3#Unlikely Mates: BBW Shifter/Vampire Romance (Their Everything) (2 page)

Brant
sighed. “I miss her too. I guess I miss”—his voice became barely audible—“us.”

Zane
held up his hands. “I’ve told you a hundred times that I’m not touching your
cock.”

“Fuck
you!” Brant snarled but Rushe noticed that the male was smiling. “The only time
my hands will go on your dick is when I rip it off you to make you eat it.”

Zane
chuckled. It was a terrifying sight. “Keep our human in mind when Ross gets
here. Take deep breaths.”

“Just
tell me what the hell is going on,” Brant said.

There
was a loud revving of an engine and an SUV going at breakneck speed pulled up
to the castle. Dirt and clumps of grass sprayed as it came to a screeching halt.
Two males exited the vehicle.

Considering
how fast the vehicle had arrived, it was weird how long the males took to exit
the SUV. When they finally did, they made their way over in slow deliberate
steps.

Not
a fuck.
It couldn’t be.

Brant
growled low and deep.

Just
as with Rushe, the vampire king would be able to scent Becky on this male’s
skin. Sweet honeysuckle.
His female
. His first instinct should have been
to launch himself at the male. If it came to it, to kill him in order to claim
his female. The problem was that this was the male that had saved his life
during the fight between the two species. He recognized his face. It had been
chaos so Rushe had not been able to lock onto the male’s scent, but he would
never forget his face. There was no doubt in his mind. This complicated things.
He owed his life to this male in front of him. Which meant that although he
would still fight him, he couldn’t kill the vampire. It put him on the back
foot, especially since the other male had no such obligations and could kill
him.

“You,”
Ross growled. “You are the one she rutted? I could scent a wolf on her but
didn’t realize it was—”

“What
is the meaning of this?” Brant said, his whole body was tense. His nostrils
flared as he continued to suck in air.

Ross
grit his teeth, his jaw ticked.

“You
rutted a human?” A vicious snarl erupted from the king whose face contorted in
rage. “It is not permitted.”

“Remember
what I said,” Zane said as he faced the other king. “Just for the record I—”

Brant
punched Ross square in the jaw. Although the male took up a fighting stance, he
never hit back. Brant hit him again and Ross was forced to take a step back.

“A
human?” Brant snarled, punching him again. This time Ross was knocked onto his
knees. The male kept his head bowed for a few beats before standing back up.

It
was such an unfair clash since it was clear that Ross had decided not to fight
back. Rushe admired the vampire’s bravery. He could have rolled himself up into
a ball and begged but had evidently decided to take it.

“I
gave him permission,” Zane said for a second time. “Brant!” He shouted, but the
king either didn’t hear what he said or chose to ignore it.

King
Brant looked enraged. His teeth were set in a grimace, his neck muscles were
corded. Surely he had hit the male enough. His point had been made. When Brant
punched the male again, Rushe’s hackles rose. Red, hot rage boiled inside of him.

All
he had wanted, was to see the vampire’s life blood drain from his body. He
wanted nothing more than to feel bone crack, to see the male suffer. Yet, this
wasn’t right. The king was clearly dominant over him. Brant would be the victor
no matter the circumstances. The only chance for Ross was to remain submissive
until, hopefully, the king punched away his anger.

But
Brant clearly had no such honor, Ross’ head snapped back on the next punch.
Rushe heard something crack. By now the male’s face was a bloody mess.

Zane
stepped up to Brant. “Stop!” He snarled. Rushe could see that the male didn’t
plan on letting up any time soon.

“This
isn’t right,” Rushe growled while putting himself in front of Ross.

“Move,
wolf.” Brant had death in his eyes.

“No,”
Rushe’s voice came out in a deep rumble. He had to work hard to keep a rein on
his wolf. If the beast broke free, he would turn into a deadly killing machine.
Potentially capable of slaughtering a dominant male, even such as the one in
front of him. Rushe had never fully tested his beast so was unsure of its full capabilities.
One thing he knew for sure though, if he somehow seriously harmed the vampire
king he would cause untold shit for his kind.

“One
last chance.” Brant swung as he spoke, showing himself for the dickhead he was.
Rushe deflected the punch, itching to hit back.

“Stop!”
Rushe shouted. “Hear him out.”

Brant
swung again. Even though Rushe tried to avoid the blow, it still caught him
high on the jaw. The male could hit. His ear immediately started ringing and
the area of impact flared with pain. He didn’t allow it to detract from his
focus. When Brant swung again, he ducked. Unfortunately the male took the
opportunity to knee him in the face. The unexpected force from the collision
had him reeling and he fell to one knee, feeling dazed. He so longed to let his
wolf loose on this son of a bitch but he somehow managed to hold back.

