Safety

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CHAPTER ONE

CHAPTER TWO

CHAPTER THREE

CHAPTER FOUR

CHAPTER FIVE

CHAPTER SIX

CHAPTER SEVEN

CHAPTER EIGHT

CHAPTER NINE

CHAPTER TEN

EPILOGUE

FAITH

Taylor dreamed of Alder…or was it Hale? In her dream, she was in a dark room. With her sight obscured by the darkness, she reached out with her other senses. She could smell his scent, rich and musky, with the sweat of arousal. Over the pounding of her heart, she could hear his labored breathing.

His touch was everywhere. Hands gripping her hips, lips brushing against her neck, a tongue flicking over her stiffened nipples. He seemed to be in so many places at once, too many for one single male. And then, she realized that it was both of them, sharing her beneath the shroud of night.

“Taylor.”

That had to be Hale. She loved hearing her name in the sultry tone of his voice.

“Hm?” she replied, arching her hips towards him.

She felt nothing, and all at once, her dream world unraveled around her. Harsh beams of sunlight tore through the darkness and she flung her hand over her head to shield herself.

“Taylor, do you want some mushrooms?”

Taylor opened her eyes to see Lark hovering over her. The front door was wide open, letting bright sunlight in to flood the cabin. The rude awakening, coupled with a gnawing sexual frustration, made her snappy.

“Why didn’t you knock?”

Lark’s face fell. “Sorry. I found some mushrooms and I thought maybe you would want some.”

The raccoon shifter gestured towards a small basket of whitecaps. They reminded her of the types of mushrooms she’d see in a grocery store or a salad bar, but she was hesitant to try an unknown fungus.

Taylor rubbed the bridge of her nose. “No, I’m sorry. I don’t mean to be crabby, it’s just that this is sort of my home now. I love having you over, but I also need my privacy.”

“I understand,” Lark said, regaining some of her usual cheerfulness. She picked up the basket and offered it to Taylor. “Here, they’re delicious.”

Taylor picked one up and examined it. It seemed harmless enough, though it did have some dirt on it. She brushed the dirt off with her fingers, not feeling particularly motivated to go to the lake for cleaning water.

It didn’t taste half bad, and Taylor indulged in several more mushrooms as she looked around the cabin, trying to figure out why she felt so out of sorts. Alder and Hale’s absence seemed to be the most logical reason. Though it wasn’t uncommon for her to wake up alone, she’d been comfortable drifting off to sleep between them. With both of them gone, the cabin seemed so empty.

When she was on her fifth mushroom, Taylor realized what was really bothering her.

“The sunlight looks weird. It’s like, extra bright.”

“That’s because you’re normally asleep now,” Lark said. “It’s still early in the morning.”

Taylor groaned. “Ugh, I can’t believe I fell asleep. My schedule is going to be ruined now.”

The wolves, along with most of the shifters within the Halcyon pack, were nocturnal. After two weeks of being on the run from the FBI and then their run-in with the Whiteriver wolves, Taylor had been physically and emotionally drained and had slept through her first morning in the pack. After that, adopting their weird schedule hadn’t been much of a challenge.

But the past week had brought a lot of changes for Taylor. Killing the senator and subsequently going on the run, that all felt so surreal, as if it had happened to someone else. It was more than that, though. She no longer had the pressures of her internship or of school. Her life was so…peaceful.

Sure, there was the whole Whiteriver conflict going on. And she still wasn’t sure how things were going to pan out in her relationship with Alder and Hale. But those both seemed like minor issues when she considered how happy she was and how much she loved her new home.

“Alder and Hale must be sleeping already,” Taylor said, searching the furs for any trace of the clothing she’d worn the night before.

There was a draft in the room, coming in from the open door. It was neither cold nor hot, only a mild breeze with the barest hint of humidity. Summer was coming to an end and good riddance. Aside from chocolate, air conditioning was the only thing Taylor missed about the human world, at least so far.

“Alder and Hale are still awake,” said Lark. “They’re back at the den, preparing for the thrall.”

“Huh?” Taylor asked absently. She’d found her bra and, much to her irritation, one of the straps had been torn. She thought back, trying to remember which of the men had removed her bra and, by proxy, which one she was going to throttle the next time she saw him.

“Alpha wolves tend to be very aggressive towards others during the thrall,” said Lark. “It’s for the best that the three of you go somewhere private, where you won’t be disturbed.”

Taylor tested the bra with only one strap. Predictably, one of her breasts was ultra perky, while the other one sagged in the unsupported cup.

“That’s cool. Hey, do you have a needle and thread I could borrow? I have
got
to fix this,” Taylor said, wiggling the strap.

“Um, sure,” said Lark, chewing at her bottom lip. “But aren’t you worried? What if Alder and Hale get into a fight? I don’t think it’s right that you should have to go off with them alone. I don’t think that either of them would hurt you, but you never know. Sometimes, when their mates are fertile, alpha males can be downright feral.”

“Fertile?”

“Yeah. Your scent is changing. Didn’t you know?”

