Page 39

AURELIA

One month later…

“ A ureliaaaaa!”

Birds burst from the canopy at the roar, and a whimper tears from my lips. Knowing who that pissed-off voice belongs to, I pick up my speed despite my body begging for a reprieve.

I’ve already been running for miles.

My heart pounds so fast that each beat feels more like a stab, and with each passing minute, it becomes impossible to catch my breath. But I keep putting one foot in front of the other. I can’t risk slowing because I know the men chasing me won’t. If they catch me, they’ll keep their promise and punish me for running.

The pack on my back is heavy, and I’d move so much faster without it, but I can’t risk leaving it.

I wish I could say the last month has been bliss, but no.

It’s been weeks of waiting for Sheriff Kelly to come. That first morning after, Thorin and Khalil nearly came to blows over the decision of whether to take me and run.

Of course, Thorin was for it. Khalil wasn’t so willing to give up their home for the slight chance that the sheriff didn’t believe them.

And…he was right.

The sheriff never came.

I figured it would take him a few days to piece it together, but after the first week passed and then the second without him darkening our doorstep, I began to wonder if I’d imagine that moment between us.

Only the mood of my mountain men this past month confirmed that I hadn’t. And then one night, when I was brave enough to ask about that day in town, Khalil revealed a little of their history with the sheriff, and I finally understood why the man hadn’t come.

There might have been a second when the thought crossed the sheriff’s mind about my true identity, but in the end, he didn’t want to believe that the men he regarded as sons could do something like this right under his nose. It’s the same willful ignorance many parents show, who know their kids are obnoxious little shits but pretend they’re perfect angels instead.

Sheriff Kelly’s choice not to follow his gut was the first time I understood that I was truly on my own. And now I needed to do something about where that left me.

Thorin, Khalil, and even Seth have been surly, paranoid, broody, overly possessive, and un-bear-a-ble.

Needless to say, I couldn’t take it anymore.

The moment I stopped feeling their eyes on me for even a second, I ran. That brief head start is the only reason they haven’t caught me yet.

I run for another half a mile before I can’t take another step. I’m in much better shape than I was two months ago, thanks to Khalil and sheer fucking boredom, but I’m still gasping for air while the stitch in my side pulls tighter.

I stop next to a broken tree. The top half sweeps the ground that’s free of snow now that it’s spring. The last frost ended a week ago, and the flowers are already in bloom. The area looks familiar, but I’m too tired to care why. My curls are plastered to my forehead, and sweat stings my eyes as I catch my breath. Why hadn’t I gone for one of the snowmobiles?

You know why.

Maybe…just maybe…I want them to catch me.

I’m a masochist like that.

A sound nearby catches my ear, and my head snaps in that direction.

Gotta move.

I groan miserably and push away from the tree I’m leaning against, but then the sleeve of my costume dress that I just mended a few days ago snags on a branch of the broken tree. I impatiently try to wrestle it free and feel the threads tear open once more.

“Damn it,” I whisper.

Once I’m free, I take one step away from the tree, but a twig snaps underneath my foot, and I freeze.

“Did you hear that?” I hear Seth ask.

“I think she went this way.”

Fuck, fuck, fuck!

They’re closer than I thought.

I stumble forward in the opposite direction, picking up speed until I’m running again, woefully aware that each clumsy step only gives away my position. They’re not trying to be quiet either, and why should they? They’re faster than me, and there are three of them.

The knowledge forces me to slow down again until I’m sneaking between the trees. I spot a deer about a hundred feet away, watching me as it chews grass.

An idea forms.

Khalil, Seth, and Thorin are closing in fast, and I know it’s only a matter of time before they find me.

Picking up a sizable rock, I sneak closer until I’m within throwing distance, and then I chuck the rock at the deer. It takes off when the stone hits the ground, so I tiptoe in the opposite direction.

“She’s over here!”

Thinking it’s me, I hear my guys giving chase after the deer. I even spot Seth leading the pack about thirty feet away.

I use the cover of their footfalls to sprint the other way, but they realize they’ve been played much too soon. I can hear them gaining on me again until one of them stumbles and groans like they’re in pain. Against my better judgment, I pause.

That sounded like Khalil.

“Will you stop fucking around?” Thorin gripes. “We need to find her.”

“Fuck you, Thayer. I stubbed my goddamn toe.” I roll my eyes at that drama queen while Seth laughs like a maniac. “It’s not fucking funny,” Khalil snaps. “That shit hurts.”

