Mail-Order Bride [Taos Wolven Mates] (Siren Publishing Ménage Amour) (13 page)

“I–I understand.”

“I doubt that very much, Dana.” Lorcan sighed. “And it’s not what you think.”

“That’s an understatement,” Tarin said with a low growl.

They both stood and stared down at her, their expressions flat. If it wasn’t what she thought, how was she supposed to guess while they stared down at her with those blank expressions?

Forced to come to her own conclusion, Dana stood and scowled at the two men she had inexplicably fallen in love with. “Really? It’s not what I think?” She paced away from them. “How do you know what I think?” She shook her head, determined to let them have it. How could they take advantage of her? How
dare
they?

“Here, let me guess. You kidnapped me from my world for only God knows what and decided to while away the time with me. Why not?” She threw her hands in the air. “After all, I’m just an ignorant human from some backward planet. Now that you’ve gotten me to surrender to you, the chase is over and you’re bored. It’s time to move on to a new woman, a new conquest.”

She had heard of men like that. Her father had warned her, but their story of wanting her for their wife swayed her into bartering away the only thing she had left that she’d managed to keep her uncle from selling.

Tears streamed down her face. She sat back down and held her face in her hands, ashamed at the thought that she had sold herself more cheaply than her uncle ever could have.

“That’s not it, my love.” Tarin’s voice sounded pained, and she looked up through her tears to try and judge his sincerity.

“Then what is it?”

Lorcan raked his fingers through his hair. “We are the same kind of monsters you named Kalb.”

“Don’t be ridiculous. Kalb was a monster in every sense of the word. He had no conscience, and he turned into a hideous beast right before my eyes.” She shook her head. “You two are nothing like him.”

“That is where you are mistaken, my mate.” Tarin moved away from the couch where she sat and turned into a wolf before her eyes.

Dana sat speechless, her hand over her mouth, her eyes wide as she stared at the beast who was once her beloved Tarin. How could he be a wolf like that beast, Kalb?

Still, something inside her had known this all along but had refused to face it. How could she be angry at them for lying to her when she had been lying to herself all of this time?

Slowly, Dana shook her head, her thoughts unable to process what she saw standing before her very eyes. “How…how can you do this?”

Her mind wanted to bolt, but her body betrayed it. Her body knew these men and knew they weren’t the monsters they claimed to be. Her very flesh knew these men would never harm her physically. Her heart should have known they would never hurt her at all. Deep down, she knew they loved her. Her heart should have reminded her of that.

“We are what our people call wolven. The best way I can think to explain it is to say that we’re half human, half wolf. Our species is near extinction. Having searched the universe for a world such as yours, we considered ourselves lucky to have found you.”

“Near extinction?” Dana watched as Tarin change into his human form again, complete with clothing. Holding her hands in her lap, Dana twisted her fingers together as she awaited their explanation.

“Yes, love. Without you and people like you, we will eventually cease to exist.”

“Remember we told you that mates were rare.” Reaching out, he trailed a finger down her cheek.

“I remember.” She remembered getting a letter from Matthew Harker about it being difficult to find a woman to share his life with, but she had assumed it was because Matthew lived on the frontier, not because there were two of them and they were some sort of strange beasts in disguise.

“Then you can see why we thought we must hide what we are from you. On your world, people like us are called monsters.”

“Wasn’t Kalb a monster?”

“Yes, he was,” Tarin said with a nod.

“Then why would I think you or anyone like you was any different?”

Lorcan sighed and knelt in front of her. “Is it fair to judge us by what a fanatic did? Would it be fair for us to think that all humans on your world are like your uncle? Are you a greedy person who would sell a beautiful woman to another man to be his sexual slave?”

“Of course not! I don’t know how you could even think that of me.” Dana fisted her hands in her lap. She wanted to jump up and slap his face for even making such a suggestion but caught herself in time. She understood what he meant by that.

By judging them the same as Kalb, just because they were all wolven, she had done the same to them. Just as all humans weren’t bad, all of the wolven weren’t bad either.

“Then this means you still wish me to be your mate?” That was the question, wasn’t it? When they approached her to tell her their truth, she had feared they meant to tell her they no longer wanted her.

“Yes, if you’ll have us,” the two men said in unison then smiled at each other.

Turning to face her, Tarin joined Lorcan on his knees. Will you commit to the final bonding with us?”

Lorcan held up his hand. “Do not answer until you hear what it is we will do.” At her nod, Lorcan continued. “We must complete our union together.” He paused. “All of us…at the same time. Meaning Tarin or I will take your ass and the other will fuck your pussy.”

Dana thrust a trembling hand through her hair. Here it was, a declaration, a request to do what she’d wanted all along and she didn’t even have to ask for it. “When?”

“Well, the sooner the better. Once we are tied to each other, we will all be connected. You will be able to talk to us in our minds as we will be able to do the same with you.”

“Talk in our minds?” It was so fantastic. Dare she believe they told her the truth?

Dana looked at them both in turn. That
would
explain the strange way they seemed to communicate without speaking. “Can you two already do this?”

“Yes,” Tarin said with a nod. “We have been speaking to each other in our minds since we were young. Most of us share a common ancestry and can speak to one another. The only ones who can’t are elitists. They will not mix their blood with anyone but another pureblood, or their true mate
if
their mate is also wolven. But even they can speak to each other, which tells us they are not all pure. The telepathic talent had to come from somewhere.”

“And if their mate isn’t a pure blood?”

