SKYE ALDER
CONTENTS
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
About the Author Also by Skye Alder
Copyright © 2021 by
Skye Alder
contact@skyealder.com
All Rights Reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review. Please do not participate in or encourage piracy of copyrighted materials in violation of the author’s rights. All characters and storylines are the property of the author and your support and respect are appreciated. The characters and events portrayed in this book are fictitious. Any similarity to real persons, living or dead, is coincidental and not intended by the author.
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Birk and Heath have always been inseparable.
Then Ivy moves to town.
Now they’ve got bigger problems than graduating and finding their place in the pack.
They need to figure out how to tell Ivy about shifters and wait until she comes of age so that they can see if she’s the fated mate to either of them.
When Ivy and Heath go hiking one day and she falls and hurts herself, badly, he has a decision to make.
Hope that she can survive the trip back to town, or bite her, forcing a mating but saving her life in the process.
The decision is easy.
Living with the repercussions when it turns out that Birk was her fated mate is a lot harder.
Will their friendship be able to survive when they learn that they have to share their mate?
ONE
Birk
“WE’RE GOING to be late. I don’t want to miss her,” Heath growls as I grab my backpack and we run out the front door.
“Yeah, right. You know how long she takes to get ready in the morning. We’re not going to miss her,” I joke as we take off down the dirt path that leads through the Black River Pack’s land and into town to the local high school. Our girl has a habit of forgetting things, which means multiple trips to and from her house. We don’t mind as long as we get to be with her.
Heath rolls his eyes at me but I can see him fighting a smile. I’m sure he’s picturing the same thing - Ivy’s ice blonde hair and soft green eyes as she tells us she has to grab one more thing from inside.
Heath and I have been best friends since birth. We were born on the same day, to the same pack, and our parents live next door to each other and are super close friends.
We grew up going to the same schools, the same pack meetings, the same everything. Life wasn’t bad so much as it was boring. Mundane.
Our lives and everything in it seemed to stay the same, day after day, year after year.
The last few months, I felt like I was having a midlife crisis, though at eighteen, I knew that wasn’t the case. That fact didn’t stop my mountain lion from pacing restlessly inside me or my chest from aching.
I was resigned to feeling agitated and aimless until Ivy moved to town.
I can still remember the first time we showed up to school and saw her. Heath and I had been running late that day too and Heath almost ran her over in the hallway as we tried to sneak through the front door.
She stumbled backward and Heath grasped her shoulders to keep her from falling. A hot streak of jealousy surged through me when he touched her, which was confusing as hell. Even more confusing was the feeling that followed. Contentment.
Just being in her presence soothed me and my mountain lion. For the first time in months, the asshole calmed down. I did, too.
To add to the complicated emotions of that first encounter, I knew Heath was feeling whatever I was feeling. The way he looked into her brilliant green eyes and the easy smile he gave her said it all. She got under his skin.
Once introductions had been made, Ivy sheepishly told us it was her first day and she got lost trying to find her locker. Of course Heath and I were on the case, not caring one bit about being late for class. We even helped her out with her schedule and walked her to her first class.
It was hard for both of us to leave her at the door but what else could we do? We had classes of our own to get to, but that didn’t stop us from picking her up from her class and walking with her to her next one.
And so became our infatuation with her.
It’s weird and yet natural to spend time with Heath and Ivy. It’s like all three of us belong together, though I have no idea what that looks like. Ivy doesn’t even know about shifters, let alone fated mates. The fact that she’s seventeen makes things even more complicated. A shifter can only discover their mate after they’re both of age, which for Ivy is another few weeks.
Nevertheless, Heath and I spend every spare minute we have with her. We don’t know what the future holds, but right now, neither one of us can get enough of Ivy. We also feel it's our duty to keep the other guys away from her, which is easier to do when she’s with us all the time.
Heath and I meet her before school and walk her to all of her classes. We have lunch with her and then usually try to convince her to hang out with us after school as well. Like I said, the less time she has for other guys, the better.
We have movie nights and sleepovers with her at least once a week, sometimes over the whole weekend if we’re really lucky.
In the short time Ivy has been in our lives, we’ve discovered she loves being outdoors so we’ve gone on a few adventures like hiking and kayaking. Although we’ve cancelled all kayaking trips indefinitely after the last one. Ivy fell into the water and we couldn’t find her for a full thirty seconds. I’ve never been so scared in my entire life and I know that Heath had felt the same way.