***

Laurel used a finger to trace an imaginary line over the crudely drawn map. “Penny caught the scents of at least two Whiteriver wolves near our border last night.”

Hale stared at Laurel’s fingernails, noting the line of dirt beneath them. There was a time when he found Laurel to be attractive in a wild, untamed way. She had few inhibitions and had never had any qualms about allowing him to take her whenever and wherever he pleased.

But all he could think about, when he saw the dirt beneath her nails, was how neat and clean Taylor kept her fingernails. Then, his mind drifted to the time they’d spent alone with one another, when those deceptively blunt nails of hers had dug into the skin of his back.

Thoughts of Taylor had his cock swelling all over again. It was the same erection he’d been fighting back for the past few hours, since he’d left her bed, and it was making him irritable. He wanted to be with his mate.

After the meeting, which was taking for—fucking—ever, he would have to lead a second hunt. Alder had tasked him with ensuring there was sufficient food to last while they were away. A hunt that large was going to take hours.

Hale drummed his fingers on the wood table, only half-listening to Laurel. He knew that what she was saying was important, but to his wolf, it was all irrelevant right now.

For the first time, he noticed that Holly was sitting next to him.

“What are you doing here?” he asked.

He kept his voice low, so as not to interrupt Laurel. There were plenty of others in the room and they were all accustomed to him holding conversations during meetings.

Holly regarded him from the corner of her eye. “Since when am I not allowed in pack meetings?”

“Aren’t you supposed to be watching Tulip?”

Hale couldn’t help but cringe at his own mention of Tulip. The wolf female had been his mole inside Whiteriver, until she’d been found out. Her pack had handed her over to Halcyon and she now seemed to be under the impression that she was in some sort of relationship with him.

Even once the thrall was over and he resumed his usual proclivities, Tulip would hardly be his first choice. She was too thin, too chatty, and too needy for his tastes.

“Penny’s watching her,” said Holly. “Unlike Fenix, I’m not okay with playing babysitter all day.”

Hale frowned. “Where’s Fenix?”

“Probably watching Taylor. I hardly ever see him anymore.”

Hale felt his muscles tense. He realized that he had no idea what the mating habits of hawk shifters were. Would Fenix be as drawn to Taylor’s scent as Hale was? What if he tried to take Taylor away? What if he tried to mate with Taylor?

“You okay?” Holly asked.

“Go trade posts with Fenix,” Hale ordered. “Now.”

Holly looked indignant. “Why?”

Why did she always expect a reason for his commands? “Because I said so.”

Her red lips flattened. “Watching your females is not an effective use of my time. You do realize that I exist to do more than be at your beck and call, don’t you? I have interests, hobbies, and things to do besides wait around for orders.”

Before Hale could fire off a response, his nose picked up a faint scent in the air, one that made his pulse quicken and his blood heat. He stood to his feet just as Taylor rounded the corner.

She hung in the doorway, uncertain eyes moving around the occupants of the meeting room. Many of them turned towards her, no doubt picking up on her scent. When her eyes fell on Hale, her lips curved into a small smile.

“Sorry to interrupt,” she said in a hushed voice. “Can I talk to you for a minute?”

Hale was already making his way towards her. He threw Holly a glance over his shoulder, mouthing the word ‘go’ as he flung an arm around Taylor’s hip.

“Where’s Fenix?” Hale asked as he guided her out into the corridor.

“He’s talking with a wolf back in the main room. It’s nice to finally get away from him. He’s been watching me like a—” she let out a snort of laughter. “Well, like a hawk.”

Hale stopped, backed her against the wall only a few feet from the doorway. “Has he been bothering you?”

“Only if you count watching my every move and giving me zero privacy.”

Hale lowered his head to her neck, taking in a long drag of her scent. “He hasn’t touched you, has he?”

“What? No way.”

“Good.” He pressed his now-solid erection against her belly. “Because I’d kill him if he did.”

“What?” she said again, and this time the question was accompanied by nervous laughter.

Not feeling that he needed to explain himself, Hale claimed her mouth. He took her plump bottom lip between his teeth and tugged, apply enough pressure to make her whimper. The sweet noise was quickly becoming his favorite sound and it aroused him on every level.

One of his hands gripped her silky hair, while the other sought out her breasts, pushing aside the flimsy material of her dress. Pleased to find that she wasn’t wearing a bra, Hale cupped the plush mound, squeezing it tightly as he ground his cock against her.

Every part of her was so fucking soft. Hale felt like he could come just from grinding against her belly. When his nose detected a spark of arousal laced in her already heady scent, he groaned and brought his hands down to grab her hips. With a quick jerk, he had himself positioned between her thighs with only the obnoxious cloth barrier of her underwear between them.

Hadn’t he burned the last pair? How many of these things did she have?

The repositioning freed Taylor’s mouth and after a sharp intake of breath, she hissed, “Will you cut it out?”

Hale’s grip on her hips tightened. “What?”

“I asked to talk to you,” she huffed, trying to worm her way out of his grip. Her wiggling only served to arouse him further. “Why is it that every time I tell you I want to talk to you, you think it’s okay to jump me?”