Once Bitten Twice Smitten: BBW Werewolf Shifter Menage Romance (10 page)

Aspen looked over her shoulder at Brad and Chase, and gave each a sad smile.

“How will I find you?” she whispered.

“Look for us in the most real place you can think of,” Brad whispered back.

“Ok.” She nodded at each of them, before turning to her father. He suddenly looked tired and worn, not the man who had so easily carried her on his shoulders as a child. “Come on, dad,” she said.

“Wait!” Brad ran inside and brought her boots, which were miraculously undamaged, and her shredded clothes.

“Thanks!” she gave him a grin that made his heart throb. She put her boots on.

“Is it ok if I keep this for now?” she asked, gesturing to the shirt.

“Of course,” he said. She took her father’s arm, and walked away with him, along the path that led to the front of the hotel.

Chapter Eight

“Like I’m going anywhere!” Chase said, kicking at the wooden floor of the veranda.

“Dude, this guy is ultimately going to be the father of your mate, or my mate,” Brad said. “The grandfather of our kids. We can’t alienate him and make him hate us. We should do as he says and leave town for a while. He feels like he’s under siege at the moment. We need to give him time to relax and come around to the idea.” Chase scowled at him.

“Why are you always so goddamn reasonable?” he said. Brad sat on the steps leading off the veranda, and looked up at the sky.

“Diplomatic parents, I guess,” he said. Chase’s wolf gave a snarl of disgust, and he paced back and forth the length of the veranda, shooting angry glances at Brad from time to time.

“Look at you, mooning over Aspen. Going all slushy!” Chase spat.

“Like you’re not! You act all hard, making out you’re just following your destiny and the will of your pack, but I’ve seen your eyes. You obviously have feelings for her.” Chase’s forehead creased even more.

“I’d like to rip your throat out right now. But I won’t try.”

“Phew, that’s a relief,” Brad said, his voice laced with sarcasm. “The best werewolf will win. Or the luckiest one.” Chase stopped pacing and squatted down next to Brad.

“Luck has nothing to do with it. It’s destiny, my friend,” he said, before standing up and beginning his pacing again.

“Great to see you back to your usual self, bro,” Brad said. “Why don’t you go and let off some steam, because if you keep pacing like that, it won’t be my throat that’s getting ripped out!” Chase snarled, and stomped off back to his cabin.

*

The next morning, they left at first light. Chase had softened enough to let Brad ride in his car, and they began the long drive to the northern town where the National Federation office was located. Their plan was to stay in the Federation’s apartments, and learn about the packs of the north, while they waited to hear from Aspen.

*

Aspen’s house suddenly seemed very small. Was it only a day ago that she’d left it, still a human? She felt like her bedroom was barely large enough to contain her animal strength, a strength that bristled from her body at the slightest movement. All her senses were alive, noticing things she’d never seen before, picking up the smallest sounds, the faintest smells.
Mmm, the smell thing was a problem
. Every time the refrigerator door opened, she got a blast of the most delicious odors, and her stomach growled. Her appetite seemed to have doubled overnight. Was being a wolf going to make her bigger than she was already? She wished she’d asked this, and so many other questions, before she’d let her father drag her away from Chase and Brad.

Her father wasn’t doing well; neither was her mother. They seemed like they were grieving. Which was weird, because she’d never felt more happy and alive.

