Authors: Jennifer Loiske
Clarissa inhaled deeply and stared into Igor’s black eyes. Igor met her gaze hungrily and Alexei flashed an insolent grin. Igor was very dark whereas Alexei was a light blond. Both had short hair in military crops, but where Igor’s eyes flamed with black fire, Alexei’s were a bright blue. Like ice. Clarissa quickly turned her gaze to me.
“You mean they’d share me?” Clarissa whispered, aghast.
“I think so. In fact, I’m almost certain of it. They are clearly united in some kind of an accord. Not even the Frenchmen would be prepared to share their females.”
“That’s disgusting! I’ll never agree to that!” Clarissa cried out in a muted voice.
“That’s why we have to be meticulous when setting common rules with them,” I whispered.
“Look at the young man by the door. He’s Darel White from Australia. I think you’ll like him if you let yourself get to know him. He’s a hermit wolf, like Tiamhaidh, and they have a lot in common even if it doesn’t seem so at first sight,” I reassured Clarissa.
Darel looked like a surfer. He leant against the wall with ease and his tanned, muscled upper torso revealed that he did indeed frequent the great outdoors, probably surfing. He, too, had startlingly blue eyes and that astonished me, as I had always thought it very rare for a wolf to have blue eyes. Even though wolf cubs are born blue-eyed, the color will have changed to yellow or orange by the time they reach the age of four months. Only rarely does a mature wolf have blue eyes. Different hues of brown and yellow abound but there shouldn’t be this many blue-eyed wolves. In fact, Tiamhaidh was the first one I had ever met. Marie kept glancing at Darel, obviously making comparisons. Tiamhaidh merely smiled at her.
“I can’t really find any similarities. Tiamhaidh is unique,” Marie whispered and was rewarded by an exuberant kiss from Tiam.
“I didn’t expect you could,” I said dryly.
Then I turned my eyes to the man who was obviously the shortest of the crowd. Even he was about a hundred and eighty centimeters, but all the others topped him by at least five centimeters and were more muscular.
“The one who looks like a schoolboy is Blake Jones from England. Don’t underestimate him. Bear in mind that he only looks like a schoolboy because he wants to. He may think he’ll get closer to you if he looks like any high school boy. If he wanted to, he might just as well be a frighteningly muscular male, ten centimeters taller and five years older. Always keep that in mind,” I warned Clarissa.
David had surreptitiously taken my hand in his and I only now noticed he was slowly stroking my fingers. Without my volition, I shivered with pleasure.
“What of those two?” David asked, indicating two serious-looking men who were quietly conversing with each other.
“The one with darker skin is Marcel Ferrero from Spain and the one who looks like an ice hockey player is Drew Simmonds from Canada. They aren’t revealing as much of themselves as the others, but they don’t dare shield themselves fully either, for fear of being forced to leave immediately. I don’t think they will be a problem but I don’t think they had expected such serious competition.”
“Are they planning to give up already?” Clarissa asked.
“No. I don’t think they’ll give up but I do think they may resort to scheming. We have to empty the house so that we can figure out common rules for all the males – and soon, at that. Otherwise they will make up rules of their own and I don’t think we’d like those rules.”
“All right. Let’s get them out of the house right now,” David offered.
“I don’t think it’s quite that easy. Clarissa, we’re going to need all your charisma and your acting skills if we want them to leave. Do you think you can do it?” I asked doubtfully.
“Just wait and see,” Clarissa whispered, chuckling.
She rose and stretched languorously so that her small breasts were clearly outlined beneath the tight top. Then she ruffled her long hair and yawned audibly. I saw how the men almost drooled after her. How could a single rational thought have fitted in their heads when Clarissa was shamelessly coquetting in front of them? She approached the men and leant down in front of Igor, giving him a direct view to the neckline of her top, which generously revealed the uppermost parts of her beautifully rounded breasts. I held my breath. Was she out of her mind? Igor was quite possibly the most dangerous of these males.