Despite the fact that Heath and I have talked about her probably being one of our mates, we haven’t discussed what that means for our friendship. I’ll always love Heath like a brother, closer than that, really. But if Ivy is his mate and not mine...
My mountain lion wants me to just bite her already. He’s been antsy ever since we met her, always pacing inside of me, never satisfied. With each passing day he gets more and more aggressive. Just thinking about Ivy has my canines elongating, but I force my mountain lion back down, reminding him we have to wait until she’s eighteen.
Every shifter feels incomplete until they’ve found their fated mate. The funny thing is, the deep, unexplainable ache in my chest faded when Ivy’s green eyes met mine for the first time. Instead of an ache, now I feel impatient. It’s like time is moving too slow but I know that I can’t rush it with Ivy. If she turns out to only be Heath’s mate, then I’ll have to leave the two of them alone.
My mountain lion snarls inside of me at the thought of not being with Ivy, even if I knew she was safe and happy with my friend. On the flip side, would Heath still hang around if Ivy turned out to be
my mate and not his? The thought of having Ivy bound to me forever fills me with such painful longing, but losing my best friend tears at my insides.
Like I said, it’s a bit of a mess, the thing between the three of us, but we can’t stop. I can’t stop. The only thing worse than worrying about Ivy not belonging to me is if I wasn’t around her at all. No, that is definitely not an option.
We’re all about to graduate and I know we should be thinking about what we’re going to do with the rest of our lives. Heath is well on his way to becoming a mechanic, thanks to his part-time gig at the auto shop in town. I’m about to start an internship with the Pack doctor, which should make me feel accomplished and proud. Instead, whenever I think about the future, all I see is Ivy.
“You know, it’s almost her birthday,” Heath says as the school comes into view. I don’t even bother asking how he knew what I was thinking. When it comes to Ivy, we always seem to be on the same page.
“I know.”
I don’t want to tell him that the date has been circled in my calendar for the last six months. I went home the day that we met her and did it. Even then I knew how much she would mean to me and how important that date would be.
Now it’s only a little over a week away and I know everything is about to change. I swear, my mountain lion and I can feel it in the air.
Our future is about to be revealed.
TWO
Ivy
I USED to hate moving around from town to town.
New schools, new faces, new apartments, yet everything was always the same. I gave up on making friends after our third or fourth move. What was the point? I’d end up leaving anyway. It hurt less if I didn’t make connections.
Then we moved to Black River and I met Heath and Birk. Suddenly I was thankful my dad needed to skip town after burning one bridge or another.
I don’t even know what it is about my boys. I just met them and we clicked. Maybe it’s just like that with some people.
Of course, it helps that they are both ridiculously sexy. Like, overthe-top, not-fair-to-any-other-men kind of sexy. Heath has hair as dark as midnight and bright blue eyes that pierce right through me with one look. He’s so tall I have to crane my head back to look at him when we’re standing close. And God, do I like standing close to him. He smells like the forest - pine, Earth and wilderness. I don’t know how else to explain it, but I love it.
And Birk. Wow. He has intense yet kind brown eyes and messy blonde hair that makes me want to comb my fingers through it. He’s not as tall as Heath, but sweet Jesus is he ripped. I’ve never had the
pleasure of seeing either one of them without a shirt on, but I just know both of them are packing some serious muscle. I bet Birk could bench press me without breaking a sweat. Not that I’ve pictured him doing just that or anything.
Oh who am I kidding? I think about the two of them all the time. Especially at night. I can’t help it. Almost as soon as I close my eyes, visions of Heath and Birk fill my mind. Their toned muscles and tan skin. I picture what it would feel like to have four hands roam over my body, touching me, stroking me, and driving me crazy. Sometimes I dream about just one of them, but mostly my dirty fantasies involve both of my boys.
The dreams started the day after I met them and have only gotten more vivid ever since. I should feel ashamed at my thoughts and desires, but something about it feels right. I couldn’t be with just one of them. It would have to be both. But how would that even work?
“Pick up some milk on the way home,” my dad says as he cracks open a beer and takes a seat in the recliner by the tiny window. Reality comes crashing in, pouring cold water over my lustful thoughts.