“They will kill her as an abomination all the while lecturing others about bloodlines and purity.”

Dana felt faint at Lorcan’s words. What would have happened had Kalb found her first and deemed her his mate instead? Was Amelie his mate and that was why he attempted to kill her?

Reaching up, Dana rubbed her temples. “I’m getting a headache.”

“I would have one as well if I had to accept all you have accepted today.” Tarin smiled at her and rested his hand on her knee.

Dana wasn’t sure she was ready for the contact. After all, they had just told her that she’d been making love to werewolves for the past few days. She wasn’t sure she would
ever
get over that one.

“I can’t believe that I have been…with you all of this time and you’re just telling me this now.”

Tarin raked his hand through his hair then scrubbed his face with his hands. What was he supposed to say? They
had
deceived her. “I know, baby. Even though we knew you would have a difficult time accepting it, we should have told you straight from the beginning, but we were afraid.”

Dana laughed. “Now
that
I don’t believe.” She shook her head and glared at them both. I’m very upset with you two, and I’m very disappointed. I grew to trust you and now look at us. That trust is broken.”

“You’re right,” Lorcan agreed, his expression grim. “We broke trust with you, and we wouldn’t blame you a bit if you couldn’t forgive us, but we ask that you do.”

Standing again, Dana paced the room. “How can I trust you again? More importantly, why
should
I trust you again?”

“Only you can answer those questions, Dana.” Lorcan straightened and motioned to Tarin. “We’ll leave you alone, this night, and you can make up your mind alone.”

Standing, Tarin moved to join his lifelong friend. “Let us know what you decide, Dana.”

They were a few steps from the door when Dana called out, “I thought you said that you would die without me.”

“We will,” he said, turning back to face her.

“Then why are you leaving? Why don’t you just take what you want from me?”

“Because,” Lorcan said as he turned to face her. “That would make us no better than the monsters you think us.”

“You’re right.” She sighed and pushed the hair back from her face. “It’s just that this is all so overwhelming. I don’t know what to think anymore.”

“That’s why we’re leaving you to think.”

Again they turned to go. Tarin was halfway through the door when he heard her soft plea, let out on a forlorn exhale. “Don’t—don’t leave.”

Turning around he saw her on her knees, begging them to stay. Scowling, he turned with a growl and stalked back to her. Reaching down, he grasped her arms and lifted her to her feet.

“Don’t ever let me see you on your knees begging ever again.” Without warning, he grabbed the back of her head and slanted his mouth over hers.

This was his woman, his mate, and he’d be damned if he would ever see her on her knees begging for anything. He lifted his head to stare down into her beautiful green eyes.

Desire swirled in their depths and something else, regret, remorse? Whatever it was, she had no business feeling anything but contempt for their duplicity. They were all victims of the condition of the wolven’s pathetic gene pool, but Dana was more victim than he. He and Lorcan had made her
their
victim as well.

“Don’t feel sorry for us.” He growled against her lips. “Don’t forgive us, we don’t deserve it.”

Once again, he lowered his head to hers and covered her lips. “We brought you here then lied to you.”

“No you didn’t, Tarin. You just didn’t tell me.”

“It’s still a lie,” Lorcan said from his right. “A lie of omission is still just a lie.”

Tarin wrapped his arms around her when her legs would have given out. Lifting her in his arms, he carried her to their bed and placed her on the soft surface. “I want to stay, Dana. Remember that while you’re thinking about whether or not to forgive us.”

“No.” She shook her head. “I have no reason to think about it.” She crossed her arms and stared at him, her face unreadable.

So that was how it would be. He sighed. Since he and Lorcan were already mated to her, they would live the rest of their lives never knowing what it was like to be truly connected to the one they loved. Without the last bonding, Dana was still emotionally free and, therefore, could do as she wished.

He and Lorcan, on the other hand, were doomed to a half life. Already bound to one woman, they could never bind themselves to another. It was just too damned bad they had screwed this up so much, that she hated them.

Tarin actually felt pain in the center of his chest. It didn’t matter that he would never make love with another woman because without Dana, there would be no excitement. It also didn’t matter that he would live his life half in some sort of strange limbo. All that mattered was what Dana thought of him. If she could remember him kindly, at least he might be able to sleep at night. He didn’t care about the other things. He just wanted Dana happy. That was all that mattered.

With a growl, Lorcan grabbed her away from him and pulled her into his arms. He palmed the back of her head with a groan, “I’m sorry, baby. I know you hate us now, but we felt it was necessary.”

How could she ever forgive them and how could they ever ask her to? They kidnapped her, lied to her, and tomorrow, her life would be in danger. It was easy to make the decision to bring her here when they didn’t know her. Now that they did, it was killing him to know that her life could be forfeit just because she existed.

He thought of the other two women and closed his eyes. What had he done? Perhaps it would have been better to have mated her and stayed on Earth while they sent others from their group back to Taos with their report.

Instead they snatched the three women as though they had every right to do so then began their journey back to Taos with them to prove there was a viable option for their people, one that included more than extinction. Tomorrow their journey would end. He just hoped that Dana’s life didn’t end then as well.

* * * *

Lorcan pulled back and stared deep into Dana’s eyes. He couldn’t believe she allowed him to hold her after their confession. They had hoped they could bind her to them using sex, and apparently they had, but he had never planned to fall so inexplicably in love with her.

Did they want her? Yes, but they wanted her to want them as well. They wanted her to love them as much as they had come to love her. When they headed out to find a mate, love never entered the equation.