“Igor, correct?” Clarissa asked in a voice that oozed honey.
“I am,” Igor managed to grunt.
“Hmm,” Clarissa regarded him pensively.
“I’m really, truly tired and though I’d like to get to know you better right now, I have to get some sleep. Would it be all right for you to leave now and come back in the morning? I’d really like to go to sleep now so I’ll have the energy to get acquainted with you tomorrow,” Clarissa said and yawned again.
Igor clambered up and gave the other men a bloodthirsty glare. All the members of my pack held their breaths. The other men also rose and met Igor’s stare. Alexei, however, went to stand by his friend and one by one the men withdrew outside. Only Joshua lingered indoors and stepped right next to Clarissa.
“Sly, my love. Very sly,” he said laughter in his eyes.
“Out. Now,” The bear-like Igor ordered.
Clarissa went to Igor and lightly touched his bare chest. Seductively she twined her fingers in his dark chest hair.
“Thank you,” she whispered throatily.
“Urghl,” Igor gave a muffled grunt and clumsily followed the other men out of the door.
For a moment it was completely quiet. We listened as the men disappeared into the forest. Soon a few muted howls were heard and then all was silent again.
“Passionate but stupid as a stump,” Clarissa said with a forced smile. Then she sank down on the nearest chair, shaking.
“God! I was just about to faint with terror!” Marie said and wrapped her arms around Clarissa.
“Me, too. I don’t know how I’ll be able to face them again. Even once was once too often,” Clarissa burst out.
“They were like a pack of hungry wolves,” Marie said and flushed as she realized what she had just said.
“That’s exactly what they are and that’s why we can’t lose our grip even for a second,” I murmured. “You do understand we really can’t rest tonight. We’re going to have to devise an airtight contract that will keep the men in check,” I said.
“Not even a moment’s rest?” David asked.
“I’m sorry, but the men will probably be back by dawn and we will have to be ready by then.”
“I’ll get some paper and pens,” Ciall growled with resignation.
He knew he had no chance of competing for Clarissa against males so much more magnificent than him. He would have to settle for being Clarissa’s friend. No matter how difficult that would be.
It was half past five in the morning by the time we had finally drafted a passable version of the contract. I couldn’t find any holes the men might slip through to circumvent the terms of the contract. Now we had to wait and see whether they would agree to our terms. All of us tired, we ambled off to seek sleep - some in their bedrooms and others on the nearest couch or chair. I had decided to keep some distance from David and see if our relationship could be what it had once been, and I really didn’t want to mess with my head by making love to him right now. I knew I only had to burrow into his arms before we would be at each other and I couldn’t allow that, for I very much wanted the opportunity to unravel my thoughts before we progressed to anything together. So I opted for sleeping on the soft rug of the living room and was in fact so tired that I wasn’t sure if I could even have dragged myself upstairs even though David’s look told me he wanted me by his side. I ordered Bruun and Flow to guard our yard, as none of us were in a state vigilant enough to scan our surroundings. Our dogs were quite as capable of warning us of approaching visitors as any other member of the pack. I truly hoped they would do their job thoroughly, as I didn’t want to be surprised by twelve dangerous he-wolves while sleeping.
We only got three hours of sleep before a ferocious barking woke us. I felt strangely chipper and ready to face the visitors. I also noticed the others had slept well, and I stepped outside smiling brightly. I released our dogs from their guard duty and they at once took off to a nearby field. Our visitors hadn’t yet made it to our garden but I saw them approaching by a forest road, a few dozen meters from me.
“Good morning, mathair,” Joshua greeted me brightly. “I hope you slept well.”
“Thank you, Joshua. In fact I slept very well indeed. Did the Seita stone make for a soft bed?”
He regarded me with surprise and nodded.
“Do come in. I believe Mathanan has once again laden the table with food and I at least am famished.”
The men came in and sat down at mostly the same places as they had the previous night. This time, however, they were wearing shirts and thus didn’t seem quite as dangerous.
