Shay's Shifters [Mountain Men of Montana 1] (Siren Publishing Ménage Everlasting) (13 page)

“I’ll take my turn watching, too,” added Walker.

He stood and let Walker then Renkon go outside before facing her. “But if Walker snores too much and keeps you awake, just say so and I’ll smother him for you.”

“Sure. Will do.” She shot him a smirk then gaped at him. “You’re not serious, are you?”

He shrugged and ducked out of the hut.

* * * *

Shay stretched the sleep out of her body and looked through the opening in the top of the hut. Judging from the slant of the shadows, it was still early. Even after the harrowing day she’d had and all the revelations the men had told her, she’d slept peacefully, dreaming of the three fascinating men who’d taken her world and turned it upside down.

But what of the things they’d told her? She’d seen them change, but she still had a difficult time believing that werewolves existed. How could three amazing men change from human to wolf and back again? Had the stories and legends told the truth?

She shivered as she remembered The Cursed. If anything could convince her that supernatural beings existed, it was those poor creatures. Repulsed, she couldn’t bear the idea that their leader wanted to make her his by planting his seed in her to give birth to a child. What would such a child be like? Could she love the child even if it was more like its father than her? She pulled the blanket up to her chin. No, she’d rather die before she let Burac or his kind impregnate her.

“Is she awake?” Rosh’s voice was still strong even though he whispered.

“I don’t know. Want me to check?”

Renkon.
She smiled. He had an infectious laugh and a quick grin. He was a nice counterpoint to his cousin’s serious and often hard manner.

“Naw. Let her sleep. We threw a lot at her yesterday.”

“Yeah. Maybe too much. But what choice did we have after she saw Burac and then us?”

“None. But let’s give her some time. Let her get to know everyone.”

She turned onto her side and waited in the silence that followed. Had they left?

“Do you think she’ll stay, cousin?”

She held her breath. What would Rosh say?

“I don’t know, and I don’t even want to go there. I can’t imagine life without her now. I love everything about her, even her fiery nature. What about you?”

Her breath rushed out of her then quickened. She bit her lower lip, mesmerized.

“Yeah, I feel the same way. She’s it for me. She’s more than we ever wanted. More than I’d dared hope for.”

“Not too bullheaded?” Walker’s voice came from the other side of the hut.

I’m bullheaded?
Her stubbornness was like a VW Beetle compared to his Mack truck.

Renkon’s wonderful laugh took away a bit of her irritation. Would that be what life with them would be like? Rosh being irritatingly sexy with Renkon’s humor soothing the conflict between them? And what about Walker and Rosh? Would she have to referee their arguments? Although, they appeared to have settled their differences. All three men made her hot in a good way. A very good way.

Renkon chuckled. “Are you kidding? I love her spirit and fight. How many other women could’ve handled all this? Hell, most of the women I know on The Outside would’ve curled into a ball and cried their eyes out.”

“That’s true. She might annoy the hell out of me, but I still want to throw her around and shove my cock inside her.” Rosh groaned, and she imagined him flexing his muscles so that they rippled with power.

Her body heated as the memory of Rosh on top of her came back. Maybe she should invite them into the hut.

“About that. You and Walker have had a go with her. It’s my turn next. How else is she going to know if she wants me, too?”

“Yeah, yeah. Your time will come.”

“Besides, you two interrupted us.” She could sense Walker standing up and stretching.

She was enthralled by what they said. The way they’d spoken of her, their tones wondrous and deeply sensual, touched a place in her heart that no man had ever reached.

“We’re very lucky that it happened the way it did, cousin. Who knows how long it would’ve taken to find a woman like her on our own.”

“Our ancestors must be looking out for us.”

“Wow. I didn’t think you believed in that kind of thing. You sound like Walker.”

“Hell and damnation, don’t compare me to him.”

“Yeah, he pales in comparison, man,” joked Walker.

Renkon chuckled. “Come on, guys. Each of us wants her, and she might end up choosing all of us. We’re all in love with her already, so cut out the hostility and get along, okay? Besides, I think most of the huffing and puffing between you two is fake. Give the alpha routines a rest and let’s work on getting her to stay.”

