22. Lila
22
LILA
I woke up nestled in a pile of limbs and flesh, gentle snores coming from Weylin, and the scents. Oh my god, all the delicious scents that not only filled the air but filled me. I had never in my life been in such a sense of bliss.
Carefully extracting myself from Kage’s arms, I slipped out from under Rainor’s leg and removed Weylin’s hand from my breast. How the hell we all fit on a queen-size mattress was beyond me; overlapping was inevitable.
There had been a lot of sex last night. No. There had been a lot of mating. It had been messy and dirty and so freaking satisfying. The last thing I remembered was sucking Rainor’s cock while Weylin and Kage both penetrated me, having the most mind-blowing orgasm of my life, after already having my entire body worshipped by the three of them, then we all just kind of collapsed in a heap and fell asleep.
They must be exhausted because not a single muscle twitched. I grabbed my pink robe off the back of the door and walked out to the kitchen. It was dark outside… What time was it?
I glanced at the clock—three a.m.
Wait…what day was it?
Max lay in his bed, immediately getting up and coming to me when he saw me.
“Hey, buddy,” I whispered, a frog caught in my throat. I grabbed a glass of water from the sink before setting out to make Max his breakfast. This was my routine. Right? Just the two of us. Max and me. It just didn’t feel the same.
But as I went to the fridge for Max’s meal, I saw the overflowing amount of food in it and smiled. I fed Max first and then got to work. Max had finished his meal and sat, watching me with his head tilted to one side, moving it to the other as I danced around the kitchen.
First, making coffee for myself—self-care was important—then tossing the bacon into the frying pan. I decided to cook three packages; I wasn’t exactly sure how much those guys would eat, but I imagined it would be a lot.
Once that was all cooked up, I quickly washed the pan. Three eggs each, right? Three was a lot. I could probably make them over easy.
I began cracking the eggs directly into the pan, cursing when a few shells fell in here or there. At first, it was easy to pull them out, but as the pan filled up with more eggs, I had difficulty.
“Oh well, extra calcium, right, Max?” He gave me the most adorable look, so I grabbed my phone and snapped a picture of him.
While the eggs cooked, I grabbed a loaf of bread and stared at my tiny toaster.
“If each of us has two pieces, that’s eight pieces. Three minutes each, divided by two… that will take twelve minutes.” I mulled it over and then turned to Max. “But if we put them in the oven, they will all be toasted at the same time!” I grinned. He looked down at the floor, clearly not very confident in my idea. “It will be fine,” I reassured him.
I set the oven to broil on high, wanting them to be done quickly because the eggs were bubbling. Shit! The eggs were bubbling!
I shoved the bread slices onto the top rack and closed the door. Then I quickly grabbed the spatula and tried to flip the eggs. Yolk was flying, a splatter of grease got me, and I winced. I tried to scrape what I could off the bottom of the pan, but everything started breaking and I gave up trying to salvage it.
“Scrambled eggs, it is, Maxy,” I said as I started mixing everything up again. I spotted another eggshell, and in the process of trying to retrieve it, the edge of my hand touched the lip of the pan. “Fuck.” I gasped at the burn.
I dropped everything, my spatula falling to the floor, eggs shooting across the room, and went to the sink, running my hand under the cold water. Behind me, Max was cleaning eggs off the refrigerator door with his tongue.
I watched as my skin began to heal under the cool water. Why couldn’t I just not feel the pain of abrasions or burns? The healing ability was amazing, but come on…take it one step further and remove pain all together.
The memory of the beast pounding into me while Weylin had my hands pinned above my head and Kage pinched and teased my nipples flashed through my mind. Okay, I take that back, I’ll deal with the sensation of pain.
Turning off the water, I turned towards my mess of eggs, but something outside the kitchen window caught my eye. I peered out into the darkness, a shadow moving in and out of the tree line.
I quickly ran to my room, diving under my bed for the lockbox and pulling out my gun. I loaded the silver bullets and ran out of the room.
“Angel?” Rainor’s voice was filled with sleep as he raised his head.
“There’s someone in the yard,” I called over my shoulder. I reached the back door, pulling it open, only to be pushed aside by three enormous wolves.
At first, I was worried about them rushing out—what if it was a hunter? But then I was scared. Not for them but for whoever was out there. The three of them had rushed out of the house so quickly, and yet so silently, Kage out front, Weylin and Rainor flanking him. The hackles on Rainor’s back were standing up. He always looked feral in his wolf form, and I didn’t think he ever took over this form, leaving it all to the beast.
The moment they touched the ground in the yard, they slowed, their eyes taking everything in around them. Kage locked on to something, dipping low and stalking towards it until they all disappeared.
There was a moment of tense silence. I strained to hear anything, everything, whatever I could, but there was nothing at all. Not the break of a twig, not the yip of a wolf, not even rustling of leaves.
And then… I smelled something burning. It took me a moment of staring out at the forest before it clicked where the smell was coming from.
“Shit.” I raced back inside the house. “Shit, shit, shit, shit, shit.” The eggs looked fine, just steaming. I quickly opened the oven, black smoke blasting in my face. I reached in to quickly grab the blackened bread, but a hand stopped me.