“Have you drawn up a contract?” Blake asked matter-of-factly.
“We have indeed. We want you to hear it in its entirety before you comment on it, if that’s all right with you?”
“All right,” the men grunted in unison.
“Very well,” I sighed and mustered my courage to go on. “None of you may come to our property uninvited or approach any member of our pack without leave. You will behave in a civilized manner and respect human rules while you are here. If Clarissa decides she doesn’t want one of you to carry on the courtship, that one will leave at once, peaceably and without grumbling,” I glanced at Joshua and noticed his eyes flashing dangerously. I quickly turned my gaze to Blake, who seemed to have perfected the role of a civilized English boy, and continued in a steady voice.
“If any of you breaks the rules, he will also have to go. I will have free access to your minds at all times. You may not erect walls or otherwise prevent me from entering your minds if I deem it necessary.”
No one said a word out loud, but my mind was full of the men's objections. Darel stretched his arms luxuriously and smiled as if everything I'd said had been obvious. He reclined in the chair with such ease that I was certain he wasn't really anywhere as relaxed as he let on. Igor sat next to Darel, his back straight, staring murderously at me and looking like a rough mercenary soldier beside the relaxed Darel. I wondered if we had gone too far. I looked at Clarissa, who was staring hungrily at Joshua, and shrugged. There was no way we could back off now.
“However, I promise not to do it unless I think it absolutely necessary. You will go about in pairs and we will select the pairs. Each pair will have a given day to spend with Clarissa, and on other days you may not see her unless we tell you otherwise. You will not live in the forest, nor with us – you will obtain apartments as well as conveyances in the nearby town.”
Alexei rose and banged both fists on the table but said nothing. I fixed him such a level stare that he sat back down, but now he glared menacingly at me and all the members of my pack alike.
“I know you have ample resources at your disposal so that should not present a problem,” I took a deep breath, knowing the next rule would be the most difficult one for the strange shape shifters. I rubbed the side of my nose and licked my lips nervously.
“And last but not least, you will remain in your human forms throughout the courtship and should any of you develop an acute need to run around in the woods or go hunting, he will ask my permission before reverting to wolf shape. Any questions?”
The men conversed in quiet whispers and glared angrily at me. They had no choice, however. I was the alpha of our pack and that empowered me to make the rules. Their choice was to decide whether or not they could play by my rules.
“I, for my part, agree,” Joshua said, his gaze firmly fixed on Clarissa.
“We do, too,” Derry, Darel and Blake agreed.
“Yes. We are with you,” Igor and Alexei grunted.
“I want her, so I don’t suppose I have a choice,” Fabio said.
“We’re in,” Drew, Marcel and Jonas also promised.
“Oui, a Frenchman never backs down if there’s a lady involved,” Marc and Adrian assured.
“Good. Now I will pair you up and then you can go and find lodgings. The meetings will begin the day after tomorrow. The matter of pairs is not open to discussion.”
“Blake and Fabio, Mondays. Darel and Alexei, Tuesdays. Drew and Igor, Wednesdays. Derry and Adrian, Thursdays. Joshua and Jonas, Fridays, and Marc and Marcel, Saturdays. On Sundays we won’t want to see either hide or hair of you. Is that clear?” I asked in the firm tone of a pack leader.
“Clear,” the men grunted.
“Do you have any questions at this time?” I checked, certain that one of them would find a loophole in our terms.
“Can we do anything we want with Clarissa?” Drew asked.
“If Clarissa agrees. You get to plan the day, but do remember to ask Clarissa what she wants,” I explained, looking doubtfully at Drew. I was not at all convinced that Clarissa would enjoy all the items on their planned agenda.
“Can we take her out of town?” Darel asked.
“Yes, but in that case you must take two of our pack with you. Any more questions?”
All were silent, so I nodded towards the door and the men left, throwing glances at Clarissa. We would at least have one day to ourselves until we’d have to face the he-wolves.