“The first time we make love to Meg will be when she agrees to become our mate, Lachlan. Making love to her will never be a casual fuck,” Prescott said. He toed off his boots and pulled his shirt over his head. He still rippled with rage. “I would never disrespect our mate like that.”
“Aiden asked if she was,” Caleb said, drawing both their attention to him.
Lachlan wrestled with his cat for control. “Aiden is mated. Why would he ask that?” Lachlan ground the words out between his gritted teeth.
I don’t like Aiden so much that I won’t kill him if he even looks at Meg.
“It has to do with the purity of her soul,” Caleb said.
“Then when we mate Meg, she’ll be of no use to him,” Prescott said.
Lachlan looked at Caleb and saw that he was not alone in seeing the flaw in that idea. “Aiden would have suggested that if it was the answer. It’s not that simple, is it?”
“No. Apparently it’s not an essential criteria, just a personal preference.” Caleb sat down heavily on the sofa and rested his head in his hands. “The demon Aiden has asked to come here and protect her will give us more information.”
“Even if she wasn’t a virgin,” Prescott said, “I would never have forced myself on her.” Prescott finished undressing and shifted.
“I’m sorry, Prescott. I know you love Meg as deeply as I do.” Prescott simply growled as he left the room.
“He comes across as a heartless bastard in his role as enforcer,” Caleb said. “He’s not though. He’d die for you as soon as he’d die for Meg.”
“I know. I was wrong to have thought otherwise.”
Caleb stood and slapped him on the back as he strode from the room. “We haven’t slept in nearly forty-eight hours and the mating musk is making us all crazy. He’ll understand.”
Lachlan followed his brother up to their bedroom. Caleb was standing beside the bed staring down at their sleeping mate. “God, she’s so beautiful,” Caleb whispered.
Meg had shifted and was curled in the center of the bed as her snow leopard, and her head was tucked under her tail for warmth. Lachlan stripped and pulled back the covers before climbing in and lifting Meg to lie next to him.
She shivered and tucked her cold nose against his stomach without waking. Caleb climbed in the other side and curled his chest around Meg’s back. They both stroked her thick dappled coat.
“I hope all our cubs look like her,” Lachlan said, his voice hoarse as he pushed it past the lump of emotion in his throat. Lachlan rested his head on his hand, determined to just stare at Meg all night. She was that mesmerizing.
A small cough had his eyes snapping open, making him aware that he’d fallen asleep. The room was brightly lit, illuminating a blond-haired stranger standing next to the bed. The room filled with shimmering light and loud roars as Lachlan and his brothers shifted and attacked the stranger.
Lachlan removed his paw from the middle of Prescott’s back and stepped aside to let his brothers both rise from the floor. They had all leaped at the man only to land on thin air and each other. Swinging his head around, he saw the stranger on the other side of the bed, he coiled his muscles for his leap when his brain finally caught up.
The blond man was holding up his hands in the universal sign of surrender. His lips were moving, but the sounds of Prescott’s snarls drowned out the words.
This isn’t Nicholas.
Caleb’s voice sounded in his head.
Look at Meg.
Meg was sitting up straight on the bed and staring at the man. She was looking at him with curiosity, but she wasn’t running or shaking in fear, as she would be if this was Nicholas. Lachlan shifted as he approached the stranger, placing himself directly in front of Meg by the time his shift was completed.
“Who are you?”
The man smiled tentatively and Lachlan reached out with his senses to test the air for danger. The man carried no scent, not of man or beast. The man was small, only five ten, and very slight. His skin was the palest alabaster, his eyes a deep unnatural green. He was also shaking like a leaf and was obviously terrified, despite no scent of fear emanating from him.
“I’m Brody York. Aiden sent me.” He closed his eyes tight and turned his face away as if expecting a blow. Lachlan felt the air move as Caleb shifted. He took a step back, placing himself closer to Meg and allowing his brother to stand in front of the small man.
“How did you and Aiden meet?” Caleb still had claws protruding from his fingers, and his voice was garbled as his gums stretched over his elongated canines.
