The Dom Unleashes His Wolf [Unchained Love 1] (Siren Publishing Ménage Everlasting) (6 page)

It was at a BDSM street party. She’d been wide eyed with amazement at some of the costumes and people there, yet he knew instantly how attracted she was to the lifestyle. He’d stayed away from her but followed her with his gaze for an hour or more before deciding to speak to her, watching and waiting to ensure she was the right person for him to teach and train.

Cameron he’d met previously at a BDSM club. Because he wasn’t gay or bisexual, Tor had been searching for the right female sub. However, he’d been attracted to Cameron, purely as Dominant and submissive. He’d stayed away from Cameron, despite his attraction to the sub, not willing to get into a completely nonsexual relationship. Once he’d met Gaynor, he’d instantly seen how they could become a successful threesome. The arrangement had worked out even better than he’d imagined it would.

Cameron was a born submissive, content to let Tor make all the decisions in the bedroom and to wait until Tor permitted him release. But there was no doubt how aroused he’d been. Tor had watched Cameron come tonight, and he’d come hard, very hard indeed.

If only he could tell them both his secret. Sometimes, like tonight, the pain of hiding a part of himself was intense. The entire structure of BDSM, Dom and submissives, was based on trust. Would they feel he’d betrayed their trust by not telling them? He did trust them, he truly did. But his secret was so huge, so demanding, so frightening, even life changing…No, it wasn’t time yet. He couldn’t tell them yet. Later, maybe. Much later. If, no,
when
they agreed to formally bond with him he’d tell them before the bonding. The first step was moving in together, which they’d done. Next would be them agreeing to commit to each other as a BDSM threesome. He hoped they agreed to that step soon. There would be a private ceremony between the three of them when that happened. Finally would come their formal bonding, when they’d make vows in public that they would be an exclusive unit until death parted them.

Tomorrow Gaynor might be a little stiff and sore, so Tor had planned an outing for them. Something light-hearted and fun they’d all enjoy doing. Now that they were living together he was able to plan more of their activities outside the bedroom. Once they were committed to each other he hoped to be able to guide their lives even more. As a Dom his nature was to be in charge. He needed to arrange their lives. It was another way he could demonstrate his love and care for them.

There was a round-robin basketball tournament on in town tomorrow. One where each team played every other team then the two teams with the highest scores played off against each other. They all enjoyed sports, and with so many teams playing simultaneous matches, they’d be able to walk from match to match, watching whichever was the most exciting or had people they knew playing in it.

They’d sleep in, rest from the exertion of tonight, shower, then wander over to the basketball round-robin midmorning, maybe eat a hot dog or two, and then watch the final, which should be exciting. In the afternoon they might hike out in the national park. Tor loved going there, and there were areas that were very infrequently visited. If they took a rug they could even enjoy some outdoor sex on one of the far-northern trails. They were too hilly for casual walkers to hike and not as pretty as the track to the waterfalls. Yes, that sounded like a perfect plan.

* * * *

Tor was feeling a fraction smug as his plans for the day went so smoothly. He watched both Gaynor and Cameron very carefully, but neither of them seemed stiff or sore. Nor did either hesitate at all to agree to his suggested activities. He was very careful not to mention his thoughts in the bedroom, which was his domain, but to wait until they were in the living room, neutral territory. He didn’t want them to agree to his plans because they considered they were still under his control. He wanted them to make a free choice as equal friends, not as submissives to his Dom.

Oh how he wished he had a real dungeon, so they could play even more complicated sex games. And a hot tub. A hot tub would be perfect to relax in after a demanding session. Yeah. Right. What was that old saying? “If wishes were horses, beggars would ride.” And if wishes were dungeons, oh the games he’d teach Cameron and Gaynor. His life, his happiness, was inextricably entangled with theirs. His main purpose in life was to bring them extreme pleasure.

