Chapter 20

Decker appeared in the doorway, much like the first rays of sunshine after a storm. He was bathed in an ethereal glow, which made her wonder if she hadn’t gone round the bend with the possession of her mates. It had taken a while after the way Eoghan had treated her, but she’d come to enjoy sex, but with Greg and Decker, she’d begun to crave it. Not that she was a wanton—well, not yet, anyway—but the pleasure and joy she found in her mates’ loving embrace was something she knew she would never tire of.

He was across the room and in her arms in the space of a heartbeat. Adriana clung to him, relying on his strength to hold her up. Even though she knew in reality it wasn’t true, he felt far stronger than the stone walls around them.

“I’ve got you, Adriana. Greg’s holding them off, and I’m going to get you out of here.”

She shook her head. “That’s not going to work. I can’t leave this room so long as Eoghan’s bonding link still exists. You need to mark me before I can leave.”

He raised his head and stared down at her skeptically. “You do know how that works, don’t you? My fangs will not elongate in human form without the dominant need to possess you sexually also being present. These are not what I would call ideal circumstances.”

“Yeah, me either, but I’m telling you, even if you blew up all the walls, I would not be able to leave until the mate bond is broken.”

“We’ll find another way,” he said, looking around for her clothing.

Adriana slapped him upside the head. “He didn’t rape me, although I was told that was on the agenda for later today. I took off my clothes. I didn’t think you’d fancy having at me unless I was naked.”

“You’re sure?” he asked, loosening the tentative hold he’d had over his more feral self.

“I am. Fuck me. Bite me. Take me,” she whispered.

The words had no sooner left her mouth than Decker had her pinned to the wall. He jerked open the front of his jeans, releasing his hardened cock as he lifted her from the floor. Using the wall for leverage, he stepped between her legs and lowered her back down onto his engorged staff. She had expected it to be uncomfortable. Decker was generously endowed, and she hadn’t thought herself aroused. She was right about the former and couldn’t have been more wrong about the latter.

Adriana moaned his name as she clung to him, wrapping her legs around his waist. Decker growled with satisfaction, grasping his wrists under her ass as he began to raise and lower her along his cock as he thrust up into her.

“God, yes,” she groaned.

Decker manipulated her body, alternately holding her in place and moving her up and down as he began to pound into her. She hadn’t thought it possible, but she climaxed quickly, her pussy clamping down on his rampaging cock. Over and over, Decker slammed into her, making the world around them recede.

He jackhammered her pussy in a primal, ruthless manner, focused not only on his own pleasure and need, but hers, as well. Adriana gloried in the power he had over her—heart, mind, body, and soul. Her body responded to his dominant possession by softening and taking all he could give her. Decker ratcheted up his intensity as her first orgasm subsided and he began to push her to another. She’d already learned he had the ability to make her come rapidly and repeatedly.

Her pussy spasmed around him, trembling up and down his surging and withdrawing shaft as Decker increased the speed and tempo of his thrusting. He nuzzled her neck and Adriana threw her head back, reveling in his embrace even amidst the battle that now raged around them.

She wasn’t prepared for the sharp nip he gave the place at the hollow of her throat. She knew that this was not enough to eradicate Eoghan’s mark. Adriana brought her hands up to his head, lifting his face to hers so she could kiss him with the same possessive passion with which he always kissed her. She then pressed his mouth to the spot he had just nipped.

“Harder, Decker. It has to be harder. Tear that bastard’s mark away from me.”

“Greg’s bite…” he started.

“I don’t know how, I just know it will be there, but until you add yours to his, I will always be Eoghan’s captive. I love you, Decker. I love Greg, and I want this bastard gone from our lives.”

Decker nodded and renewed his relentless passion, fucking her harder than ever. He called forth a primal need of her own as he urged her body to give him more. As she began to freefall into an abyss of sensual power and completion, Decker placed his mouth over the place she’d been marked twice before. He kissed it and then inflicted a deep and savage bite, making her keen in desperate need.

