Page 116 of Shrouded in the Dark

A moan fell from me as a surge of pleasure followed the boost in power in my veins. The scent of Becca surrounded us, her lust, her feelings for each of us, and her very essence. A connection formed between all of us, like an invisible string that couldn’t be seen, but felt, and snapped into being.

All of us gasped for air. It felt like my blood was on fire. I pushed the curls out of my face.

“Holy shit.” I took in the others. They all looked like they’d run a marathon and not done well in it. “This had something to do with Becca.” I gave a short laugh as I sat down next to Cody, grabbing a soda and chugging it after opening it. “Fuck. That was a rush.”

Cody placed his forehead on the table. He yawned as he turned his face to look up at me. “No kidding.” He looked utterly used and spent.

Jasper settled himself into one of the chaise lounges with Wyn next to him. They both were sweating a little.

“I think it probably has to do with her mating with all of us. She must have marked Axel. Now all of our animals are connected. Could her animal have given us such a magical boost?” Jasper was looking at his hands. “I feel like my body is floating. My fox is acting like it's high.” He looked upward with his eyes half lidded.

“Let’s just take a little bit to get our heads back on.” Wyn rubbed his chin. He looked like he was fighting a yawn. “Damn. That wasn’t as good as sex, but it came close.”

Cody gave a strangled laugh. “Close? I need to change my pants.”

Chapter 27

Becca

“Becca!” Mom burst out of the house as soon as the SUV was put in park. She ignored Wyn, who was helping me out of the vehicle, pushing him aside to grab me in a tight hug. “You are not allowed to NOT call me for days at a time again!”

I barely felt the crushing hug that she held me in. It was nothing compared to the hugs from the guys that I’d gotten used to. I hugged her back, though, and was careful to make sure I didn’t squeeze too hard.

“I’m sorry, Mom. It wasn’t something I could control.” I had to fight to keep my eyes open.

After getting back to the house last night, Seth had told me what had happened to all of them when I’d marked Axel. On the surface, it didn’t seem like anything had changed, but under our skins, something lurked. My animal seemed to enjoy whatever it was.

Seth and Jasper agreed that whatever had happened, it had made all of us stronger. It was like we were all on drugs last night with how good it had felt.

The barbeque has been wonderful. We’d managed to finish everything that was cooked, lessening the amount that had to be piled into the vehicles this morning.

“If you were still a child, I’d ground your ass for life.” My mom continued her small rant as she pulled away from our hug and looked me over. “You look great though. Happy.” That’s when she noticed all of my guys as they stepped out of the cars. “So, these are your friends?” The way she said friends left little to the imagination. Seemed like Gary had told her about what happened.

Jasper stepped up next to us, smiling. “Hello, I’m Jasper.” He took my moms hand. “It’s really great to meet you. Becca told us all about you.”

My mom looked at him suspiciously, but I could tell she liked him. “I’m Ginny. It’s nice to meet you, all of you. Come inside. You can put your things in the garage for now, that way you don’t have to worry about it in the car.” She turned to lead the rest of us through the garage to inside. “Gary and the twins are playing some kind of video game.”

“Go with your mom, baby.” Seth pressed a kiss to my head. “We’ll take care of the things from the car and catch up. Go say hi to your family.”

I gave him a grateful smile as I followed Mom through the door. It had only been a few months since I was here last, but it felt like years. Things were in the same place, but everything was different.

We found Gary in the family room with the twins. They were playing some game, yelling at each other. Milly looked to be winning.

“You cut your hair!” My outburst distracted all of them.

“Becca!” Milly’s controller fell to the ground as she jumped up. “You’re home!” She rushed to hug me, with Steve right behind her. My hands were full of the twins as Mom turned off the TV.

“Welcome home.” Gary walked over to us.

My stepfather was on the wiry side. His glasses always looked like they were lopsided. His smile hardly ever left his face.

“Her friends are coming inside in just a second.” Mom wrapped an arm around Gary’s waist. “They’re all very good looking.”

“Please, tell me you didn’t flirt with them.” Gary looked down at Mom as he teased her.

“They would be so lucky!” Mom gave Gary a mock glare before their attention went back to us.

“Becca, Dad told us what happened! Is it true?” Steve moved around me. “I don’t see anything different.”