The basketball round-robin was an even bigger event than he’d gathered from the community service broadcast he’d heard on his car radio on his commute from work on Friday. There must have been at least twenty different matches going on simultaneously. Some of them were pretty ordinary, but others were between very evenly matched teams so were excellent fun to watch, and others still had one or more very good players, which also made for exciting viewing.

All the teams were mixed, with a minimum of two people of each gender, and Gaynor had been quick to point out that what some of the women lacked in height or power, they more than made up for in skills. The three of them certainly saw some very tricky teamwork and neat moves.

“Oh, look. There’s Ramona playing over there. Let’s go watch her team.”

“Ramona? Oh, she’s someone you work with. The woman who’s really good with animals?” asked Cameron.

“That’s right. Long black hair. A member of the team wearing the red shirts,” said Gaynor.

Tor took Gaynor’s hand and they weaved their way in and out of the crowds over to the court where a team of basketballers wearing red shirts were competing against a group that wore purple tops. But whereas all the other teams Tor had noticed were wearing matching shorts, and some even had matching socks and shoes, on the purple team some had black shorts and others navy, and there was no unity at all about their footwear. Mentally Tor shrugged. Likely they were a community group who’d simply amalgamated to play in this competition. A group of people from a club who’d wanted to join in today but didn’t usually play together. After all, giving up an entire day to play basketball was a lot bigger commitment than just playing for an hour or so one night a week.

Tor was entranced by the match. The woman, Ramona, was an excellent player, very fast on her feet and almost always able to guess which way the ball would go. One of the other men on her team, a big guy with black hair, seemed to be watching out for her though, almost as if he was worried someone would hurt her.
Ha. I bet she’s his submissive. Likely he didn’t really want her to play today but agreed because it was something she genuinely enjoys doing.

The purple team seemed to be playing a very hard game. Playing the person more than the ball, too, Tor thought. He cut a glance over to Cameron and noticed the man frowning. Yes, he saw it, too. It was a very energetic, tactical, well-matched game, but purple were pushing the boundaries a little, although the umpires didn’t seem to have noticed, likely because it was such a fast game. Both sides really were good. But Tor now was certain this was why the big guy was keeping such a close watch on Ramona. He was obviously afraid someone might hurt her.

This game was being played on one of the more distant courts. It, and the court next to it, backed onto parkland, which was wild, bushy, and didn’t seem to be very well maintained. The fence was just a few strands of wire, not very high, and sagging wire at that. Tor had taken his eyes off the game and was scanning the tall grass and straggly trees when Gaynor gasped. He quickly looked back at the match to see the big guy punch a man who had grabbed Ramona’s ponytail.

“That may not actually be illegal, but that was,” said Cameron rather cryptically.

“Huh?” asked Gaynor.

“You aren’t supposed to pull people’s hair in football either, but basically no one who does it is ever punished. However, punching someone is definitely a no-no.”

The court went wild. Three or four men in purple shirts jumped on the big guy and started punching him. The purple-shirted woman with the ball swiveled and just stood there holding it. A man in a red shirt snatched the ball from her and started up the court with it, while several other red-shirted people had joined the fight.

One of the umpires blew his whistle, but no one was paying him any mind.

The crowd started pushing and shoving, some of them running onto the court to join the fight.

Tor was momentarily separated from Cameron and Gaynor. He wanted to be back beside Gaynor, but couldn’t help but stand and watch as a man and a woman from the crowd grabbed Ramona and ran to the fence, jumping over it like professional hurdlers even though they were holding her. For a moment he considered running after them, then looked for his family, Gaynor and Cameron. Tor saw Gaynor scream, wave her arm, and run after the people with Ramona.

His heart almost stopped, then panic surged through him. “Dammit,
no
!” he yelled. But so many other people were yelling and screaming no one could hear anything. He turned to sprint after Gaynor. Someone in the crowd pulled a knife. He saw the blade flash in the sunlight, felt the pain of it enter his side as if he wasn’t even wearing a shirt, then he was free from the crowd and racing after Gaynor, his mind focused solely on her, not on the burning pain in his side.