He thrust harder and harder as he tore at her throat, biting her with a savage ferocity that should have frightened her, but it didn’t. As he began to pump his seed into her depths, she wailed his name and held onto him with all of her strength. She felt the moment she was freed from Eoghan’s bonds.

When at last they were both still, he lifted her from his cock and set her on her feet. He kissed and licked the wound, stepping back to look at it and shaking his head.

“What?” she asked.

“O’Shea’s mark was obliterated…”

“I would hope so,” she said, trying to lighten the mood.

He kissed her reverently. “But Greg’s remains. It is in stark relief and contrast to my own, but it is there.” He kissed the joint mark. “I have no words for the gift of your love and trust that you have given me. I’m needed to finish this battle. You stay here. I mean it, Adriana. Promise me you will stay until Greg or I come for you.”

“I will,” she promised.

Decker moved through the door with the grace of the feral predator he was. Adriana moved to the window, dissolving the bars with a wave of her hand. She shook her shoulders and watched the violent scene playing out below.

Waiting until Decker appeared, Adriana closed her eyes, raised her hands and murmured the spell which would slow time for their enemies, but not for them. It was all that was needed for the abbey’s forces to turn the tide and Eoghan’s men to throw down their weapons and surrender.

In the distance, Adriana watched as a lone wolf ran away. Had she not wanted to ensure the safety of her mates and their people, she could have reached out and extinguished his lifeforce, but her need to protect exceeded her desire for vengeance.

She narrowed her gaze upon him. “Soon, you bastard. Your time will come.”

When they arrived home, she watched as Colby and Brie took charge of Erin and headed back to the kitchen. As soon as she disappeared, Decker picked Adriana up, tossing her over his shoulder as if her size and weight were nothing. She squirmed and Decker’s large hard hand delivered a sharp slap to her backside. Greg smiled. It appeared her two fated mates meant to take charge of her.

Her entire world was turned upside down and bounced around as Decker carried her up the stairs, down the hall and into her room. Unceremoniously, he plopped her down on the bed.

“It seems to me we three need to have a little talk about what Greg and I find acceptable behavior in our mate. Let me cut to the chase. Running off all by yourself and confronting an enemy you suspect may be far more powerful than you had originally believed isn’t it.”

“Greg?” she asked, looking, if not for shelter, then at least for some assistance in dealing with Decker’s considerable anger.

“I’m with the big guy,” said Greg. “I can’t believe that you thought you’d just take O’Shea on without any kind of backup.”

“I wanted to get Erin out of danger. I thought Eoghan would trade her for me.”

“Did he ever even tell you that?” asked Decker.

“Not exactly…”

“But you went anyway and again without a word to anyone.”

“Brie knew,” Adriana said defensively.

“Brie doesn’t count,” her two angry mates said in one voice.

Adriana couldn’t help but laugh. The way they did that without even trying was pretty humorous.

“You think this is funny?” they both growled, making her laugh harder.

Maybe she could use this to her advantage. She stood up and removed her clothes slowly in an ever so seductive display before sinking to the floor and crawling toward Greg, flooding the link between them with lust. Without asking for permission, she stopped in front of him, looking up into his face and waited for him to deny her. When he didn’t, she reached up to his fly and opened it with one hand while she reached inside and freed his cock, which was already getting hard.

She looked at it. It truly was a beautiful thing. It wasn’t as heavy as Decker’s, but it was every bit as long. She rubbed her thumb across the slit that was beginning to leak pre-cum. Adriana caught the drop before it had a chance to drip onto the floor and Greg groaned. His taste was different from Decker’s, but every bit as enticing.

Taking the tip in her mouth, she swirled her tongue all around it before beginning to suck him gently, working him back and forth in her mouth. As his cock hit the soft place at the back of her mouth, Adriana heard Decker make a guttural growl before he dropped to his knees behind her, spreading her legs.

