Out of Smoke and Ashes

But it was a start.

  It was after dark when his eyes opened again. Holding his breath, he lay there on his side and listened. Everything still hurt, especially the burn, and the thought of trying to get up and walk, on two feet or four, was almost more than he could stand.

  Then he heard it, the sound of careful footsteps making their way through the underbrush. Two-footed.

  He couldn’t smell anything, his nose so cold and his body so battered it took every effort he had just to breathe.

  Maybe I can use this to my advantage. Sucker some poor human into taking a bedraggled, half dead dog home and nursing it back to help. It would buy him some time until he could get his strength back and get in touch with one of his men to come get him.

  The footsteps sounded from behind him. He let out a whine he hoped appeared as pitiful as he currently felt.

  The person stopped a few feet away. Then he heard a feminine laugh. “Aww, would you look at that.”

  Something in her tone struck him wrong. Like she was amused, not saddened, by his state.

  He tried to sit up, but pain in his ribs forced a genuine whimper from him.

  The human knelt behind him, still outside his range of sight. “Poor, injured pup.”

  He heard the sound of something, maybe a bag, being set down on the ground behind him and something pulled out.

  Before he could register it, the rigid, silver collar had been fastened around his neck, a lock clicking shut. The snug fit wouldn’t allow it to pull off over his ears, he knew.

  And it would definitely be snug in human form.

  He forced his head up and back, craning his neck to look up into a pair of flinty grey eyes. The woman stared down at him, a hard expression on her face as she clipped a chain lead to the collar.

  “Hello there, Rodolfo Abernathy. You were a, heh, bitch to track, let me tell you, without that awful aftershave to give you away. Oh, don’t look so shocked. Yes, I know who you are even though we’ve never formally met. Let me introduce myself. Mercedes Megaera.”

  She grinned, a lupine smile that chilled his callous soul to the base of his spine. “Actually, I’d rather call you by a more apt name…Father.”

  He didn’t have time to process that as she yanked on the chain, painfully jerking his head. “Welcome to my world. You’re going to find out that payback’s a fucking bitch, and she’s in heat again…and so am I.”

  She knelt down, nose-to-snout with him. “By the time I’m finished with you,” she growled, “you’ll wish you’d never been born.”

  She grabbed him by the scruff of the neck and effortlessly dragged him to his feet. “Come on. We’ve got a lot of work to do, Daddy.”

  Chapter Twenty

  They spent the rest of the day and half of the night in the search. Wolves, jaguars, and other shifters on the ground, and dragons from the air.

  No one could find any sign of his body.

  Caspar Gallatin had been sent on his way with a warning that if he ever looked at Mai again, he’d have his balls ripped off by her two extremely pissed-off mates.

  No one doubted that Jim, while a human, could more than easily hold his own against the scruffy coyote when it came to protecting Mai.

  Ken and Trent had managed to slip out in the confusion after Abernathy set off the fire extinguisher. As had Abernathy’s driver. No one was interested in hunting them down, considering the outcome and how both Carla and Callie had weighed in on not killing them.

  Daniel finally called a halt to the search for Rodolfo’s body a little after 1:00 a.m. “His body’s halfway to the Atlantic by now.”

  Liam didn’t want to give up the search, but he was eager to return to the cabin.

  To Carla.

  He rode back in silence with Ain and the others. The lights blazing in the windows were a welcomed sight. He strode in, scanning the living room. Elain, Callie, Carla, Lina, and Mai were still up, as were the men standing watch over them.

  Carla stood at Liam’s entrance. He walked over to her, grabbed her by the hand, and without a word took her to his room and closed the door behind them.

  He turned her to face him. “I’m not gonna waste any more time. Carla, I love ye. I know life’s not perfect, and this is fast, but the thought of losing ye after everything else I’ve had to give up in my life breaks my heart.”

  He clasped both her hands to his chest. “Will ye marry me? Be my mate? I promise, I’ll die to protect ye. I can’t risk losing ye again without ye knowing how I feel about ye.”