“What’s going on, sis?” Venus asked, with her usual vivacity. “I feel like I missed the party.” Aspen grinned at her. She’d tell her soon, but not yet. She still needed time to process it herself. She thought about all the guys who’d said harsh things to her over the years. If anyone gave her shit now, she wouldn’t go and cry into her pillow; she’d bite their faces off! No, she wouldn’t. She actually wouldn’t give a shit. Because it just so happened that the two sexiest beings in the universe were into her. And not just into her; they were competing for her to be their werewolf mate, which was the weirdest and hottest thing she could imagine. Lying on her bed and thinking about first Chase, then Brad, then Chase again, she rubbed at her arm. Since she’d shifted, the scar on her arm had become more pink. The tattoo didn’t hide it any longer; it was brighter than the colors of the ink. And, after hating it for so long, she was starting to love it. It was like her mark. The symbol she’d carried, unknowingly, all her life, that she was destined to be loved by one of these amazing men. But which one? They said she’d know which one of them it was, but, so far, she felt equally drawn to both men. Chase was so serious and intense. You could tell he carried a lot of weight on his shoulders. She had grasped that both of them were in line to be the leader of their packs, and that Chase’s father had high expectations of him. He could be aggressive, and he’d probably learned early in life to be competitive with Brad. But he wasn’t a bad guy. You could tell that he had a good heart, and he was protective and caring with her. She imagined him being a very dominant lover. She giggled to herself. Not that she had any experience of these things! But Chase gave her the feeling that he would pin her down, and take her hard. The thought of this was very exciting to her. His looks were almost at odds with his demeanor though. His fair hair made him look soft – that was, until he opened his mouth to say something serious, or snipe at Brad. She giggled again. They were such an excellent double act. Brad was so surfer-dude relaxed. What
was
the werewolf version of surfing? Maybe they went snowboarding in winter? Brad was such a sweetheart too. He was easy-going and funny, as well as being wise and mature. And his looks were the polar opposite of Chase’s. Until he said something like ‘bro’ or ‘dude’, he looked a little scary. His eyes were so intense, and he had these razorblade cheekbones and jawline, and his hair was so black against his skin. But she imagined that he’d be a gentle lover, kind and considerate, and taking time to get to know her body. This thought was equally exciting to her, in a different kind of way.

Aspen shivered, and lifted up both sides of her comforter and wrapped it around her body. She picked up Brad’s shirt where it lay, close to her pillow. She put it over her mouth and nose and inhaled the layers of scents – washing powder, the outdoors, and Brad.

Absently, her hand found its way down between her thighs. She wasn’t surprised to find that she was already wet. And as she thought about Brad, then Chase, then Brad again, then Chase, her fingers worked that tender, aching place into a sweet, shuddering orgasm.

As the final waves of euphoria subsided, Aspen made a sound of contentment. Lying here, thinking about these two men was a luxury she could never have imagined. If she’d thought about her future, she’d kind of assumed it’d be with some guy who probably didn’t love her enough, who’d leave her alone in the evenings with her kids. But these guys were talking about being with her
forever
.

She’d already decided that she was going to accept one of them as her partner. There was no question of
if
. If an opportunity like that presents itself to you in life, you don’t wait around!
But what if they don’t really want you for yourself?
A nasty voice inside her asked.
What if they’re so caught up in their destiny that they’re forcing themselves to like you?
Her wolf gave a warning growl. Aspen giggled. Having a wolf inside you that acted almost independently of your will was a bit like being a crazy person, but it sure was fun! She would go and find them, spend some time with them both, and try to figure out which of them was her destined mate. But how should she find them? A few days had passed since she’d seen them, and she instinctively knew they weren’t anywhere nearby.

“Not going to see your wolfy friends?” her father asked as she headed out to her roller derby practice session.

“Dad, you know as well as I do that they’re not here,” she replied sadly. His eyes lit up with a glimmer of hope.

“Does this mean that you’re putting all of this behind you, and you’re going to stay here with us?” he asked. Aspen stood directly in front of her father.

“Dad, look at me,” she said. “I know you think I’m beautiful, but a lot of guys don’t. I’ve been mocked all my life for being a big girl.” She stopped, her throat tightening. She’d never told her parents how much she’d been affected by teasing and name-calling, for fear of breaking their hearts. She saw pain and understanding in her father’s eyes, and she continued in a rush. “But now, I’ve met these two amazing guys, and they want to look after me, and they both really want to be with me. And, now that I’m a werewolf, they understand my needs. Can’t you be happy for me?” Aspen’s mother had appeared behind her father, and she had tears in her eyes.