Adriana pulled back, taking a breath in through her mouth and exhaling it through her nose. Greg grasped her head and began fucking her throat as Decker worked her clit, using her free-flowing honey to lubricate his cock. She made a whining noise, wanting Decker’s cock inside her pussy while she pleasured Greg with her mouth.

Ever so slowly he entered her, stretching her as he always did, but waiting until her body softened and adjusted to his size. The sound he made as he sank into her was pure alpha male wolf. He pulled back and then, grasping her hips to hold her in place, he thrust forward, burying himself deep inside her. The pleasure was so great she could barely breathe. His dominant possession of her would have made her scream from the power of the orgasm that washed over her, but her mouth was too full of Greg’s cock so all she could manage was a kind of hum that vibrated along Greg’s length.

Sucking Greg’s cock while Decker plowed her from behind provided an exquisite joy, knowing she could pleasure them both. She arched her back in a kind of primordial response to Decker’s lovemaking. He always provoked a far more feral response from her than Greg did. It wasn’t that Greg was any less a lover, they were just different, and she found she craved them both.

Greg began to rock his hips, surging in and out of her mouth again and again, forcing her to swallow him down while Decker fucked her harder.

Decker was in complete and utter control, her body merely the receptacle for his lust and pleasure. He continued to plow her pussy with his mighty staff while she sucked Greg’s cock, ensuring he was getting as much from the encounter as she did. Decker grasped her hips harder and drove into her, pounding with a relentless rhythm. Adriana’s body rocked between them.

She felt Greg’s cock begin to twitch inside her mouth as he fisted her hair, shoving his cock down her throat and streaming his cum down to her belly. Decker growled and groaned as he thrust in and out. Greg slipped from her mouth and dropped to his knees, kissing her passionately as one of his hands stole underneath her, playing with her nipples, pinching and tugging in the same rhythm as Decker plowed her from behind.

Adriana was past thought, past the ability to form words, so she opened the links between herself and her two mates and let the emotion flow. She knew, in her soul, she’d been meant for this: caught between these two men, her mates being pleasured by her as she provided them with the same intensity of feeling.

She moaned as Decker continued to drive into her, causing her to orgasm repeatedly as he rode her through them. It didn’t take long for Adriana to lose herself to both the physical sensations and the emotions that flowed down the link, eliciting a kind of response she’d never experienced and making her lose count of how many times she climaxed.

As Greg continued to kiss her and play with her nipples, Decker’s cock seemed to double in size inside of her. He rammed into her, sinking his shaft as deep as he could get it and waiting for a moment before his cum began to stream into her. Decker ground his hips against her ass, holding her close, pumping his seed deep into her body. Her sheath began to pulse in time to his release so that it, too, worked to catch his semen as deeply within her as it could.

When at last he finished, he collapsed on her back for only a moment before leaning on the floor with his fist, taking his weight from her as he kissed the nape of her neck.

At the same time, Greg kissed her mouth again.

Decker uncoupled from her gently, lifting her in his arms and carrying her to their bed.

“Don’t think that means you’re out of trouble, because you’re not,” he growled, lying down next to her on one side of the big bed.

Greg rolled up into a standing position. “Not by a long shot,” he said as he scooted in behind her.

“But maybe combined with my apology to both of you for leaving you out, you’ll take it easy on me.”

Both Greg and Decker chuckled. Exhaustion, fear and physical exertion combined to claim her as she settled down between them, both men maintaining contact with her body. She knew they’d still be growly, and she imagined she’d be sore come morning, but she’d never felt as sated, content and loved in her life. Adriana knew she belonged, not just to this place or to the Shadow Sisters, but to the two fated mates destiny had given her.

GREG

St. Piran’s Abbey

Several Weeks Later

No one had seen nor had any report of Eoghan O’Shea since he’d fled from the battle. The Ruling Council had been forced to act and had disbanded his pack and declared O’Shea outlaw. A sense of peace had begun to steal over the abbey in the same way the dawn was creeping over the horizon.