I nod at my father, biting my tongue before I can point out that it’s seven o’clock in the morning. I also resist the urge to tell him he should go out to the store himself because we need a lot more than just milk to survive around here. Not that he would know anything about that. My dad hasn’t done much in the way of cooking, cleaning, or working for a paycheck in quite some time.
As it is, I’m running late for school, so I don’t have time to get into it with my dad right now. I grab my bag, quadruple-checking that I have everything, and hurry down the rickety steps of our apartment building to where my old Jeep is parked. I’ve been working since I was fifteen, saving every penny that I could so I could buy myself a newer, safer car. Hopefully I’ll even have a bit leftover to get an apartment of my own once I turn eighteen.
However, that won’t be happening now since my birthday is in a little over a week and I had to cover most of the bills this month. It’s not unusual for me to pitch in with groceries, gas, and a few odds
and ends, but lately I’ve been paying rent and utilities as well. My father has called in sick quite a bit these last few months so it’s been awhile since he’s gotten a full paycheck.
I wouldn’t have minded if he had really been sick, but I’m not sure the brown bottle flu counts. He’s woken up with a hangover more days than not recently, and I’m not sure what to do or how to help.
Thinking about my dad now, I can’t help but feel sorry for him. I’m frustrated and angry at his poor choices, to be sure, but underneath it all, I know how broken he is. My mother was killed nearly seven years ago in a horrible mugging gone wrong. After the funeral, he started drinking more and more.
At just ten years old, I didn’t have a clue what was going on, just that my dad seemed to sleep and drink a lot. It only got worse once he was fired from his job. We moved out of the house I grew up in since he couldn’t afford the mortgage, and thus began our crosscountry journey from one small town to the next. My dad can’t hold down a job for more than a few months, and even if he shows up regularly, he drinks away half his paycheck.
I shake my head of those depressing thoughts and crank the engine of my Jeep. I wonder if I’ll beat my boys to school today, but I doubt it. A small smile curls up one corner of my mouth. Most days they're both outside the school waiting for me, which I love. I like knowing they will be at school to greet me. Heath and Birk always make me feel special and wanted, which is a feeling I haven’t had in so long.
They woke me up this morning with my usual good morning texts. Heath calls me beautiful and uses lots of emojis, whereas Birk is more serious, though no less genuine. It fits them both perfectly. Heath is easy-going while Birk is intense and focused. They are opposites in a lot of ways, but that only seems to make them better friends.
In typical Birk fashion, his morning text was about what he can bring me for breakfast. My boys are always concerned about my health, but since Birk is starting his internship with the local doctor, he has taken it upon himself to make sure I have proper nutrition.
I don’t mind. It’s nice having someone looking out for me. Plus, despite Birk’s talk about balanced meals and more protein, he usually brings me sugary pastries and delectable muffins. His mom runs the bakery in Black River along with Heath’s mom. If anything, I’ve gained weight since meeting my boys, but it’s worth it.
I don’t live far from school and I’m pulling in the parking lot a few minutes later. My heart sinks slightly when I don’t see Heath and Birk out front.
Then my door opens and I jump in my seat, smiling when I see Heath at my door and Birk at the passenger one. I have no idea where they came from. Sometimes my boys are stealthy and move unbelievably fast.
Heath reaches in and unbuckles me as Birk grabs my bag and slings it over his shoulder. These two are always thinking of the little details and taking care of everything.
“Morning, Ivy,” Heath says as he takes my keys from me and locks the door.
“Hey,” I greet both of them as Birk passes me a giant blueberry muffin.
“Looks like a perfectly healthy meal,” I tease.
“Blueberries are good for you,” Heath says.
Birk rolls his eyes, but then winks at me. “As your unofficial doctor-in-training, I’m giving you the all-clear to enjoy that sugary muffin,” he says with an easy smile.
I can’t help the blush that creeps into my cheeks. Hell yes, I would play doctor with Birk. Heath, too, which is confusing. Everything about these two is confusing, but I can’t stop hanging out with them. Even just thinking about it makes me ache all over. My chest feels empty and unexpected tears burn the back of my eyes.
“Ivy?” Heath asks, drawing my attention up to his handsome face. He looks stricken. “What’s wrong?”
Birk is by my side in an instant, those brown eyes searching mine.
“Nothing, sorry. Just happy to see you guys,” I say lamely.
