Chapter Eighteen Sam

“C ome on,” I said a week later as I pulled the SUV into the parking lot of the nearby park. “It’s not that cold.”

“It’s literally ten degrees out,” Erick scoffed, huddled up in his jacket like the inside of the car wasn’t damn near tropical. “I don’t know if my paws can stand the cold.”

“I don’t think I’ve run more than once in snow and definitely not in this frigid shit,” Calum grumbled.

I just rolled my eyes at the pair of them. They were such whiners when it came to the weather. If they were going to stay in Shifter Grove, they were going to have to get used to it. Besides, it had been far too long since I’d gotten a chance to shift and go on a run. Between the New Year’s party and those two showing up on my doorstep, I’d barely had a moment to relax. But now that I was feeling more at ease with the pair of them, it was time to stretch my legs. The wolf inside me would have it no other way.

“Alright,” I said, shifting the SUV into park. “Time to get over it and stretch your legs.”

“I think I’ll just wait until spring to shift,” Erick said, crossing his arms even tighter.

“Same.”

I let out a long sigh. “Well, I guess no blowjobs for you when we get back to the hotel then.”

“On second thought,” Calum said, peeling off his jacket. “A run sounds nice.”

“Sure does,” Erick agreed. “I love the snow.”

Shaking my head, I threw open the door and stepped out into the snow. The sun had set nearly three hours before and the night had grown deep. The sky above was pitch black and clear, the stars twinkling vibrantly against the darkness. I titled my head back, following the bright band of the Milky Way spilling across the sky. It was one of the best parts about living in Shifter Grove. There wasn’t a big city for at least a hundred miles and that meant everything was crystal clear and gorgeous, the entirety of space laid out to see with my own eyes.

And the moon, despite not being full, drew me like a moth to a flame. I turned my face toward it, closing my eyes and soaking in its cold light. When I opened them again, I saw Calum and Erick had stepped up beside me.

“It’s beautiful out here,” Erick said softly, his arm around my waist.

“It is,” Calum agreed, his hand slipping into my back pocket to squeeze my ass. “I’m not much of a poet, but I could see how this is inspiring.”

“Just wait for summer,” I smiled, pulling both of them in tight. “It’s even more beautiful then. Although there’s something to be said about the solitude of winter. It feels like you’re the only person alive when you’re running through those snow-covered hills.”

“You won’t be alone this time,” Erick said.

“You two will be,” Calum grinned. “Cuz I’m fast as fuck, boy.”

“Is that a challenge?” I shot back.

“I guess we’ll find out, won’t we?”

Energy jolted through me and suddenly everything was a race. We raced to get naked, tossing out clothes haphazardly into the SUV. I threw the door shut once our boots went in, stowing the key under the fender. But by the time I turned around, Calum and Erick were gone. In their place stood two wolves. One was smaller, stocky, and covered in mottled red and white fur. The other was large and lanky, his fur the color of night except for the splash of white across his chest. It was too easy to tell which was which.

Closing my eyes, I called up my wolf, letting the shift take over me. It took a few seconds longer than normal thanks to my lack of shifting for so long. But eventually I hit the snow on four paws, gave them a playful bark, and took off like a shot.

The cold rushed through my fur as I raced across the parking lot and into the woods on the other side. Pine boughs whipped at my shoulders and face, but they didn’t bother me. Snow burst off them as I ran through, sending flakes flying in all directions. I didn’t stop until I’d made it to the bottom of the hill on the other side where the trees fell away once more. There I skidded to a halt, chest heaving and heart racing as I looked back.

But I shouldn’t have stopped. It seemed the other two were faster than I gave them credit for. Of course, they had an unfair advantage being Alphas, which I noticed the moment they both leapt out of the trees and tackled me to the ground. I went ass over tea cart as all three of us hit the snow in a tangle of limbs. Somehow, I ended up on my back, the pair of them looking down at me from above. Even in their wolf forms I could see the smirks on their faces. Leaning down, they both licked me sloppily across the face and ran off, yipping like puppies.

They waited for me to get up and take off again before they gave chase once more. Several more times they tackled me into the snow before we finally reached the beach at last. There they stopped and stared, their jaws slack with awe.

Winter on Lake Huron was far different than winter inland. In front of us, water stretched to the horizon. In the distance it was still blue and littered with ice chunks. But the closer to shore I looked, the more densely packed with ice it became until there was no more water to be seen. Near the shore, where the ice crashed against the sand, great mounds of ice and dirt thrusted toward the sky. Some of them were well over fifteen feet high, their icy peaks reaching for the stars.

Calum and Erick both started toward the shore, a gleeful look in their eyes. I barked loudly, grabbing their attention. They stopped and came back to me, reading the anxiousness in my body language. The icy formations were beautiful to look at and tempting to climb. However, they were treacherous. The snow and ice was so densely packed that it was impossible to tell where the ice ended and water began. Sometimes the ice was floating several feet above the water too, meaning if one of us were to fall in, there would be no way out. Hypothermia set in quickly and whether man, wolf, or werewolf, it didn’t matter. It would kill them just the same. Every year there were people all over the state that went through the ice, thinking it was safe to climb. It almost never was.

And there was no fucking way I was going to lose these two. Not after everything I’d been through. Now that I had my happiness, I wasn’t going to let it go. It seemed like an odd thing to decide while in wolf form, but maybe that was for the better. My animal brain was better at listening to my instincts than my human one was. In this form I could see what I wanted with clarity without the shadows of the past looming over me.

These two were my mates . How lucky was I to end up not with one, but two at the same time? And both of them Alphas to boot. It felt too good to be true and yet, it was. It was odd to feel so strongly about them after only knowing them for a handful of weeks, but I couldn’t help it. I’d been reading stories for years about men that fell in love with nothing but a passing glance. So why couldn’t the same be true for me? We’d done a lot more than just glance at one another, anyway. I resisted, I battled, and I sought advice. And all those roads led me here, standing on a beach in the dead of winter with two wolves that I was slowly realizing I felt more for than a simple crush.

I was falling for them both.

Calum was strong and sturdy. But his softer side made my heart melt. He was a sweetheart through and through despite his gruff exterior. I knew I could count on him should I find myself in trouble. And Erick was whip smart, elegant, and always knew just what to say to make me feel good. He could be sweet or hard, depending on what I needed in the moment, and I appreciated his flexibility.

It was strange to think that two men who were so different from one another could make me feel so complete. I’d always been under the impression that one person would be enough for me. That I’d never need anything more than a single mate. But now that I had them both, I had a hard time believing that anymore. One without the other seemed wrong. And when the three of us were together, it felt like we were a cohesive unit. Like we could do anything.

I loved that feeling.

Two massive wolf heads rubbed up against either side of my face, pulling me from my thoughts. Their scents mixed with mine, filling my senses to the brim. I dropped down on two paws, barked playfully, and ran back toward the woods. We weren’t done playing yet. When we got back to the hotel, I’d tell them everything.

Or better yet, maybe I’d show them.