“We met when he rescued me from a wolf that was beating me.” The man still had his eyes closed and hadn’t stopped shaking. Prescott had padded silently to stand behind the man, who now looked even smaller with Prescott’s massive cat standing behind him.
Meg gave a small rough chuff as she pushed against the small of Lachlan’s back with her head. He reached back to wrap an arm around her, but didn’t take his eyes off the Brody fellow. “We won’t hurt him, Meg. Caleb just had to check he was the demon we were expecting.”
“I am,” Brody said, opening one eye and nodding vigorously. “Aiden sent me to protect you until he gets here.”
Prescott shifted back, towering over the shaking man. “Well thank God you’re here then,” he said.
“Boo.” Brody disappeared as Prescott shouted the word into his ear.
* * * *
Meg wanted to laugh and punch Prescott on the nose at the same time. The poor man, demon, whatever he was, had been terrified when her mates had shifted and tried to attack him, but he hadn’t run, despite looking like he’d desperately wanted to. She jumped off the bed and padded into the bathroom where she’d left her clothes from the previous day.
She shifted back and picked up her borrowed clothes. As nice as it had been for Charlie to lend them to her, they were now travel-worn and crumpled. She eyed the clean shirt Prescott had given her to wear to bed the night before and decided it was the better option. She pulled it over her head and quickly took care of the demands of nature. As she went to look for the frightened Brody, she heard a throat clear from the door on the other side of the bathroom.
She opened the door a crack to see Brody standing there. The other door led into Prescott’s room. Lexie was still fast asleep in the middle of his huge bed, right where she’d left her last night.
She ushered Brody inside with her hand while holding the index finger of her other hand to her lips. When Brody silently slipped inside the bathroom, Meg softly closed the door behind him.
“I’m Meg.” She stuck out her hand, but Brody just looked at it. “You shake it and tell me your name,” she said, smiling encouragingly at him.
“Brody.” He looked around before quickly shaking her hand and dropping it. He looked around again, his eyes wide with fear.
“Who are you looking for? Do you have more demons coming?”
“No. I don’t know any other demons.” He cocked his head to the side and raised an eyebrow. “Well I know my brother, Jayce. But he’s been gone for years and years. I don’t know when he’ll be back.”
“I’m sorry you haven’t seen your brother in years.” Meg sat on the edge of the tub. “I didn’t see Lexie”—she pointed at the room Brody had just entered from—“for two years and I hated it. My heart ached, I was so sad.”
“I miss Jayce like that, too. He’s been gone for nearly sixty years.”
Brody looked so sad that Meg didn’t even think. She just stood up and wrapped her arms around Brody’s waist. “I hope he comes back soon, that’s such a long time.”
The door to Caleb’s bedroom shook as it was pounded on. “Are you talking to Brody?” Prescott said. “My cat is going crazy at the thought of you alone with him.”
Brody stepped back quickly and dusted his hands over his clothes. Meg tried not to laugh. They would smell her on him. He couldn’t brush off her scent.
“Sorry. It’s the mating. It makes cats really territorial. Come in, Prescott.”
The door was flung open immediately and Meg was in Prescott’s embrace, his lips pressed to hers before she’d taken another breath. She forgot everything as her mate held her to his hard chest. His hands gripped her under her ass, his palms burning into her naked flesh. She wrapped her legs around his waist and ran her hands over his wide shoulders, sinking deeper into the passionate heat of his kiss.
“Mine,” Prescott said, releasing her lips with a loud smack.
“Yours.” Meg sighed and relaxed into his naked chest. “All yours.”
“Why does he have your scent all over him?” Caleb said. She hadn’t noticed he’d entered the bathroom, but Lachlan was there too now. They were both glaring at Brody as he backed away from them, the terror back in his eyes.
“Oh, please don’t be mad at him. I hugged him because he was sad about missing his brother.” Caleb and Lachlan turned and stared at her. “He’s been gone for sixty years. I missed Lexie so much that I cried every single day, and that was only for two years. He has been all alone.” She released one of Prescott’s shoulders to swipe at a tear that was burning her cheek as it leaked from her eye.
