Four Under the Mistletoe

Rance  Diallo,  alpha  of  the  Catskill  Mountain  cougar  pride,
knew  the  moment  he  heard  Terence  and  Samson  speak
telepathically that he needed them for his betas. So sticking
his  neck  out  for  them  and  asking  charges  of  kidnapping
against them be dropped by Ben Maxwell, the alpha of the
nearby wolf pack, didn’t seem like too big  of a risk. It took
Rance  a  while  to  realize  the  two  men  were  also  his  mates
and manage to convince Terence and Samson of that fact.

Rance successfully bonds with his new betas not a

moment  too  soon,  because  the  visions  of  his  alpha-mate
come fast and furious. But Paul is a human, and not just any
human,  he’s  the  brother  of  the  woman  that  Terence  and
Samson  inadvertently  helped  kidnap  a  couple  months  ago.
Convincing his newly bonded betas that the man who makes
up the fourth to their pride’s inner circle is so close may be
the easy part, because they’ll also need to persuade Ben to let
the three cougars onto the wolf’s territory to meet and court
the human. And if they somehow manage that, they’ll need
to convince Paul, a widower with a three-year-old son, that
there really are paranormal creatures in the world and that
he’s  the  mate  of  three  male  cougar  shifters. But  even  if  the
human accepts them, will Rance’s cougar pride?

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Four Under the Mistletoe

ISBN: 978-1-77111-053-2

Cover art by Martine Jardin

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Chapter One

hat do you mean, you want them to be your betas?”
Brody growled. “I’m your beta!”

Rance frowned at the dark-haired cougar shifter sitting

across from him. “You know, an inner circle requires two
betas that I can communicate with in cougar form. I’m sorry,
Brody,” he added, trying to placate the man. “I can’t do that
with you.”

The man snarled, impressive since he was in human form.

“I’m stronger than both those two combined.”

His soon-to-be ex-beta rose from the table and stalked out

of  the  dining  room.  Rance  tracked  the  angry  shifter’s
movements, his instincts telling him he wasn’t the only one
who  did.  Several  cougar  chefs  served  breakfast  from  six  in
the morning until ten, and at only a few minutes after six, he
was  one  of  three  cougars  enjoying  the  early  chow.  He  felt
certain  the  other  two  surreptitiously  watched  Brody’s
departure as well.

Rance shook his head. He’d never been able to sleep past

five o’ clock, so he normally worked out for at least half an
hour  in  the  gym  at  Pride  Lodge  where  he  lived,  currently
alone since Brody preferred to stay with the other unmated
males  in  a  bunkhouse  designed  for  them.  Brody  claimed  it
was  to  keep  a  finger  on  the  pulse  of  the  pride,  but  Rance
knew  it  was  because  he  still  liked  to  party  just  a  little  too
much,  another  reason  he  knew  he  needed  to  replace  the
shifter as beta.

“W

Four Under the Mistletoe

After cleaning up from his workout, Rance headed here to

the cafeteria. He’d eat his breakfast and then sit in the corner
and watch his pride wander in and out of the room. It gave
him time to get a feel for how everyone was doing, and if
anyone needed anything, they knew now was the time to
approach him, as Brody had done a few minutes ago.

His attention snapped to the two men entering the room.

The sexy blond pair, Samson and Terence, glanced around
warily as they slipped through the door and headed toward
the buffet.

“Well, speak of the devils,” he mumbled. He felt his prick

thicken in his jeans, the same way it did every time he saw
the two men. Sure, he’d been with his fair share of men and
women over  the last thirty years, but none  made him hard
from just smelling their scent. It was almost enough to make
him  believe  Ben’s  claims.  The  alpha  wolf  shifter  once  told
him  that  his  inner  circle  should  complete  him.  The  only
difference,  the  other  alpha  didn’t  want  to  fuck  his  betas,
while  Rance  would  be  more  than  willing  to  share  his  bed
with these two, had dreamed about it often enough, in fact.

Which was only one of the problems he faced. Since the

pair was already mated, he didn’t know how easy it’d be to
convince them to share his bed. The second was that Brody
didn’t like being replaced. He knew the big cougar hadn’t
seen this coming. Brody really was a good beta, but if Ben’s
words were right, he needed to find a pair he could speak to
in animal form, and these two fit the bill. The first time he’d
heard them speak telepathically to him, the shock had
overridden the onslaught of lust coursing through his body.

They’d been attacking Ben and his mates, trying to help a

rogue  wolf  keep  Ben’s  alpha-mate  away  from  him  and  his
betas,  Adam  and  Devon.  The  damn  rogue  wolf  had  filled
their  head  with  some  crap  story  about  the  woman  behind
the rogue’s mate, and they hadn’t known any better. Rance

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still  felt  grateful  Ben  hadn’t  brought  charges  against  them
before the Shifter Council. Now he just needed to figure out
a way to get them to accept him, and then he could find his
own  alpha-mate.  He  hoped  whoever it  was wouldn’t  mind
having the betas in bed at the same  time, that’s if he could
convince  them.  He  didn’t  know  how  long  Terence  and
Samson had been mated, or if they allowed others into their
bed.

He chuckled as it occurred to Rance that if he did manage

to seduce them, he’d need a bigger bed. While he stood six-
foot-four,  he  knew  that  Samson  stood  six-foot-five  and
Terence  stood  six-foot  even.  Both  had  broad  shoulders,
powerfully  muscled  bodies,  and  classically  handsome
features.  While  Samson  had  pale,  icy  gray  eyes  that  took
everything  in  with  wary  detachment,  Terence’s  blue  eyes
often  held  warmth  and  mirth.  It  was  an  amazing  contrast,
and Rance wondered how the two men had met.

A shadow fell across his empty plate, pulling him out of

his musings. He lifted his gaze to find a short, petite brunette
standing at the foot of the table. He recognized her as the
mate of Derek, she’d once been human which explained her
small stature. He smiled at her. “Good morning, Carol.
Please, have a seat,” he said, indicating the chair across from
him.

A relieved smile flitted across her plump lips. “Thank

you, Alpha,” she replied, easing into the chair he indicated.

Rance forced himself to focus on his pack-member’s

problem, pleased to find his gaze straying to the sexy pair
only once or twice during the conversation.

* * * *

Samson paused just inside the door, his gaze sweeping the
cafeteria. Terence shook his head, biting back a grin. Even

Four Under the Mistletoe

after almost a month and a half, his sexy mate still checked
out every room they entered while on pride land.

He settled his hand in the crook of the taller man’s elbow.

“Easy, stud,” he murmured under his breath, unable to hold
back the smile. “It’s just the cafeteria.”

Samson curled his lip. “That means nothing.”
Terence held back a sigh. He knew his mate had issues

with pride lands. They’d both been cast out of their own
prides for being gay, so they’d always avoided them in the
past. When they’d entered the Catskill Mountains, they
hadn’t known it was the home to not only a wolf pack, but a
cougar pride as well.

They’d stumbled across a wolf shifter who’d filled their

heads so full of lies, they didn’t know which was up. They’d
helped kidnap the alpha-mate of the local wolf pack before
they’d  met  the  local  wolf  and  cougar  alpha.  Oddly,  Rance
had  asked  Ben  not  to  press  charges  against  them.  Terence
still  hadn’t  figured  out  why.  They  had  been  stray  shifters
after all. Terence sure appreciated having a regular bed and
guaranteed  hot  meals  after  traveling  for  several  months
though.

They made their way to the breakfast bar, filling their

plates with bacon, eggs, sausage, hash browns, and biscuits
and gravy. Settling into seats, he tried not to think about
what would happen if they had been brought before the
Shifter Council.

“Hey,” Samson growled, pausing in shoveling in a bite of

bacon. “Everything okay?”

He smiled at his mate, nodding at the sexy gray-eyed

man. “Yeah. I’m just thinking how lucky we’ve been to be
taken in by Rance.”

Samson’s eyes narrowed, as if sensing that wasn’t

everything, but Terence just smiled. Samson shook his head,
and he went back to eating. He watched his mate from the

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corner of his eye. At six-foot-five, Samson had nearly half a
foot in height on him as well as several inches in breadth.
Terence wasn’t nearly as broad in the shoulders or chest as
Samson, but as a wily fighter, he knew he was just as good
in a fight.

He glanced up and spotted Rance sitting in the corner,

talking to a slender, dark-haired woman. He watched the
alpha’s gaze stray from the woman he spoke with to where
Terence and Samson sat. There’s a pair of damn piercing brown

eyes.

Breaking contact, he focused on his plate again.
“He wants to fuck you,” Samson’s gravelly voice snarled.
Terence could almost feel the jealously pouring off his

mate. He settled his hand on Samson’s arm, unable to stop
the chortle  that bubbled up in his throat.  “I’m not the only
one. He wants both of us.” At Samson’s frown, he shook his
head,  although  his  gaze  never  left  the  other  blond’s  gray
eyes.  “I’ve  seen  him  watching  you  just  as  much  as  he
watches me,” he admitted.

Samson frowned. “Bullshit.”
He threw his head back and laughed. “Why so

surprised,” he teased. “Do you think I’m the only one who
has good taste?”

“Of course not,” the man grumbled.
Ignoring his mate’s outburst, Terence resumed eating. He

knew Samson had issues with the scars covering his left eye
and cheek, restricting his sight and peripheral vision. Not
many knew about his handicap. The big cougar used stealth,
cunning, and intimidation to make up for the old injury.

Terence wished he knew how the man acquired the

wound, but Samson had never shared. It had happened long
before they’d met in Maine. He’d come down from Canada
after being kicked out of his own pride for refusing to date
females. He’d crossed into the United States and run across

Four Under the Mistletoe

Samson’s pride. He’d been so excited to find his mate and
after seeing the strong family ties Samson had, he’d been
sure they’d accept them. He’d been wrong.

As soon as their union was made known, Samson’s pride

had turned their backs on them both, and the alpha ordered
his enforcers to drive them off pride lands. Terence tried to
be all the pride Samson needed, but he knew he fell short.
That’s why he couldn’t understand why his mate seemed so
wary, especially after Rance had stuck his neck out for them,
speaking up for them to the alpha wolf shifter.

“Hey, guys.”
Terence looked up from his plate, smiling when he

spotted the man dropping onto the bench across from them.
“Hi, Kade,” he greeted. “What brings you out so early this
morning?” He knew the man would sleep until noon every
day if he didn’t have to work. Kade was the quintessential
night owl.

“I wanted to be the first to congratulate you guys.” He

pointed his spoon at them and grinned. “The pride’s been
wondering when Alpha would find the right betas. It’s so
cool that it turned out to be you two, a mated gay pair!”

Samson’s brows drew into a frown. Terence couldn’t keep

his mouth from dropping open. What the hell?

Oblivious to their shock, Kade continued. “I mean, you

guys  know  I’m  gay,  and  there’s  a  couple  others  of  us  that
Rance  has  welcomed  into  the  pride  over  the  years,  tossed
out  from  their  own,  but  we’ve  still  been  looked  down  on,
and even persecuted if we have to run errands that take us
to  other  prides.”  He  shrugged,  shoveling  in another  bite  of
oatmeal and swallowing before saying, “But with you guys
as our betas, that should all but stop. It’ll be really nice.”

Kade finally took a breath and looked up. “What?”
“What the hell are you talking about, Kade?” Samson

growled.

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The smaller man glanced between them, the blood slowly

leeching from his face. “Oh, shit.”

Before Terence could question him further, a low growl

interrupted them. He snapped his head up and watched
Brody cross the room, heading straight toward them.

Oh, shit, is right. This can’t be good.
Brody reached their table and rested his fisted hands on

the heavily scarred wood. “Think you could take my place
as beta without a fight?” he sneered. “Think again. I
challenge you both for Right for Position.”

Oh, fuck! This won’t end well.
To Terence’s surprise, Samson rose slowly. A cold smile

played across his mate’s lips. “Of course. Name the time.”

“Now,” Brody replied smugly.
Terence frowned. They’d never even discussed wanting

to become the pack betas. What is Samson up to? From the
corner of his eye, he spotted Rance making his way between
tables toward them. This just kept getting better and better.
He didn’t know where these rumors about them wanting to
be his betas had come from, but surely Rance would lay
them to rest, right?

When the alpha stopped next to the group, his scent

curled around him. Terence managed to suppress the shiver
of desire, but could do nothing about the blood that
automatically surged southward. He’d never felt a pull like
this to anyone except Samson, and it confused the hell out of
Terence.

“I heard you accepted the challenge, Samson,” Rance

stated, crossing his arms over his chest, drawing attention to
the bulging muscles.

I bet those would feel fucking fantastic around my body. He

noticed  a  gleam  in  Samson’s  eyes  as  his  mate  held  Rance’s
gaze  before  dropping  it  in  submission.  Terence  forced  his
attention  away  from  his  seriously  messed  up  libido  and

Four Under the Mistletoe

focused on his mate’s response.

“Yes, Alpha,” Samson replied. “Brody challenged me. I

accepted.”

At that, Rance lifted a brow. “Actually, he challenged you

both,” he pointed out. “What about you, Terence? Do you
accept as well?”

What the hell? Why was he asking this and not just putting

a stop to it? When Rance’s other brow lifted, joining the first
in silent question, Terence realized the man did not intend to
stop it. Did that mean he’d heard the rumors that they were
interested in the beta positions, too, and thought it a good
idea?

The hell with it. There was no way he’d leave his mate

hanging. “Yes, Alpha,” he replied, instilling his voice with
far more confidence in the idea than he actually felt.

Rance nodded once before turning to Brody. “Who’s

standing in with you?”

“I am, Alpha.”
A deep voice drew Terence’s attention to a massive,

barrel-chested man who stood five feet behind Brody. How
had he not noticed him? It took him a second to register a
name with the shifter. Pedro. A massive cougar that he’d
never seen fight. He hoped he was as ponderous in the pit as
when he was on a hunt. But I’ll have to remember to stay out of

the way of any of his swings. He may be slow, but he’s powerful.
One hit could knock me senseless.

Rance nodded again. “Excellent. Kade, spread word

through the pride. A Right for Position fight happens in one
hour.”

Charlie Richards

Chapter Two

fter stepping outside, Samson swept his gaze over the
courtyard, subtly tilting his head to compensate for the

gray shadows covering the peripheral vision in his left eye.
While  he  could  see  straight  ahead  just  fine,  the  farther  out
his  vision  went  to  the  left,  the  more  the  gray  images  and
shadows  darkened  to  nothing.  It  made  judging  distance
difficult at times, but he’d learned to live with it. And hide it.
As  a  big  cougar  shifter,  he  couldn’t  afford  to  display  even
the slightest weakness. Someone may want to battle him for
dominance, and he had a mate to protect.