Heath smiles at me, but Birk still looks skeptical. He doesn’t say anything, however, and my boys throw their arms around my shoulders and lead me inside.
I can’t help but melt into them. Just being around them makes me feel light and airy and complete.
This is what I want. To be taken care of for a change. That’s what Heath and Birk have done since we first met. They’re so attentive to me and that attention is addicting. It’s like I’m the most important thing in their life.
Maybe that’s why I’ve already decided to stay in Montana, in Black River, after graduation. We’re reaching the point where my dad usually packs up and moves on to the next town and I’ve already decided not to go with him.
There’s nothing left with my dad except for late notices and crushed hopes. It’s time that I made my own life and found my own happiness.
Now I just need to find a full time job for after graduation.
THREE
Heath
IT’S Saturday and Ivy has the day off. I do,too, which is why we’re out here in our favorite spot. The woods. Ivy loves hiking, and while I’m used to letting my coyote run free out here, I’m starting to enjoy being out here in human form as well. It’s no secret why.
Ivy.
It’s always Ivy.
Since the moment I saw her, the moment I wrapped my hands around her shoulders to keep her from falling, I’ve been obsessed. Ivy is beautiful, that’s for sure, but it’s so much more than that. She’s tough, yet so very sweet. Our girl is smart, capable, and motivated, too. She always makes us smile, even when we’re having terrible days.
Ivy and I continue up the trail in comfortable silence. That’s another thing I love. For most of my life, I’ve been the easy-going one, the funny one. With Ivy though, I don’t feel like I have to perform or fill the silence. I’m completely content just being in her calming presence. My coyote is, too.
The fucker had been a ball of restless, angsty energy since I turned eighteen. But then Ivy showed up and caused a different kind of pain. My coyote knew what he wanted. Her. Only, she’s not
eighteen yet. Furthermore, Birk feels the same way about her, and I’m pretty sure Ivy likes both of us.
My coyote whines and nudges me, letting me know he wants us to mark her already. We’re alone out here and her scent is calling to him. To me, as well.
Not yet, I tell him sternly. Usually I can keep the beast in me under control, but Birk isn’t with us. When we’re all three together, my coyote is content enough not to claw at me and lunge for my throat. Something about being with Birk and Ivy feels right. Like home.
Unfortunately, Birk had a meeting with the doctor about his upcoming internship with him so he couldn’t join us. I know that he’s bummed, but he agreed we both shouldn’t be deprived of an afternoon with Ivy. Especially since she seemed down last night when we were all texting. I wanted to do something to cheer her up so I packed us some food and went to pick her up first thing this morning.
I thought being out in nature would be the pick me up that she needed but she still seems distracted and a little upset. I wish I knew what she was thinking. If we were mated, I’d at least be able to figure out where her head is at. My coyote would feel her distress and instinctively know how to comfort her.
As it is, I can only guess it has something to do with her father. I don’t know much about the man, but he doesn’t seem to care that Ivy hangs out with two big brutes like us every waking moment. He’s never been concerned in the least when she sometimes spends several days and nights at one of our houses.
Of course, Birk and I would die before hurting her, but for all he knows, we’re two burly, testosterone-filled guys who hang out with his daughter all the time. What kind of parent doesn’t even bat an eyelash at that?
I want to wrap Ivy up in my arms and take her away from her shitty apartment and her complacent father. I know Birk wants the same thing, which is confusing as hell, but also strangely perfect.
Soon, I remind myself. Soon she’ll be eighteen and this torture will come to an end, one way or another. Every day that gets closer
to Ivy’s birthday brings with it a sense of excitement mixed with dread.
My boot makes an unattractive squishing sound in the mud, pulling me from my thoughts. It rained last night and the ground is wet, mud sticking to our boots and splattering on our jeans as we walk along the path that winds up Ash Mountain.
Ivy giggles, the sound washing over me and making me smile. I look over at her, nearly falling to my knees when I see her playful smile and sparkling green eyes. They match the forest around her. Sunlight tangles in her hair, making her look like a goddamn forest nymph.
I love Ivy. I love her so much it’s hard to breathe sometimes. Even if we aren’t fated mates, I still would love her. I also love Birk. Not in a romantic way, but he’s my brother and I want him to be happy. So while I’m excited to see if she’ll be fated to one of us, I’m also dreading if it’s not me.