A
sound of confusion escaped him when the vampire male, Ross, moved in front of
him. Putting himself back in the line of fire as he pleaded, “Please, my lord.”

Brant
pulled back, his fist intent on thrashing the male again but Zane finally
stepped in and grabbed his arm. “I gave you plenty of opportunity to find
control.”

Brant
tried to pull his arm free. “Let go,” he bit out. “This male needs to be taught
a lesson.”

“Stop
for just a second and listen to me.” Zane sounded calm, yet deadly at the same
time. This was a male Rushe would think twice about facing.

Brant
let out a deep breath. “Talk quick and then either you deliver the punishment
or I will. This type of behavior will be the downfall of our coven.”

“I
gave Ross permission to seek out the human.”

Brant
cursed. A whole string of expletives, many of them new to Rushe.

“Are
you finished?” Zane asked.

Brant
laughed. The sound, cold and empty. “This just means that you can go on the
pole next to Ross. Ten cuts for giving him permission. Another ten for doing so
behind my back. What the fuck were you thinking?”

“Let’s
have this conversation in private.” Zane clenched his jaw.

Brant
was breathing hard, his chest heaved from the exertion. The male looked
seriously pissed. For a second, Rushe was sure he would launch himself at Ross.
Finally, some of the tension drained from him. “Fine.” He turned to York and
the other male. “Take these two to the dungeon.”

“Is
that really necessary?” Zane asked.

“Yes,”
Brant growled. “If it were up to me, you would join them.”

Zane
chuckled, causing Brant to tense back up.

“Thank
fuck it’s not up to you then.” Zane said, still smiling.

“Don’t
push me, Zane. You’re walking a fine line.”

The
guards walked up to them. “Do I need to restrain you?” York asked while clasping
Rushe’s shoulder.

Rushe
shook his head.

“Let’s
go.” York gestured in the direction of the castle.

“Since
these two are clearly rutting the same female, and love each other so much”—Brant
looked Rushe and then Ross in the eye—“you can put them in the same cell.”
Brant glanced at York as he gave the command. His mouth was set in a grim line.

As
they turned and walked towards the castle, Rushe heard Zane speaking to Brant.
“Let’s go and talk about this. It’ll give you a chance to calm down. Then, I
would suggest that you act in a fair manner.”

“This
is fucking unacceptable. Fair would mean fifty lashes with silver infused
leather.”

“It
could kill Ross.”

“I
don’t give a fuck,” Brant snarled.

“He
had my permission,” Zane growled. “I won’t allow you to lash him.”

“This
is
your
fucking fault. You do realize that we need to contact the alpha?”

The
great castle doors closed behind him, drowning out the rest of the
conversation. Rushe squeezed his eyes shut for a second or two. Ward was going
to be pissed. They were trying to keep their interactions with human females a
secret. Judging by how they had treated one of their own, the vampire kings
would not approve. This could cause major shit.

Becky
parked alongside the castle. Tall stone walls loomed. The four towers were not all
visible from this angle. This included the north tower.

There
was a light tap on her window. A large, hulking vampire leaned down staring at
her through the glass. “Please step out of the vehicle.”

She
held up a hand. He could freaking wait. It was dangerous to phone and drive, so
Becky had waited until she got there to call Tanya. She had seen numerous
accidents caused by cell phone use while operating a moving vehicle.

Becky
quickly dialed her best friend.

“Tell
me all about it, slut,” Tanya said. “I am all alone right now and all ears.”

“I’m
outside.”

“What?”
Tanya’s voice turned high pitched.

“I’m
outside your vampire freaking castle. Please get your pampered ass down here…oh
shit…” She looked around her.

“What’s
wrong?”

“There
are about five vampire beefcakes now surrounding my car and I arrived not one
minute ago.” Becky tried hard to keep her voice even.

Becky
could hear that her friend was already moving since the phone sounded like it
was being jostled and her breathing picked up. “I’m on my way. Tell them that
you are my guest. Give me a few minutes.” She disconnected the call.

“Female,”
it was the same vampire that addressed her earlier. “Please get out of the
vehicle.”

“I
recognize her.” It was one of the others. “This is the queen’s friend.” He
frowned. “She does not have permission to be here.” He glanced at the male that
had knocked on her window. “Do you know anything about this?”

“No,
but I did just overhear her conversation with the queen who is on her way as we
speak.” He looked at Becky. “I will escort you to the entrance hall.”

Becky
stepped out of the vehicle. The closest male’s nostrils flared. “You rutted a
vampire”—his eyes narrowed—“and a wolf.” He added the last while grimacing.

All
of the remaining males closed the distance to her in quick lithe strides, all
of them made sniffing noises. One of the males actually bent down, taking a
deep inhalation.