Seth laughs even harder, and then I hear a fist connecting with flesh, followed by the sound of them fighting. Instead of using the distraction of their own testosterone to put a little more distance between us, I let a laugh slip, and I don’t have to wonder if they heard me.

“You better run fast, little wolf, because we’re coming for you!” Thorin roars.

Shit.

I really am too stupid to live.

The bushes next to me began rustling, making a fuck ton of noise before two rabbits burst free and run for cover in another.

And now I know why this area seems so familiar.

The meadow.

I actually made it all the way to Thorin’s furthest hunting ground.

Thorin must succeed in breaking up the fight because I hear the three of them running again. I spot the same rabbits darting from the bushes again, and I know where they’re heading. For some fucking reason, I think it’s a good idea to follow them like I’m a rabbit being hunted.

As I suspected, my furry friends make a mad dash for the meadow, where they disappear in the surprisingly tall grass. I slow just inside the edge of the meadow and gawk, my hands brushing the wild grass and occasional flower as I venture deeper.

Thorin hadn’t exaggerated the beauty of the meadow. It’s a sea of white, pink, and purple flowers, while the blue, orange, and yellow butterflies flitting over them only add to the variegated display.

“Aurelia!”

The pissed-off sound of my name ends with a terrified gasp from me.

No more than thirty feet away, Thorin emerges from the forest line to my right, and I drop onto my belly and start crawling before he can spot me.

“I fucking saw you, you piece of shit!”

Fuck. I belly crawl faster. I can still lose him in the grass. I can—

“There you are.”

Gasping, I peer up and scream when I see Khalil standing over me. I hadn’t even seen or heard him enter the meadow. They must have split up at some point.

Divide and conquer.

“No!” I spring to my feet so I can run, but I don’t get more than a step before I feel his hand wrap around my hair. A second later, I’m being yanked back so fiercely it’s a wonder my neck doesn’t break.

I hit the ground hard enough to daze me for a few seconds.

Long enough for Khalil to drop down on top of me, take my dress in both hands and rip it down the middle. My breasts spill from the confines, and his angry gaze snaps to them.

Realizing I can’t overpower him, I go for begging instead. “No. Please—”

“Shut the fuck up.”

“ Have it your way.” I send my fist soaring in a beautiful fucking cross punch, and it connects with Khalil’s jaw, snapping his head sideways. My knuckles scream on impact, but I ignore the pain as I twist onto my side to escape.

I make the mistake of forgetting he’s not alone so I don’t get far.

Seth appears—seemingly out of thin air—and I find myself cornered and captured once again. Relieving me of my pack, he forces me on my back for Khalil once again, and even though my nipples pebble from their rough handling, I still fight with everything in me to get away.

“Don’t fucking touch me!”

Ignoring me, Seth grabs my wrists before I can give him the same treatment I offered Khalil. His hold is so harsh the fragile bones twinge, and I cry out from the pain.

Seth isn’t moved.

His face could be carved from rock for all the emotion he gives. Simmering deep beneath the anger, though, is want. I know right then that Khalil won’t be the only ravaging my pussy once he’s done.

Khalil uses his knees to shove my thighs apart to make room for himself, and it’s only then that I notice his jeans are lowered over his ass, and his dick is out. He’s still watching my bare breasts when he spits into his palm and begins stroking his hard cock while on his knees.

My stomach tightens as I watch him grow, the angry purple head already leaking pre-cum. I start struggling anew when he leans forward to settle between my thighs. I’m not wearing panties, so there’s nothing left to stop him.

“Khalil, wait. I don’t want to.” Ignoring me, he rubs the tip of his cock back and forth through my slick. “I said I don’t want to. Stop! Please! I’m sorry I ran. I—”

“Sorry?” he echoes coldly as he presses forward, my unprotected pussy flaring helplessly around the broad head of his cock. It feels like a threat. “How sorry are you, Goldilocks?”

“I’m so sorry. I don’t know what I was thinking.”

“No?” I don’t realize Thorin’s found us until he speaks. When I look up, I find him standing over the three of us like a vengeful god. “Because I think you knew exactly what you were doing, songbird.” I start to tell him where he can stick his thoughts, but he drops to the ground next to us and presses his hand over my mouth. “Give her what she wants.”