Greg realized his wedding day had finally arrived. The journey that had started that horrible day on the battlefield when Oliver Halsey had chosen to save his life, turning him from man to wolf, was now coming full circle. Nestled between him and a man he now considered closer than a brother was the woman they both loved. Later today they would make their triad an acknowledged union but only for a moment before the three became four as they formally adopted Erin.

He nuzzled her awake. “I can’t wait to make you officially ours.”

“That makes two of us,” rumbled Decker, drawing her close. “Have I told you this morning how very much I love you? I’m even willing to put up with the overly protective nature of our mutual mate.”

Adriana smiled but didn’t open her eyes.

“You do know that, right?” said Greg. “I can’t totally speak for the brawny part of this triad of ours, but you are deeply loved by us both.”

“What he said,” mumbled Decker.

“Well, that’s good, because if you didn’t, I wouldn’t put up with either of you and would have Erin practicing turning you into toads. Now get out of here so I can get dressed. Apparently, according to Brie and Erin, I am not getting away with a quick ceremony before we head to Crete for an amazing honeymoon.”

Kissing her shoulder, Decker rolled up into a sitting position on his side of the bed. “I almost feel sorry for how many times you’re going to be fucked and knotted while we are away.”

Greg chuckled. While both of them slept with her, ever since their return to the abbey, they had refrained from participating in sex together. He and Decker had decided they would reserve that until after their bonding ceremony. Each man gave the other his privacy and time alone with her.

Greg had expected to feel somewhat left out when Decker chose to knot and tie Adriana to him, but he’d found the male half of their triad to be surprisingly kind and inclusive. Greg had no desire to share the actual knotting of Adriana by Decker, but both Decker and Adriana had begun inviting Greg to join them during the time they were tied together. It was deeply intimate, and Greg wondered if he would have been as generous.

He, too, rose from their bed and waited until Decker had emerged from their bath before getting showered and dressed. Adriana was still drowsily luxuriating in their bed when there was a knock on the door and Decker opened it to allow Brie to enter.

“Out, both of you,” ordered Brie. “Erin is waiting for you down in the dining hall with strict instructions to keep you out of the way and deliver you to the ceremony site at the appointed time. And don’t you dare look at her. You’re not even supposed to see her on her wedding day, much less in her dress.”

Adriana peeked out at them from beneath the covers and mouthed the words, ‘save me.’

“I heard that,” snapped Brie.

“She’s so bossy,” complained Adriana. “Tell me again why I can’t just change her into a toad for the day?”

Greg laughed. “You think she’s bad? Wait until Roz and Liza get here later today. Liza isn’t too bad, but Oliver’s mate is hell-on-wheels.” He turned to Decker. “By the way, I promised Roz you’d let her ride one of the Ducatis and take her for a quick tour.”

Brie hustled them both out of the room with Adriana threatening retribution down the link.

Later that day, Greg and Decker stood at what had become the clan’s favored ceremonial site—out along the edge of the headland with the sea crashing below, threatening to drown out the Celtic harp that announced their bride had arrived and was set to walk down the aisle to them. Decker, in a romantic gesture Greg wished he’d thought of, had dispatched the newest recruit to the Shadow Sisters—a falcon-shifter named Mercy—up to Ireland to collect Irish wildflowers for Adriana’s bouquet: broom, elder and dog roses. They were the perfect complement to her dress.

As the first notes of Mendelssohn’s famous wedding march resounded, Greg thought to himself how appropriate that it had been written for Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream, the play that made most in the shifter world question whether William Shakespeare was not himself a shifter.

He looked to see their bride, a vision in a dress that seemed to combine and capture the essence of a Celtic goddess with a modern elegance, standing at the end of the runway that would lead her to them. The ivory chiffon gown featured an A-line silhouette that gracefully skimmed her curves, creating a timeless and ethereal look. The strapless bodice had been masterfully draped, highlighting a pearl-embellished sweetheart neckline that emphasized her bust with delicate sophistication.