So what the hell had possessed him to accept a challenge

when  he  knew  neither  he  nor  Terence  had  expressed  an
interest? It was the chance for stability, right? The desire to
find his place in the pride? And as the betas, there was little
chance  of  them  being  kicked  out  again.  It  was  the  perfect
solution, and it had nothing to do with the  close proximity
the position would put him with the alpha.

Then how come his cock took notice any time Rance came

near and a couple whiffs of the alpha’s scent had his turgid
flesh pressing against the zipper of his jeans? How many
dreams had he had of fucking Rance as the alpha fucked
Terence? He felt like such a shitty mate.

Once more banishing his wayward desires, he fell into

step behind Rance, following the alpha’s sexy ass as they

Four Under the Mistletoe

passed  park  benches  and  the  cub’s  playground.  He  felt  his
mate’s presence to his left, just catching shadows of him. It
was  the  same  when  they  fought  together.  Terence  always
guarded  his  left,  surreptitiously  covering  his  blindside.  He
couldn’t  stop  the  swell  of  love  for  the  smaller  man,  which
only increased his guilt.

“Hey,” Terence called under his breath. “Everything

okay?” His mate wrapped a hand around his arm, drawing
Samson’s attention to his worried blue eyes.

Samson forced a slight smile. “Sure.”
“Do you want to tell me why we’re doing this?”
“It’s just like Kade said,” Samson replied. “But I’m more

interested in stability for us than the pride at the moment.
We’ll get to that after we win.”

“Confident much?”
He felt a real smile pull at the corners of his mouth.

Stopping,  he  turned  toward  his  mate  and  pulled  Terence
into  the  circle  of  his  arms.  “Yes,”  he  whispered,  nuzzling
Terence’s  cheek  and  neck.  “With  you  by  my  side,  there  is
nothing we can’t do. Together.”

He claimed Terence’s mouth, thrusting his tongue

between the man’s lips. His mate opened immediately to
him and he deepened the kiss, enjoying the heady feeling of
not having to hide his affection for the other man. Rance and
most of the other pride members accepted same sex unions.
He eased the kiss to an end, savoring the freedom.

Hands landing on his shoulders had his body tensing, but

the scent of Rance at his back and the feel of the bigger
man’s cheek rubbing against his neck had him relaxing in no
time. “Do you two have any idea how hot you are together?”
the alpha murmured into Samson’s neck. The man’s hands
slid down his back, and Samson’s muscles rippled under the
touch. “I want to strip you both naked and lick every inch of
you both.” As if to back his words, Rance gently nipped his

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shoulder and let out a soft groan. “You taste fucking
fantastic.”

Samson’s eyes widened slightly. He couldn’t see Rance,

but he could feel the ridge of the alpha’s erection pressing
against his ass. Staring at his mate, surprise shot through
him when he saw the heat in Terence’s eyes as he watched
Rance lick up Samson’s neck. Could it be that Terence struggles

with the same desires that I do?

He fought back a shiver, his hands tightening reflexively

where  he  held  Terence’s  waist.  All  too  soon,  Rance  eased
away  from  Samson.  “As  much  as  I’d like  to  drag you  both
back  to  Pride  Lodge,  you  have  a  challenge  to  win.”  Rance
circled around behind Terence and nibbled the man’s neck,
his glowing gaze boring into Samson.

That is so fucking sexy! And not a hint of jealousy filled

him.

“After we’re done with the formalities, we’ll have a nice

long…chat.” Rance’s grin turned hungry, and Samson knew
there wouldn’t be much talking getting done.

His dick throbbed in his jeans at the very idea, but then he

remembered what had to be done first, and his ardor eased.
At least he wouldn’t have to shift with a boner. After a
glance at Terence and saw a banked desire similar to how he
felt, Samson gave a jerky nod. “Let’s get this over with,” he
grumbled.

Rance gave them both a heated smirk before leading them

the  rest  of  the  way  to  the  pit,  aptly  named  because  that’s
pretty  much  what  it  was.  A  circular  sand  pit  one  hundred
twenty feet in diameter used by the pride to settle disputes.
The  sand  pit  soaked  up  any  spilled  blood.  Although  most
fights  were  to  submission  and  not  to  the  death,  it  didn’t
mean  they  couldn’t  get  messy.  Every  winter,  a  group  of
shifters was charged with keeping the circle clear of snow.

Samson stopped at one side, Terence next to him, and

Four Under the Mistletoe

pulled  his  shirt  from  his  body.  Rance  stepped  in  front  of
them  and  put  a  hand  on  each  of  their  cheeks.  He  nuzzled
their necks, offering his support and comfort to first Terence
and  then  Samson.  His  voice  low,  for  their  ears  alone,  he
whispered,  “Carl  broke  his  left  leg  when  a  cub.  He  can’t
pivot  on  it  well.  Brody  is  impatient,  wait  for  him  to  strike
first.” Then he released them and headed over to speak with
their challengers.

Then again, were he and Terence the challengers, since

they were the ones gunning for Brody’s position? Samson
assumed so, and exchanged a startled look with Terence. He
knew his mate was thinking the same thing. Why the fuck is

Rance helping us?

* * * *

Rance  hated  the  necessity  of  the  fight.  He’d  desperately
hoped  that  Brody  would  step  down  gracefully,  but  it  had
been  a  foolish  notion.  He  should  have  known  better.  Oh,
well.  He  didn’t  feel  bad  revealing  tips  that  any  of  the
cougars who’d grown up in the pride would already know.
Any way to protect the two men that, now that he’d tasted
their  skin,  he  knew  were  his  mates.  Getting  them  into
position  for  him  to  claim  them  was  key,  and  from  their
reaction  to  his  touch  earlier,  he  hoped  he  could  spend  the
rest  of  the  day  licking  their  wounds  and  cementing  their
bond.

He crossed to Brody and Pedro. “Are you certain you

wish to go this route?” He directed the question at his soon-
to-be ex-beta, knowing Pedro had no real interest in being a
beta and only did this to help out his friend.

“Yes, Alpha,” Brody replied smoothly, his voice hard.
“As you wish.” Rance moved quickly to the center of the

circle, swinging his gaze around the perimeter, taking in the

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twenty-seven  pack  members.  Many  of  them  appeared
disheveled, as if they’d been pulled from their beds, which
was  entirely  possible  as  it  was  only  seven  in  the  morning.
Not everyone was here. At least a dozen more were at work
at  various  jobs  in  the  local  town.  They’d  hear  about  the
results  probably  before  he’d  managed  to  get  Samson  and
Terence  to  his  rooms.  Rance  almost  smiled  at  that  pleasant
thought.

He lifted a hand for silence, and the quiet murmurings

ceased.  “Samson  and  Terence  are  challenging  for  the  Right
for Position as pack betas. Since we currently only have one
instead of the  traditional pair,  Pedro is helping Brody back
his desire to keep his position.” He glanced between the two
pairs  of  men.  All  four  men  had  stripped  down,  and  Rance
tried  not  to  fuck  Terence  and  Samson  with  his  eyes.  “This
fight is to submission. Begin.”

Rance backed to the edge of the circle, watching as the

four men shifted. His eyes narrowed as he watched Terence
flank Samson’s left side, no matter how the other two
shifters attacked them. It was almost as if he acted as an
extension of Samson, and he wondered if those scars on the
shifter had done permanent damage.

Brody lunged toward Terence, obviously thinking he’d

take out the slightly smaller cougar first. Terence ducked
under the larger cat and took a chunk out of Brody’s side as
he dodged.

Pedro took the opportunity to swipe at Samson. The other

cat  pushed  forward,  accepting  the  heavy  blow  across  his
back  instead  of  his  shoulders  where  Pedro  had  intended.
Samson gripped the larger cat’s jugular as he used his body
to  bowl  into  the  cat  and  knock  him  backward.  It  put  the
large  animal’s  weight  on  his  left  hind  leg,  which  buckled
nearly  instantly  and  left  Pedro  falling  to  his  backside.
Samson  growled  a  warning  and  Pedro  went  limp,

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submitting immediately.

Smiling internally, Rance had known it wouldn’t take

long  to  take  out  Pedro.  Large  though  the  animal  was,  he
wasn’t  a  fighter  and  seemed  happy  with  his  role  in  the
middle  of  the  pride.  Brody  should  have  done  a  better  job
picking  his  second,  which  just  proved  that  he  didn’t  really
know the shifters around him.

With Samson’s attention on Pedro, Brody leaped toward

the  big  shifter’s  exposed  back.  Terence  launched  forward,
intercepting  the  animal  in  midair.  The  pair  landed  in  a
tangle  of  limbs  a  few  feet  away.  The  bigger  cat  quickly
gained  the  upper  hand,  wrapping  his  front  limbs  around
Terence  in  a  lethal  cat  hug.  Brody’s  jaws  clenched  around
Terence’s neck.

Terence twisted, his back muscles bunching as he

struggled to break free. He managed to bring his hind legs
up  between  them  and  raked  his  back  claws  over  Brody’s
stomach.  Rance  couldn’t  stop  his  brows  from  lifting  as  he
watched  Brody  hiss  and  jerk  away,  freeing  Terence.

Impressive flexibility!

He noticed Samson watching the pair, pacing around

them, but he didn’t intervene. Rance wondered if it was
because the bigger cat wanted to give his mate a chance to
prove himself, or if it was for some other reason.

Pressing his advantage, Terence attacked Brody with a

ferocity  Rance  hadn’t  known  the  other  shifter  possessed.
Brody quickly fell to the defensive as Terence tore into him.
He landed blow after blow, twisting and turning around the
other cat, his claws red with blood as they struck again and
again.  Suddenly,  Brody  dropped,  rolled  to  his  back  and
submitted  to  Terence.  Rance  fought  a  grin  as  Terence
managed to twist out of his current attack and land next to
the other shifter instead of on top of him. He felt his blood
heat  with  lust  as  he  saw  Terence  give  Brody  one  last  hiss

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before turning his back on him, twitching his tail
dismissively, and walking to Samson’s side. The pair rubbed
heads and shoulders in a clear display of affection.

Rance realized two things. Terence had no real desire to

fight, but would protect Samson’s back with a single-minded
determination built from love and respect. And Samson
showed equal love and respect by depending on the smaller
cougar and trusting his abilities to care for him. Rance hoped
that soon, he’d have those attributes directed at him, but
knew he’d have to prove himself to the two men.

Stepping into the ring, he moved toward his new betas.

“Please, shift,” he ordered softly.

Both men obeyed, quickly rising to their feet. He rested a

hand on a bare shoulder of each man, nuzzling the neck of
first one and then the other. Then he turned to face his pride,
indicating that he trusted the men at his back. “The Right for
Position is complete. Samson Cohan and Terence
Hawkwood are now the pride betas.”

Cheers erupted from those around them, and Rance was

pleased to see even Brody and Pedro clapping, grudging
respect in Brody’s eyes. He turned to face the pair again, his
gaze sweeping down their naked bodies, taking in the cuts
and scrapes marring their skin.

“Come on. Let’s get you both cleaned up.”
The men nodded, quickly slipping into their jeans and

boots but opting to carry their shirts despite the chilly
morning air, and returned to Rance’s side.

Before they could get moving, Kiva appeared from

behind  them,  draping  an  arm  over  each  of  the  beta’s  bare
shoulders,  stroking  her  fingers  over  hard,  sweaty  flesh.
While  forcing  back  a  low  growl,  Rance  watched  Samson’s
eyes  narrow  as  he  turned  his  head  to  look  at  her,  and
Terence’s  entire  body  stiffened,  almost  like  a  cat  raising  its
hackles.

Four Under the Mistletoe

“Such an impressive performance,” Kiva purred in a tone

Rance felt certain she meant as seductive. All it did was piss
him off. He hadn’t even managed to bond with Terence and
Samson and already she was sniffing around them.

“Indeed it was,” Rance replied coolly. “Now if you’ll

excuse us, I’m showing them their new quarters and where
they can clean up.”

Kiva’s smile faltered for just a second before she

brightened. “Can I offer my services? I am a nurse, you
know. I’d be happy to tend those scratches.”

“That won’t be necessary, thank you,” Samson stated

firmly. The big shifter stepped sideways, effectively
dislodging the woman’s arms and wrapped an arm of his
own around Terence. He frowned at Kiva. “I take care of my
mate.”

The man’s meaning was clear, but Kiva didn’t seem to

want to take the hint. “But—”

“Kiva,” Rance snapped. “Don’t you have work to be

doing?”

She dropped her head, but not before Rance saw the

irritated narrowing of her eyes. “Yes, Alpha.” The words
were right, but the tone wasn’t. Still, since she was hurrying
away, Rance let her go.

Unclenching his jaw, he motioned for the two men to

follow. As he led the way between houses, their boots
crunching on packed snow, he noticed Terence continually
glancing at him.

Once inside Pride Lodge, the heat warming his chilled

flesh, Rance asked, “You have a question, Terence?”

“Yes, Alpha,” he replied softly. “Although I’m honored to

be accepted as your beta, we didn’t start those rumors about
us wanting the position.”

Rance smiled. “I know.”
He ignored the glance that passed between the two men

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and led them upstairs to his quarters. While the downstairs
consisted of offices, a kitchen and dining room, several guest
rooms and bathrooms, as well as a massive recreation room
for  pride  gatherings,  the  upstairs  was  truly  Rance’s  home.
There were three bedrooms, his own plus the two for betas,
each  complete  with  separate  bathrooms  and  sitting  rooms
that could be fashioned as however each person wanted. He
hoped  the  other  bedrooms  wouldn’t  be  used  and  he  could
convince the pair to share his room and then they’d renovate
the other rooms as they saw fit.

“Then you already know who started those rumors?”

Terence asked.

He led them directly into his bedroom and turned to face

them. “Yes. I started them,” he admitted, his gaze steady.

Terence looked more confused than upset, but Samson

glared, his scent deepening as Rance saw the anger
darkening his gray eyes. “Why the fuck would you do that,
Alpha?”

Rance didn’t miss the snide emphasis the man put on his

title, but he didn’t call attention to it. He knew this would be
their first test, but after six weeks of them avoiding him, he
hadn’t seen any other choice.

“Because I knew I wanted you as my betas when I found

you fighting with Ben and his wolves. I figured once you
settled into the pride, you’d ask why I stood up for you, but
you never did,” he pointed out.

“We know why you asked him not to go to the Shifter

Council,” Samson growled. “You want to fuck Terence.”

“I won’t lie and say I don’t, because I do,” Rance replied.

“But he’s not the only one I want, Samson.”

Taking in the disbelieving look Samson gave him, he

stepped forward, cupped the slightly taller man’s cheek, and
kissed him. Rance flicked his tongue out, tracing the seam of
Samson’s lips, requesting entrance. The man’s dark, musky

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taste exploded across Rance’s senses, and he struggled not to
force the man to submit and waited, continuing to nibble the
man’s lips.