Khalil’s hips meanly punch forward, and he doesn’t stop until his balls are pressed against my ass. My eyes roll back inside my head as I release a tortured groan under Thorin’s palm.

I can feel all three of their eyes on me as Khalil ruthlessly fucks me into the ground, crushing the wild grass and freshly bloomed flowers. Newly hatched butterflies fly over us while a few peeping Tom bunnies watch the debauchery from nearby.

If some hikers or campers were to walk by, they’d have no idea what was happening within the shelter of the meadow. The knowledge makes me fight a little harder, the heels of my boots digging into the ground as I try to buck Khalil off me. He responds with hard shoves that are even more disarming than Seth’s hold or Thorin’s hand. Without fail, Khalil reaches that sensitive spot deep inside of me that he pounds over and over like one of his speed bags. I can feel my own orgasm beginning to crest when he finally buries himself one last time, throws back his head, and paints my contracting walls with cum.

“Goddamn, this bitch’s pussy is lethal.” Khalil swirls his hips one last time before pulling out of me and rolling away. I’m lying frozen on the ground, staring up at the sky with my thighs gapped open, and the hem of my dress rucked over my hips when he says, “You got to try it, Seth.”

“Yeah?” Seth lets go of my wrists to take his turn, but I take them all by surprise when I burst into action, sitting up before he can and dislodging Thorin’s hand.

I manage to crawl away a few feet, but a heavy weight lands on my back when Seth tackles me from behind, sending my half-naked front to the ground.

“Stop it!”

He responds by yanking my ass into the air, forcing me onto my hands and knees. I try to crawl away again, and he snatches me back before slapping my ass so hard my ears ring.

“Please, please don’t fuck me.”

“Or what?” Lining up his cock, Seth shoves inside of me.

Khalil’s cum eases the way, but I still feel every inch of Seth’s rage once he settles deep inside me. I don’t think he’s ever been this hard.

This time Thorin isn’t quieting my cries, so they are free to revel in them as Seth fucks into me like an animal from behind. He ignores my continued pleas for him to stop while holding onto my hair in one hand like reins while his other clutches my hip to keep me still for him.

The liberties they take with my body without any remorse shouldn’t feel this good, and yet here I am, clawing the ground and trying not to throw my ass back to meet Seth’s thrusts. I can feel the soft grass digging into my knees and the flowers brushing my hard nipples as my tits sway back and forth, and it only confuses me more.

Even the rough, guttural sounds Seth makes pushes me closer and closer to that ever-looming edge. Luckily, Seth comes before I do, and then he shoves me away like I mean nothing to him as he stands.

Two down, one more to go . Exhaustion clings to me already. A bitch really needs to work on her stamina.

Collapsing onto my side, I don’t even attempt to escape when Thorin folds himself against my back. He wraps a hand around my throat anyway because he knows that could change, and I close my eyes as he lifts my leg and enters me slowly. I can feel him watching my face as he takes his sweet fucking time. I can feel the other two watching us from where they lounge on the ground, enjoying their afterglow.

When I crack my eyes open, I see Khalil and Seth’s pinned to where Thorin and I are joined. Each time Thorin pushes in deep enough that I feel his balls, Seth stops breathing, and Khalil’s nostrils flare. When Thorin retreats, they watch the way my lower lips part and how their combined cum coats his length, easing the way for him when he plunges back inside of me.

I gasp when the tip lodges against that fleshy spot inside of me at the same time Khalil reaches over. The moment the rough pads of his fingers touch my clit, I erupt on Thorin’s cock with a strangled cry.

Thorin doesn’t make a sound when he comes, but I feel his cum joining Seth and Khalil’s, so I turn my head toward him and find him watching me like he’s afraid I’ll disappear if he stops for even one moment.

I did kind of do exactly that this morning, so it’s not an irrational fear.

A few minutes later, we’re all still lying in the meadow, resting silently while birds chirp from their nests in the trees nearby and butterflies flit overhead, and I find myself tracing their flight pattern to stay awake. Every so often, I hear the soft thud of rabbits moving around the meadow.

After ten minutes, I hear Khalil or Seth shift in the grass nearby. Also hearing it, Thorin’s head pops up from his doze, and he groans when he lifts my hand to check the watch on my arm and realizes that we’ve been here too long.

Feeling him finally free his soft cock from inside me, I peer over my shoulder and meet his warm, blue gaze.

“How was that, my wolf?”

