.

Gunnar followed and parked himself on the footstool facing Jasper. Their knees brushed together, sending another little zing of pleasure straight to Jasper’s groin.

“I know you enjoyed this afternoon, maybe more than you’d like to admit. And it’s clear as day how much you want Autumn—I’ve seen the way you look at her. But if we can’t come to terms with being her mates together, she’ll have to find someone else. And with the promise we made your cousin, we’re running out of time.”

Jasper’s pulse sped up, leaving him a little dizzy. Gunnar’s words were coherent enough, but still so alien Jasper wasn’t sure he’d heard quite right.

He summoned the breath to speak, but his words only managed to come out in a gruff whisper. “Her mates . . . as in plural? Can you just pretend for a minute I have no idea what you’re talking about?”

Gunnar frowned. “I thought she would explain . . . ” After an impatient sigh, he said, “Ursa females frequently choose their mates in pairs. Like your cousin did. Julian and August were a bachelor pair before being called on to service her. She chose them instinctively, thanks to her estrous, but any other female would have had the prerogative to choose them as a unit. Females rarely break up a male pair, anyway. But if a female chooses a pair of males who aren’t already a couple, the pair have to agree to be together before she can mate them. It isn’t easy being a single male around women as fertile as Autumn is.”

“You mean us,” Jasper said, his mind tumbling over the afternoon, trying to reconcile it with his fears. Being cornered and sucked off by a naked man held such a different implication for him. It meant rejection, pain, humiliation.

“Yeah.” Gunnar’s voice cracked with emotion, his eyes glassy with emotion.

That sound, that look, was precisely the opposite reaction from the one Jasper had feared.

“So this afternoon . . . it was more than just for fun, wasn’t it? If I’d gone to Autumn . . . ”

“She probably would have fucked your brains out, if you’d agreed to let her mark you. I would have joined in. It
would
have been fun, and amazing. But I needed to know you and I were . . . compatible, I guess, before we took that step. So . . . ” Gunnar gave him a hopeful look.

Jasper sat back in the chair and scrubbed his palms over his face. He’d barely been here two weeks, and only within the last few days had come to terms with the fact that it wasn’t a dream. The enchanting pair who had saved him and his sister, who had brought them to his parents, were real. And they wanted him as much as he wanted them.

Jasper swallowed hard as he lowered his gaze to Gunnar. He’d never wanted anything more in his life, but wanting it and vocalizing that desire were two different things.

“Do we have to . . . ah . . . is there some kind of formal ceremony, if I say yes?”

Gunnar chuckled. “Ursa are always looking for an excuse to throw a party, but it isn’t required. Simple consent is enough. And ideally, genuine feelings. Don’t say yes unless you’re positive you’re willing to commit. I need to know you really want us both.”

“But you two are about to leave. And I just got here. Mom and Dad . . . Jade . . . Emma . . . ” All the reasons he had for living were here.

Gunnar let out a dejected sigh. “Right. I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have put you in a position to have to choose between us or your family. That’s not what I intended.” He stood and started walking toward the door, his eyes downcast, a defeated set to his posture. “Where did Autumn go after she left here? I need to break the news to her so we can get moving.”

“Autumn was never here. I haven’t talked to her today.” Jasper stood to follow him, wishing he could find the courage to say how he really felt—that he didn’t want Gunnar to go. That he didn’t want
either
of them to go, but he’d let them for the sake of allowing Emma to be with her own mates. The idea of going with them had never occurred to him, but passing back through the portal was a terrifying thought.

Gunnar stopped short of the door and turned to face Jasper, eyes narrowing. “Bullshit. She left me hours ago by the waterfall, said she was coming to talk to you.”

“Trust me, I’d know if she’d been here. And I wouldn’t lie to you. I could never lie to you.”

Gunnar’s brow creased and he rubbed his chin. He lifted his head, closed his eyes, and inhaled deeply through his nose. “You’re right, she hasn’t been here. It’s not like her not to follow through . . . especially knowing how much she wanted this.”

“Maybe she’s with Emma,” Jasper offered. “Come on.” He left the room with Gunnar following, the other male sniffing the air as he went.

They found Emma in her mother’s room, sitting quietly by the bed of the sleeping ursa queen reading a book. Jasper’s aunt would have days of relatively normal energy levels, and then spend an entire day too exhausted to interact with anyone. Ever since Emma’s mates had left the Sanctuary, she’d spent every moment she could by her mother’s side.

He and Gunnar paused in the doorway to the Queen’s room until Emma’s head rose. She smiled warmly and came quietly across the room. She ushered them back out onto the balcony and closed the door behind her.

“You two look good,” she said, gaze flitting between them both, one eyebrow raised. “Does this mean you finally came out of your shell, Jasper?”

“I wasn’t in a
shell
, Em. I was just . . . ” He clamped his lips shut and gave her an exasperated look. He’d always had trouble articulating that particular level of intimate detail to her, yet somehow she always managed to see right through him.

“You were just embarrassed by your lack of experience. I imagine Gunnar understands just fine. So, where does Autumn fit in? I hope you guys didn’t leave her out of the fun.”

Jasper was relieved by the mischievous glint in her eye. Apparently, she wasn’t pining away too much for her absent lovers. Her expression darkened when she took in the grave look in Gunnar’s eyes.

“You have bad news, don’t you? Don’t tell me you changed your mind . . .
please
.”