“Excuse
me.” She tried to keep her voice even. “Stop that! Please.” She added when the
same male leaned a little close to her private parts for a second deep sniff.

The
male growled. “The vampire had her recently, they rutted more than once and she
enjoyed it greatly.” His eyes heated while landing on her breasts.

“It’s
none of your business.” Becky spoke with authority that she didn’t feel.
“Tanya…your queen is waiting to see me.”

That
seemed to bring them back. The males moved out of her personal space.

“Did
you get permission to rut with non-humans?” The male to her left asked, a grin
on his face. “Are we permitted to rut you, human? I would be very interested in—”

“Stop!”
She held up a hand. “No freaking way. Not happening.” She reminded herself that
these males were still primal, they still acted mostly on instinct. “Your kings
would have your balls if you laid even a pinky finger on me.”

He
pulled a face looking irritated, even shook his head while sighing. “Pity. I
will have to seek permission.” Then he shrugged and started walking towards the
castle. She had to take quick long strides to keep up. The others followed.

Becky
let out a breath she didn’t realize she was holding.

“Next
time”—another male said as he fell in beside her—“contact our queen before you
come through to the castle. It would be safer that way.”

“It’s
not like you guys would have hurt me.”

The
male kept his eyes straight ahead and didn’t say anything.

“Would
you?” She added sounding a little afraid.

“It
is our duty to keep the castle safe and with the queen being pregnant we are on
high alert.” He glanced her way, his jaw set. “Your scent is alluring and you
recently rutted a vampire male and a wolf. It could be misinterpreted.”

“I
understand...I think.” Becky took a deep breath, trying hard to fight the panic
growing inside her. “You wouldn’t know anything about a wolf would you?”

His
eyes narrowed as they flashed her way. “What do you know about the wolf?”

“
The
wolf…so he
is
here?”

The
big male nodded once. “Yes.”

She
bit down on her lip. “Please tell me he’s okay and that he didn’t do anything
foolish.” There was a part of her that was concerned for Ross as well, yet she
didn’t really believe that Rushe would be able to hurt the vampire. Not on his
own territory. She doubted the vampires would allow it. No, Rushe was who she
feared for in this moment.

The
big male shrugged. “I don’t know what happened, we were sent away. The wolf was
demanding to speak with…one of us…” It seemed like he wanted to add something
but he stopped, thinking better of it.

“Ross,”
she whispered under her breath.

“Yes.
What do you know of it?” His voice deepened.

“What
happened?” She tried not to sound too desperate.

The
male shrugged. “Zane sent us away when he called for Ross. There is more that
you are not telling me. Is Ross the vampire you rutted?” He grinned, telling
her that he knew the answer already.

He
looked up the stairs to the large double doors.

“Becky.”
Her friend said from the castle entrance. Becky raced up the stairs and flew
into Tanya’s arms, feeling the soft curve of her pregnant belly.

“You’re
showing.”

Tanya
beamed, rubbing a hand over her slightly distended stomach. “I haven’t felt the
baby kick yet though.”

“It
shouldn’t be long now.”

Her
friend smiled. “I hope not. I’ve never been the most patient person.”

“Tell
me about it.” Becky rolled her eyes at Tanya.

Her
friend took her hands. “Now, I’m really happy to see you but what are you doing
here? I get the feeling that this is more than a friendly visit with your BFF.”

Becky
chewed on her lip.

“Let’s
go inside.” Tanya pulled her through the grandiose, double doors that led into
the castle.

Becky
gasped as she entered the entrance hall.

“I
know.” Tanya shook her head. “Brant has spent a lot of time redecorating what
he used to refer to as
this shithole
. We’re supposed to be building a
neutral castle since this is technically Zane’s but so far all that has
happened is this.

Becky
looked around the opulent space. Rich fabrics, plush woolen carpets, gleaming
wooden floors and crystal chandeliers. She had to force herself to shut her
mouth. It had been livable before, now it was just plain extravagant.

“What’s
going on?” Tanya squeezed her hand. “I can scent that you recently had sex.”

Becky
rolled her eyes. “Not you too.”

Tanya
laughed. “I am a little bit vampire after mating Brant and Zane so yeah, I can
scent that you had sex not so long ago. Based on our conversation I’m sure it
was with Ross, but my sense of smell is not strong enough to be able to tell.”

“Based
on how clueless you are sounding at this moment, I’m going to assume that you
don’t know anything about Rushe being on vampire territory.”

Tanya’s
eyes widened. “The wolf is here?”

Becky
nodded. “He said he was coming to fight Ross for me. He is apparently claiming
me.” She had to fight not to roll her eyes. “So freaking stupid.” Fear coursed
through her and she hugged her arms around herself. She would never forgive
herself if anything happened to him.

“I
thought he was going to find a mate? That he had moved on. Why the change of
heart?”