“Easy there,” Rainor said, wearing only his boxers. He gripped my wrist and pulled my hand back out of the oven. “There’s no saving that, just let it cool down.” He turned off the oven and opened the door, then he turned off the eggs.
“At least those are still fine.” I grinned.
He took the spatula and attempted to push the food around. I winced when he raised an eyebrow, tipping the pan upside down and the eggs stayed put inside.
“At least we have bacon?” I asked with a shrug.
Weylin walked into the kitchen, sweatpants hanging from his hips.
“What did you guy find outside?” I asked.
“Nothing,” Kage said, coming around the corner. He wore his usual suit pants, but the shirt, although tucked, was disheveled in a way that was unlike him. He grabbed Rainor's tablet and began working on it. I thought nothing of it; these men likely had a lot of work to do, running a pack and all.
“Damn, this beef jerky is fire,” Weylin said. He stood at the oven, chewing on a piece of bacon.
I sighed. “All right, the cafe opens in an hour. I owe you guys breakfast, it’s on me.”
“Oh?” Rainor asked.
“Yeah, it’s the least I can offer with you guys doing this for me.” I shrugged, grabbing a coffee pod and putting it into the machine.
“Doing what, exactly?” Weylin asked.
“This. Helping me through the heat. I thought maybe I could do it on my own, but I’m glad you guys were here.” I patted him on the arm in thanks.
“Damn, I feel a little dirty now. Is that all we are to you—just a body to keep you warm?” Weylin grabbed his chest in mock shock.
“Well, I don’t know any other shifters, and by the sounds of it, humans wouldn’t have cut it. So—” I was cut off by a low chorus of growls.
Rainor stepped up to me, placing his hand on my hip and pulling me in. “Any man you bring into your bed will be dead before they ever have the pleasure of touching you,” he vowed.
I didn’t do jealous partners or anything; it was always a big no for me. But the possessiveness they all showed at this moment had a thrill spreading through me. My wolf liked it. I liked it. What were these wolves doing to me?
Weylin
She was the epitome of beauty and grace. Lila’s heat had peaked in the night, and now I could tell it was slowing down. I didn’t think I had a heart to break, but here it was, fucking shattered. I didn’t like the feeling, and I wasn’t going to stand for it.
I was going to fuck her anytime I wanted, heat or not. And she was going to love it. If she thought she was going to let me take her body, bend it to my will, mold it against me, for multiple days in a row, and then dust her hands off to be rid of me, she was sorely mistaken. I was going to claim her—once this case was solved and there was a little less risk for her—and she was going to be mine completely. She already owned me; it was only fair I could own her in return.
While her heat was coming to an end, she still needed us. Even now, she sat on the couch, her back leaned against Kage, her feet across Rainor’s lap, while she held a coffee in one hand and tapped away at the laptop with the other.
Kage had ordered breakfast and coffee for delivery, despite her objections. Rainor smirked as she tried to hand him cash, stating it was her treat for all we had done. I scoffed. As if she could pay us off like common whores. I was much more sophisticated than that—I demanded pussy as compensation. My mouth watered. I could practically taste her payment on my tongue now.
How the fuck did we think we could go home after this? She was glowing. Her skin had a beautiful flush to it now, her blue eyes bright and lively, and her hair was thicker, so shiny and smooth. I guess that’s what a ton of vitamin D did to a female.
“I see the teams are done searching the other territories,” she said, skimming through her notes. “They are much more thorough than the human teams I’ve worked with.”
“As they should be. They were trained from pups,” Rainor said before turning to Kage. “Meeting in Anguse today. Am I canceling?”
“Yes. Reconvene next week.” Kage answered him without looking up from the tablet. He had been reading on that thing all morning.
Rainor sighed. “Mass email going out.”
“Don’t stay here on account of me.” Lila spoke without looking up. “I think my heat is done. This is the longest I’ve gone between waves.”
Did it not hurt her to be away from us? Was the bond still broken? Was there still mistrust? Other females practically threw themselves at us.
I wonder if it’s her alpha qualities. Rainor spoke through the link. I was so used to his voice in my head, it didn’t startle me in the slightest.
I don’t like it. Why couldn’t we have a stage-five clinger? I grumbled.
I think you’re our stage-five clinger. He chuckled out loud, and Lila looked up from her screen.
Fuck off. With any other female, I would be disgusted if they insisted on being with us all the time. She was different. Lila was the closest I had ever felt to having a family, even when compared to Kage and Rainor. I didn’t want her out of my sight in case she slipped away as well.
“Okay, no internal monologue around me,” she said accusingly. “If you three think you’re being slick, you have a face every time you talk to one another.”
I smiled, she so fucking smart. Guess I’ll have to fuck her now.
“Move in with us,” I said.
Her cute expression faded. “What?”
“It would be logical,” Rainor murmured. “We have three condos between the three of us, there is plenty of room.”
“You’re joking.” She frowned.