She smiled at Rosh’s and Walker’s grumbles. Renkon was right. They were both a couple of boys too caught up in a pissing contest to let it go. She hugged her knees to her chest. They cared for her and wanted her to stay. No wonder she couldn’t stop smiling. Had she found what her friend Tee had? If so, she’d be a fool to turn them down.

“We’ll need to respect what and who she wants. Both of you need to realize that. Come on. Let’s do some hunting today and clear our minds. It’ll give her more time to think.” Walker cleared his throat. “What do you say, Rosh? A truce? Possible co-mates?”

“I say a day in the woods sounds good.”

Throwing off the blanket, she tugged on another dress, similar to the first one, that had been left by the bed along with a comb and a soft towel. A bowl of fruit as well as water sat on a wooden tray nearby, and she hurriedly ate a banana then drank a cup of water.

She ran her palms down her dress to smooth it out then pulled open the flap. Unlike her first day in the camp, lots of people were scattered around the area. Groups laughed as they shared food while children ran and played near the edge of the forest. Woman gossiped as they prepared vegetables and men challenged each other in wrestling matches. The whole thing would’ve looked like a scene from a historical movie about Native Americans except that the people varied from one ethnicity to the other. Modern-days tools were used as men worked on the roof of one of the cabins and a few of the women wore jewelry that she doubted was handmade.

Okay, Shay, time to get to know the natives.

She stepped out of the hut and hadn’t taken two steps before a petite woman, the same woman who had berated Rosh, entwined her arm in hers.

“Hi, I’m Myla. It’s about time you got up.”

Shay flushed with embarrassment. “I’m sorry. I didn’t know I was supposed to get up, and I didn’t see an alarm clock.” They’d left her phone on top of the cliff along with her other clothes.

“Don’t worry about it. Once you’re here long enough, your internal clock will wake you up on time. Besides, the men wanted you to sleep in.”

“Oh, I don’t know if I’m going to stay that long.” Yet as soon as she’d said the words, her gut tightened. Did she want to leave? Could she return to her old life? A life without the men who loved her?

Myla released her arm and whirled to confront her. Her brilliant emerald eyes flashed with fire, making her red curls seem like a flame. “Are you kidding me? Don’t be ridiculous. Why wouldn’t you want to stay?”

“Because this isn’t my home.”

Myla’s fuse burned out as quickly as it had come to life. “Don’t worry, it will. Especially since you have the best-looking, bravest men chasing after you.”

Her description of Rosh, Walker, and Renkon was dead-on. “Maybe so, but that doesn’t mean I’m ready to pack it in and live in the woods. No matter how beautiful it is.”
Or how sexy they are.

“Wow. I didn’t expect that. If they wanted me, I’d jump at the chance.”

“Then why don’t you?”
Shut up!
Her jealousy warred with her independent streak.

Myla laughed and took her hand. “Because I know they’ve set their sights elsewhere. Besides, I’ve already found my true loves. I shouldn’t ask for more than my fair share.”

“Your true loves? Do you really believe in true love? In soul mates?”

She looked taken aback. “Of course I do.” She tilted her head, searching Shay’s face. “Love doesn’t have anything to do with knowing what another person likes or dislikes. Real affection isn’t a result of a list of characteristics fed into a computer. True love comes from your heart and your soul, not from your head. Everyone on The Outside has forgotten how to recognize real love when they see it. They’re too busy with work, money, and running as fast as they can until they can’t run any longer. Don’t you believe in true love?”

Until she’d met the men, she would’ve answered quickly with a resounding no. “I’m not sure anymore.”

Myla nodded sagely. “You will. Give your heart time to relearn how to know your true loves when you find them. When it does, you won’t have any doubts.”

Shay let out her frustration in a quick puff of air. “So you’re with other men?”

“For a time I was mated to four great guys.”

“Was?” She caught the sadness in the woman’s eyes. “Damn. I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to pry.”

“It’s okay.” Myla held her head high. “I had five blessed years with my men before they were attacked and killed by The Cursed.”

Shay stopped in her tracks. “Those things killed them?”

“They did.”

“Oh, my God. Was there a war?” Yet it was difficult to imagine the peaceful people around her charging into battle.

“Some of the men wanted to exact revenge, but I begged them not to.”