Will I be able to watch them every day together? Will it ruin our friendship if I’m fated to her and Birk isn’t?
There’s still a chance that we could both be mated to her. It’s happened before in both Ash Mountain and Red Ridge. It’s just not as common, especially if the girl is a human. And that’s yet another complication. Our sweet girl has no idea she and her father moved right into the epicenter of the Black River Pack.
Ivy and I are walking side by side until we get to a narrow part of the trail that leads up the mountain. My coyote whines in my chest, wanting us to turn back. He must sense something I don’t, some hidden danger.
I look down the side. At this point, we’re only a few feet from the base. If we were to fall, we would only roll a few feet down into some brush. We might break a bone or two but we’d survive.
She’s human, my coyote reminds me. Ivy is strong as hell, that’s for sure, but her body is still fragile, especially compared to shifters. Plus, the ground is wet and our boots slippery. We can’t risk it with Ivy, especially when it’s clear her mind is on other things.
I open my mouth, about to tell her we should turn back. “Hey, Ivy,” I call out to where she marched ahead of me on the trail. She
twists to look back at me over her shoulder.
It happens in slow motion.
Ivy loses her balance and my coyote and I both call out as her arms pinwheel in the air. Her green eyes meet mine, pure terror glistening in them as tears stream down her face. I lunge for her but I’m too slow. I watch in absolute horror as Ivy falls over the edge and hits the side of the incline with a thud and starts rolling down, down, down.
Her whimper of pain snaps me back into the moment and I slide down after her, landing in the mud next to her prone body.
“Shit Ivy! Are you okay?” I ask when I reach her.
She’s wincing, her eyes closed in pain and I see her reach for her leg. I can smell her blood before I see it, and the bone of her left leg poking out of the skin.
There’s a lot of blood, way more than there should be and I realize with horror that she must have nicked her femoral artery.
I look up, noticing how pale she is and I know that there’s no way I’d be able to get her help in time. I wish Birk was here. He’s the medical one and would know what to do in this kind of situation.
“Ivy,” I choke out, brushing some hair away from her face as I apply pressure to the wound. Shit, shit, shit. What was I thinking hiking out here after it rained so heavily the night before? We should have had a movie day. I would have wrapped her up in her favorite fuzzy fleece blanket and made her popcorn and hot chocolate. That’s what we should be doing right now. Not this. Anything but this. “Ivy,” I whisper again.
She doesn’t answer me and I panic. My coyote is pushing to get out, snarling and clawing at my throat. I know what he wants.
To bite her.
If I bite her, I’ll force mate with her and she’ll take on some of my shifter properties. The most important one right now is that she can heal faster.
The answer is obvious.
I can’t live in a world where Ivy doesn’t exist. I know Birk might be mad at first, but he’ll get over it when he knows that it was
literally life or death. He’ll have to. I know he’d make the same decision.
Without wasting another second, I brush some of Ivy’s hair away from her face and lean down, my teeth elongating as I start to shift.
I’ve pictured this moment a thousand times. Never did I think it would go down this way, but there’s no stopping now. Not when Ivy is bleeding out and I can save her.
I bite down, unable to contain the moan as her blood hits my tongue and I bind us together forever. Ivy lets out a sigh and my coyote howls inside of me as I shift back to human and get a better look at her.
Already her bleeding is starting to slow, but I still take off my shirt and tie it around her thigh. She passed out, whether from the pain of her injury or the shock of me biting her, but I can sense her body buzzing back to life, my shifter magic already coursing through her veins.
I take a second to trace my mark on her neck, pleased beyond belief when it sends a shiver down her spine. There will be more time to explore that later. For now, I need to nurse my mate back to health.
I scoop her up in my arms and start to hurry back to town, needing to get her to a hospital right away.
I also need to figure out a way to tell Birk and Ivy about what happened.
That might be easier said than done.
FOUR
Birk
IVY’S BIRTHDAY is tomorrow and it’s also the first day she’ll be back at school. Heath and I have been going crazy not being able to see her all day long and I know that we’re both excited to see her outside of the hospital again.
We’ve been visiting her at the hospital every day before and after school. We sneak pastries in for her when we visit in the mornings, and watch movies on the laptop we brought in during the afternoons and evenings.
My mountain lion and I miss smelling her fresh pine needle scent and we’re both sick of the sting of antiseptic filling our noses. It feels like we can’t get a second alone with her with the constant interruptions from the doctors and nurses.