“This is why the Nephilim wants her so badly,” Brody said. “She has a pure soul. She is worth more than all the gold in the world to him.”
Meg turned to look at Brody, but Lachlan snatched her from Prescott and strode back into the bedroom with her back pressed to his hot naked chest. The men had all put on fatigues, but not yet bothered to don shirts. She found it hard to concentrate with all their muscles on display.
“Lachlan.” She was placed on her feet in the middle of the room and Lachlan spun her around to face him.
“Mine,” he said in a throaty whisper. He lowered his head and kissed her gently on the lips. She gasped at the contact and drank in his taste. She began to burn, her skin prickling as sweat broke out. Her pussy throbbed and began to heat. She reached for him and tried to pull him closer to her. He was the shortest of the brothers, but was still much taller than her and much heavier. Consequently, he didn’t move an inch.
Changing tactics, she stepped into his chest and was rewarded by a growl as he deepened the kiss and wrapped his solid arms around her. The ache of her healing injuries vanished. She growled and nibbled at his lips as her skin grew hotter. She released one of his shoulders to remove the restriction of her shirt. She had to feel her bare breasts against the smooth, hairless skin of Lachlan’s chest or she’d explode.
“Stop, Lachlan,” Caleb said, his voice harsh and pained. “You’re starting the mating. Smell her.”
Lachlan drew back from her lips and she moaned in pain. He ran his tongue down her neck and purred loudly. The vibrations against her nipples made her cry out from the sting of pleasure that bordered on pain.
“I don’t know if I can,” Lachlan said. He bit into her neck and she craved the feel of sharp canines sinking into her flesh, not the dull sting of his blunt teeth.
She spun to yell at him but her anger morphed into desire as soon as she laid eyes on Caleb. “Mine,” she said. She lunged, meeting him halfway as he lunged for her at the same time. Her hands roamed frantically over his chest. She climbed him, his warm hands on her ass lifting her higher as she wrapped her arms and legs around him.
“It hurts, Caleb.” She licked and kissed a spot on his neck. Her pussy throbbed against the smooth, firm planes of his stomach and she felt the slide of her juices as they marked him. She wanted to be embarrassed, but her cat just purred her joy. Her cat wanted to complete the marking. She wanted his blood.
She lowered her mouth to the throbbing pulse in his neck and licked. His taste was musky and rich. He was an Alpha and her cat knew she couldn’t mark him without his permission. “Please, Caleb.” Her canines were small but sharp as they elongated and pierced her lower lip. She knew the instant he smelled her blood. His pulse kicked higher and his growl grew louder as his nostrils flared.
His mating musk poured onto her, making her nerve endings tingle and ache for him. “Caleb, can I mark you? Please, I’m begging you.”
“Brody, leave. Come back when the house stops shaking,” Caleb said. He spun around and lowered her onto the bed, keeping them closely connected. His eyes bored into her, their fiery amber radiating the intensity of his lust in a clear warning. “You may not yet mark me, my mate. Not until I have tasted you.”
He drew away from her and her sweaty fingers slipped from his skin. She groaned and he quickly came back to kiss her, swiftly pulling away before she could hold him again. “You don’t need this.”
He gripped the hem of her T-shirt and tore it down the middle, exposing her heated skin to his gaze. He ran his fingers across his ridged abdomen, collecting some of her juices where they still glistened on his skin. He brought them to his mouth and growled as his thick, pink tongue licked his fingers clean.
Her body nearly combusted at the eroticism of the act. “Caleb.”
“We’re here, honey,” Lachlan whispered. The bed dipped as his naked body dropped to lie beside her. He stroked the hair from her neck and nibbled a path to her shoulder, making her squirm at the delicious sensations his lips and teeth elicited.
“Is this what you want, Meg? To be our mate?” Prescott said. His massive body was naked as he crawled onto the bed on her other side. His cock was full and hard, the purple head moist as it pointed toward her. It wasn’t the first penis she’d seen, but it was the first one she’d seen that was going to be inside her, and she gulped in apprehension as she marveled at the size of it.