Gaynor’s pure white hair showed up well among the trees, and he could see flashes of red, which was Ramona’s shirt, but his fucking side really hurt. He pressed his hand to the wound and was shocked to feel how wet it was. Must be deeper than he’d thought, but that wasn’t a problem. He always healed quickly. Right now he had to get Gaynor back.

He understood why she was following the people who’d taken Ramona, but why couldn’t she have left it to the authorities?
What authorities, you idiot? Where are they? It’s just Gaynor and you.

He could hear running feet behind him and hoped it wasn’t the purple team. Hoped it was the police, paramedics, whoever.

“To the left,” a voice called.

All right, it wasn’t the authorities, it was Cameron. Thank God he’d have some help, though. The pain in his side was becoming a real bitch.

Ahead Gaynor screamed, and Tor saw more people running toward her. Obviously not cops either, or she wouldn’t have screamed.

Tor couldn’t run any faster, and the blood was now dripping down his leg. Even his sock felt all wet and squishy. There was no other option he could take.

Goddammit! Why did this happen? I never wanted it to be like this. Fucking idiots. Why now? I had a plan, a logical, sensible plan, damn it all.

He raced behind a tree, shucked off his shirt and pants, kicked off his shoes and socks, and shifted.

Almost immediately the pain in his side diminished and he could breathe more freely. On four feet, he raced through the trees to where there seemed to be another fight happening. He wasn’t too sure how he’d get Gaynor away from this trouble and was feeling fairly certain she wouldn’t leave without Ramona anyway. God, this was a mess. As a wolf he’d be much better able to chase and track and catch them. Also, he was already healing. Even if it was a particularly deep cut—and he hadn’t exactly stopped to look at it—it would close itself up in an hour or two. Whereas in human form he really needed stitches and possibly even a pint or two of blood.

But the negative side of all this was that likely, Gaynor would freak out when a wolf approached her. Cameron would try to protect her. Not that she would need protecting from him. He was going to protect her. But Cameron and Gaynor wouldn’t know that.

Why oh why had this happened now? If he found the idiot with the knife he’d rip him to pieces for ruining all his careful plans. He wanted to scream and rage. He’d had everything on a time line. This, then that, then the other. He was not supposed to be knifed. Especially not at a fucking community basketball match. This was supposed to be a fun and relaxed day, not a fucking nightmare.

Gaynor and Cameron meshed with him so well, he was serious about a more permanent arrangement as a threesome. And part of forming such a relationship would include telling them about his wolf side before they bonded to each other forever. But no way had he been ready to do it yet. Well, it looked as though life had gotten in the way of his plans, and after this was all over and he had Gaynor back home safely, he’d have a bit of confessing to do. God, he hoped they didn’t run screaming from him right now when they saw him. He needed the time to explain everything to them properly. He wasn’t truly the least bit vicious. He wouldn’t really kill the man who’d knifed him, although he definitely felt like doing it since the man’s behavior had ruined Tor’s careful plans. Control was a huge part of his nature, no matter which form he was in. And that control would never let him hurt anyone seriously. After all, he was a nurse. A healer, not a destroyer.

His wolf nose had guided him to exactly the right place to find out what was going on, even as his brain remained stuck in a human rut, worrying about Gaynor and, to a lesser extent, Ramona and Cameron.

He had no way of understanding who was on which side of this fight—why couldn’t they have all worn colored shirts, dammit, or at least put black hats on the bad guys like in the old spaghetti Westerns!—so he had to assume Gaynor and Ramona were the only good guys.

Even as he watched, Ramona disappeared in the long grass and a huge wildcat leaped from where she had been, its claws raised against one of the attackers.
Her, too?

Tor jumped on the back of the nearest attacker, dragging him to the ground and opening his jaws wide.