CADEN'S STRONG ARMS are wrapped around his werewolf mistress when she abruptly stills on him. They'd been lost in a torrid tangle just seconds ago and it takes him a moment to gather why. His son had said something. Something Casselba didn't expect. Something connected to her past.
Caden didn't know this yet but he knew from the abrupt change in her demeanor that something was up.
Casselba breaks their kiss and lifts up his lap. He feels her slam the door to their mind link so hard his brain rattles in his skull. Ryan could tell she was angry, but somehow, he knew her ire wasn't directed at them. She was angry at something else.
Casselba sits back against the sofa and folds in on herself. The men sit with her, on both sides, watching in silence.
"Who's Hiram?" Ryan had asked.
Casselba had paled at the mention of the Feral Alpha's name. No matter how much she tried to live without fear of the Ferals, the biased bastards still had a way to chill her blood.
Goosepimples spring all over her arms and this doesn't go unnoticed by Caden and his son. Her fright's evident. The exact reason why she refuses to look up and meet the men's eyes.
She couldn't even begin to fathom how Ryan had learned of the man's name. However, she suspected he got it from the time spent in her head; maybe during one of her heated moments with them. In her aroused state, she didn't have much control over the borders of her 'psych', and all her thoughts and memories were mostly out there.
She shivers mildly on the wide couch, reliving a little of the horrorful massacre of her pack in the dense Woods of Los Padres. Bleeding, broken bodies flash before her eyes and she shakes her head to distort the visions. She was aware of tears filling up her eyes.
This is exactly why she didn't want to start anything with the men. Formidable as they are, they're still humans.
Humans she had feelings for. Real feelings...
Her kind were beasts. No matter the shade of skin, the wild creature will always lurk beneath. No matter the emotion, the sheer want of destruction will always be a part of her existence. No matter the burning passion, she could never truly be with a human.
If the Ferals were to discover that she secretly had human lovers, the rogue pack would be on them faster than either Caden or Ryan could blink. No guns in the world could prepare them for the might, speed, and bulk of an angry Lupine.
As Casselba was lost in her thoughts, trying to find a way to get Ryan to forget the name, he was busy wondering why he'd ever brought up the name. But the young man was brilliant. He had glimpsed a tiny part of her past during their exertion earlier. It was when Casselba had been lost to the throes of their tumble that he'd managed to sneak a peek into her subconscious.
That tiny part she kept under lock and key.
A tiny part that was splattered with blood. Ryan had glimpsed the part of her mind Casselba didn't wish them to see. The part of her that ached the most.
The part that haunted her and sought for revenge.
The red zone in their telepathic connection...
Casselba, on noticing this had quickly blocked him out of her mind but not before he caught Hiram's name. Somehow, he knew that whoever the man was, he had something to do with Casselba's dark past.
The exact reason why he'd asked the question earlier.
Ryan glances at her beautiful figure curled in a protective posture on the white sofa. She seemed hurt. And he is suddenly filled with anger, his mind conjuring up many things about what 'Hiram' might have done to her. Things that has his fingers balling up into solid fists.
Is Hiram also a werewolf? Did he hurt her? What happened between them that made Casselba want to hide it?
Ryan clenches his fingers harder until his knuckles pop. He couldn't care less about his straining fingers. All that matters now is Casselba. He looks to his father and Caden's eyes hold equal fire.
Who the fuck was Hiram? They both contemplate... And what the hell did he do to Casselba?
These thoughts fill the men's heads even as Casselba remains silent on the comfy lounge.
Ryan wants to ask so much about what happened to her. About what Hiram signified, but Casselba looks hurt, and he knows it's not the right time. He meets his father's eyes and Caden comprehends his look with a nod.
They make up their mind to drop the subject until Casselba is well and ready to talk about it. Ryan could only hope that she knew they would always be in her corner no matter what—so to speak.
Caden shifts on the plump couch, moving for the expensive wine on the glass table beyond. He reaches for the bottle and his fingers wrap tight around the neck. He grabs an empty glass and pours. The exotic sparkle of red wine sloshes in and he lifts it, holding it out to Casselba.
She peers up after a while with gray eyes that speaks volumes. They were shiny with supressed emotions and Caden grits his teeth.