After a second, Samson gave in with a groan. Rance took

possession of his mouth, driving his tongue in deep, tracing
the recesses of the man’s mouth, humming his approval.
When his lungs burned with the need for air, he finally
eased the kiss to completion. “Now do you understand?” he
whispered against Samson’s lips.

From the shell-shocked look in Samson’s eyes, he knew

the man recognized it, too. His words confirmed it. “You’re
my mate?”

Then Samson growled softly and claimed his mouth with

aggressive intent. Rance let him, willing to relinquish a
modicum of control to Samson while in the bedroom.
Samson spun him around, and he grunted as his back hit the
wall. His beta’s big body pressed against his, pinning him in
place as Samson ground his thick cock against Rance’s own
painfully hard erection.

A soft moan caught Rance’s attention along with a few

whispered words. “Oh, fuck, that’s hot.”

Samson snapped his head up, and turned to look at

Terence, who leaned against the dresser next to them. His
jeans were unzipped and the man palmed his nice size cock
in his hand, stroking slowly. Terence panted. “Don’t stop. I
can come just from watching you two.”

A deep chuckle vibrated Samson’s chest. Rance grinned,

pushing Samson away and the bigger man let him. “And let
all your tasty cum go to waste? I don’t think so,” he growled
as he whipped his shirt over his head and then stepped out
of his boots, socks, and jeans. Seconds later, Rance dropped
to his knees in front of a surprised Terence. He glanced up at
the smaller man, silently asking for permission.

Terence gasped and dropped his hand from his cock and

Four Under the Mistletoe

Chapter Three

erence couldn’t stop his shout of pleasure as Rance’s hot,
wet mouth enveloped his dick. The sight of his naked

alpha on his knees servicing him was almost enough to
make him shoot immediately. He had to dig his nails into his
palms to keep himself from coming like an untried cub.

Samson stepped up next to him and claimed his lips. He

could taste Rance on his mate’s tongue, and fuck if that
wasn’t the sexiest thing ever! Rance tasted like citrus, and it
mixed in the most intoxicating way with Samson’s musky
flavor.

A strong pull on his dick refocused his attention

southward. Rance’s talented tongue traced his veins, played
with his glans, and prodded his slit. His knees threatened to
buckle under the onslaught and Rance placed a strong hand
on his hip to keep him in place.

Needing to touch his mates, and yes, he could accept

what  a  lucky  bastard  he  was  to  have  two  mates,  Terence
buried  one  hand  into  Rance’s  dark  hair  while  the  second
cupped  the  nape  of  Samson’s  closely  shorn  scalp.  His  hips
began to rock and Rance didn’t stop him, allowing  Terence
to fuck his alpha’s face as Samson fucked his mouth with his
tongue.

When Rance rolled his balls in the palm of his hand,

Terence knew he was lost. The sparks playing along his

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spine  shot  straight  to  his  balls  and  his  cock  erupted.  He
released pulse after pulse of seed, euphoria swamping him.
Samson  swallowed  his  shout  of  pleasure  as  Rance  suckled
his  cock,  extending  the  delicious  tingles  shooting  through
his body.

Finally, Rance pulled off his softening shaft. Samson

released  Terence’s  lips  only  to  have  Rance  latch  onto  his
mouth,  shoving  his  tongue  into  him,  allowing  him  to  taste
his  salty  release  mixed  with  Rance’s  citrusy  flavor.  He
moaned, his cock beginning to fill again.

He rested his head back against the bureau when Rance

released his lips. “Shit, that was amazing.”

Samson’s throaty laughter had him snapping his eyes

back open. The blond grinned. “I have a feeling it’ll get
better.”

Terence groaned, a flush working its way up his chest and

neck.

“Mmm, now that’s sexy,” Rance murmured, his head

lowering, his lips tracing along the tendons of his neck. The
scrape  of  teeth  sent  shudders  through  Terence,  and  he
grunted when Rance pulled back. “Let’s get you two cleaned
up.”  Then  the  alpha  gave  Samson  a  heated  look,  staring  at
the  bulge  in  the  man’s  jeans.  “Unless  you  need  me  to  take
care of that right now?”

Samson’s eyes narrowed, and he gave Rance a feral grin.

“It’ll keep until I can bury it in your tight ass, Rance.”

Terence expected the alpha to object, but instead saw an

answering lust flare in the brunet’s eyes. Well, hot damn!
“Then let’s not keep it waiting too long,” Rance growled.

As he stripped out of his jeans and followed the other two

men into the large bathroom, a thought occurred to him.
“How did you know that we’re your mates? And if we’re
your alpha-mates, how can we be your betas?”

Rance glanced over his shoulder at him where he was

Four Under the Mistletoe

adjusting the temperature of the multiple head shower.
“You’re not my alpha-mates.”

Terence froze, ice trickling down his spine. “What?”
Samson wrapped his arms around Terence in support.

“You’d better explain that,” the big man growled.

A confused look crossed Rance’s face when he looked at

them  and  took  in  their  defensive  posture.  He  cocked  his
head for a second before his mouth opened on a sigh.  “I’m
sorry. I guess I thought you knew. Come in here. I’ll explain
as we clean up those wounds.” When they didn’t move, an
understanding  smile  curved  his  features.  “Come  on.  It’s
nothing bad. In fact, it means we’ll all share one more mate.”

Taking a deep breath, Terence decided to give the alpha

the benefit of the doubt. He stepped into the shower and
under the relaxing heat of one of the showerheads. Samson
followed, but from the wary glint in his eyes, Terence knew
he wasn’t nearly as open to the idea.

“Start talking,” Samson ordered gruffly as he took the

soap and a cloth and started washing.

“Well, you asked how I knew you were my mates,” Rance

started, his gaze slipping to Terence. “Your scent gave you
away that day. Haven’t you wondered why you get turned
on any time I’m around?”

At his alpha’s leer, Terence blushed. “I just felt bad,

because I’ve never heard of cougars having more than one
mate,” he admitted.

“Ah.” Rance sighed. “When Ben first met his mate,

Sandy,” at the mention of the woman they’d wronged so
badly, Terence flushed again. Rance held up a hand, “Ben
told me he knew she was his mate through a vision. I admit I
scoffed at the idea, but then he reminded me that an alpha
should be able to communicate with his betas telepathically
while in animal form. I couldn’t do that with Brody, so it got
me thinking. I did some research.”

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He paused, washing the soap from his hair, and Terence

licked his lips as he watched the water run in rivulets down
Rance’s deeply toned and well-muscled six-foot-four inch
body. He snapped his gaze back to Rance’s face when the
man started talking again.

“My parents died when I was sixteen, so I missed quite a

bit  of  information  about  what  it  meant  to  be  an  alpha,”  he
admitted dryly. “My father was alpha, my mother the alpha-
mate,  and  then  we  had  a  male  and  female  beta.  They
watched  over  me,  ruling  by  proxy  for  a  couple  years,  and
passed leadership on to me when I came of age at eighteen. I
never understood why they were so sad all the time until I
discovered that the four cougars that make up an inner circle
are  all  mates.  Unlike  wolves,  where  only  the  female  has
three mates, with cougars, they all have three mates.”

“But how do you know that Terence isn’t the alpha-mate

and we’re looking for another beta?” Samson asked gruffly.

Terence snickered and laid a hand on his arm, enjoying

the play of muscles under his fingers. “Well, it could be the
other way, couldn’t it? You could be the alpha-mate,” he
teased.

Rance grinned and stepped out of the shower, handing

them each towels as they followed. “Because once I tasted
you both earlier, I was able to tell which mate I was
missing.”

Samson sighed. “So we’ll end up with a female mate after

all.” He ran the towel over his head, quickly drying his short
hair. “I’ve never been with a woman. I always thought I was
gay, because no female interested me, even when they were
in heat.” He shrugged and hung up his towel.

Terence frowned and cocked his head. “I guess it’ll make

it interesting, huh? How do we find her?”

Rance led them back into the bedroom. “According to Ben

and the research I’ve done, I should eventually have a vision

Four Under the Mistletoe

when the time is right for us to meet and claim her.”

He knew there were things from Samson’s past that he

didn’t know, and from the wary look in the big man’s eyes,
he thought maybe it had something to do with a woman.
Terence rested his hand on his mate’s arm, drawing
Samson’s attention. “What’s wrong?”

Samson’s jaw clenched. “Women can’t be trusted.”
“Not all women have problems with men who want to

sleep with men,” Rance said softly. “Shayla, one of my
enforcers, prefers to sleep with other women, but when she
goes into heat, she takes men to her bed to satisfy nature’s
itch.”

“And now that we’re settled into a pride, I’d like to

contact my sister and let her know where I am,” Terence
admitted.

That had both men turning to face him. “Really?” Samson

asked.

Terence nodded. “When I was banished for being gay, she

and my mother didn’t turn their backs on me, but they
couldn’t go against the pride. They begged me to let them
know once I found a place.”

“How long have you been on the move?” Rance asked.

He gently stroked Terence’s jaw, eliciting a shiver from him.

“I’d been alone for about a month when I ran into

Samson’s pride.” Terence sighed and frowned. “I’m sorry I
got you kicked out when the fact that we’re mates came to
light.”

Samson smiled, some of his reticence melting away. “I’m

not. I wouldn’t trade meeting you for anything, Ter. I love
you.”

“And I love you. I’m just sorry it cost you your family.”
“You didn’t,” Samson admitted. “I lost my family when I

rejected a female in heat. She’d always been a good friend,
so I felt safe explaining why I didn’t want her.” He shook his

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head. “Big mistake. She betrayed my trust and went to my
family. What you saw was a front my family showed others
to hide their son’s defect.”

“Is that how you got this?” Rance asked, running his

thumb over the scar bisecting Samson’s left cheek. Seeing
him stiffen under the touch, Rance shook his head. “None of
that. It only adds to your appeal. You’ve overcome
adversity.”

“Yes. My father didn’t take too kindly to the news of

my…sexuality. He tried to beat it out of me. My mother
stopped him from killing me, but only because it would
make them look bad if they killed their own offspring.”

“I’m sorry,” Terence whispered.
Samson smiled slightly. “It has nothing to do with you,

sweetheart.”

Terence thought maybe Samson would say more, but he

didn’t.

“Hmm.” Rance leaned close and replaced his thumb with

his lips, brushing kisses across the puckered flesh. “How
bad does it impact your vision?”

“What makes you think—”
Rance pulled back, his lifted brows silencing Samson’s

words. “I’ve spent the last six weeks watching you two. I see
the way you move. The way you cock your head. The way
Terence always stands to your left. I know you’re not blind
in that eye, but there has been some vision loss. It makes no
difference to me, and obviously it doesn’t impact your
abilities, but I expect us to be truthful with each other,” he
scolded lightly.

Samson sighed. “I can see just fine straight ahead, but

very little peripherally. The farther to my left, the more the
images are shadows until all I see is darkness.”

Kissing Samson’s lips gently, he said, “Your secret is safe,

my mate.” He drew away, his gaze drifting over their naked

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bodies.  The  heat  in  the  alpha’s  stare  had  blood  quickly
pooling  south  again,  Terence’s  cock  filling  under  Rance’s
gaze. “Very nice. Now, if you’re willing, I’d like to claim my
mates,”  he  purred.  His  focus  turned  to  Samson,  and  he
growled, “And then I believe you have something for me.”

Terence howled softly. “Hell, yeah,” He stared at Rance’s

nine inch cock, his asshole twitching in anticipation of being
speared by that thick shaft. His alpha wasn’t quite as long as
Samson’s ten inch cock, but he was thicker. He hissed,
imagining how good that would feel.

Samson guffawed, stepping behind him and wrapping

Terence’s cock in his fist. “See something you like, Terence?”
The growled words had warm air flowing over his neck,
tickling the hairs there.

“Uh huh,” he practically panted.
“Then let’s get you ready,” Samson said, steering him

toward the bed.

Rance opened a drawer and pulled out a tube of lube as

Terence allowed Samson to help him onto the big mattress.
Lying on his back, Samson on his knees between his thighs,
he watched Rance pour a dollop of lube onto his fingers
before handing the tube to Samson.

“While getting him ready, I’m going to get you ready,

Samson,” Rance crooned. “Then I’m going to sink my cock
deep  into  your  ass  and  fuck  you  hard  while  you  take
Terence.”  The  alpha  settled  behind  Samson,  and  neither  of
them  missed  how  the  bigger  man’s  breath  stuttered.  “You
like the sound of that, don’t you?”

“Fuck!”
“That’s the idea,” Rance said with a laugh.
Samson’s breathing hitched, and it didn’t take a rocket

scientist to know why. One of these days, Terence wanted to
watch as Rance prepared Samson, but not right now. He
lifted his knees to his chest, silently begging Samson to get to

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work. His mate didn’t disappoint him. Samson sank first one
finger into his clenching channel and then two, quickly
working him open.

“Now that’s a beautiful sight.” Rance peered over

Samson’s shoulder, his brown eyes dark with lust. “So sexy.
Once I’m done fucking you, Samson, and when you’re done
fucking Terence, I’m going to sink my still hard cock into
Terence’s hole, while it’s still slick from your release.”

Samson’s groan matched Terence’s. Rance’s words

burned a mental picture into his mind that he couldn’t wait
to feel. “Now, Samson. Need you now.”

His lover pulled the three fingers out of his ass, lubed up

his cock, and sank balls deep in one smooth thrust. The
stretch and burn sent tingles of pleasure through Terence’s
thighs, up and down his spine, only to settle in his balls. The
way they were already pulled up tight to his body, Terence
knew it wouldn’t take long for him to blow.

But Samson didn’t move, and Terence snapped his eyes

back  open.  From  the  dazed  look  on  Samson’s  face  and  the
concentration  etched  across  Rance’s  features,  Terence
realized  the  alpha  was  working  his  cock  into  their  mate.
From his own limited experiences sinking into Samson, after
all, he could admit freely that he preferred to bottom if given
the choice. Samson was tight and hot, with an ass that made
him want to sink his teeth into the firm globes.

After several seconds, Rance let out a low growl and met

Terence’s eyes over Samson’s shoulder. He grinned and then
began to move. They quickly set up a hard fast rhythm, with
Samson doing most of the work, fucking himself on Rance’s
cock as he repeatedly sank into Terence’s channel.

“Are you ready to be mine, lover?” Rance whispered in

Samson’s ear. “I’m going to mark you right here.” He
nibbled the tendons of Samson’s neck and shoulder on the
opposite side of Terence’s mark.

