Gabrielle Demonico (6 page)

She crossed her arms at her chest and moved them up and down rapidly in attempt to warm herself up. Paul noticed her chilled state and said, “
Haley, oh I apologize. It does get cool in her without the fireplace and wood stove burning. I should have started a fire for you when I got home.”

“
That’s okay.” She smiled through chattering teeth.

“
I… I’ll show you where the wood is and get a fire going for you.” He said.

She quickly nodded yes.

He showed her where the wood was in back of the cabin and within a few minutes, the two of them were crouched in front of the fireplace. He placed the first couple of logs in himself and then handed one to Haley. “You wanna give it a shot?”

“
Sure.” She said. She then reached towards the back of the fireplace but lost her footing on some newspaper they’d crumpled up to help get the fire going. She could feel herself on a face first collision towards the grate which held the logs. But, just prior to her jaw making contact with it, she was snatched up by strength the likes of which she’d never known any man to possess.

“
Careful!” Paul exclaimed. He grabbed her curvy form and within a fraction of a second pulled her close to him. And just that quickly she was pressed against his thick core. She did not struggle to break free and he did not show any signs of releasing her.

And then, the moment in which it would have been natural to do it passed as well. Haley could feel his heart thump beneath his thick chest as hers m
atched its rhythm. She could sense the tides of intent shift under his clothing and knew that the meaning of the moment was no longer about her safety.

She looked up at him and said softly, “
Thank you.”

His eyes narrowed as he looked down at her. Between t
ufts of dirty blond hair he descended wordlessly towards her mouth which had parted in readied anticipation. Haley’s soul trembled. Never had any man caused the deepest parts of her to come so completely alive. And here, there were two of them.

As she trie
d to complete her thoughts, Paul pounced upon her. He moved with lightning speed and breathtaking ease. Before Haley realized it, his mouth had taken full possession of hers. Their tongues lashed eagerly at one another and she began to feel as though she were being devoured.

Within seconds, they were groping one another. Paul
’s hands traced the edges of her curves - tantalizing and teasing as they did. Her body hummed from the inside out in anticipation that her long unmet needs might soon be fulfilled.

Fin
ally. She thought.

It was so unlike her to be this way. She
’d always held back for one reason or another. Perhaps it was scar tissue from forgotten teasing she’d endured long ago. Or maybe it was the way Adam had devalued her worth as woman by refusing to have children with her but having no qualms about doing it with someone else.

Whatever the case, she was tired of fighting and only wanted for once, to surrender and be worshipped for who she was
and what she had to give. No sooner had that thought escaped her mind than it seemed as if Paul sensed her need. He broke free from her and with a lick of his lips whispered, “Look how beautiful you are Haley. You are fucking stunning.”

There was a stille
d moment of silence between the pair as they looked at one another.

“
I agree.” said a voice from across the room.

Haley
’s head swiveled to see Caleb standing in the doorway. Perhaps they’d left it open when they came in or, maybe, the wind took it. She had no idea.

Ordinarily, white hot shame would have flooded her body if she were to find herself in the midst of such a situation. She would have fretted about what he had seen, what it meant and what she would say.

But not this time.

No.

Instead, she felt a strange sense of calm.

Caleb smiled and said, “
I see that you started
without me
Paul.”

***

Suddenly the warmth and ease that cradled her was replaced by something entirely different. Haley felt uneasy and a rising tide of panic was building up from deep within.

“
What does he mean…
started without him?
” Haley asked indignantly as she pulled away from Paul. “What the hell is this? What is going on here? You better tell me and quickly or I am leaving.”

Caleb stepped towards her and said, “
We can’t let you do that Haley.”

“
Fuck you!” she screamed. “Get out of my way!”

Paul let out a noise that sounded more like a growl than a shout and said, “
Caleb! You are scaring her…”

He then turned to her and said, “
Haley, wait. Please. We would
never
hurt you. Please believe that.” He cast a disapproving look towards his younger sibling and said, “My brother can be a
poor
communicator at times. Give us a chance to explain, please.”

As excited as the situation had gotten her, Haley
’s instincts were still telling her that there was nothing to worry about. She narrowed her eyes towards them and said, “Alright, I’ll give you
five minutes.
”

Paul cleared his throat and said, “
This will be hard to explain and probably even harder to understand. But, thank you for listening.”

Haley
merely looked at him. Her internal stopwatch had already started running.

He continued and said, “
There’s no easy ways to say this so I will just say it. We are shapeshifters which means that we can transform between our human form and that of another animal. While there are many kinds of shifters, we are wolf shifters.”

Haley burst out laughing. “
Oh
come on!
You can’t really expect me to believe something like that? What the hell kind of weirdos are you two?”

Paul exhaled deeply and said, “
Caleb…”

Caleb no
dded and in mere seconds, transformed from the muscled creation of human perfection into an
honest to God
wolf right before her eyes. Haley’s vision boggled at the sight of it. Caleb paced back and forth in front of her. His muscles bulged and flexed beneath a thick coat of dark grey fur while his tail swished slowly, as if stalking prey.

At first, Haley
’s mind was blank but then fear of the unknown overwhelmed her and she instinctively fell into Paul’s arms. Paul embraced her and said, “There is nothing to fear Haley. Just hear me out without judgment or assumptions and I promise, we will tell you everything.”