He hated the name Hiram now more than ever. It was clear that whatever the man had done, it wasn't a particularly joyful topic.
"I'm sorry," Caden says as she collects the wine glass from him.
"Yes, I'm sorry, Casselba. I should never have brought it up," Ryan adds.
Casselba gives the both of them a small smile and downs the wine. It tasted cool and refreshing down her throat. The men were joys, and she could tell they cared. They really did. But telling them about Hiram and what his Feral pack did to hers would only hurt them more. So she keeps silent.
Silence because she can't even bear the thought of losing them. Not just when she just found them!
Ryan and Caden will undoubtedly go macho on her behalf and only blood will follow. It could even lead to an all-out war between Shifters and humans. A powerful and wealthy man like Caden Hallow could order an elite strike on the Ferals. The werewolves would retailate and from there, everything could go south.
Given this bloody choice and silence, she chose the latter—and she knew she would three times over. Telling the Hallow males was too great a risk for something she could handle quietly.
At the right time...
Casselba is still curled on the couch when Caden moves closer. Her wraps his arms around her and pulls her into his lap. She cuddles into his chest, straddling him. Caden holds her, just holds her, safe and comforting.
She was thrice as strong as a bodybuilder in her lupine state but his human virility still calms her nevertheless.
In that moment, all her wolf needed was the human touch; by someone trusted. None other than her mates.
She feels Ryan also move close. He nestles close to his father's side. His warmth swarms her from behind, and both men hold her in a sure grip.
Their mixed scent flows over her; lightning and rain, warm and relaxing, and Casselba finds herself snuggling deeper into their arms.
"Will you please stay with me tonight?" she whispers into Caden's neck, breathing in more of him.
"It would be our honor," he rumbles in reply.
He places a soft kiss in her hair and Ryan remains a welcome presence beside her, his palm warm on the small of her back.
The Hallow males remain with her that night, holding her tight in their masculine embrace until she settles into sleep. Caden smooths down her silky bronze wave and kisses her forehead. She whimpers softly and he smiles.
Beautiful Casselba Crane...
His son was on the other side of the bed, Casselba in their middle. The lights in the bedroom were turned off but he didn't need to switch them back on to know Ryan was still awake. Both men couldn't sleep.
"You know what we have to do, father?" Ryan says in the darkness.
"Yes, son," Caden replies in a sure deep voice.
"We have to find out who the fuck is Hiram?"
Casselba sleeps on, unaware of the dangerous plot of the men. A scheme that could send her mates to their ultimate deaths.
~. ~. ~.
The next morning is bright and beautiful, a Saturday. Casselba awakes to heaving, strong bodies lined beside her on both sides. The tousle of white sheets come up hallway across their tangled bodies.
She smiles as she looks over Caden. His right arm is sprawled under her and her head rests against the crook of his shoulder. His face is just inches away from hers and she thinks of last night, with his lips on her. The man looks so calm with blonde lashes brushing softly over his cheeks.
His breathing is even as he sleeps on.
Casselba takes a moment to study his rogue physique. Now that the man can't make her hot with his hazel eyes, she admires the dark scruff painting his rigid jawline. The sheets stop at his waist so she is granted an unattended view of his solid muscles. She doesn't know why but staring at his solid abs, she feels the urge to rake her claws over his skin.
The urge to see his blood and smell his sanguine scent. Casselba knows this bizarre idea is her wolf's—the sexy, Goth bitch.
She is contemplating these sadistic thoughts suddenly filling her head when something nudges her from behind. She turns to glance back. An immediate smile spreads her over her pink lips, lighting her stunning features.
Ryan had his front to her back, and there low under the white covers was his morning wood, bigger than ever, nudging her ass. A sudden sultry image of hot morning sex flashes before her eyes. She knew the men would be quick to indulge her. She only need say the word. But she couldn't.
Not after last night...
She feared she would lose herself and Ryan may see more of her frightening past. So even though her body screams to her to remain blissfully tangled with the men, she pushes away the covers and rises to her feet.
Minutes later, she leans into her large clawfoot tub for a good long soak she desperately and definitely needed.
It had been a long week.