Clawed (Black Mountain Bears Book 1) (9 page)

Chapter Eight

E
mma walked barefoot along the forest path, her mother on one side, her aunt on the other. She clutched their hands tightly, letting them guide her as she stared up at the gibbous moon, even fuller now than the night when she’d made her winter hike to get here.

Twenty-four hours ago, she was a human woman simply trying to prove herself among her peers. Now, under the same moon, she walked through a magical forest on her way to her very destiny.

Clad only in a loose shift, with her hair bound up, she felt like an age had passed since that hike. Her heart pounded, her palms clammy in the night heat. She wore no undergarments under her dress and a soft breeze carried through, tickling her bare skin where it penetrated the fabric.

Autumn had left her an hour ago, and she suddenly wished for the other female’s company. Her mother and aunt were wonderful women, but guarded and preoccupied with their own worries. Autumn was the first ursa female she’d met here who she could relate to. But Autumn had a plan, and Emma’s pulse raced faster in the hope that it would work.

The path they were on seemed familiar, and soon the rushing sound of the waterfall reminded her where they were. With each step, the sound grew louder until she was led out onto the solid, smooth rock that served as the small beach she had had one of the most erotic experiences of her life on the day before.

Except tonight, it was covered in layers of furs and quilts, illuminated only by the torches the two women carried.

“Wait here,” her mother whispered. “By the time we’ve spread out around you to start the fertility rite, he’ll be here.”

Emma nodded and stepped onto the layers of blankets. Had Autumn succeeded with her part?

Shivering a little in spite of the warm summer air, Emma knelt on the soft layer of blankets beneath her. After the figures of her mother and her aunt faded into the shadows of the forest, she shrugged out of her tunic, smiling at the memory of how much effort went into dressing her. She felt a little blessed that she’d never have to have a real wedding. A
human
wedding. The idea terrified her. This was so her style.

The sound of the waterfall nearby drowned out most sounds, but she could still hear the sounds of feet padding toward her from behind. They came languidly, and paused just behind her. Her skin prickled at the knowledge that someone was there, but she didn’t turn to look.

After a moment, she felt something soft brush against her side and a huge, white bear came around and stood in front of her. His fur gleamed in the moonlight, his red eyes glimmering.

“Gunnar,” Emma breathed. “You are beautiful.” She reached out a hand and slid it over the top of his head and down, clutching at the white, furry scruff of his neck.

He grunted, and abruptly his fur disappeared, his entire shape shimmering into a human form.

Her hand still rested on his neck and he reached up and gripped it in his own large palm. He pulled it to his lips and kissed it.

“Emma, no other woman has said something like that to me. You are a treasure.”

In the darkness, all she could do was feel the soft velvet of his mouth on her knuckles.

“Why not? It’s true.”

“I’m my mother’s biggest disappointment. Too different to be easily mated to another clan’s daughter. She never asked whether I wanted to mate a daughter at all. ”

“You want a son. Or . . . a nephew?”

“Yes,” he said.

“Then why sacrifice that to mate me?”

“In case you haven’t noticed, women rule in the sanctuary. The power that protects us comes from new life, from women. I will have to have a female mate for the sake of my clan, to produce an heir. Children are incredibly powerful during their formative years. The mature males are sidelined if they don’t have the backing of a clan. If you don’t have ovaries, you’re second-class. Two men together are useless. Not illegal, just not productive members of the Sanctuary.”

“You still want Jasper, in spite of that?”

“He was dying. Autumn and I fell in love with him in the middle of fighting to save his life. It brought us closer than I could have imagined, too. You have no idea how hard that trip was, believing neither of us could have him because of his status, yet both wanting him desperately. Partway through, we saw the answer, but had no idea how to make it happen.”

“She would be your female because she can choose who she wants. Does Jasper get a say in this when he wakes up?”

“Of course he does. Tonight is only to make sure all three of us have a chance. So here I am with you, hoping to take matters into our own hands.”

“Here you are with me.”

“I think we need to get down to business. You need to mark me, and to do that, you need to shift.”

“I have no idea how.”

“Are you attracted to me?”