She listened as Paul told the story of their ancestors who
’d barely made it there alive a hundred years before. They’d come from back east where their relatives had been caught, tried and hanged as witches. Some managed to escape, settle here and live in almost complete anonymity for generations until Paul and Caleb’s mates had recently gone missing.

Mee Mee perhaps?

Haley interrupted and said, “Wait… the children. Where are their mothers? I want answers…”

Paul replied, “
The females were new to the area and belonged to a pack to the North. It was their night to hunt. As ranchers, we are respectful of our neighbor’s land and possessions. It appears as though it was an accident. The children were still very small at the time.”

Haley replied, “
What
was an accident?”

By now, Caleb had shifted back. She looked at them as somber masks fell over their faces when Caleb replied, “
They were shot and killed. Just across the northernmost ridgeline is the Jeffers Homestead. It’s also where we knew that some mule deer had bedded down for the night. It was the surest place to hunt. After they hadn’t returned, we feared the worst.”

Haley listened, dumbfounded.

Caleb continued, “The Department of Natural Resources came by the next day to warn us that two female timber wolves been taken down and to be on the lookout for more in the area. We had no choice but to keep quiet about it. We told the neighbors that we separated from our wives and they’d returned home to the North.”

Paul interrupted, “
It’s the chance you take as a shifter. Being exposed would be too great a risk to our survival and so we’re left to raise the children on our own. We had to tell the kids that their mommies went to heaven. There was nothing else we could do…”

Haley
’s heart sank. Suddenly her feelings of fear and shock give way to sadness for not only the children but the brothers as well.

Caleb stepped forward and said, “
Haley, I didn’t mean to frighten you and I want to thank you for your kindness and understanding. Now, I’m going to get the children in bed. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

Haley could feel her throat choke with emotion. She could tell that they were both being sincere and as hard as it was to
believe, apparently telling the truth. Unconsciously, she embraced him, kissed him lightly on the cheek and said, “Goodnight Caleb.”

After Caleb had left, she turned back to Paul and said, “
What happened to you,
to your kind
, it makes me feel so bad for you.”

Paul immediately began to shake his head as he moved towards her. “
Don’t.” he said defiantly. “We are proud and strong and will survive - no matter what.”

Haley
’s mind was awash in a sea of emotion. In the span of an hour, she witnessed men turn into beasts before her eyes and nearly been taken by one in the process. She wanted to say something to him, anything that would make him feel she understood.

But before she could, Paul said, “
Haley, there’s
one last thing
you need to know.”

Without thought she
replied, “Yes? What is it?”

Wolflike, Paul moved towards her and took control of their intimate space. He looked into her eyes and said, “
Caleb and I believe you to be our one and only mate. We’ve talked about it and are convinced. We knew from the minute we laid eyes upon you. Our animal spirits have convinced us.”

Confused she asked, “
Wait? Weren’t the mothers of your children your mates?”

He replied, “
To bear young, it is not necessary for us to bond with our true mate. Just like with humans, we are capable of continuing the line without such pair bonding. But for a wolf to encounter his one and only mate is rare thing indeed. We know that it is you Haley. Your virtues, your honor and your beauty are all that our family needs to be complete. We know that you would make an unbelievable mother not only to our current children but also, our unborn.”

Unborn?

“Wait, I… What do you mean unborn?” she asked hesitantly.

“
Caleb and I want to mate with you and claim you as the bearer of our young.” he replied calmly.

“
You
and
Caleb?” she asked. “Isn’t sharing forbidden amongst alpha males types?”

Paul chuckled and said, “
You watch
far too many
nature shows on television Haley. No, we have no problem sharing you between us - the survival of the group is above all.”

It
was impossible to process everything. She couldn’t. She needed time, space and rest. But, it would not come tonight. Paul sensed that she wavered and struggled with uncertainty. With one primal swoop, he slashed through it all and growled, “Enough talk for now.”

***

As if they never missed a beat, his inner wolf leapt into action. He grabbed onto her soft curves and pulled her tight against him. Roughly, he pressed the full weight of his lips against hers and Haley’s knees wobbled under the speed of his assault.

No longer would she question or care and she signaled it by exposing her neck in ready submission. Lustfully, Paul wrapped a fistful of her hair into his hands and pulled slightly. Haley moaned with a carnal
pleasure.

A mix of lust and need and destiny fueled her from deep inside. Her core pulsed with feminine honey and her eyes fluttered and flickered as Paul continued to up the steamy ante.

For few moments more they delighted in one another until Paul paused and looked into her eyes. It was an ancient look, timeless and mystical, that required no words to decipher its meaning. His wordless silence beckoned her darkest, most neglected places and coaxed them to his canine.

Haley looked past the man and into the
beast. She felt destined to be here, under their control and bent to the will of the pack. She sensed an opportunity for herself to be relieved from the burden of what her life had become and instead, follow a new path.

He lingered there for a moment and
then crashed into her once again. Desire tingled across every square inch of exposed flesh as his roughness collided with her softness. Lust of this type was foreign to her and passion of this kind she thought to be eternally forbidden. He was the unfiltered animal - raw, exposed, uninhibited and intent on claiming the prize that the brothers must have to survive.