The gown had detached sleeves with the same intricate pearl bead accents at the top for versatility, drama, and sparkle. They billowed out into voluminous, pillowy blouson sleeves before gathering elegantly at the wrists to create a whimsical and romantic effect.

From the waist, the dress consisted of layers of chiffon cascading down and opening in a high leg slit that added a daring touch to the flowing, airy fabric. The slit not only enhanced the dress’s movement with each step, but offered a tantalizing glimpse of Adriana’s shapely legs, blending classic beauty with more than a hint of modern allure. It was all too easy to imagine sliding his hand up the inside of her thigh.

When she reached them, they each took one of her hands in theirs. She grinned at them mischievously. “Maybe I won’t turn you into toads after all.”

MERCY

Mercy Bowen soared among the billowy clouds up the coast of Cornwall and Devon. There was nothing that compared to flying high in the sky, searching the earth and sea below. The clear atmosphere and freedom were a dizzying combination.

The cool breeze ruffled her feathers, while the warmer air provided lift to enable her to glide along the currents, scanning the terrain below. She knew that she had yet to prove to the Shadow Sisters that she was more than just their eyes in the sky. She was as skilled as the others in combat; Brie had seen to that.

She spiraled up, moving gracefully between the conflicting and contrasting thermals of air. The land and sea below offered both opportunity and threat. It was her job to ascertain and analyze both before reporting back to the abbey. She circled where the headland met the sea in broadening and overlapping circles to ensure nothing was missed.

Over and over, she came back to watch the solitary figure standing at the edge of the precipice. There was something tragic and haunting, yet compelling and alluring about the man. The zipping sound she made as she sliced through the air at close to two hundred miles per hour must have attracted his attention as he looked up, watching the sky to spot her.

Falcon feathers, unlike those of…say, owls, were stiff and had smooth edges, rather than the more common softness with feathery edges. They allowed her kind to make course corrections with minimal movement without sacrificing velocity—something she had yet to make the Shadow Sisters understand.

Her attention was drawn away by the barking of the seals as they clambered up onto one of the many rocky outcroppings. When she looked back, no trace of the man remained. Above and to the right, a large male falcon dove at her, grappling her talons with his as he sent them plummeting to the earth. Hitting the ground was never desirable, but to do so at this speed could be fatal.

In a matter of seconds, they had fallen from a dizzying height towards the rocky coastline below. The wind rushed past, creating an intensified whistling noise as they sliced through the air. Even though her feathers were perfectly adapted for high-speed dives, nothing in this crazed fall spoke of power or grace. It was mesmerizing, but not in a good way.

The intensity of the descent had all of the raw speed of a strike with none of the pinpointed accuracy. As the ground loomed closer and closer, Mercy tried to flare her wings and tail to avoid collision. At the last possible moment, the larger male falcon released her, allowing her to apply enough braking power that she hit the ground with a distinctive thud instead of a fatal splat.

“Have you lost your fucking mind?” she shouted as she shifted and scrambled to her feet.

“Many times, but not lately,” he drawled drolly, regarding her naked form with open admiration and lust. “I’m Hunter, and you are?”

“Not interested.”

Without giving him any sign of her intention, Mercy shifted back from human to falcon and was gone in an instant, darting into the clouds in order to hide her flight back to the abbey. Something about Hunter had left her feeling as though she had barely managed to escape with her life, and something else she might never be able to obtain again.

Join Mercy and Hunter this summer in Silent Shadowas they navigate the delicate balance between the mortal realm and the supernatural. The threat from the Shadow League is real. Conflict is escalating as dark forces conspire to tip the scales in the League’s favor, endangering humans, shifters and other paranormals. All are threatened by ancient rivalries and hidden agendas.