Four Under the Mistletoe

“Yes,” Samson hissed. “Do it.” Samson’s big hands

grabbed Terence’s ass, lifting him so he could change the
angle of his thrust.

Terence let out a throaty cry as Samson’s big cock nailed

his  prostate.  Three  more  strokes  and  he  was  lost.  His  balls
shot  bursts  of  semen  over  his  abs  and  chest.  His  channel
clenched  on  the  thick  rod  filling  his  ass.  Samson  roared  as
his cock pulsed and filled Terence’s hole with his hot release.

He opened his eyes to find Rance licking closed the

mating  mark  he’d  left  on  a  satisfied  Samson’s  shoulder.
When  Rance  lifted  his  gaze  to  focus  on  Terence,  his  blood
heated  and  his  cock  tried  to  rise  even  as  Samson  slid  his
softening cock out of his ass.

“Think you can get that up again, Samson?” Rance

whispered sensually. “I’d love to feel you pounding my ass
as I claim Terence.”

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Chapter Four

uck, yeah.”

Rance grinned at Samson’s excitement. He knew

he’d surprised his men with his admission that he’d happily
switch. He understood the need to dominate, and would
make certain they knew there could never be a question
about authority in public, but alone in their bedroom? He’d
be a fool to limit his pleasure by never bottoming.

After Samson moved out of the way, Rance shifted

forward. His hard cock, still slick from his release and the
lube used to take Samson, slapped eagerly against his
stomach as he looked down at Terence.

Standing at an even six feet with shaggy blond hair and

big blue eyes, Terence was the epitome of masculine beauty.
Leaning over Terence, Rance allowed his gaze to rake over
the man, taking in his toned arms, his well-muscled legs,
and sleek chest and abs. “Stunning,” he said, complimenting
his mate.

He heard the snick of the lube and then a big hand

stroked down his spine. He shivered in anticipation,
grunting softly when a thick finger worked into his hole. His
muscles tightened automatically before he let out a breath
and then relaxed. “Nice.”

Looking back down at Terence, he smiled. “Are you ready

for me, mate?” he asked, reaching a hand down to test the

“F

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smaller man’s stretched opening. He felt the warm seed
slowly oozing out and growled.

Terence rocked his hips up, trying to get closer. “Take me,

Rance.”

“My pleasure,” he replied, sinking his twitching cock into

Terence’s slicked hole, which was not as tight as Samson, but
so wet, warm, and just as perfect. The muscles rippled
around his shaft, sucking him, welcoming him deeper.

He moaned before dropping onto his forearms and

capturing Terence’s lips. He tasted of warm mint and man,
so different from Samson, and Rance didn’t think he’d ever
be able to get enough of either of them. He stroked his
tongue against Terence’s, dueling playfully for a moment as
he felt Samson shove a third finger into his ass.

The big man pegged his gland and he gasped into

Terence’s  mouth.  Fingers  trickled  up  and  down  his  spine,
and  he  couldn’t  figure  out  who’s  they  were,  and  as  warm
sensations  buffeted  his  senses,  he  couldn’t  get  himself  to
care. All that mattered was this. His two men. His betas. His
mates. Making love to each other with their bodies. He knew
he  didn’t  have  their  hearts  yet,  but  he  hoped  one  day  that
would change.

He snarled a protest when the thick fingers disappeared

from his ass, but seconds later the blunt tip  of a large cock
pressed against his hole. Terence must have felt him starting
to tense as the massive, hard flesh pressed into him, splitting
him  open,  because  the  man  under  him  sucked  his  tongue
hard,  regaining  his  attention.  Grunting  into  the  man’s
mouth, Rance eagerly returned Terence’s kiss, mapping his
teeth, gums, and lips.

Feeling the slap of Samson’s balls against own, he

growled and broke the kiss. He looked over his shoulder
and met the hot stare of his mate. “Now,” Rance demanded.

He felt Samson slide partway out of his channel and

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yowled.  Rocking  back  toward  the  other  man,  his  dick  slid
out  of  Terence  as  his  ass  greedily  accepted  Samson’s  cock.
He  thrust  back  forward  and  hissed  out  his  pleasure  as  the
dual  sensations  of  fucking  and  being  fucked  racked  his
body.  He’d  never  taken  two  lovers  at  the  same  time  and
couldn’t believe the pleasure swamping his system. It made
it all the better knowing that these two men were his mates.

His balls pulled tight as sparks shot up and down his

spine.  Nails  scraped  over  skin.  Lips  sucked  and  teeth
nipped.  A  low  rumble  vibrated  up  his  chest  as  he  moved
between  the  two  men  who  pleasured  him.  “I’m  going  to
mark  you,  Alpha,”  Samson  whispered  into  his  ear.  “I’m
going to bite you right here.”

Samson wrapped his jaws around him where his shoulder

met  his  neck,  his  canines  pinching  his  flesh,  but  not  quite
breaking skin. Chills broke out over him as  his cock jerked
within the confines of the tight passage squeezing him.  Just
the idea that his mate, at least one of them, wanted to mark
him  as  much  as  he  wanted  to  mark  them  had  his  balls
pulling tight, warning him that release was imminent.

“Yessss,” he hissed, latching his own canines around

Terence’s neck.

To his surprise, the smaller man growled lightly and

wrapped his own jaws around the opposite side of where
Samson gripped him. The corners of his mouth tipped into
an excited smile and his hips jerked faster. He snarled as his
cock swelled, and he bit deep into the soft flesh of Terence’s
shoulder.

The sweet metallic taste of his mate’s blood flowed over

his tongue and his cock exploded. His orgasm rolled over
him and his brain shut down as wave after wave of euphoria
flooded his system. Dual sharp stings of pain penetrated his
fog, quickly turning into the most intense pleasure he’d ever
felt. His cock swelled and shot repeatedly as another orgasm

Four Under the Mistletoe

swamped his system.

He slowly slid his canines from Terence’s shoulder and

licked the wound closed, savoring the last tasty drops of his
mate’s blood. He slid his softening cock out of Terence’s
warm, snug passage, while Samson carefully pulled out of
his ass. He groaned as delicious aftershocks rocked through
him.

Spots of darkness hovered on the edge of his vision, and

he knew he wasn’t going to remain awake much longer.
“Oh, fuck, that was…” he whispered, dropping onto the bed
next to Terence.

“Amazing,” Samson finished as he fell to the other side of

their mate.

“Hell, yeah,” Terence added.
Rance wrapped an arm across Terence’s chest, letting his

fingers play with the hair on Samson’s stomach. “We should
get up and get clean,” he muttered, but he couldn’t get
himself to follow his own words.

“In a minute,” Samson said, clearly exhausted.
Terence giggled. Actually giggled. The sound made Rance

smile into the pillow. “You guys.” He heaved himself out of
bed, crawling over Samson, which gave Rance a spectacular
view of Terence’s sexy ass. He reached out and ran a hand
over one firm globe, rumbling his delight at the softness.

“Just wait,” Samson grumbled. “Next time, you’ll be in

the middle. Then we’ll see if you can just hop out of bed.”

Rance grinned. Next time. He liked the sound of that.

Minutes  later,  Terence  returned  with  a  couple  of  warm
cloths  and  cleaned  up  both  men.  He  tossed  them  in  the
general direction of the bathroom, and Rance chuckled when
he heard two soft splats.  Sounds like my beta has good aim. It
pleased  him  even  more  when  the  sexy  smaller  shifter
climbed back over Samson and settled between them.

Both Samson and Rance curled an arm around Terence’s

Charlie Richards

torso, their fingers trailing over each other’s chests. He let
out a long sigh and gave into the pull of sleep.

The images came hard and fast.

A melodious tenor echoed through his mind.

An attractive face with light brown hair and a crooked smile

peered up at him.

Lean, tone, naked limbs stretched across Rance’s bed, making

his pulse race in his veins.

A scent, sweet and tangy, flooded his senses, causing his cock to

thicken and jerk.

He groaned in anticipation as he prowled toward the waiting

figure.

Mate!

Rance jerked awake. His eyes snapped open and his

breath came in hard pants. His cock jerked, leaking against
his stomach as he remembered the images and scents, pre-
cum smearing across his abs. “Holy shit,” he ground out
through clenched teeth.

“Need help with that?” a voice murmured right before he

felt his cock enveloped in warm, wet heat.

Roaring, he came on the first sucking pull. His limbs

jerked  and  tensed.  He  spastically  clutched  the  sheets  as  his
back  arched.  A  soft  tongue  lapped  at  his  softening  shaft,
easing  his  body  down  from  the  sudden  endorphin  rush.
Another mouth gently nipped his lips, and Rance opened to
the  questing  tongue,  immediately  recognizing  Samson’s
musky taste.

A moment later, he let out a soft sigh as his beta eased the

kiss to an end. He grinned up at Samson, seeing the amused
expression on the man’s face. “Do you always wake up like
that?” he teased.

Terence crawled up the bed and settled on the other side

Four Under the Mistletoe

of him. “I wouldn’t mind.” He gave Rance a quick, toe-
curling kiss. “You taste delicious.”

He laughed softly. “Thanks, but no. I don’t normally

wake up like that.” He paused, thinking about the images
he’d seen, catching the surprised look that passed between
the other two. “I think I just had a vision,” he whispered.

Terence drew back. “Really?”
“Already?” whispered Samson.
He saw the concerned look on Terence’s face as he gazed

at Samson. Rance focused on the other beta, noticing the
subtle difference in his scent, giving away his anxiety. He
pulled Samson’s head down and gave him a leisurely kiss.

“Do not worry, my mate,” he crooned, breaking the kiss

and rubbing his cheek against Samson to soothe him. “Our
alpha-mate is a man.”

Charlie Richards

Chapter Five

aul walked down the tunnel connecting the plane to the
terminal, pulling his carry-on with one hand and

holding his sleeping son with the other arm. At three years
old, Casey could be hell to travel with for more than an hour
at a time, but he’d promised his sister that he’d visit and
meet her men.

Damn. He still couldn’t wrap his mind around the

dynamics of his sister’s relationship with her husband and…
well, the other two men. Lovers? Friends? Significant others?

What the hell am I supposed to call them?

Biting back a sigh, he hurried as fast as his weary body

would  allow.  Relief  filled  him  when  he  spotted  Sandy’s
blonde  head  swiveling  this  way  and  that,  searching  the
crowd of passengers. She turned, spotted him, and waved, a
grin  lighting  up  her  features.  He  would  have  waved  back,
but his hands were full, so he gave her a smile and a head
nod.

“Oh, Paul,” she said, pulling him into a hug once he got

close enough. “It’s so good to see you!”

He appreciated that Sandy kept her voice down. If he

could  make  it  to  the  car  without  Casey  waking,  maybe  his
son  would  stay  asleep  for  the  forty-five  minute  drive  from
the  Albany  airport  to  Sandy’s  home  in  the  Catskill
Mountains.

Four Under the Mistletoe

“It’s good to see you, too, Sandy,” he replied softly.

Releasing his hold on his carry-on bag, he wrapped his arm
around her in a hug as he kissed her cheek. “You’re looking
good.” One thing was for certain, having three men dote on
her must agree with Sandy because she really did look
happy. He’d never seen that kind of sparkle in his sister’s
eyes.

“Thanks,” Sandy grinned impishly and ran her fingers up

the back of his neck and head. “Went back to the nearly
shaved look, huh?”

Paul’s free hand followed the path of Sandy’s hand as he

smiled  back.  “Yup.  It’s  much  easier  to  take  care  of  Casey
when I don’t have to do anything with my own hair. When
I’m  in  a  hurry  I  can  just  dunk  my  head  under  the  running
water  and  rub  my  scalp  dry  with  a  towel,”  he  admitted
ruefully.  He’d  used  that  technique  on  many  mornings,
including this one.

“Looks good,” she said. “And, I know plenty of women in

the area that will love to spoil this guy rotten and give you a
little down time,” Sandy told him with a wink. He didn’t
respond right away. After all, what was he supposed to say
to that? Her smile softened. “I’m really glad you’re here.”

“It’s been too long,” he admitted.
“It’s been five years since you’ve been out here,” she said,

her gaze straying to Casey. “The last time I saw you was
three years ago…” Her voice trailed off and she bit her lip.

Forcing a smile he didn’t truly feel as a muted sense of

grief rolled through him, he nodded. “Yeah. I know.” Sandy
had flown out for his late wife’s funeral after she’d passed in
childbirth.

Shoving the thought away, he looked pointedly at the

large blond man standing a few feet behind Sandy. Paul had
to admit, it was nice for the man to give them a modicum of
privacy as he watched over his sister and kept an eye on

Charlie Richards

those passing around them. The way the man’s blue eyes
flicked warily over the crowd, he wondered what the man
thought was going to happen.

Sandy grabbed his bag’s handle in one hand and his arm

in the other, pulling him forward several steps before
releasing him and waving her hand at the blond. “Paul, this
is Devon. He’s one of my significant others,” she said calmly.

Paul couldn’t stop his brow from lifting and giving the

man a hard stare. Okay, so he may live twenty-two hundred
miles away in Salt Lake City, but that didn’t make him any
less protective of his little sister. Even so, he still had the
decency to reach for the man’s hand when he offered it.
“Nice to meet you, Devon.”

Devon gave him a slow smile, the twist of his lips telling

Paul that Devon knew exactly what he was thinking. “And
you, Paul. Sandy has told us a lot about you.”

“How long have you been together now?” He couldn’t

help asking the question.

Sandy huffed. “Let’s go. You can drill my men when we

get to Pack House.”

Pack house? “Where?”
“Our home,” Sandy replied. “There are several guest

rooms downstairs. Some have one bed, some have two, so
you just need to let me know if Casey gets his own room or
not.”

That was a smooth evasion. He had to give her credit. “He

has  his  own  room  at  home,  but  he  doesn’t  always  sleep
through  the  night,”  he  admitted.  Paul  was  trying  to  curb
Casey’s habit of crawling into bed with him, but it was slow
going. Besides, it wasn’t like he was bringing anyone home
on  a  regular  basis.  In  fact,  he  hadn’t  had  any  dates  at  all.
Paul kept too busy trying to raise his son.

“Sounds good.” Sandy grinned and touched his arm. “Do

you need to collect luggage?”

Four Under the Mistletoe

After Paul answered in the affirmative, Devon wrapped

an  arm  around  Sandy’s  waist  and  led  the  way  to  baggage
claim. The big man grabbed the two bags  Paul pointed out
and soon he found himself tucking a still blissfully sleeping
Casey—thank  goodness  for  small  favors—into  a  car  seat  in
Devon’s  SUV.  He  climbed  in beside  his  son and  settled  for
the reasonably short ride.