“Why? You would be better protected closer to us. We would be able to keep a closer eye on you,” Kage said, setting the tablet down. We may have a problem. We need a meeting, just the three of us.
I gave no indication Kage had spoken to us, and Rainor gave a slight tilt of his head as if to confirm with him.
Lila was shaking her head. “Closer eye on me? You mean, control me. No, I’m good here. If there is work you need to confer with me on, then I can make the however long trip into the city. I’ve lived in this house for over thirty years. I was left on the front porch by a wolf family that wanted nothing to do with me. And then I was taken in by humans who did nothing but care and love me. This is my home. I will not be leaving it.”
“And if a child were to be the results of this week?” Rainor asked. “Would you move into our protection then?”
“Dr. Thatcher said it was highly unlikely I would get pregnant during my first heat.” Lila said it as if it was something she had been telling herself all along.
I don’t think Dr. Thatcher banked on us fucking as often as we have been , I said.
Yeah, but I’ve seen her lab results. Lila was malnourished. Being her first heat and taking into account the health of her body, I doubt she would conceive. Perhaps next heat cycle, she will be in better form after our care , Rainor said.
“All right, you want to keep talking to yourselves? Then have fun with that. Lube is in the top drawer of my dresser.” She stood up, whipping off her shirt.
Fuck, she had my undivided attention now. “I’m coming.” I stood up and took my shirt off in one swooping motion.
Her eyes roamed my body. I wanted her to eye fuck me like that every single day. My scars never bothered me—I hardly paid them attention—but under Lila’s gaze, they felt like a gold fucking medal.
She held her hand up to me. “I’m going for a run. It’s been a while, and I really need this, alone.”
Kage stood up. “You have two minutes, and then we are chasing you,” he growled.
Ohh, I liked that idea.
“Eight,” she countered.
“One.” He wasn’t giving any wiggle room.
“Four,” Rainor chimed in.
“Done.” She smiled. “Good luck trying to find me.” She stepped out of her pants, and I was panting. Her body was a glorious mess of curves, and I wanted to bury myself into all of them. Would I ever be able to look at her naked body without getting horny as fuck? I sure hoped not.
Lila opened the back door and Max stood up. She told him to stay before she transitioned and took off into the woods. We weren’t worried about her running into anyone, since there was a team looking after her territory. The idiots had gotten too close to her house this morning, and she’d nearly discovered them.
“What’s happening?” Rainor asked Kage.
“If she does end up conceiving, we are going to have to up her security. I want everything around her to be monitored. That child will need protection.”
“What’s going on?” I asked.
“We did a DNA check on Lila, and we found out who her pack is,” Rainor said, filling me in.
Sneaky bastards, though I expected nothing less from them. “And?” I asked.
We both looked at Kage. “I’ve been searching my father’s journals.” Ah, that explained why he’d been on the tablet so much today. “Scarab Pack isn’t just an EGP, they were originals.”
I frowned. “Wait, what does that mean?”
Rainor slowly shook his head. “All the original packs were wiped out, long ago, before Lila’s time.”
“It’s why she can resist your persuasion, and I’m assuming it’s why she can send the beast back. It’s why she naturally fits into an alpha role and how she was able to control the pack after meeting them only once. It’s in her blood. If anyone ever finds out her true bloodline, her heart is the first they will go after.”
“Because she is powerful,” I said. I mean, our hearts were at risk as well, but the way Kage said it about Lila seemed different. I hadn’t learned about original packs; this was news to me.
“She is undiluted,” Rainor said. “Her power isn’t only strong, it is pure, and she has no idea.”
“Then, we tell her,” I said. “Explain to her why she is coming with us tonight and will always have one of us with her from now on.” Why were we sitting here talking about this?
Kage’s lips thinned out.
“What?” I snapped, knowing there was something else.
“Her pack. They didn’t abandon her. They were eliminated.” I dropped my hands to my hips, shaking my head and turning away from him. I already knew where this bullshit was going. “My father…”
I laughed. “Motherfucker just can’t stop screwing us over,” I mumbled.
“Everything he did was for—”
“The good of the fucking pack!” I cut Kage off, spinning around and yelling at him. “I get it, I do. I fucking get it. But all those packs we’ve wiped from this world, and now, look at the situation we are in. Tell me that’s not karma.”
He said nothing. I looked at Rainor, who just quietly shook his head.
“Yeah, we reap what we sow.” This will fucking crush her…and I will lose her. I will lose the only person in my entire world I have ever, really, truly…loved. Kage was right—she couldn’t know, and every single thing about this situation was wrong.
“It gets worse,” Kage said.
“How could it get any worse?” Rainor whispered.
“No one can know Lila exists. It wasn’t just our pack that acted on the originals. Cridhe was following an order.”
“By who?” Rainor growled. It wasn’t commonplace for Cridhe to follow orders they themselves didn’t create.
“The council. They didn’t go into detail about what it was, but the Scarab pack… Lila’s pack… held a generational gift so strong, it threatened the existence of the shifter species as a whole.” Kage glanced at each of us. “A gift that is handed down with a mark. A birthmark…”