It didn’t escape my notice that her father hasn’t come to visit. Not once. The killer thing is that Ivy didn’t seem that surprised. In fact, she always looks relieved when she sees us coming into the room, as if she was worried it might be her father. I will never understand how anyone could look at Ivy and not want to worship the ground that she walks on.
Luckily for her, Heath and I are both more than willing to pick up the slack where her father comes in. Tomorrow will determine a lot
of things for all three of us, but after nearly losing Ivy, one thing is for sure; regardless of whose mate she is, the three of us belong together. I can’t explain it, but I feel it deep in my bones. Surely that has to be the mating bond though, right?
Heath and I are headed to the hospital now. I keep a close eye on Heath as we walk into the big building. Both him and Ivy have been acting strange ever since the accident.
I remember getting the call from him when he got to the hospital with Ivy after the incident. I had already been there with Doctor Robbins and I’m sure that I scared the crap out of him when I took off out of his office like a bat out of hell.
I couldn’t help it. Heath’s words echo in my head to this day.
“Ivy fell. She’s bleeding out. We’re in the emergency room. Get herenow!”
Those words will haunt my dreams for months if not years. I thought it was bad when she fell out of our kayak, but this was so much worse. I nearly passed out, but my mountain lion stood his ground, growling at me to go to her, to be strong for her, to do everything in my power to save her.
Ivy looked so pale when they first brought her in. I knew right away she’d need surgery and several blood transfusions. I wanted to grab the nearest needle and vile and start giving her my blood, but even in my frantic worry, I knew that wouldn’t be helpful.
Heath and I camped out in the hospital all night while Ivy went in and out of surgeries and different procedures. It was the longest fourteen hours of my life. My mountain lion groaned and whimpered inside me and it felt like a part of me was dying.
I know Heath felt the same way, only worse. Guilt weighed heavily on him. I could tell by the way his eyes never met mine and how he wouldn’t answer any of my questions directly.
By some miracle, our girl survived.
When we got the news that she would make a full recovery, I swear Heath was going to pass out. I clapped my hand over his shoulder and gave him a nod, which seemed to help. It was the first time he looked at me since before he brought her into the hospital, and I know he saw forgiveness and understanding in my eyes.
It took me a whole day to get the story out of Heath. I wanted to press, to ask questions, but the poor guy was in no state of mind to talk, let alone about something so raw, so terrifying. I mean, fuck, we could have lost her. I can’t imagine what it was like for him, watching her bleed out on the forest floor.
I have to think about something else. I get sick to my stomach when I think about what I would have done in his position. Yes, I’m training to be a doctor, but with Ivy? I don’t know if I could have been cool under pressure. She’s my whole world. One wrong move and she could have died.
Ivy’s been paying more attention to Heath ever since the accident. Something has shifted between the two of them. I can feel it crackling in the air when we’re all in the same room together.
It’s like their bond has grown stronger since the accident, which I guess makes sense. It was a traumatic event and could bring two people together. Plus, he saved her life, which Ivy has thanked him for profusely.
Heath keeps saying it doesn’t count since he was the one who put her life in danger in the first place. Ivy is too sweet to acknowledge that. Instead, she has hearts in her eyes for him.
I keep expecting to feel jealousy when she gives him that look, but it only stirs up longing. It’s not that I want her to look at me insteadof Heath. I want her to look at me and Heath the sameway. I want her to be ours, dammit. Both of ours.
Heath checks in at the front desk and confirms Ivy’s new room. She’s been moved out of the ICU and into a regular room on the first floor. We both smile as we reach her door and see her awake, staring out the window.
“Hey there, pretty girl,” Heath says as he heads to her bedside. I move to the other side and as Ivy turns to smile at Heath, I see it.
A bite mark.
I didn’t notice it before because so far, Ivy’s worn her hair down. Either that or she’s been snuggling in a blanket when we come by to watch movies with her.
My eyes snap to Heath as my whole body freezes. It makes sense now.
I realize what’s changed between them.
I realize what he must have done.
My mountain lion snarls inside of me, angry at our friend for forcing a mating with Ivy. What the hell? My reaction is fierce and immediate. The only thing that keeps me from shifting right there and attacking my best friend is the fact that it would scare the shit out of Ivy.