Slowly, I let my smile free like a secret I’d been holding onto for too long and roll onto my back as I give a languid stretch. “That was perfect.”

Leaning forward, Thorin bites my bottom lip before licking the abused spot and kissing me. “We got to go.”

It’s spring, which means more visitors in the Cold Peaks—hikers and campers will come out in droves, especially to visit the nearby lake. I hadn’t meant to make Thorin, Khalil, and Seth chase me this far from the cabin, but I can’t bring myself to regret it now.

They needed this as much as I did.

A chance to re-stake their claim and prove to themselves that they’ll catch me no matter what, so I can fucking breathe again without the weight of their suspicion and insecurities.

The four of us right our clothing quietly since none of us actually took the time to undress, and then Khalil grabs and shoulders my pack before we start back for the cabin.

“Did you really have to throw her down so hard?” Thorin gripes at Khalil, and we both groan.

Have I mentioned the pissing matches between the three of them have been non-stop? Before, they were a united front against me, and now that I’m theirs, they’ve moved to staking their individual claims.

Since I know why Thorin is complaining, I respond before Khalil can. “I’m not pregnant, Thor. Give it a rest.”

“You’ve been here two months, and you haven’t had your period.”

“Have you forgotten all the shit that’s happened in that time? There are any number of reasons why it didn’t come,” I snap.

“You mean like letting us come inside you whenever we want?”

I ignore that, and Khalil and Seth start walking a little faster to get away from us. This isn’t the first time Thorin and I have had this argument. “Besides, I’ve only missed one. It doesn’t mean anything.”

“Okay,” he says smugly.

“It doesn’t .”

“ Okay .”

I growl at him and start walking faster to get away from him, but my legs have other plans, wobbling like jello since they worked me over good, and I stumble around like a fawn that’s just learned to walk.

I can feel Thorin eyeing me. “You okay?”

“Fine.”

“I can carry you.”

“I said I’m fine.”

He catches up to me in one and a half steps and swoops me up in his arms. “Then indulge me, songbird,” he whispers.

Giving up the pretense of not wanting to be doted on like the lost and stolen princess I am, I rest my head on his shoulder and close my eyes. “Fine.”

“Ahhh!!!” My scream after we reach our clearing and approach the cabin has my mountain men on high alert as they stop to draw their weapons and look around for the threat.

“What? What is it?” Khalil asks with murderous fury etched all over his face.

Grinning, I bounce on my toes as I point toward the small plot off to the side. It’s been shoveled clear of snow to make way for the fresh soil that’s already been turned over and raked into four neat lines.

When my guys stare at me over their shoulders like I’ve lost my mind, I push through the circle they made around me and run over to the garden. Falling to my knees outside the four wooden planks that protect the garden, I squeal again when I see the little green leaves sticking out of the ground in the middle. I studied those books for days, insisting I wasn’t ready before Khalil dragged my ass out of the cabin and shoved a spade in my hand.

Two weeks later, after much self-doubt, I’m staring at those long, thin first leaves no more than an inch long, thanking photosynthesis for doing its job.

I hear footsteps behind me as my mountain men join me, and then Khalil makes a sound of surprise when he sees it.

“Holy shit. You did it,” Khalil praises.

“Damn. That’s some fine-looking green, Sunshine.”

“Congratulations, songbird.”

Khalil crouches next to me and reaches out a curious brown hand toward those precious green leaves, and I panic, slapping it away. “No, don’t touch it!”

He snatches his hand back and cuts his gaze toward me. “ Ow .”

My cheeks warm in response. I did kind of overreact. “Sorry.”

My gaze returns to that fragile, feeble sign of life, and I squeal even louder this time.

All three of my guys wince and groan.

“All right, I’m going in the house before I lose my hearing,” Thorin grumbles before stomping away.

Khalil stands and flees as well, but Seth lingers. “Coming, Sunshine?”

I tear my gaze away from the leaves to look up at him. “In a minute. I—” A gasp leaves me, and I shoot to my feet. “Seth…your nose.”

He blinks in surprise and then touches his nose. When he pulls his hand back to inspect his fingers, he doesn’t react to the blood on them, and it sends my worry through the roof.

It’s happened before.

“What’s going on?”

“Nothing.” He quickly turns away from me, but I chase after him. My hand on his arm stops him even though he can break free anytime.

“That’s not nothing, Seth. Why is your nose bleeding?”

He still won’t meet my gaze as he shrugs. “No reason. It does that sometimes.”