  She stared at him for a moment, her eyes wide in the darkness that proved no match for his wolf sight. “It…doesn’t bother you?” she softly asked.

  “Does what bother me?”

  She let out a sad laugh. “Liam, you’re a wolf. You look every bit as handsome as you did the first day I met you. Look at me.” She pulled her hands free and turned from him. “It’s been the better part of thirty years. Time wasn’t as kind to me.”

  He went after her and made her turn to face him again. “I dinna care. Ye’re still beautiful to me. I love ye. And as the mate to a wolf, ye’ll have lots of years left you might otherwise not.” He stroked her cheek. “Lots of years left with our daughter. Grandbabies. Think of it.” He palmed her cheek and leaned in, gently kissing her.

  Knowing Maureen blessed their union rid him of any guilt, although the melancholy pang in his soul still tugged at him.

  Her eyes dropped closed as they kissed, finally feathering open only after he raised his head from hers. “Please, Carla. I do love ye.”

  “Do you feel that…that attraction? What the others talk about. That I’m your One?”

  He nodded. “No, it’s not as strong as when Maureen and I mated, but that’s only because I lost her to death. But I was attracted to ye the first time I met ye. If it hadn’t been for already being mated to Maureen…” He kissed her again. “Had I met ye first, ye’d be my mate now.”

  It felt like a thousand lifetimes passed in the moments she stared up at him, her bottom lip trembling. Finally, she nodded.

  “Will ye be my wife?” he asked, his voice hoarse and thick with emotion. “My mate?”

  “Yes.”

  “Ye have to submit to me.”

  “Not like Callie and Daniel, I hope.”

  He smiled. “No, love. Not like that. Ye have to agree that I am in charge.”

  She nodded. “Okay.”

  He carefully folded her into his arms and kissed her deeply, thoroughly, enjoying the way she softly moaned as he brushed his tongue along her lips and parted them. Her hands drifted around his neck, her body pressing into his.

  He felt his cock stir and harden, a sensation he hadn’t felt in far too long.

  Since losing Maureen.

  He backed them toward the bed. “I love ye,” he whispered against her lips. “I love ye, and I promise, I’ll be good to ye. I’ll make up for all the years ye were alone. I’ll make ye forget the pain. I’ll fill yer life with happiness.”

  “Do you have any idea how long it’s been since I’ve been with someone?” she asked. “I’m not sure I still remember how.”

  “I’m sure it’s been as long as it’s been for me. Since that last day when I said good-bye to ye and Maureen at the apartment. We’ll figure it out together.”

  He yanked his shirt off, then helped her remove hers. Skin to skin, he gathered her into his arms and kissed her once more, never wanting to let her go as he felt her heart strongly beating in her chest against his.

  * * * *

  Carla couldn’t believe this was happening. She hadn’t even been sure if she’d survive the past week, and now…this?

  Sure she’d had wild dreams and fantasies about her and Liam maybe being together one day, but it was never anything she seriously thought would come to pass.

  And now, it was.

  She closed her eyes and drank in the feeling of his warm flesh against hers, praying he would still be there when she opened her eyes, that this wasn’t just a fantas
tic dream.

  He gently lowered her to the bed and lied down next to her. When he gently caressed her cheek, she opened her eyes to stare into his green eyes. “Is this real?” she whispered.

  In reply he kissed her, slowly, sweetly, even better than in all her fantasies over the years. “Yes, love. This is real.”

  He rolled her onto her back. Ever so slowly, he blazed a scorching trail down her throat, over her chest, until he unhooked the front clasp of her bra and freed her breasts before he lightly flicked his tongue over first one nipple, then the other.

  She wanted to cry at how good it felt. How right it felt. She plunged her fingers into his hair and wanted to hold him there, never let him go.

  He worked his way south, easily unfastening her slacks and sliding them and her panties down her hips, his lips kissing every bit of flesh as he went until he settled between her thighs.