“I’m so sorry, sweetheart. I guess we didn’t appreciate what a hard time you’d had, because you were our perfect little girl. And we put so much effort into protecting you from werewolves, that we didn’t notice there were other things around that could harm you as well,” her mother said, and they both enveloped her in a hug.

“I guess there are worse young men out there,” her father said gruffly. “One of them seems to have manners, anyway.”

“They’re both amazing. You’ll love them when you get to know them!” Aspen said.

“What’s happened has happened. If you want to be with one of them, we won’t stand in your way,” her mother said. Aspen looked at them both.

“You mean that?” she asked, her face lighting up. They both nodded and hugged her again.

*

“You look amazing, girl!” Debs yelled to Aspen, as soon as she saw her at practice. “What’s been going on with you?”

“Ah, nothing much,” Aspen said, pulling her skates on with a grin. She wasn’t yet ready to tell her closest friends about the crazy events of the past few days.

As soon as she started to skate, she realized that she’d have to tone things right down. Now she could move super fast, maybe four times as fast as before. No-one could come up behind her without her knowing, and she could dodge anyone to tried to block her during drills. She felt like a kid playing with figurines. She knew what everyone was going to do before they did it, and, while her teammates were red-faced and gasping by the end of the practice, she was fresh-faced, and felt like she could go ten more rounds.

“Girl what
have
you been doing? You were flying out there!” Winona yelled, between pants, as she pulled her helmet off. “Have you been training?” She looked at Aspen’s legs suspiciously. “Your calves are
ripped
!”

“I’ve been walking a lot, I guess,” Aspen said, with a shrug. Winona narrowed her eyes, not believing her, but unable to come up with another explanation.

*

Aspen awoke early the next day. It had to be today. She was worried that Brad and Chase would get sick of waiting for her, and then she’d never find them. But where was ‘the most real place’, which Brad had referred to before?

It didn’t take her long to figure it out. She packed a couple of things in a bag, got into her beat-up car and drove to the hotel. Parking around the corner, so the nosy old guy who owned the hotel didn’t see her, she climbed over a fence that bordered the national forest and strode into it. As soon as she smelled the woods, she badly wanted to shift. But she was scared to do it without having Brad and Chase to look out for her.
Later
, she told herself. She followed the fence that divided the hotel from the forest, all the way to the rear of the hotel complex. She stopped at the tree where Brad and Chase had left their clothes after they’d shifted. Standing on tiptoe, she reached up into the lower branches of the tree. Her fingertips made contact with a scrap of paper, she flicked at the edge of it, until it came close enough to grasp. Pulling it down from the tree, she unfolded a small rectangle of notebook paper. On it was scrawled an address in a town she’d never heard of, and three interlocking hearts. Aspen’s own heart leapt. It was totally adorable. She tucked the note into her bra, wanting to skip around the tree like a little kid.

She picked her way back through the forest and got into her car. She looked up the address on her phone’s map app, absently scratching at an itch on the back of her ankle.
It’s a four-hour drive away, in the next state! What are they doing there? I know dad was throwing a lot of threats around, but they didn’t have to go that far away!
This wasn’t about to put her off, though. She took one final look at the map and headed north, in the direction of the Canadian border.

*

Time had passed very slowly while Brad and Chase waited. Their parents called them all the time, demanding progress reports. Brad even started to feel sorry for Chase when he overheard his father yelling at him on the phone. After yet another call that had evidently been full of aggression and accusation, Brad wondered what it would be like for Chase to go back to the pack empty-handed, without his destined mate.
Is she coming?
was the thought each of them refused to voice to the other. Their relationship had come to an uneasy truce. They ate together when they were in their human form, but bickered constantly about who was the more deserving of Aspen’s affections.