That was a ridiculous question and she laughed. “How could I not be? I meant it when I said you were beautiful.”

“Come here,” Gunn said, pulling her closer. Emma obliged, and found his lips with hers in the darkness. The kiss was sweet and hot, his lips expertly tangling with hers, pulling and sucking gently. She moaned softly when he plunged his tongue between her lips and rose up higher, meeting him. His hand went to her breast, cupping and kneading, flicking his thumb over her nipple.

“Feel the ache inside you?” he asked when he pulled away.

Of course she felt the ache, like a sore tooth she couldn’t stop prodding with her tongue, only she knew that with just the right amount of prodding, this particular ache would disappear.

Emma nodded and he slid a hand down her abdomen, pressing gently below her navel. His hand was warm, but where he touched her she felt a cool tingle not unlike the feeling she’d had when her mother was soothing the ache with her magic earlier. Only this time, he seemed to be drawing her need to the surface. Still, it remained a dull glow inside her, failing to come entirely to the surface.

“It’s there . . . I feel it deep down, but it still feels like it’s sleeping, if that makes sense. Or only half-awake.”

“Your mother’s magic dampened it, but it will resurge with the right stimuli. You’re hesitant with me, for some reason, aren’t you?”

Emma didn’t quite understand it. Here she was, in the arms of a very attractive, naked man. Her body
did
respond to him, but the need was nowhere close to the gut-wrenching craving she’d had when she was with August and Julian.

“Perhaps we can help, Princess?”

Emma jerked in surprise and craned her head around in the direction of the deep, familiar voice. Two large, bear-shaped shadows shimmered into the shapes of men and came toward her. She found herself grinning like a fool as Julian and August knelt down on either side of her. Without a word, she launched herself into August’s arms, then with one hand she reached out and gripped Julian by the neck, pulling him into a hungry kiss.

“I can’t believe you agreed to this,” August said. “But I’m not complaining. The Queen won’t be pleased.”

“My mother will survive,” she said, breathless and giddy with excitement.

“Better yet, your
cousins
will survive,” Gunnar said. “A pair of Rainsong males are far more virile than a single Windchaser, no matter my rank. Autumn is a genius. We shouldn’t waste more time, however. Are you ready, Emma?”

She forced herself to turn away from the two men she wanted most, and faced Gunnar again.

“Show me. I’m ready now.”

Instead of her teacher’s hand on her abdomen, a pair of other hands slid around her hips from behind, their hard bodies deliciously smooth and warm up against her back. And there it was, gradually rising again—that undeniable need, amplified by their closeness and their musky scent.

Gunnar moved back, smiling. “Concentrate on the power in your core, Emma. When it awakens, let it take over.”

Emma closed her eyes, focusing on the hands roaming in gentle caresses over her abdomen, her hips, and down. They slid lower and she tilted her head back against a solid shoulder. A pair of lips brushed over her cheek. On the other side of her, a tongue tickled the sensitive hollow by her collar bone. In tandem, the hands parted her folds, one holding her open for the other to stroke.

With the first tease of her clit, a jolt of pleasure shot up through Emma’s body and she quivered. She was abruptly conscious of the change in that dull glow inside her.

“That’s it, bring them together,” her teacher said, his voice low and distant compared to the murmurs of love and desire in her ears. “You’ve been charmed to keep those aspects separate while you grew up. Bring them together.”

The finger between her thighs rubbed harder and her hips bucked against the hands that caressed her.

“Do it, Emma. Shift for us,” Julian said.

At her other ear, August’s gruff voice echoed the sentiment. “Shift for us. Mark us. Make us yours, Princess.”

Mine.

The word obliterated every other thought, wrapping itself up in the glorious sensation growing inside her. The more they stroked her, the larger the sensation grew. From a dull ache to a subtle glow, then ever brighter. At first it swelled inside her like the beginning of an orgasm, and she panted from the pleasure, but soon that sensation grew and along with it the certainty of her need to possess, to claim, to make them unquestionably
hers
.

Emma opened her eyes with a roar that didn’t sound entirely human and fell to all-fours. The hands that had been caressing her disappeared. She met Gunnar’s gaze from across the small clearing. He was smiling at her as he came toward her again.