  She heard her clothes hit the floor as he discarded them. Then he buried his mouth between her legs, and she had to clap a hand over her mouth to stifle her cry as he almost immediately made her come.

  He softly chuckled before setting to work in earnest, holding her in place with his arms hooked under her thighs, refusing to let her push him away, making her come over and over again until she lost track of every other thought but the pleasure he brought her.

  Only when he was satisfied did he sit up and smile at her. “That’s a wee bit of a start, love.”

  He quickly shed his jeans, exposing a more than generous cock. “Last chance to say no,” he said. “Will ye be my mate?”

  She nodded, making him smile again.

  Then he quickly rolled her over onto her hands and knees, his cock deeply sliding home into her pussy and pulling another moan out of her. She grabbed a pillow and buried her face in it so she could make all the noise she wanted. Nothing had ever felt this good.

  He folded his body over hers, reaching for and finding her hands and lacing his fingers through hers.

  “Submit, mate,” he whispered.

  “Yes,” she gasped.

  She just had time to bury her face in the pillow again when his teeth clamped down on her shoulder, triggering by far the most explosive orgasm she’d ever felt in her life. As he started moving inside her, fucking her, she could do nothing but lie there and enjoy it, moaning, wishing it’d never end and not sure she could survive it if it didn’t.

  When he came, it was with a hard, final thrust, and she would have sworn it was his voice inside her brain, and not in her ear, that said, “Yessss!”

  * * * *

  After Carla and Liam disappeared, Brodey turned and arched an eyebrow at Elain. “You realize we’re not seeing them until morning, at least. Right?”

  Elain wanted to smack him. “Brodey!”

  “Hey, fact of life, babe.” He smiled. “I thought you’d be happy your parents are going to get their happily ever after together.”

  “I am, but…” She looked to Lina for help.

  Lina smiled. “No one wants to think about their parents having sex, Brod. Did you?”

  His teasing smile fell. “Eh, well, that’s a good point.”

  “You didn’t bust Blackie’s balls about Kitty,” Elain pointed out.

  Brodey rolled his eyes but pulled her in for a kiss. “Sorry, babe. I’ll shut up about that now.”

  Blackie let out a cough. “We’ll head out again in the morning to search,” he said, ignoring her comment. “I’ll come by after I wake up.” His hand shot out and grabbed Callie’s hair, pulling her close. “And after I take care of reminding a certain someone about what ‘come back’ means.”

  A grinning Callie wiggled her fingers in a good-bye wave as he led her out by her hair.

  Ain laughed. “She’s going to get her ass beat.”

  “Yeah,” Lina said, “but I bet she’ll enjoy it.”

  They all said their good-nights and retreated to their rooms. Elain knew tonight, at least, she’d finally be able to relax. Her mom was safe, her friends were safe, and even if on the off-chance Abernathy wasn’t dead, he was out of their hair at least for the next few hours.

  She’d deal with anything else in the morning.

  Cail was the first one in bed, and the first one she tackled. “I don’t suppose you have at least a little energy left in you, do you?”

  He rolled on top of her, his cock quickly inflating. “For you babe, always.”

  She wrapped her arms and legs around him as he kissed her, her own juices flowing. Something about her men always did that to her, got her instantly ready for them. She wouldn’t question it.

  It just felt right, like her world was finally as it should be.

  Brodey joined them in bed as Cail slid his cock deep into her pussy, making her let out a soft moan. “Ah, baby’s horny, is she?” Brodey teased. He leaned in and captured her mouth with his, his hand sneaking between them to find and play with her nipples.

  Ain crawled into bed on the other side of them. “I will be glad to get home to our own bed. This one’s a little small for my liking.”

  “Hey, just means we get to cuddle closer with our girl,” Cail said.

  Ain sat up next to her and turned her head to face him. His stiff cock jutted from his body, ready for her mouth. She wasted no time engulfing him as far as she could, loving the way he slowly fucked it between her lips.

  “That’s it, baby,” he hoarsely muttered. “Just like that.”