He and Sandy spoke of their parents, his work as a

restoration contractor, and her next book release. She
pointed out different landmarks as they passed, telling him
that despite the snow, they’d need to take at least one hike to
cut down a Christmas tree. He nodded at that, grateful he’d
had the foresight to bring Casey’s snowsuit and his long
underwear.

Soon they turned off the road onto a snow-covered

driveway.  It  looked  like  it  had  been  plowed  recently,
judging  by  the  four-foot  snow  drifts  on  either  side, but  the
tires  still  crunched  on  at  least  two  inches  of  snow,  leaving
tracks  in  their  wake.  Pine  trees  towered  high  overhead  on
either side of them, and when a large structure that looked
like a lodge came into view around the bend, Paul thought
he’d been sucked into a white Christmas greeting card.

A flash of black and brown appeared between the trees,

and  Casey  squealed  excitedly,  telling  Paul  his  son  had
finally  woken.  “Doggie!  Doggie,  Daddy!”  The  young  boy
pointed,  nearly  bouncing  out  of  his  seat  in  his  excitement.
“Pet doggies?”

He watched a quick glance pass between Sandy and

Devon. “You have a dog?” He’d always been more of a cat
person himself, but Carla had been allergic to most animal
fur and then with Casey still so young, he’d never gotten
one.

“Uh, there are coyotes in the woods,” Sandy told him.

“On occasion we see them around.”

Charlie Richards

Her tone sounded off, but before Paul could question her,

Devon jumped in. “You shouldn’t go wandering without a
guide. It doesn’t take much to get turned around up here
and the weather can turn nasty pretty quickly.”

He would have bristled if he didn’t already know that one

of  Sandy’s  men  worked  as  a  park  ranger  and  another  as  a
guide  for  the  Catskill  Mountain  Club,  so  they  knew  what
they  were  talking  about.  He  couldn’t  remember  which  did
what,  but  he  knew  her  actual  husband,  Ben,  worked  as  a
software designer.

“I’ll be careful,” he promised. He turned to his son. “I’m

sorry,  Casey.  Those  are  wild  doggies.  They  don’t  like
people.”  Paul  saw  the  tantrum  coming  a  mile  away  and
worked  hard  to  head  it  off.  “Maybe  we  can  find  a  store  in
town where they’ll have doggies you can play with, okay?”

Casey crossed his little arms over his chest, clearly not

happy, but he nodded anyway. “Okay.”

After the car stopped, Paul helped his son out of the car

seat  and  set  him  on  the  ground.  Casey  immediately  ran  to
the  nearest  snow  bank  and  dug  his  gloved  hands  into  it.
“My  friend,  Twila,  has  a  cocker  spaniel,”  Sandy  told  him,
catching  his  attention.  “I’m  sure  we  could  go  over  there
sometime.”

Paul smiled gratefully. “Thanks.” Turning to his son, he

called Casey over. “I want to introduce you to someone,
buddy. This is my sister Sandy. Can you say hi to Aunt
Sandy?”

Casey stared up at Sandy for several seconds, before

dutifully replying “Hi, Aunt Sandy.” Much to his chagrin,
his son immediately asked. “Can I go play in the snow now,
Daddy?”

“Sure, son,” he answered. “But just for a few minutes. It’s

starting to get cold.”

A glance at the darkening sky told him the sun would set

Four Under the Mistletoe

soon, taking any semblance of warmth with it. Devon
walked passed hefting his bags. “I’ll take these in while you
two watch Casey play. I’ll find Ben and Adam, too. I’m
surprised they’re not waiting.”

“I can help with those,” Paul objected, taking a step

toward the big man.

“Naw. I got it,” he said, before turning to Sandy. “Babe,

I’ll put them in the blue and green rooms.”

And before he could say anything else, Devon

disappeared  into  the  depths  of  the  building.  “This  is  quite
the place,” Paul commented, keeping one eye on his son and
taking  in  the  large  lodge  with  the  other.  He  noticed  the
driveway  continued  deeper  into  the  forest,  and  thought  he
caught  the  edge  of  another  building  between  the  snow
heavy limbs. “What’s back there?” he asked curiously.

“Back there, are more homes. Twila, my friend with the

dog, she lives further down. I’ll walk you through the
community tomorrow. Everyone’s very friendly.”

So many red flags slapped Paul in the face. “What the

hell, Sandy?” He growled softly, keeping his voice low to
keep it from Casey. “Is this some kind of tree hugger
community or something?”

Sandy laughed and slapped him on the back. “Of course

not,” she said, but he couldn’t help but notice that her mirth
didn’t quite reach her eyes, nor did she offer any other
explanation.

The opening of the front door had Paul snapping his

mouth shut. Out stepped a pair of dark haired men. Both of
them were broad and well-muscled, and both were staring
at Sandy with open lust in their eyes. He shifted his gaze to
Sandy, and saw her return the look with equal heat. Damn!

Surely they haven’t been separated that long!

The taller man, who stood perhaps six-foot-three, took the

steps three at a time and wrapped his arms around Sandy.

Charlie Richards

He swept her into his arms and planted a hard kiss on her
lips  that,  if  it  hadn’t  been  his  sister,  would  have  made  his
toes  curl.  When  the  man  relinquished  his  hold  and  the
second, shorter man took Sandy in an equally hot kiss, Paul
had  to  turn  away.  Confusion  permeated  his  mind.  How

could three men happily share one woman? It doesn’t make sense.

A hand on his shoulder pulled him out of his musings.

“Hey, I’d like you to meet Ben and Adam,” Sandy said.

He turned to face them, taking Ben’s hand in a firm grip

and then Adam’s. “Nice to meet you,” he replied
automatically.

“I understand your confusion, but I assure you, we all

love and respect your sister. We won’t let any harm come to
her.”

Ben’s intuitive statement had Paul’s eyes widening. “I…”

He frowned. “How the hell did you know what I was
thinking?”

Ben smirked. “I have a great gift for reading expression.

You looked concerned for Sandy. I understand that this is
not the standard situation, so I’d like to do what I can to set
your mind at ease,” he admitted.

Paul nodded slowly, before he scoffed. “Thank you, but it

will take more than a few platitudes to do it.”

“Paul,” Sandy started.
“No, he’s right,” Ben cut in. He smiled at Sandy, leaned

down,  and  kissed  her  temple.  “He’s  family.  He  has  every
right  to  be  concerned. That’s  one  of  the  reasons  we  invited
him,  remember?  So  your  family  can  meet  us  and  set  their
minds at ease.”

Lifting a brow, Paul cleared his throat. “As long as while

you’re putting my mind at ease that you love my sister, you
remember that there’s a child in the house.”

Adam stepped forward, his grin infections. “Ah, yes. Is

this our nephew? Casey, isn’t it?”

Four Under the Mistletoe

The boy turned at the sound of his name. Seeing all the

strangers, he rushed to his father’s side. He wrapped his
arms around Paul’s thigh and stared up at the big men with
wide eyes. Paul knew how his son felt. At five-foot-ten, only
Adam was of similar height, but far more broad. Paul had a
slender frame from training for marathons for the last seven
years. Even while Casey was a baby, he still bundled up his
son in a stroller and jogged him through the park near his
condo almost every morning. It was his down time. Time he
took to clear his mind.

“Who are they, Daddy?”
Paul dropped to a knee in the snow and wrapped his arm

around Casey. “These are your uncles, Casey,” he explained.
He pointed to each one, introducing them as Uncle Ben and
Uncle Adam and then he pointed to the man on the deck as
Uncle Devon.

Uncle Devon’s brows lifted, and he smiled. “Dinner will

be ready in thirty minutes. Why don’t you all come in and
get cleaned up and comfortable?”

Adam licked his lips. “Da… Dang,” he amended. “You’ll

love Devon’s cooking. The man makes a mean casserole.”

Paul’s stomach took that moment to rumble softly and the

others chuckled. “Sounds like you could use a good meal,”
Sandy teased.

Before he could reply, the crunch of snow under tires

caught  everyone’s  attention  and  they  all  turned  to  watch  a
Jeep Cherokee appear around a corner. As the vehicle rolled
to  a  stop  several  feet  from  the  SUV, Devon  stepped  off  the
porch  to  stand  beside  Sandy  while  Adam  edged  closer  to
Paul and Casey. Ben stepped forward.

Two people swung from the vehicle and slowly

approached the group. A tall dark haired man who’d exited
the driver’s seat and a slightly shorter, though still taller
than Paul, brunette woman. “Good evening, Ben,” the man

Charlie Richards

greeted.

To Paul’s surprise, the timbre of the man’s voice sent

chills up his spine and his cock stirred. Well, shit. It had been
nearly five years since his cock had responded to a man like
that. After finding Carla, he hadn’t imagined responding to
anyone else, male or female, but holy hell, this guy certainly
did it for him.

He realized the man’s thick brown hair was held back in a

thong, and his fingers itched to loosen it and discover how
long it truly was. He stood Ben’s height, six-foot-three,
maybe an inch more, and had his breadth and muscles. What
is in the water that makes these sexy fuckers grow so big?

The feel of Casey’s arm still around his leg brought him

out  of  his  thoughts.  The  guy  had  a  woman  with  him,
probably  a  significant  other  or  wife.  He  simply  exuded
testosterone,  and  wanting  the  big  man  in  front  of  him  was
bad. He dropped his gaze to his son. Nothing good could come

of it.

Four Under the Mistletoe

Chapter Six

ance tried not to stare at the man who would be his
mate, but damn, was he fine. A short, slender build, a

runner’s build, he’d bet his pride that there was plenty of
lean muscle hidden under the thick winter clothes. What he
wouldn’t give to peel those layers away.

“Hello, Rance. I don’t remember a meeting scheduled.

Did I miss a memo?”

Ben’s warning tone jerked his attention back to where it

should be. He smiled. “No, you didn’t. I need to talk to you
about a few important changes.”

“Important enough to just drop by?”
Rance nodded. “Yes.”
The alpha wolf’s brows shot up and he assessed him for

several  seconds  before  nodding  curtly.  “I  have  a  few
minutes.  We  can  talk  in  the  study.”  He  turned  his  head,
although  Ben’s  eyes  never  left  Rance  and  Shayla.  “Sandy,
head  in  and  show  your  brother  his  rooms.  Help  him  get
settled.”

Rance watched Sandy take his mate’s arm and he had to

bite back a growl as she led him away from him. When the
handsome man stooped and picked up a toddler, Rance’s
eyes narrowed. Who is this boy to my mate? The young cub
hadn’t been in any of his visions.

A soft growl after the door closed behind them had

Charlie Richards

Rance’s attention returning to where it should have been, a
glaring Ben. “Showing up at another alpha’s house is pretty
irregular, Rance,” he snarled. “What the fuck?”

He lifted his hands in placation. No sense posturing when

he was here to ask a favor. “Please, just hear me out. You’ll
understand once I explain.”

“Very well. Follow Adam to the study.”
Adam turned, his head cocked as he watched them over

his shoulder, and led the way into the house. He caught an
earthy  scent  that  had  his  cock  tightening,  and  realized  it
must  be  from  when  his  mate  had  passed  this  way  only  a
moment ago. To have the man so close and not be able to act
rankled  him,  but  Rance  knew  he  had  to  explain  or  risk
getting attacked.

Ben followed behind him and Shayla, and he could smell

his enforcer’s tension at having the big wolf behind her. He
rested a hand on her shoulder, giving it a squeeze. He
pressed close to her and whispered, “Relax. We aren’t in
danger.” Rance had to believe that. He and Ben were, well,
not friends exactly, but as close as he could be with another
alpha shifter.

He took the tumbler of brandy Adam offered him and

settled into a large wingback chair. Shayla stood behind his
seat, declining when offered a drink and chair of her own. If
nothing else, she was fiercely loyal, but it was her tenacious
tracking ability and wily fighting skills that had earned her a
place as his enforcer.

Once Ben and Adam were seated on a couch across from

him, Rance leaned forward. “Do you remember in the bar
you told me to find the right betas and then I may be able to
find my mate?”

Ben’s brows shot up. “Of course.”
“Terence and Samson are now my betas.”
That had the other man’s eyes narrowing and Adam let

Four Under the Mistletoe

out  a  soft  growl.  Okay,  so  they  had  agreed  not  to  press
charges  with  the  Shifter  Council,  but  obviously  hadn’t
forgiven them for their misguided part in kidnapping their
mate.  Ben  sighed.  “Okay.  It’s  your  pride  and  I  know  they
can  speak  telepathically.  What  does  this  have  to  do  with
me?”

“You were also right about the visions. Now that I have

the proper betas, I’ve had a few.”

“Well, that’s great,” Ben replied, his voice warming,

showing that he really meant the words. Then he shook his
head. “But I’m still not certain what you need from me, or
why you were checking out my mate.”

Rance straightened. “Checking out…” His brows shot up.

“No. I wasn’t checking out Sandy. I was watching the man,
her  brother.  He’s  my  mate.”  He  glanced  between  the  two
men,  seeing  nearly  identical  stunned  expressions  on  their
faces. In for a penny, in for a pound. Letting out a slow breath,
he  added,  “I  need  permission  to  come  court  him  on  your
pack  lands,  and  I  need  permission  for  my  betas  to  do  the
same.”

The silence that fell in the room felt suffocating. Rance’s

palms sweated and he struggled to keep his breathing even
as he waited for Ben’s response. He didn’t know what he’d
do if the alpha refused.

“You really believe Paul is your mate,” Ben muttered.
Not a question, but Rance answered anyway. “Yes.”
“He’s got a son. He was married. I don’t think he’s gay,”

Adam commented.

Relief flooded him. They were at least considering his

request.  Then  Adam’s  words  sunk  in.  “What?  That’s  his
cub?”  He  lifted  a  hand,  already  dismissing  the  obstacle.
“Doesn’t  matter.  Fate  doesn’t  make  mistakes.  Paul’s  the
one.”

Ben exchanged a look with Adam before shaking his

Charlie Richards

head. Rance’s heart nearly stopped, but he forced himself to
focus  on  the  wolf’s  words  anyway.  “Obviously  I’m  not
going to want all three of you here at  the same time, and I
don’t  know  how  Sandy  will  respond  to  your  betas.  If  she
can’t  accept  them…”  His  words  died  as  his  gaze  fixed  on
Rance.  “Shit,  I  don’t  want  to  come  between  you  and  your
mate.” He downed the last of the brandy in his tumbler and
set it on the end table before rising. “Come on. You can join
us for dinner and meet him. We’ll see how he reacts to you.
If  he’s  really  your  mate  then  we’ll  know  pretty  quickly  by
his scent.” Ben smirked. “I can’t imagine wooing him will be
easy, though.”

“Thank you,” Rance replied softly, setting his now empty

glass next to Ben’s. “You don’t know what this means to
me.”

Adam took the glasses and headed to the sideboard.