An odd heaviness filled her head and she shook it to try to clear it. The entire world seemed a little brighter, more vibrant around her, her body filled with that glow she’d only been aware of deep in her core before.

“You’re a natural, Princess.” Emma turned to look over her shoulder and saw an expanse of dark fur, with Julian and August sitting back on their heels behind her. They reached out and stroked the thick fur that covered her backside. Turning forward again, she stared in wonder down at a pair of dark paws with giant, deadly claws.

With a huff, she retreated to the far side of the blankets, crouching over the frightening weapons that her hands had become.

“Emma! You can’t hurt us!” Gunnar called. “Trust me. It’s a bonus of being one of us. You could shred me to pieces and I’d probably survive. We’re very durable.”

She eyed the three men, all of whom she would be marking tonight, but two she would be binding to her as her mates for the rest of their lives. Autumn had explained that without sealing the mark, Gunnar’s would heal cleanly as though it were simply a wound.

She ambled back, raised up on her hind legs and placed her paws on August’s shoulders. His scent was like a drug to her, even stronger in this form than before. He threaded his fingers through the fur at the back of her neck. Another scent reached her—Julian—so similar to August’s, yet spicier compared to the other man’s very green scent. She nuzzled at August’s neck, simply breathing him in, licking the salty flavor of him from his skin.

“You should take care of Gunn, first,” August whispered. “We’re not going anywhere.”

Reluctantly, Emma lowered herself again and turned. Gunnar knelt before her, presenting his bare shoulder. She raised a claw and swiped it, leaving a series of deep grooves in his smooth skin that immediately welled with dark blood.

“Again,” he said. “Once is an accident. Twice is on purpose.”

She swiped again in the other direction, gritting her teeth at the wince of pain that crossed his face.

“Good,” he said, looking down at the blood-covered arm. “Now for your real mates.”

The two men turned to face each other, exposing their shoulders to her. She hesitated, digging her claws into the blankets beneath her. The idea of hurting them even a little bit, even out of necessity, left her feeling cold down to her bones. Yet they were prepared, as evidenced by their steady gazes on her. They shifted closer together, their muscular chests flush against each other. Her eyes drifted down over their bodies, to their entwined hands and their hips gently, almost imperceptibly shifting against each other, causing their erections to slide together. The aroma of their desire washed over her, and the overwhelming need to claim them returned full force.

Rearing back on her hind legs again, she raised both claws, and with swift swipes, scored their flesh with matching hatch marks. Julian let out a hiss and August’s jaw clenched, his eyes closing tightly.

Abruptly, Emma’s world shifted, and she found herself a naked human again, kneeling before a pair of bleeding men who seemed happier than they should, considering she’d just mauled them both.

“It is an honor,” Julian said.

“Screw honor, Julian,” she growled. “Make love to me now.”

He gave her a sly smile. “As you wish, Princess. Any other demands you have before we make you forget how to speak?”

August released his hand from the other man’s and moved around behind Emma, dipping his head to tease his lips along the edge of her ear. “Tell us how we can please you most. I seem to recall you begging to be filled up so full you could taste us for a week. Is that what you’d like, Emma?”

She shivered as August’s hands slid down over her sides and cupped her ass. He dug his fingers in, squeezing and spreading her cheeks apart, allowing his thick, hard shaft to press between them. He stroked the length up along the crease, the friction sending a fresh surge of desire through her. She clutched at Julian’s shoulders and leaned into him, the motion raising her ass up higher for August’s attention.

“Fuck, I’m not waiting for you to ask anymore,” Julian growled. He clutched at the back of her neck with one hand as his lips descended to hers, claiming her with a heat that mirrored her own need just before she’d marked him. He cupped her breast with his other hand, teasing her nipple into a hard peak, tormenting it until she squirmed.

Emma pressed her hips back against the strokes of August’s cock. The hot, thick tip slipped down again, farther this time, until her slick folds parted. He rubbed against her swollen flesh, pressed against her clit and teased the head of his cock back and forth over the throbbing bundle.