The quaver in her voice betrayed her anxiety. Jasper instinctively stepped toward her, but Gunnar reached her quicker, pulling her into his arms.

“No! No, don’t even think it, Princess. We have every intention of following through.”

An odd surge of envy went through Jasper at the sight of the pair of them hugging. Emma used to hug him like that. Gunnar had yet to hug him like that. Yet they both seemed entirely comfortable with the exchange. Gunnar comforted Jasper’s cousin deftly, murmuring repeated promises to her. He turned his head and looked at Jasper, a look of longing so profound Jasper nearly went and wrapped his arms around them both.

I want it, too. So much.

But he only stuck his hands in his pockets and looked away, swallowing hard to try to combat the tightness in his chest.

Down toward the other end of the long balcony, Jade came out of her room and started toward them, an almost frightened look on her face that caused a deeper dread to sink into him.

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Emma relax and pull away from Gunnar, wiping her eyes.

“I’m sorry. I just miss them both,” Emma said. “It’s only been a few days since they left, but it feels like forever. How soon until you go?”

“I need to talk to Autumn about that,” Gunnar said. “But we can’t find her. Did she come to see you this afternoon?”

“No,” Emma said cautiously. Her brows creased with concern and the same speculative study that Jasper always saw in her when she’d encountered a problem that needed solving. “She said she had plans with the two of you. I actually hoped I wouldn’t see any of you for a while, to be honest.”

“With both of us?” Jasper asked. How had
he
not known?

A sly smile spread over Emma’s face. “She was secretive about it, but you were being dense and I think she’d come up with a plan to seduce you. Though it seems it didn’t quite work, did it?”

“Ah, no . . . ” Jasper said. “Well, maybe halfway?” He glanced at Gunnar, who smiled.

Just a few feet away, Jade halted and turned to grip the balcony railing as though to steady herself. Her straight, dark hair fell in a veil on either side of her face, hiding a pained expression. Jasper resisted the urge to go to her, too intent on hearing what Emma had to say about Autumn’s unexpected absence.

“I haven’t seen her, though. And if the two of you are here, I am at a loss. For the past week, she’s either been huddled up with Gunnar, scheming to turn you to the dark side, Jasper, or she’s been hanging out with me, trying to get all the dirt on you. Though I suspect the second thing was more for my sake than her own. I love telling your secrets.”

Jasper’s face heated. Emma didn’t know the worst of his secrets, but the idea of his cousin, whom he loved beyond measure, sharing his life story with the woman he wanted more than life made him just a little bit nauseous.

“Where else would she go?” Jasper asked, looking at Gunnar hopefully. In spite of the worried knot in his gut, she couldn’t have simply disappeared after this afternoon, could she?

“She was determined to turn you around. That’s what I know. To convince you to come with us when we leave,” Gunnar said. “So if she isn’t
here
. . . ”

Jasper frowned. “Where was the last place you saw her?” The sudden conviction that he needed to find her
now
sent a surge of adrenaline through his body strong enough that his limbs trembled. Fuck, if Autumn was missing, he’d turn over the whole fucking forest to find her.

Gunnar’s gaze shot to Jasper’s, his intent as clear as day. An itch seeped into Jasper’s belly, but he tamped it down. Jade’s posture at the other end of the landing couldn’t be ignored. Something was wrong.

“I’m with you,” he said to Gunnar. “Just give me a moment.”

Gunnar glanced in Jade’s direction and nodded. “Hurry,” he said.

When Jasper stopped at her side, Jade turned and wrapped her arms around him in an embrace so tight, Jasper’s breath was crushed from his lungs. He held on just as tight, sensing some glimmer of fear that he didn’t quite understand, but knew couldn’t be unfounded.

“Do you know something about Autumn?” he asked.

Jade shook her head, rubbing her face against his chest. Hot wetness stained his shirt just before she pulled back.

“Only that you’re going to go to her and I might not ever see you again. I know you love her, Jas. The same way I know you fell for that asshole coach of yours so long ago.”

He blinked down at her. “What do you mean you know? I haven’t told anyone. I
never
told anyone about that . . . other thing.”

Jade sniffled and gave him a sad smile. “I know. I guess we both had our little secrets, huh? Mine is that I’ve always known everything about you. Because I have this weird
connection
to you. I thought I’d lost it when we came through the portal, that you’d died.
I
wanted to die, too, if you weren’t part of my world.”

Jasper stared at his sister, struggling to find words. “I don’t understand. What connection?”

She rested a palm in the center of his chest. “I’ve been in here your whole life, Jasper. I know now it’s some kind of magical twin thing. Mama says as much. That female twins always have this bond to their sibling. The male twins don’t have it, so I just have to tell you that I understand if you have to go.”

The deep sadness in her tone caused a cold weight to settle in his chest. His throat nearly closed up and his eyes burned from the look of resignation on her face. Why in the world would she even think he would leave her?

“I’m not
going
anywhere! We just have to find Autumn and then I’ll be back. Why are you so scared? Damnit, you’re scaring
me
now.”

Jade took a shaky breath and pulled farther away, her expression growing even more distant. “You love her. You love Gunnar, too. I know as much as you do that you’ve never felt that way for anyone in your life. Jas, you’ve always been mine and Emma’s protector growing up. It’s time for you to be that for Autumn. It’s okay if you can’t come back. Just knowing you’re out there and happy is enough for me.”