“Actually, we do. Good luck,” he said wryly.

He didn’t say it, but Rance knew what Adam wanted to

add. You’re gonna need it. Rance hoped the beta wolf was
wrong, but since his mate had a son, he feared he was right.

Following Ben out of the room, Shayla at his back, he

strode  further  into  the  wolf’s  home.  He  found  his  mate
settling  his  son  into  a  high  chair.  He  paused,  taking  in  the
good  looking  man’s  quick,  practiced  movements  as  he
scooped a small amount of steak and potato casserole onto a
plate,  cut  up  the  meat  and  potatoes  until  they  were  in  tiny
bites, and set the plate in front of the boy. After helping the
cub wrap his stubby fingers around the spoon, Paul took a
seat next to him.

He’d been right. The loose fitting jeans and comfortable t-

shirt  Paul  wore  now  that  he’d  stripped  off  his  heavy  coat
didn’t  hide  the  man’s  slender,  muscular  legs  and  toned
arms.  Rance  wanted  to  come  up  behind  the  man,  wrap  his
arms around him, and splay his hands over the man’s abs to

Four Under the Mistletoe

see if they were firm or not, but he didn’t think the human
would appreciate that approach.

Instead, Rance strode leisurely toward the table and eased

into  the  seat  next  to  Paul.  “Cute  kid,”  he  said,  drawing
Paul’s  attention  to  him.  He  saw  the  spark  of  surprise,
followed by the heat of attraction. His mate’s scent changed
subtly, going from earthy to rich loam that had Rance’s dick
filling  and  pressing  painfully  against  his  jeans.  “I’m  Rance
Diallo,” he forced out and held out his hand.

“Paul Shreve.”
The man took his hand and the feel of his mate’s strong

grip  and  warm  skin  had  a  surge  of  desire  rushing  through
Rance’s body. He desperately wanted that hand on his cock.
He  held  his  mate’s  hand  longer  than  standard, rubbing  his
thumb  across  Paul’s  knuckles.  “Nice  to  meet  you,”  he
purred, smiling.

Paul swallowed hard, his adam’s apple bobbing as he

extricated his hand. “Uh, likewise.”

Seeing his mate’s unease, he shifted his gaze to the boy.

“How old’s your son?”

He followed Rance’s gaze. “Casey is three.”
Before he could say more, the others settled around the

table.  Rance  didn’t  miss  the  worried  frown  Sandy  sent  his
way  before  she  realized  he  watched.  Her  concern  melted
into the gracious smile of a good hostess. “I haven’t seen you
in quite some time, Rance,” she said, handing the casserole
dish  to  him.  “I  heard  there’ve  been  some  changes  within
your…home.”

“There have been,” he admitted with a nod.
“Oh, are you a newlywed?” Paul asked.
Rance’s brows snapped up toward his hairline. He

followed his mate’s gaze toward Shayla and understanding
dawned. “Oh, no. I’m not married. Shayla is a good friend.”
He grinned at the smirk on his enforcer’s face. “She’s

Charlie Richards

referring to a couple of friends of mine,” Rance explained.

He took a heaping helping of the fragrant casserole,

inhaling deeply. “Smells delicious, Devon. Thank you for
asking us to join you.”

“Well, from what Adam told me, we’ll be seeing quite a

lot of you in the next few days,” the big blond said with an
amused smile.

“I hope so,” he replied, taking a big bite of food, savoring

the  intricate  flavors  and  trying  to  decide  how  to  proceed.
After swallowing, he looked at Sandy and said, “My friends
want  to  apologize  in  person.  Not  just  for  the  sake  of…
well…”  he  sighed  and  glanced  over  at  his  mate,  taking  in
Paul’s interested expression.

Sandy sighed. “I know what you mean, and it wasn’t

really their fault. Tell them… tell Samson and Terence that
I’d like to speak with them.”

“Thank you,” Rance replied, making certain his tone

expressed his sincerity.

“Maybe they can join us when we go to cut our Christmas

trees tomorrow,” she suggested, looking at Ben for
permission.

The alpha wolf settled an appraising look on Rance.

“Sure. Does that work for you, Rance?”

Rance nodded. He wished he could be there, too, but had

already heard Ben’s stipulations for allowing them in his
territory. “Just let me know the time, and I’ll have them
swing over here.”

“Fantastic,” Ben replied.
The group fell into silence for several minutes, before

Adam  began  speaking  with  Shayla  about  the  trails
throughout  the  Catskill  Mountains.  Rance  turned  his
attention  toward  Paul.  “How  long  have  you  raised  Casey
alone?” As soon as the words left his mouth, he could have
kicked himself.

Four Under the Mistletoe

The man’s attractive hazel eyes dropped to focus on his

food. “Carla passed, giving birth to Casey,” he explained.
His lips twisted into a grimace. “I’ve always raised him
alone.”

He fought the urge to cup his mate’s cheek and offer him

comfort as he would another shifter, knowing the man
wouldn’t welcome it. Instead, he smiled. “Well, it looks like
you’ve done a fantastic job. He behaves very well.”

Paul met his gaze. “Sometimes,” he said, chuckling.
“Daddy,” Casey called, tapping his father’s arm.
Paul turned to his son. “Yes, Casey?”
The boy’s hazel eyes, so similar to Paul’s, widened. “Need

to get down.”

“You need to finish your supper first,” Paul replied

firmly.

“Nooo,” the boy whined. “Need to get down!”
“Oh. Do you need to go to the little boy’s room?” he

asked softly. Casey’s emphatic nod made Rance smile. Paul
stood and helped Casey out of the high chair. “Do you
remember where it is?”

“Uh huh.”
“Okay. Come right back when you’re done,” Paul

ordered.

“Okay, Daddy.” Casey took off like a shot, his little legs

churning as he rushed out of the room.

Rance held back a snort, following Casey’s progress until

he disappeared around a corner. “Was he hard to potty
train?” he asked.

“Eh,” Paul shrugged. “Not too bad. I was really dreading

it,  having  heard  a  number  of  horror  stories,  but  Casey
picked  it  up  really  quickly.”  He  turned  to  look  at  Rance.
“You’re  not  married.  Should  I  assume  you  don’t  have  any
kids?”

He nodded. “That would be a wise assumption. I always

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planned on having them, but recently, well, I’ve come to the
realization that unless I want to use a surrogate mother or
adopt, I won’t have any.”

“Really? Why not?”
Before he could reply, a young voice yelled for his daddy.

Paul  rolled  his  eyes,  excusing  himself  from  the  group  of
amused  adults.  As  soon  as  Paul  was  out  of  earshot,  Sandy
leaned  forward  and  glared.  “Are  you  certain,  Rance?”  she
whispered  fiercely.  “Because  if  you  hurt  him,  even  your
pride won’t be able to save you from my wrath.”

Rance understood and accepted Sandy’s vow at face

value. If it were his sibling, he’d feel the same. “Absolutely,
Sandy. I want only to take care of him.”

“And Casey?”
He turned to Adam, who sat with arms crossed over his

chest as he watched him through narrowed eyes. “What do
you mean?” Rance asked, a frown creasing his brows.

“They’re a package deal, Rance,” Devon pointed out.
“Oh. Of course. The little boy is adorable. I look forward

to getting to know him, too.” At the concerned expressions
on the other’s faces, he huffed. “Good grief. Once he’s
claimed, the entire pride will protect the cub. He’ll be treated
as my own.”

“Why would they do that? He’s human.”
Rance glared at Ben. “I wondered why Fate would give

me three men as mates, but this explains her plans,” he said,
waving to where Paul and Casey had disappeared. “Casey
will obviously be treated as my pride’s heir. Once he hits
adolescence, we’ll change him into one of us.”

Ben let out a long breath. “You still have to convince

Paul.”

The clatter of little feet skidding across the wood

floorboards caught their attention and cut off further
conversation. “No time like the present,” he said with a grin.

Four Under the Mistletoe

Rance rose and headed toward the hall where he dodged a
running Casey. “Whoa there, speedy,” he teased. The boy
grinned as he passed, but didn’t slow.

“Casey! No running in the house!” called Paul from the

bathroom doorway. He shook his head. “Sorry about that.”

“No problem at all,” Rance replied, closing the distance

between them. “Is he always that exuberant?” He leaned a
shoulder on the wall, relaxing just close enough to his mate
to inhale his sultry scent. The smell teased his nostrils, and
his prick thickened further in his jeans. He wanted to reach
out and pull the man close, rub his cheek all over the man’s
neck, and replace the scents of others on his skin.

“Yup. He’s at the age where it’s tough to keep up with

him sometimes,” Paul said with a laugh, heading past him.

Pushing off the wall, Rance planted his palm against the

wall near Paul’s head, using his body to back him into the
wall. “Youngsters can be a handful. It’s hard raising them on
your own.”

Paul’s eyes rounded for a second when his back hit the

wall.  The  green  flecks  in  his  eyes  seemed  to  glitter  as  he
stared  up  at  Rance.  “I  don’t  have  much  of  a  choice,”  he
replied,  pleasing  Rance  with  the  breathy  quality  of  his
words.

“Hmm,” Rance mused, leaning close. A palm on his chest

stopped  him  from  plastering  his  body  against  the  other
man’s, leaving just inches between them. “It doesn’t have to
be  that  way,”  he  replied.  Although  he  respected  the  man’s
desire for distance between their bodies, he still ducked his
head  and  tucked  his  nose  into  the  crook  of  Paul’s  neck.
Inhaling deeply, he let out a soft snarl before drawing away
and staring into his mate’s gorgeous eyes. “Do you have any
idea how fucking good you smell?”

“I don’t…” Paul’s brows crinkled.
“Don’t swing my way?” Rance finished softly. When Paul

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started  to  shake  his  head,  Rance  pressed  a  soft  kiss  to  his
mate’s  temple.  “I  agree  this  may  confuse  you,  handsome,”
he  whispered  into  the  man’s  ear.  “But  I  know  you’re
attracted to me.”

“Wh—What?” He gasped softly and tilted his head,

giving Rance more room to nuzzle him.

“Don’t fight what you feel for me, Paul,” he whispered

softly. He started to nibble up his mate’s jaw-line until he
reached the corner of Paul’s mouth. Slipping out his tongue,
he tentatively tasted the man for the first time, swiping his
tongue once, twice over the man’s lips. Tangy spices flooded
his senses, and he had to bite back a moan and his initial
instinct to demand entrance and submission.

At first, Paul stiffened, but Rance considered it a small

success that the man didn’t immediately shove him away.
He could smell his mate’s arousal and wanted nothing more
than to slide his knee between the shorter man’s legs and
plaster himself against Paul, see if his body was as muscular
as he looked. Unfortunately, Paul still held his hand between
them.

Rance felt the instant Paul began to submit. Paul tilted his

head and parted his lips just a crack, a soft gasp of pleasure
escaping his mouth. He wanted to take advantage so badly,
but  refused  to  push  too  hard  too  fast.  He  didn’t  want  to
scare  his  mate.  Dipping  his  tongue  just  a  tad  into  Paul’s
mouth, he ran it between the man’s bottom teeth and lip. He
sucked  the  lip  into  his  mouth  and  gave  it  a  gentle  tug,
allowing it to pop free as he pulled away.

He lifted his free hand and slid it up the man’s neck,

cupping the back of Paul’s head. “Your lips are so sweet,” he
whispered.

Paul stared up at him, amazement filling his hazel eyes.

“Why?”

“Why are they sweet?” he teased. “I’m not sure.” He

Four Under the Mistletoe

pecked Paul’s lips again. “Have you been eating
strawberries?”

Frowning, Paul jerked his head sideways once. “No, that’s

not what I meant.”

A corner of his mouth curved into a smile. “I know what

you meant, handsome. I want to please you. To pleasure
you. To show you how good it could be between us,” he
replied huskily.

“But, why? We’ve never met before. We don’t know each

other.” Paul’s confusion was evident.

Rance rubbed his cheek over Paul’s neck and head, not

only soothing the human, but marking him with his scent.
He eased back and gave him one more, closed-mouth kiss.
“We will change that,” he whispered.

He didn’t like the confused look in his mate’s eyes, but

couldn’t do anything about it in the middle of the hall in the
wolves’  home.  Easing  away  from  the  man,  he  brushed  his
fingers  over  Paul’s  jaw-line.  “I’d  like  to  take  out  you  and
Casey.”  He  grinned.  “I  know  a  wonderful  place  to  go
sledding. I bet Casey would love it.”

“Yeah, okay.”
The man still sounded a little dazed, but at least he’d

accepted  his  offer.  It  meant  he’d  be  able  to  see  him  again,
away  from  the  here.  Rance  smiled.  “Good.  Since  I’m  sure
you’ll be exhausted after traipsing through the snow, cutting
down  Christmas  trees,  we’ll  plan  for  the  day  after
tomorrow.”  He  didn’t  know  how  he’d  make  it  through
tomorrow  without  seeing  his  mate,  but  he  would  manage
somehow.

He gave Paul one more light kiss before he pulled away.

“I’ll pick you up at three o’ clock, we’ll go sledding, and then
enjoy a late supper. Dress warm,” he added with a wink. It
took everything in him, but Rance turned away and walked
to the dining room. His gaze found Shayla. “It’s time to go.”

Charlie Richards

He turned to Ben. “Thank you for your hospitality.”

“You’re welcome, Rance,” Ben replied. “Have your betas

join us at two o’ clock tomorrow afternoon.”

Rance nodded. “They’ll see you then. Thank you again.”

Shayla fell into step behind him as he made his way out of
the house and away from his mate.

Four Under the Mistletoe

Chapter Seven

is chest heaved as Paul fought to calm his breathing.
He rested the back of his head against the hall wall and

closed his eyes. Instantly, Rance’s handsome face appeared
before him and his jaw and lips tingled, remembering his
kisses. He fought back a groan as he listened to the man in
the next room say his good-byes and then walk out the door.
That voice is fuckin’ sexy. He shivered as he remembered how
it had sounded whispering into his ear.

And did he have a date? A date with a man, no less? He

hadn’t dated since before marrying Carla, and the last time
he’d been with a man? That had to be… eight years ago, and
they hadn’t done much more than mutual rub-offs and some
experimental kissing. He quickly realized that Rance would
be far more experienced than that. None of those men had
affected him like Rance did with just a few touches. If Paul
walked back into the bathroom right now, it would take
maybe three strokes to get off!

He’d done a few one night stands in the two semesters

he’d attended college. Could he do it again? Because, he had
to face the facts. In just over a week, he’d be headed back
home to Salt Lake City. There was no point in getting
attached. That thought took the edge off his ardor.