  Brodey’s hand traveled south, finding her clit and skillfully stroking it, which quickly triggered her first orgasm.

  “That’s our girl,” Cail said as he picked up the pace and force of his thrusts. It only served to keep her orgasm rolling through her, stretching out her pleasure with each stroke he took until his cock swelled and grew even harder before filling her with his cum.

  She was still sucking Ain, enjoying the taste and feel of his cock on her tongue, the salty pre-cum he leaked spurring her efforts. She barely had time to notice when Cail moved out of the way and Brodey took his place. She closed her eyes, loving them, trusting them, giving herself over completely to them.

  Brodey threw her legs over his shoulder and started taking long, slow strokes with his cock, bottoming out inside her and hitting different places than Cail had. Cail took over for Brodey with his hand, finding and playing with her swollen clit.

  “Don’t stop now,” he whispered in her ear. “You’ve got a few more for us, we know you do.”

  She let out a whine as another orgasm washed over her, the vibration of the noise making Ain’s cock deliciously twitch along her tongue.

  She felt her mind slip, a sensation she was quickly beginning to recognize. Another vision came to mind. A large group of people gathered together. Shifters, she realized, although she didn’t know how she knew that. Adults and children of varying ages. She turned to look around and immediately realized where she was as she spotted the iconic plume of the Old Faithful geyser shooting into the air.

  And like that, the vision disappeared as both her and Brodey were caught up with their own climaxes.

  Ain’s fingers tightened on her scalp just before he, too, started coming. She quickly swallowed, trying to keep up with him and not lose a single drop.

  As they all recovered and she started falling asleep draped over Ain’s chest, she idly wondered if she’d ever have visions outside of having sex with her men.

  Then she realized that might not be such a bad thing.

  * * * *

  Elain stumbled out of bed way too early for her liking the next morning. While her guys could apparently sleep through it, Elain couldn’t ignore the soft, rhythmic thumping sound from her parents’ room on the other side of the wall.

  A sound that had happened quite a few times throughout the night, and was happening again at that moment.

  Holy crap, I wish they’d get a room.

  Then she giggled. She could completely sympathize with Blackie over Kitty and Wally.

  I should have slept out in th
e RV.

  She pulled on her robe and used the bathroom before heading out to the kitchen. It was barely six o’clock, but at least she was able to find an early news program on the small undercounter TV to help drown out other noises. As the coffee brewed, she leaned against the counter and waited, her stomach grumbling as the rich aroma of coffee filled the room.

  Home. Soon. But not before she helped Callie, Lina, and the others. She wanted a crack at the funky chickens Kitty was hunting.

  She was in the mood to hunt and kill something. An evil critter would do nicely since she couldn’t sink her teeth into Rodolfo Abernathy’s neck.

  She turned to watch the TV for a few minutes. When there was enough coffee in the pot for her to pour a mug, she did and then returned her attention to the TV.

  A few minutes later, a noise behind her made her turn. She let out a startled shriek and dropped her mug, coffee splashing and her cup shattering everywhere on the tile floor.

  She stared.

  As both her men and Liam thundered, all of them naked, into the kitchen, she still stared.

  “Honey?” her mom asked.

  Elain stared, too shocked for words.

  Blinking, she looked at Ain, who finally walked around Carla, mindful of where he was stepping to avoid the mess.

  He gasped as he got a look at her.

  Now her mom looked worried.

  “Will someone please say something?” she said. “You’re starting to scare me!”

  “Did you look in a mirror this morning, Mom?” Elain whispered.

  “No, why?”

  “Because…” She stepped over the mess, spun her mom around, and by the shoulders marched her into the powder room in the hallway.

  As Elain flipped on the light, her mom also gasped as the two women stared into the mirror over the vanity.

  Carla still had grey in her hair, and still had a few lines and crow’s feet on her face, but she no longer looked like a woman close to sixty.

  She looked closer to the low end of forty.

  Carla pressed a hand to her cheek and stared, looking as shocked as Elain felt.