Van, Becca - Taming Olivia [Terra-form 2] (Siren Publishing Ménage Everlasting)

Terra-form 2

BECCA VAN

Copyright © 2011

Prologue

Olivia Hammond finished the drink she’d ordered at the club in her hometown of Lincoln, Nebraska. She and her best friend, April Waterson, used to frequent the club every Friday night to unwind after a long workweek. It had been exactly one year since her friend had disappeared from the face of the Earth. Olivia was oblivious to everyone around her, despair on the anniversary of the loss of her friend pulling her down. She finished her drink, took one last look at the club she planned to never return to, then walked to the door, and exited. Not once did she look back.

Olivia moved down the enclosed alleyway toward the cabstand. She hadn’t bothered to get a lift from her brother tonight like she used to when going out with April. What was the point? She’d only wanted to have one drink in memory of her best friend’s disappearance. The further Olivia walked away from the club, the quieter it got. She began to get spooked. She should be able to hear traffic and the dulling sound of music coming from the club as she moved further away, but all around her was total silence. She began to feel dizzy, her vision blurring, her ears ringing loudly. Olivia felt like she was trying to walk through quicksand.
What the fuck is going on? Did someone slip something into my drink?

Olivia began to see black spots dancing before her eyes. Her body felt heavy, like a ton of bricks, and her vision was nearly nonexistent. She blinked just to reassure herself her eyes were indeed open then tried to peer through the darkness, looking for the cabstand. Her vision was finally gone, and she was too afraid to keep moving in case she hurt herself. Her body was so heavy, and she was totally exhausted all of a sudden. She wanted to lie down and go to sleep, not caring where she was. She had no idea what was going on, but she was scared out of her mind.

Olivia sat down, the leaves beneath her hands comforting to her for some strange reason she couldn’t fathom. Maybe the sensation of the leaves was enough to make her feel she was still alert. She closed her eyes. They were too heavy to keep open, and she felt her body slipping sideways, about to fall asleep only God knew where. The symptoms of whatever was happening to her began to recede. Her body began to lighten until she was feeling seminormal, and her eyesight began to return.

Olivia opened her eyes and stood up. She knew her mouth was probably gaping open, but that was the least of her worries. She was standing in a forest, gigantic trees surrounding her, and there was a great bear lumbering down a track, heading straight for her. The bear lifted its head, sniffed the air, and looked straight at her. She gasped at the sound of an all-too-familiar voice, and then the sight before her made her heart pound in her chest.

Olivia watched as her very pregnant best friend, April, walked up to the bear and hugged him around the neck. Was she mad? Did she have a death wish? Where the hell were they? Where had April been? Olivia felt her ire rising. The vision of her pregnant, very much alive missing best friend was too much. She was about to give her friend a piece of her mind, but April began to talk to the bear, causing Olivia to stop before she’d even spoken her first word.

“Ben, where are Gage and Saxon? Don’t look at me like that. I’m not stupid. Cedric and the others are behind me. I just had this urge to come and look for you. For some reason, I thought you needed me,” April said then wrapped her arms around the bear’s neck again, giving him a hug.

“A–April, is that you? Are you out of your mind, girlfriend? Get away from that bear before he eats you for dinner.”

“Olivia? Oh my God. Olivia. How did you get here? Are you all right? You look like you’ve seen a ghost,” April stated as she hurried as much as she could in her condition toward Olivia and hugged her. “You have no idea how much I’ve missed you.”

“Are you crazy? There’s a large bear behind you, and you look like you’re going for a stroll in the park. Come on, we have to get out of here,” Olivia said as she grabbed April’s wrist, trying to tug her along with her.

“Oh, he won’t hurt you. He’s my mate, and those two up there are my mates, as well,” she said, pointing up into the branches above Olivia’s head.

Olivia felt the hair at her nape stand on end. She slowly turned around and lifted her head to see two very large, muscular panthers grinning down at them. She turned her head back to April, looked at her crazy friend, and then looked at the bear and back to the panthers. Her friend had lost her ever-loving mind. She turned back to see April strolling toward the bear, and then she saw the ten large men walking up behind her friend and the bear. The tallest one had to be over seven feet tall. His face was chiseled into the epitome of a Greek God. His green eyes were staring at her as if she was his last meal. Olivia drew her eyes away from his and back to her friend and her friend’s “mate.” She watched with shock as the air around the bear shimmered, his body rippling and contorting with loud popping sounds that made her feel ill. The bear was now a man. A very naked, sexy man.

* * * *

April watched her friend’s jaw drop open, as Ben changed from his bear form back to his human form, with a smile on her face. Her smile quickly changed to anxiety as she watched her friend’s eyes roll back into her head and slump toward the ground. April didn’t see Cedric move, but he caught Olivia before she hit the ground. His roar of possessiveness shocked April. She stared at the gentle warrior with a frown on her face, wondering what he was doing, until she saw his brother Hugh step up and sniff the side of Olivia’s neck.

Oh boy, this was going to be interesting. April had just worked out why Cedric and Hugh were acting so possessively toward her friend. She was their mate. She burst out laughing and didn’t stop until Ben covered her mouth with his own. Life was going to be far from boring as she watched the two seasoned warriors and her best friend work out the kinks in their relationship. She couldn’t wait to watch the fireworks.