Heaving a sigh, Paul levered himself off the wall and

made his way back to the dining room. It was empty, except

Charlie Richards

for  various  dishes.  He  heard  the  clack  of  dishes  from  the
kitchen,  so  picked  up  a  few  and  made  his  way  there.  He
found  Ben  on  clean-up.  The  sight  intrigued  him.  With  the
way the man took charge in the front yard when Rance and
Shayla  showed  up,  the  sight  of  Ben  doing  something  so
domestic didn’t seem to fit with the man’s mold.

He set the dishes on the counter, drawing the man’s

attention. “Oh, you didn’t have to do that,” he said,
indicating the plates Paul had set down.

“I don’t mind helping.”
Ben chuckled. “Well, we’ll put you to work in a few days.

For now, why don’t you go relax? It is your vacation,” he
pointed out. “The others are in the recreation room. Go back
to the dining room and through the door straight across.”

Paul recognized an order when he heard one. He nodded.

“Thanks.”

He found the recreation room and paused in the

doorway. If there’d been any question about the purpose of
this room, it was laid to rest with one look. The room took
up  half  the  main  floor  of  the  building.  Hardwood  floors
were covered in runners of various rustic browns and tans,
all blending nicely with the walls and furniture. There was a
pool  table,  a  ping-pong  table,  a  foosball  table,  and  a  dart
board. A bar dominated the far short wall. A big screen TV,
currently  on  but  with  the  volume  muted,  covered  the  wall
near  him  and  three  dark  brown  leather  couches  and  four
matching  arm  chairs  clustered  around  it  with  various  end
tables and coffee tables.

Their lifestyle may be a little weird, but these guys are fucking

rich!

“Hey,” Sandy called softly from one of the couches where

she was curled up between Adam and Devon. “You okay?”

He nodded. “This is amazing! I bet the game on Sunday

will look awesome on this TV!” He couldn’t stop himself

Four Under the Mistletoe

from moving closer and examining the Sony seventy inch
Qualia SXRD flat screen.

“Uh, Paul. Christmas is Sunday,” Sandy pointed out.
He shrugged. “I know.”
“You watch football on Christmas?” Devon asked, an

amused expression on his face. Paul turned and looked at
him. He wondered if the man even realized he massaged his
sister’s shoulder absently.

Paul grinned. “Only when it falls on a Sunday.”
“I bet mom and dad love that,” Sandy murmured. “Well,

dad anyway,” she added with a smile.

“I hardly see them anymore. They travel so much.” He

shrugged.  “They’re  normally  visiting  family  on  the
holidays.”  Sandy  nodded,  but  didn’t  reply.  He  noticed  a
spark  of  sadness  in  her  eyes.  Adam  and  Devon  each
wrapped an arm around her, leaning close and nuzzling her
neck on either side. What should have looked erotic, instead
looked… comforting.

He swallowed hard, thinking of the last time he’d been

comforted by anyone. It must have been when he was a kid.
Before he could dwell on it too long, the silence registered.
He glanced around the room. “Where’s Casey?”

Adam pointed at the couch directly in front of Paul, but

all  he  could  see  was  the  back  of  the  furniture.  He  strode
closer as the man said, “The cub ran in here after taking his
plate  to  the  sink.  Good  manners,  that.  You  should  be
proud,” he acknowledged. Paul quirked a smile, wondering
at the term cub. He opened his mouth to ask, but then Adam
continued.  “He  ran  around  in  here  for  fifteen  minutes,
asking questions about everything, then used the arms of the
sofas to jump from couch to couch.”

Paul’s eyes widened in horror. “Oh, shit! I’m so sorry!”
Adam waved his concern away. “Don’t worry about it.

These things see far more wear from our friends than

Charlie Richards

anything your son can do to them. It was the funniest damn
thing I ever saw, though. He did that for a moment, made it
all the way around the circle before realizing he’d run out of
couches. Then he dropped backwards onto that one and
promptly passed out.”

Looking over the back of the couch in front of him, Paul

stared at his sleeping son. The boy lay on his side, his mouth
open  and  a  hand  tucked  under  his  head.  He  smiled,  love
swelling  inside  him.  Casey  was  his  reason  for  living.  His
pride  and  joy.  Paul  had  to  think  of  this  young  life  that
depended on him before anything else, including his libido,
he mentally added ruefully.

Rounding the sofa, he picked up his sleeping son. “I’m

just gonna put him to bed,” he told them.

“Would you like a cup of coffee when you return? Or a

beer or other drink?” Devon asked.

“Mmm, yeah. A beer sounds good. I’ll be back in a few.”
Casey whined irritably when Paul woke him to change,

but it didn’t take him long to slip right back into slumber.
Tucking him under the blankets, he watched him sleep for a
moment. Once he confirmed that his son was truly out for
the night, he returned to the rec room.

He took the beer gratefully from Devon, taking a long

swallow  of  the  cold  liquid.  He  settled  onto  the  couch  he’d
pulled  Casey  off  of  and  relaxed.  “Wow.  Traveling  sucks.”
He  spotted  Sandy’s  amused  look  and  scoffed.  “Sorry.  You
know it’s true, but it sure is nice to see you again, sis.”

“Thanks. It’s good to see family again. I was worried

mom and dad would try to talk you out of coming.”

His brows creasing, Paul nodded. “They did. I got quite

the shpeal from them about proper unions and how you’re
living in sin by staying with three men,” he admitted. “Not
to mention, by visiting you, I’m condoning your lifestyle.”

Sandy sighed, her gaze straying to the floor. “Oh.”

Four Under the Mistletoe

“Hey,” he toned. “I came to support you, Sandy. I don’t

agree with them, but you had to realize that with mom’s
Baptist background, she wouldn’t be too accepting. And you
know dad’s not gonna do anything to rock the boat.”

“Yeah, I know. It’s just hard, ya know? She is my mom.”

She grimaced.

Paul cocked a grin, trying to lighten the mood. “Ya still

got me.” He took another swallow of beer and winked.

Sandy laughed. “Yeah.” Then she got a sly look on her

face. “So, what did you think of Rance?”

He nearly choked on the beer in his mouth. Oh, shit! What

had she seen? “What do you mean?”

“Oh, come on,” she grumbled. “Don’t hand me that.

Surely you didn’t miss those heated looks he gave you
throughout dinner!” Something on his face must have given
him away, because Sandy’s eyes lit up. “Oooo, you did
notice! What happened when you two talked in the hall?”

Paul flushed. “What the hell?”
Sandy reared back as if struck. “Are you a homophobe?”
“No!” He gave a curt shake of his head, trying to figure

out what his sister’s tone was saying. “I just—You’re okay
with gays?”

Devon chortled, and Paul just caught the look the big man

shared with Adam. “Your sister thought Adam and I were a
couple when we first met. We don’t have a problem with it
either,” he assured, “but that’s not how Adam and I roll.”
He shrugged. “Rance is different with his… friends.”

Paul frowned. What did that mean? “His friends? What are

you talking about?”

Adam slapped Devon upside the head. “Now look what

you’ve done. You were supposed to let Rance tell him.”

“What the hell are you two talking about?” His gaze

shifted between the two men. Something was going on and
he didn’t like being in the dark.

Charlie Richards

Sandy rolled her eyes. “My men have no idea what

they’re really talking about right now.” He gave her a
suspicious look, and she sighed. “Did Rance ask you out or
not?” she asked bluntly.

He’d never revealed his bisexuality to any of his family,

so to have it such an open topic on his first day here caused
him concern. Finally, he nodded. “Yeah, he did. He said he
knew a great place to take Casey sledding. We’re gonna go
on Friday,” he admitted.

Instead of disdain or repulsion in her gaze, he saw only

pleasure.

“I really like Rance. He’s a good guy,” she said,

confirming Paul’s initial assessment of the man.

Right up there with sexy, sweet, and a great kisser.
“Well, this looks like a serious conversation,” Ben

interrupted, walking into the room. He headed toward the
bar. “Can I get anyone a refill?”

Paul held up his empty beer bottle and Ben quickly

replaced it. Ben settled on the sofa next to Adam. “What’s
going on?” he asked, handing beers to the men and a glass of
wine to Sandy.

Sandy sighed. “Devon opened his big mouth and started

talking about Rance’s relationship with Terence and Samson.
And since Rance asked Paul and Casey out on a date, Paul is
understandably concerned.”

Ben glanced between them. “Oh. Well, don’t be too

concerned,  Paul,”  he  replied  easily.  “I’ve  heard  all  male
ménages  are  incredibly  pleasurable.”  His  gaze  shifted  to
Sandy,  and  he  leered  playfully.  “I  know your  sister  likes  it
just fine.”

Groaning, Paul shook his head. “Come on guys. TMI!”
“Hey,” Ben teased. “Casey isn’t here.”
“Good thing, too,” he groused good-naturedly.
“I heard you liked our TV. Sandy tells me you keep up

Four Under the Mistletoe

with the latest electronics,” Ben said, rising. “It’s a couple
years old and there’ve been a number of upgrades since we
got it. I’m thinking of replacing it.”

“Replacing it?” Paul said, startled, following Ben toward

the massive screen hanging on the wall. “Why?”

Ben shrugged. “We have a lot of friends who visit, as you

can probably tell,” he said, swinging his hand to encompass
the room of toys. “It gets pretty beat up, so I like to update
before something happens to it,” he added ruefully.

For the next half hour, the men talked about their current

media system, its pros and cons, and what they wanted to
replace it with. It wasn’t until Paul lay in bed that he realized
the man never explained his comment about male ménages.

Charlie Richards

Chapter Eight

erence stepped out of the truck and bit back a groan. He
could smell his human mate. His potent, sweet scent

permeated the area, carried on a chilly breeze. “Wow!” he
gasped.

“Mmm, yeah. I agree,” Samson muttered, coming around

the vehicle to stand next to him. “Rance didn’t mention his
incredible scent.”

“It grows stronger the longer he’s unmated.” Both men

turned toward the speaker who stood with his arms crossed
on the porch.

“Good morning, Alpha Ben,” Terence quickly said,

nodding  in  deference  to  the  other  man’s  higher  station.
“Thank  you  for  allowing  us  to  join  your  family  on  this
outing.” He’d never been interested in traipsing through the
woods  to  locate  Christmas  trees,  but  since  his  mate  was
involved, he was more than willing to endure the cold while
in human form.

“I’m doing this for my own selfish reasons,” Ben stated.
Samson’s undamaged brow lifted. “Oh, yeah? Mind

telling us why?”

“It’s your mate’s scent. We’re mated wolves, so it doesn’t

affect us, but as his scent increases, it’ll start drawing the
unmated wolves in my pack. I’ve ordered them all to stay
away from Paul, but if it goes on too long, I’m worried about

Four Under the Mistletoe

dissention among them,” he admitted ruefully. “They’re in
such close proximity to him, it’ll start messing with their
common sense.”

Terence let out a soft growl. “He’s ours!” he declared,

surprising himself with his possessive outburst of a man he
hadn’t even met.

Ben actually smiled. “I know, Terence, and believe it or

not, I know how you both feel. I’ll do everything in my
power to facilitate your claiming.”

Heading toward the porch and Ben, he let out a relieved

sigh. “Again, thank you.”

The alpha held up a hand, stopping them on the porch

next to him. “Last night, one of my betas made a slip of the
tongue about yours and Rance’s relationship which
concerned Paul. If he’ll let you, you’d do well to show him
pretty quickly the perks of a ménage.”

“Really? This fast?” Samson asked.
Smirking, Ben shrugged. “Sandy told me he lost his wife

three years ago. From the scents he was giving off last night,
I’d guess Rance affected him quite a bit. Plus, being a man
instead of a woman, I’d say he’ll be pretty receptive.”

Terence glanced at Samson and saw the gleam in his

mate’s eye. “You really think seducing him is the best way?”

Samson grinned. “It’s worth a shot. Besides, Rance said

he’s only here for a week. We don’t have much time.”

He nodded, wishing they had more time to get to know

each other first, but understanding the circumstances. “All
right,” he agreed.

“Sandy and Devon are waiting in the study. I think you

should talk to her before we head out,” Ben suggested,
pulling him away from his thoughts.

Terence swallowed hard, nodding. As they followed Ben

into the house, he felt Samson’s hand land on the small of
his back, offering support. He smiled over his shoulder at

Charlie Richards

the man he loved, getting a quick smile back.

Their conversation with Sandy only took a few minutes,

and to Terence’s immense relief, it went extremely well. The
wolf alpha-mate seemed understanding, having seen first-
hand how the rogue wolf could twist someone’s perception
with his lies. She even expressed an interest in helping them
claim her brother, since she knew how stressful the effects of
the mating heat could be on them all.

Ten minutes later, he and Samson followed Ben and his

mates  out  the  back  door  onto  a  massive  deck  cleared  of
snow.  Both  he  and  Samson  paused,  the  scent  of  their  mate
stronger here. They looked out over the white clearing and
took  in  the  scene.  Absolutely  stunning!  And  not  just  the
heavily  snow-laden  boughs  of  pine  trees  or  the  tiny  icicles
clinging to the needles. No, Terence’s gaze was fixed on the
thickly bundled human building a snowman with his son in
the deep snow covering the clearing.

He saw little more than Paul’s thickly clothed back, but he

still  couldn’t  hold  back  the  soft  moan.  Samson  laid  a  large
hand  on  his  jaw  and  cupped  his  face.  “Easy,  babe,”  he
whispered,  giving  him  a  quick  peck  on  the lips.  “We don’t
want to come on too strong and scare him.”

Terence nodded. “Yeah.”
Samson transferred the hand from his jaw to his shoulder

and they both turned to look back at their mate. They found
a pair of stunning hazel eyes staring at them. The man gazed
at them for several long moments before a poorly made
snowball hit his hip and he returned his focus back to his
squealing son.

“Holy shit, he’s hot,” Terence whispered.
Samson grunted his agreement.
Sandy smothered a laugh with one glove-covered hand.

“Okay, boys, let’s go make introductions.” She leaned close

Four Under the Mistletoe

and murmured, “And there are some things I don’t want to
know about my brother’s sex life, so when you get him
alone, keep it down, huh? The trees echo,” she whispered.

Terence flushed, and Samson choked.
“Ah, here’s our ride,” Devon said loudly, catching

everyone’s attention.

He turned and watched a horse-drawn sleigh appear on

the driveway just visible around the corner of the house.
“You didn’t think we’d hike the whole time, did you?”
Adam teased.

Samson shrugged. “Hadn’t really given it much thought.”
“Paul! Casey! Come on over here,” Sandy called.
Her brother swung the cub into his arms and carried him

toward them. “Are we ready to go?”

She nodded and pointed over her shoulder. “This is

Terence Hawkwood and Samson Cohan. They’re the friends
that are joining us to pick out a tree for them and Rance.”
Smiling, she held out her hands. “Can I introduce Casey to
the horse?”