I push my animal down though and try to think clearly.
Heath wouldn’t have bitten Ivy and forced a mating for no reason. He loves her as much as I do, but he would never do anything like this out of jealousy. We’ve both been waiting until her eighteenth birthday, which is almost here. It doesn’t make sense that he would force mate with her now.
I close my eyes and take a calming breath. I’m still pissed, and more than a little hurt, but I have to trust Heath. He must have had no other options. There has to be a good reason.
Likeifourmatewasbleedingoutanddyinginthewoodsaftera nastyfall.
Of course that’s what happened. But why didn’t he tell me? We don’t keep secrets from each other, we never have. Then again, we’ve never dealt with anything as serious and life-altering as Ivy.
Plus, the guy was already drowning in guilt for letting her get hurt in the first place. Telling me he had to force mate with her to save her life was too much for him to handle. And honestly, can I really be angry at him for doing it?
He saved her life. Ivy is still alive and could still be his fated mate. Even if she’s mine, would I really mind sharing her with my best friend? Aside from the actual mating part, we basically share Ivy as it is. It’s always been easy and natural with all three of us, is it impossible to think we could go on like that?
“Birk?” Ivy asks, her soft voice giving me permission to breathe again and let go of the tension in my jaw and shoulders.
“Yeah, sweetheart?”
She smiles up at me, and Jesus, my heart can’t take it. She’s stunning, even after spending a week in the hospital.
But then my eyes find the bite mark on her pale neck. I wonder if she’s seen it yet. If she has, then surely she must have questions about how she got it and what it means.
“Just wanted to make sure you are okay.”
I have her hand wrapped up in mine in the next second. God, her soft skin calms me down even more. Whatever Heath had to do to save our girl, it was worth it. She’s precious and perfect and I know we wouldn’t survive without her.
“I’m okay,” I reassure her, my eyes ticking over to Heath’s to let him know I really am okay. I have questions, yes, but for now, I’m content to know she’s safe and healing.
“Hi, Miss Ivy!” the nurse says as she comes bustling in. Heath and I both step closer to our girl out of instinct. “It’s time for you to see the doctor. We’re going to put the hard cast on you today but we need to do another x-ray first. I’m here to take you for your appointment,” she says as she wheels the wheelchair over to the bed.
Heath reaches for Ivy, easily lifting her from the bed and setting her gently in the wheelchair.
“We’ll be here when you get back,” I tell Ivy. She smiles at Heath and I as she’s wheeled from the room. As soon as she’s gone, I turn to Heath.
“You bit her,” I say. Despite my earlier resolve to forgive him, my words come out more like an accusation.
He hangs his head, nodding solemnly. It feels like a punch to the gut to see him all twisted up about it. Clearly, Heath has been in hell the last few days, keeping this secret from me.
“I know,” he sighs. “I wanted to tell you. I just didn’t know how to get the words out.”
“You force mated with her.”
My mountain lion starts to pace angrily inside of me and I ball my hands into fists. I have a feeling he wants to break free, to lunge at Heath and I can’t have that here in the middle of the town hospital.
Besides, hurting Heath would ultimately hurt Ivy since she’s his mate now.
Anger surges through me again, my adrenaline and temper spiking. Now that Ivy isn’t here reminding me that Heath saved her life, the beast in me needs answers.
“I know, but what choice did I have?” His sharp blue eyes plead with me to understand. “Would you rather that she bled out? That she died?” He chokes on the last word. I can see how much it hurt him to think it, let alone say it out loud.
“No, of course not,” I growl. “I just… fuck,” I sigh. “What does this even mean?”
I don’t have to explain my question any further. I know he knows what I’m asking. What does this mean for us? What does this mean for me and Ivy? Should I just fade away into the background? Or become a third-wheel?
“I don’t know, man,” he says quietly. “Wait until tomorrow, I guess?”
A long silence stretches between us until I finally speak up. “I just wish you had told me.”
“I know, and I’m sorry. I should have.” The remorse is evident in his voice. I know he feels horrible and this whole situation was already complicated. This just makes it even more confusing. “It’s just… I… well, it’s been a busy week.”
I laugh at that, the tension between the two of us fading ever so much. I still don’t know what the hell is going to happen or where we go from here, but Heath and I are solid. He made the right decision. The only decision.