My hands start shaking. “Stop lying to me, and tell me why.”

Instead of explaining, I watch him visibly shut down, and it’s such a strange reaction coming from him. Seth is the most open and honest person I know. He wears his heart on his sleeve, and it’s one of the things I love most about him. With Seth, I never have to doubt how he’s feeling or what he feels for me. “Does it matter?”

“Yes.”

Huffing, he starts walking again, so I run to cut him off. Seth swears as he stops in his tracks. “Sunshine—”

I launch myself at him and throw my arms around his neck. When his hands automatically find my lower back, I feel tears rise up, and for the first time, I think they might actually fall.

“Seth…don’t do this. Please. Don’t leave me with this worry and no answers. It’s cruel, and that’s not you. Talk to me. Let me help you.”

It’s just a nosebleed, so I’m probably overreacting, but Seth’s determination to hide and lie about it tells me I’m not.

He sighs, and I feel him shake his head, not in rejection of my plea, but as if he thinks he’s failed me somehow. “I didn’t want you to worry, Sunshine.”

“Well, it’s too late for that!” I cry a little hysterically.

I feel his hand caressing my back soothingly. “Everything’s going to be okay.”

“How can I believe you when you’re keeping secrets from me?”

Seth skims his lips over my forehead and, likely realizing I won’t let it go, says, “My nose is bleeding because of Zeke.”

“Zeke?” I echo. Lifting my head from his shoulder to see his face, I search Seth’s gaze. “Why would he do this to himself? And to you?”

“Because he wants to wake up, and I…” Seth clams up again.

My racing mind fills in the blanks. “You’ve been holding him back.” I stagger back a step when he nods. “Seth, why? If this is hurting you—”

“Because I’m selfish,” he answers, releasing a shuddering breath as he nuzzles my face. “And because I’ll do anything to keep you safe.”

“You think he’ll hurt me?” Seth shakes his head and again leaves me to fill in the blanks. When I do, the knot in my stomach tightens even more. “You think Thorin and Khalil will.” He shrugs, which means yes. “Seth, that’s not fair. Thorin and Khalil said they’ll talk to Zeke. It will take some time, but they swear Zeke will come around—”

“He won’t,” Seth says with a finality that makes my heart fall into my stomach.

“How can you be so sure?”

“Other than the obvious?” he says with uncharacteristic sarcasm. The obvious being that Seth literally lives inside Zeke’s head. Who better to know the man than his alternate persona? “I’m sure because Ezekiel fell in love once. Did I tell you that?”

“What? No. No, you haven’t.”

“There was this girl at Isaac’s compound. Tatum Brantford. Before shit got bad and Zeke still believed he was there to get to know his older brother, he met her. She was the daughter of one of Isaac’s most devout followers. After Zeke fell in love with her, Tatum’s father was appointed Isaac’s secretary, and her family reaped the rewards of his newly elevated position.”

“Just because they fell in love?”

“Because Tatum’s the reason Zeke stayed. Isaac couldn’t just kill Zeke. It had to be a sacrifice. Zeke had to die by his own hand, or the ritual to make Isaac “immortal” would never work.”

“You mean Isaac was conning people into killing themselves?”

“It’s much easier if the sacrifices are already suicidal, but Zeke wasn’t, and Isaac knew that. He needed time to break Zeke.”

“And when brainwashing didn’t work, the maniac turned to torture,” I guess.

Seth nods, and his eyes become hollow and haunted as the memories resurface. “When Zeke’s instincts were telling him to run, when people went missing, and he began to suspect the Seeds of the Undying and his brother were responsible, Zeke stayed for Tatum. She told him she couldn’t leave her family, and he stayed because he loved her.”

“She honey potted him?”

“ Yes. ” Sadness for a man I’d technically never met clings to my heart as I wait for Seth to deliver the final blow. I know it’s coming, and he doesn’t keep me waiting for long. “Tatum made Zeke fall for her and then used his love to hurt him. So no, Sunshine. Zeke won’t ever come around because he won’t trust you. I was the one awake when Thorin and Khalil found him. I saw their guilt and felt their rage, and those feelings never really left them, so I can tell you with absolute certainty that there is nothing on this earth—not even you—that will make Thorin and Khalil abandon their brother a second time.”

Seth kisses my forehead and walks away. He leaves me standing alone while this new life I’d stolen for myself slowly crumbles around me.