“Really?” She blushed at her bluntness. If The Cursed hurt Rosh, Renkon, or Walker, wouldn’t she want them punished? “I’m sorry, but why wouldn’t you want them to pay for murdering your mates?”

Myla touched her hand and squeezed. “Hate only breeds hate, and bringing more hate into The Hidden would only tarnish the magic here. Besides, I couldn’t bear the thought of anyone else getting hurt. Would killing them have brought my men back? Then what good would it have served? I forgave The Cursed and, since it was my decision, The Council respected my wishes.”

“You’re a better woman than I, Myla. I don’t think I could’ve done the same.”

“It was purely selfish on my part. I forgave them so my daughter and I wouldn’t let the anger fester inside us. I did it for us, not for them.”

“Your daughter?”

She laughed and gestured toward a young girl with red hair as she dashed by them. “Yes. My mates gave me my wonderful daughter, Kira.”

Kira squealed as a lanky boy grabbed for her. She dodged him and ran toward one of the cabins, tossing off her clothes as she did. Turning around to make sure he was still in pursuit, she giggled then waved at her mother. Within the next minute, Kira was gone and a snow-white bunny replaced her.

“Holy shit. Did you see that?”

“See what?”

The bunny hopped away, and the boy tried to catch it. “Your daughter. She changed into a rabbit.”

Myla tugged on her arm, turning her in the opposite direction. “That’s my baby. She loves changing into bunnies and fawns the most. In fact, she was the fawn you saw that day on the road.”

“I can’t believe this.” She yanked on Myla. “They told me they were werewolves, and I saw them change. But when they said there were other supernatural beings here, I guess I couldn’t wrap my head around it.”

Myla patted her hand like an old woman would do when handing out sage advice. But Shay would’ve guessed her to be about her own twenty-five years. “You’ll get used to seeing things like that. But other wonders abound here, too. All you have to do is accept what your eyes are telling you.”

She glanced around, studying the people harder than before. “Can everyone here change?”

“No, only the shape-shifters and the weres. You know, like your men. Werewolves. Although we do have werecats, werebears, a couple of werecoyotes, and a few weredeer. We even have a werebadger, but he keeps to himself, the grumpy old fart.”

“I thought werewolves and shape-shifters were the same thing.” She turned loose of Myla’s hand as a butterfly glittering with tiny diamonds on its wings flew by. “Oh, how beautiful!”

“Werewolves are a kind of shape-shifter, but a true shifter like my daughter and me can change into any animal.”

Flowers in colors Shay had never imagined lined the area behind one tent. “What about people? Can shifters change into other people?”

“Shape-shifters have the ability to transform into people, but we have a rule against that. If we didn’t, all kinds of chaos would break out.”

She stopped as an idea struck her. “What about the children and the nudity? I mean, don’t you worry about what they’ll see?” Her gaze dropped to her crotch then lifted back to Myla with arched eyebrows. “You know. Men’s dingalings and women’s yoo-hoos?”

“Dingalings and yoo-hoos?” Myla clamped a hand over her mouth to stifle her giggle. “What silly names. You mean penises and vaginas?”

“Sorry. A friend of mine calls them that.” She had to tell Tatum to stop using euphemisms so they wouldn’t rub off on her.

“Being naked is the natural way for us. Our children learn from the very beginning that everyone’s human body is as beautiful as their animal form. I don’t think they even notice any longer.”

“But you sent them inside a cabin when everyone got involved in the orgy.”

“I don’t mean this in a critical way, but you really have a lot to learn. That wasn’t an orgy. To us, an orgy is for sexual pleasure and doesn’t always involve love or caring. What you saw was spontaneous lovemaking. Everyone was with their mates and expressing their love for one another. But we don’t allow the children to see or hear us. They must grow up and learn the other ways to show love such as helping one another and treating everyone with respect and kindness. Once they’re adults and have found their special ones, only then can they join in and express their love in a sexual way.”

“That’s good. So let me get this straight. Nudity is okay, but no sex in front of the kids.”

“That’s about it.”

“Then why do any of you wear clothes at all?”

Myla blinked at her then touched her on the arm. “We don’t. Not usually. But we knew you’d feel more comfortable if we did. Just as when we disappeared the day you came awake. We didn’t want to overwhelm you.”