FIVE
Ivy I DIG through my backpack in search of my biology textbook. I swear I put it back in here after catching up on all the assignments I’ve missed over the last week.
“Aha!” I exclaim as I spot the giant book wedged between the couch cushions.
Today is my first day back at school and I’m not sure how to feel or what to think. It’s been a whirlwind of emotions and revelations.
I’ve been feeling strange ever since the accident. I’m used to not being able to stop thinking about Heath and Birk but this feels like more.
I hate being apart from Heath. Like, really hate it. It makes my skin crawl and I can’t help but feel antsy whenever he is more than a few feet from me. An ache blooms in my chest as soon as he steps out of eyesight. Am I going crazy? Am I obsessed with him because he saved my life?
My dreams have gotten worse, too. I was used to the sexual fantasies that greeted me every time I closed my eyes but they’ve seem to have gotten even more explicit since I was hurt.
I picture Heath on top of me, stretching me out with his big cock. My pussy flutters and releases a warm wave of arousal just thinking
about it. The way his muscles would surround me, caging me in, protecting me, taking charge and giving me more pleasure than I’ve ever known.
I still dream about Birk, too. His brown eyes and messy blonde hair haunt me. I get so wet imagining Birk licking me between my thighs while Heath kisses me. I gasp softly and tremble as the fantasy takes over. What would it feel like to have both of their tongues on me. In me. God, I have to get myself together.
My feelings for Heath are almost overwhelming, and while I still miss Birk and long for him as well, there’s just something about Heath. Something changed after the accident and I intend to find out what.
My phone alarm goes off, letting me know I’m officially going to be late for school if I don’t leave asap. I give my backpack one last look over and then run a comb through my hair.
I look at myself in the mirror, my eyes immediately going to the mark on the side of my neck. I mean, what the hell?
Even more confusing is that no one can seem to explain. Was I attacked by a wolf while I was tumbling down a ravine? I don’t think so, but I can’t think of another reason why I would have such a mark on my neck. Heath and Birk know something though. They both got evasive when I asked them about it and that only piqued my curiosity more.
I can’t seem to stop touching it. Everytime I rub my fingers over it, a shockwave goes off inside of me. It makes me impossibly aroused, so much so that I don’t even touch it in public for fear I might have an orgasm. I can’t figure out what that means.
AmIintobiting?
I’ve never slept with anyone so I don’t really know what I like sexually but I never thought that it would be biting. Then again, I think I’d be into anything my boys do to me. I’m such a freak, but again, I don’t feel shame for my thoughts. I can’t explain it, but everything about Heath and Birk makes me feel safe and accepted. But there are more pressing issues at hand. Like how the heck I’m still alive.
I remember the fall. I remember looking into Heath’s ice blue eyes as he lunged toward me. The fear and helplessness I saw there broke my heart, but neither one of us could stop me from slipping and tumbling down the ravine.
Heath was by my side in an instant. He hovered over me, not sure what to do. I could feel his anxiety and panic. I wanted nothing more than to comfort him, but I couldn’t talk let alone move.
There was so much blood. I didn’t even know where it was coming from. My body was numb at first, in shock from all the trauma it just went through. But then I saw my leg. The sight of the bone sticking out of my skin was enough to have me feeling queasy and then everything went black.
The doctors kept calling it a miracle. The bone had nicked my femoral artery and I should have bled out before I reached the hospital. Whatever Heath did after I passed out saved my life. I’m just not sure what it was. I feel like I have all the pieces of the puzzle, I just need to put them together somehow.
Even my leg healed faster than it should have. The doctors told me that I would be in a cast for months but when they took me down to get an x-ray yesterday, they were shocked to discover the bone had already healed.
If I didn’t have a small scar on my thigh, it would be like the accident never even happened. How is that possible? I don’t remember the first few days in the hospital, but my nurses told me I had three surgeries on my leg and two blood transfusions. How could I walk away from something like that a week later with barely a scratch on my leg?
I shake my head of those thoughts as I start up my car, praying the engine turns over. The last thing I need right now is car problems.
Not only do I have to sort through the mess of Heath and Birk and my miraculous recovery, but when I came home yesterday afternoon, my dad had more exciting news. He told me he lost his job and is behind on the rent so we’re moving in two weeks.
The man didn’t even come to see me in the hospital and now I know why. He was too drunk off his ass to go to work, let alone visit