“Look,
it’s not like we had a major conversation about it. The short version”—Becky
paused—“he has decided that I’m going to be his mate.” She shook her head,
reminded of how distraught Rushe had looked. “He could scent that I had just
fucked Ross. I hadn’t even taken a shower yet. God, Tan, he was so sweet about
it. He said it wasn’t my fault, that I wasn’t bound to him. That I hadn’t made
any promises. He essentially said that my jumping straight into the sack with
another male was perfectly okay. My slutty behavior might just cost him his
life.”

“Okay.
You need to know that non-humans view sex differently. Oh no…” Tanya added when
Becky felt her lip quiver. Her friend held up a hand. “Don’t cry just yet, let
me call Zane and find out what the hell is going on.”

Tanya
put her phone to her ear, clasping a hand around Becky’s waist. “Yes, I know
you’re in the middle of something…that something wouldn’t happen to be a wolf
at the castle would it?”

She
paused, listening.

“Becky
is here. What is going on please?” Tanya tapped her foot.

Another
long silence.

“Why
did you have to send them there?” A pause. “Seriously!” She all out laughed. “A
vampire and a wolf protecting one another, I never would have thought it
possible.”

Tanya
turned serious. “Becky wants to see them.” Her friend’s face turned a lighter
shade of red and her eyes flashed with anger. “She has every freaking right.”
She listened for a few seconds. “I don’t give a flying fuck what Brant says.
Tell me this”—she smiled deviously—“what do you think, Zane?”

The
smile turned downright wicked. “That’s what I thought…so you think she can see
them and Brant says she can’t…that means it becomes my vote and I say yes. The
end. Goodbye.”

“Do
I even want to know?” Becky asked as Tanya tucked away her phone.

“Your
boys are in the dungeon.”

“What?”
Why the hell was she so surprised? Those asshole kings were ruthless sons of
bitches.

“Thrown
in a cell together.” Tanya slid a fingertip into her mouth, her teeth closed
over a manicured nail.

“Please
tell me that you’re joking.” Becky’s body temperature felt like it had dropped
a few degrees. “They can’t be in a cell together.”

Tanya
smiled. “I’m not joking. They apparently defended each other against Brant, so
I’m sure they won’t be killing each other just yet.” Tanya shook her head, “And
to think, I was close to forgiving Brant for being such a dick about Steph and
Ward. How can someone be so loving, tender, funny…downright wonderful to me but
such a colossal dick to everyone else around him?” She sighed. “I love him so
freaking much. He and Zane were getting along so well.” She moaned. “The sex
was off the charts. Three is way more fun.”

“I
don’t know. I loved being with non-humans but surely three is a crowd?”

Tanya
smiled. “You only say that because you’ve never had a guy go down on you while
being fucked by another.”

Becky
gasped. “They do that? I can’t imagine them doing that. Is it even possible?”

Tanya
widened her eyes, which gleamed mischievously. “Oh, yes. There are some things
one guy could never get right. It’s such a pity you went and found yourself two
males on opposite sides of enemy lines.”

“Look”—she
held up her hands—“I don’t want one freaking guy, let alone two of them.”

“Why
are you here then?” Tanya put her hands on her hips. “If you don’t care about
either of them, then why did you bother making the trip?”

Becky
shrugged. “I don’t care.” The words came out far too softly. She cleared her
throat. “I don’t want to be wracked with guilt if one of them is hurt by the
other though. That’s all this is. It’s not like I want either of them.”

Tanya
laughed. “Bullshit.”

“It’s
not. I mean it.”

“Okay
then, I’ll have one of the guys escort you back to your car. They are fine so
you don’t have to worry. You can go.”

“That’s
rude. I drove all this way.” She blurted, hating the thought of leaving just
yet.

“I
don’t know why I bothered fighting so hard to get you in to see them,” Tanya
huffed. “Since you don’t give a damn anyway.”

“Stop
it! I do want to see them and you know it. I’m not leaving, but that doesn’t
mean I automatically want a relationship with either of them. Are we clear?”

Tanya
blew her a kiss. “Whatever you say, darling.”

Becky
could see that her friend didn’t believe her.

“Just
be careful that they don’t start fighting when you show up.” Tanya raised her
eyebrows.

“Do
you really think they would? Even after standing up for one another?”

“Non-human
males are highly dominant, alpha types. If both of them have decided that they
want you, they could come to blows. I don’t think this is a casual rutting for either
of them. Certainly not for the wolf if he has come here to stake his claim.”

Becky
felt herself frown. “I still don’t understand how they can still want me and
even be willing to fight for me. Although I didn’t outright cheat on either of
them, it’s still not considered…I don’t know…right for me to have slept with
both of them in such a short space of time.”