Paul nodded slowly, but it took him a second to

relinquish  his  son.  From  the  man’s  wary  scent,  Terence
thought  he  might  have  been  using  the  cub  as  a  shield.  He
glanced  at  Samson,  and  knew  the  other  man  felt  the  same
way.  They  needed  to  find  a  way  to  set  the  man’s  mind  at
ease.

Samson smiled slightly, which was about all Terence ever

saw  him  do  outside  of  the  bedroom  when  alone  with  him
and Rance. He was just that serious, but he  could tell from
his  scent  that  Paul  pleased  the  man,  at  least  physically.
“Rance told us a little about you. It’s good to put a face with
a name.” He held out his hand.

It took a second, but Paul reached out and clasped one

gloved hand in Samson’s much larger one. After releasing
his hand, Paul turned and Terence shook next. He wished

Charlie Richards

the man wasn’t wearing gloves, the damp plastic hiding his
mate’s true feel.

“It’s good to meet you,” Paul said, glancing between

them. “So…you’re friends of Rance?”

Terence nodded. Lifting a hand, he drew their mate

toward the sleigh where the others waited. Samson fell into
step on their right, keeping his head tilted slightly so he
could eye them as well as their surroundings. “Yes. We met
almost two month ago. We’ve recently gotten to know each
other pretty well.”

Paul’s eyes narrowed at his words. He could scent the

man’s wariness increasing. Terence sighed. “Does that
bother you?”

“It’s not that,” Paul replied slowly. “I don’t understand

why he asked to take me and Casey sledding.”

Terence exchanged another look with Samson. Okay,

maybe seduction first wasn’t the answer at the moment. He
looked around and caught Adam watching them.

Adam nodded toward the house and said, “You

remember  those  questions  you  had  last  night,  Paul?”  Their
mate  nodded.  “Well,  they  can  answer  them  for  you.”
Turning  away  for  a  moment,  he  landed  a  hand  on  Ben’s
shoulder. “Do you mind if they take the smaller sleigh?” he
asked his Alpha. “I think they have some things to discuss.”

Ben took in the group, cocking his head to the side in a

very canine move. “Of course. We’ll take the larger one and
head out.”

“Larger one?” Paul asked, glancing around them.
Adam nodded and pointed down the road. “Here it

comes  now.”  A  second  sleigh,  this  one  much  smaller,  not
much  more  than  a  surrey  with  metal  runners,  appeared
around  the  corner.  “We  originally  planned  to  cuddle  with
each other in that one.” Adam grinned lasciviously at Sandy,
who  blushed  prettily.  “Looking  at  it  now,  it  probably

Four Under the Mistletoe

wouldn’t be as comfortable as we thought, but it ought to fit
you three just fine. Do any of you have experience driving a
horse?”

Terence smiled, taking in the scruffy bay pony pulling the

cart. Its thick winter coat obscured any muscle definition,
but he could see the soft gleam in the animal’s eyes. “I can,”
he said. “My family had a ranch back home in Canada. It’ll
be nice to spend time with a horse again.”

Samson’s brows shot up. “You never told me that,” he

whispered.

Shrugging, he grinned. “Guess it never really crossed my

mind before.”

“Would you be interested in having one again?” Samson

asked curiously.

“A horse? Yeah. Seeing that pony made me realize how

much  I’ve  missed  them.”  He  saw  the  concerned  gleam  in
Samson’s  eyes  and  cupped  his  mate’s  jaw.  Rubbing  his
thumb  over  the  bigger  man’s  jaw,  he  smiled.  “I  wouldn’t
trade leaving my home for anything, handsome. It led me to
you.”

Samson nodded before giving him a soft kiss. “So long as

there are no regrets.”

“Never,” Terence vowed.
Devon cleared his throat. “If you two are done there, let’s

be on our way, huh?” he said, winking.

Terence’s face flushed slightly, and he nodded, leading

the way to the cart. He could feel Samson, who guided a
confused and tense Paul, at his back. After climbing onto the
bench seat, he thanked the wolf who’d brought the cart and
took the reins. As Paul settled next to him with Samson on
the far side, Paul started to rise again.

“Wait!” Paul called. “My son?”
Adam grinned from where he held the animated talking

three-year-old boy. “Don’t worry. We’ll take good care of

Charlie Richards

your cub.”

“But…” their mate started to call again.
Adam laughed. “This is your vacation, too, Paul. Take

advantage of it!”

“But…” Paul repeated but with a whisper.
“Hey,” Terence said, drawing Paul’s attention.
Samson laid his arm across the back of the seat and

started rubbing their human mate’s shoulder. “It’ll be fine,”
he promised. “They’ll take good care of Casey. Wolves take
very good care of their cubs.”

Paul frowned, pulling away slightly from Samson.

Terence spotted the glimmer of hurt in his big mate’s eyes
and gave him an understanding smile. He’d have to remind
Samson later not to take it personally. Terence felt certain
that the human didn’t quite feel the pull as they did. Or if he
did, Paul hid it well.

The man glanced between them, clearly agitated. “Why

does everyone keep calling my son a cub?” he asked sharply.
“And why are you talking about wolves?”

“All this isn’t easy to explain, but we’ll do our best.” He

glanced  over  Paul’s  head  at  Samson,  who  met  his  worried
look with a concerned gaze. With a click of his tongue and
flick  of  the  reins,  Terence  got  the  pony  moving,  following
the  larger  sled  down  the  trail.  As  they  glided  by  the
crystallized  boughs,  Terence  added,  “I  ask  you  to  keep  an
open mind through our discussion.”

Samson nodded. “Even though it’s early, I’d offer you a

drink if I had it available,” he admitted.

Paul glanced at them. “Am I going to need it?”
“Maybe,” Terence replied honestly, unwilling to lie to his

mate. “It’ll be a little tough to believe, but I swear it’s all
true.”

“Okay,” Paul said, drawing the word out. “You’re not

making this any easier. Just spit it out.”

Four Under the Mistletoe

He nodded slowly, absently guiding the horse as he tried

to decide where to start. He opened his mouth twice before
finally deciding. “Did your sister tell you how she met her
mates?” Terence asked.

“Her mates?”
Terence smiled, while inwardly cursing his slip of the

tongue. “Her men. Adam, Devon, and Ben. Did she say how
she met them?”

“Yeah. She went with her friend, Lonnie, to a show and

met Devon and Adam there. They left during intermission
and went to a bar to talk. Ben met them there,” Paul stated.

Okay, that was a very simplified version, but true enough.

“Did Sandy ever say how they knew she would be at that
show?” Samson asked, using the hand along the back of the
seat to knead Terence’s tense neck muscles in a show of
support.

“They knew ahead of time? I didn’t know that.”
Samson nodded, picking up the explanation. “They knew.

Ben sent Adam and Devon there that night. He had a vision
telling him where Sandy would be.”

“A vision?”
He could hear the disbelief in Paul’s voice, but Terence

knew he needed to press on. Their future depended on it.
“Yes. There are some of us that have visions when Fate
needs to tell us something.”

From Paul’s scent, Terence knew he still didn’t believe,

but the man still asked, “What do you mean us?”

He took a deep breath and exchanged another look with

Samson. After the other man gave a single slow nod, Terence
said, “We’re not human, Paul. We’re shapeshifters. Cougar
shapeshifters. When the alpha of a pride, in this case Rance,
bonds with his mates, his betas, in this case Samson and I, he
will have a vision revealing his alpha-mate whenever he or
she is near enough to claim.”

Charlie Richards

Holding his breath, he waited for the outburst. The

screams. The sarcasm. The laughter. Anything. Instead, Paul
remained silent. His jaw clenched tight, his body rigid on the
seat  between  them,  he  stared  straight  ahead.  For  ten  long
minutes,  the  man  said  nothing.  Terence  could  smell  the
man’s agitation. He wanted to take Paul’s hand, remove the
glove,  and  massage  the  limb  to  reassure  him,  but  Terence
knew  the  touch  wouldn’t  be  welcome  and  it  frustrated  the
hell out of him.

Finally, Paul swallowed, shook his head, and said coldly,

“That’s  the  most  ridiculous  thing  I’ve  ever  heard.  I  asked
you  a  simple  question  about  why  everyone  calls  my  son  a
cub,  and  you  tell  me  some  shit  straight  out  of  a  science
fantasy horror movie.”

“Horror movie?” Samson pulled back as if slapped. “We

are  not  some  creatures  out  of  one  of  those  pathetically
fabricated  stories!  We’re  not  some  grotesque  half-creature
that goes on a rampage every full moon!” he ground out, his
voice raising with each word. Terence pulled the  pony to a
stop  and  lifted  a  hand  in  placation.  “No,”  Samson  snarled.
“He  thinks  we’re  some  kind  of  freaks!  We’re  not,”  he
continued  heatedly.  “We  are  still  our  same  sentient  selves
when  we  shift  into  our  animal  form.  Our  animal  is  part  of
us, like a second set of instincts.”

Samson leaped from the sleigh and began pacing. A big

hand rubbed over his scalp, snow crunching under his boots,
as he muttered to himself and shook his head. The
frustration pouring off his mate hurt Terence almost as
much the fear he now smelled from Paul.

Setting a hand on the shoulder of the man next to him, he

assured, “He’d never hurt you, baby, even when angry. As
shifters, we’re hard-wired to protect and care for our mates.”
At Paul’s confused look, he realized that they’d never really
given him a complete explanation. In fact, there was still so

Four Under the Mistletoe

much  to  tell  him  and  Terence  knew  he  and  Samson  were
botching this up good. He glanced around and saw that they
now  had  an  audience.  Sighing,  he  turned  back  to  Paul  and
said, “I told you Rance is the alpha of our cougar pride and
we  are  his  betas.  Rance  had  a  vision.  Of  you,”  he  added.
“You are our alpha-mate, just like Sandy is the alpha-mate to
Ben and his betas.”

“They’re cougar shapeshifters, too?” Paul whispered the

question. His expressive hazel eyes still swam with disbelief,
and even concern, as he glanced at the still pacing Samson.
Paul may not believe yet, but at least he was listening.

Adam laughed, drawing their attention. The other men

wore equally amused expressions, while Sandy appeared
concerned. “Shapeshifters, yes. Cougars, no,” Ben said.

“We’re wolves, Paul,” Sandy told him softly.
“You…,” Paul seemed to be trying to wrap his mind

around his sister’s statement. “Even you?” he finally
whispered.

Sandy nodded. “Mating with them gave me the ability to

shift,” she admitted.

Samson returned to the sleigh and rested a hand on a

stunned Paul’s leg. “I’m sorry I lost my temper. We’ve never
tried explaining shifters to a human before, so I’m sure we’re
going about this all wrong,” he said, his deep voice filled
with heart-wrenching guilt. “You’re important to us, Paul.
Will you at least give us the chance to prove how much?”

Charlie Richards

Chapter Nine

t was the most outlandish, crazy, ridiculous story he’d
ever heard, but what really cooked his goose was even

his sister seemed to believe it. Paul stared down at the large
tanned  hand  on  his  leg.  He  wondered  idly  how  the
handsome man remained so tanned even in  winter. Did he
sunbathe  in  the  snow?  And  why  did  just  the  two  men’s
proximity  bring  him  to  half-mast  and  the  man’s  hand  on
him,  despite  the  crazy-assed  situation,  make  him  hard
enough  to  pound  nails?  Paul  wanted  that  hand  to  slide  up
his thigh and cup his cock.

Silently cursing his wayward thoughts, he brought his

gaze to Samson’s incredible gray eyes. They weren’t a solid
color,  but  reminded  him  of  the  swirling  tendrils  of  a
thundercloud.  Finally  finding  his  voice,  he  whispered,  “I
didn’t  mean  to  make  you  angry.  I  don’t—”  he  paused  and
shook his head. “I don’t know what to make of all this.”

“Maybe he needs a demonstration?” Adam grinned and

shrugged. “A picture is worth a thousand words. Seeing is
believing. All that, right?”

Paul watched as Ben nodded agreement, and swung his

hand in a get on with it motion.

Adam rolled his eyes. “Why does it always have to be

me?”

“Because you’re the one who always opens your mouth,”

Four Under the Mistletoe

Devon quipped, smirking.

Adam chuckled, and then right in front of everyone, he

started stripping.

“What are you doing?” Paul asked, shocked.
Adam didn’t even pause. “Showing you,” he replied

calmly, handing his shirt to Devon. He turned his back and
peeled first his jeans and then his thermal underwear down
his legs. Glancing over his shoulder, completely at ease with
his nudity, he winked and added, “Just try not to freak out.”

Freak out? The man actually believed he could turn into an

animal…and the others were just standing around letting
him get naked in thirty-degree weather. Were they all nuts?
Paul blinked, disbelief filling him as Adam’s body began to
ripple. The man dropped to his knees, his limbs popped, his
body compacted, fur sprouted, and his head contorted.

Paul blinked, and then blinked again. “Oh my God!”
“Easy, babe,” Terence murmured soothingly.
“He just turned into a fucking wolf!” He felt his pulse

racing in his veins, his heart thudding wildly in his chest.
“Casey! Casey, come here!” He started to scramble over
Terence’s lap to get out of the sleigh and to his son.

Paul fought against the hands rubbing his arms and neck,

trying to soothe him. “No. This isn’t happening,” he
whispered, finally managing to break free.

A sharp slap across the face brought him up short. “Paul,

stop it!” His sister’s sharp tone and the stinging of her palm
on his cheek snapped his brain to a grinding halt. He stared
dumbly at her. “Calm down, Paul,” she went on, her voice
softer now. “It’s still Adam, and he won’t hurt any of us.”

“Look, Daddy! Doggie!”
Paul turned slowly to look at his son, his jaw dropping

when he saw Casey happily, if a bit awkwardly due to the
thick mittens covering his hands, petting the massive two-
hundred pound wolf. Even sitting, the animal’s head was at

Charlie Richards

eye level with Casey, but intelligence showed in the large
brown eyes. The wolf appeared to be grinning, and Paul
couldn’t shake the feeling that it was laughing at him.

“Holy shit,” he whispered. “Adam?”
The wolf sniffed, dipping its head. The animal stood and

started  slowly  toward  Paul.  Casey  followed,  still  trying  to
pet the large animal. Paul wanted to back away, but a pair of
strong arms wrapped around him from behind, so he sagged
into them instead, letting the bigger man take his weight. He
instinctively  knew  that  Samson  wouldn’t  let  anything
happen  to  him.  How  he  knew  it,  he  didn’t know,  but  he’d
long since learned to trust his gut.

The wolf sat down in front of him. Terence appeared next

to Paul. “Even while in our animal form, we are completely
cognizant. We are still the same person. We recognize our
mates, our friends, and accept the hierarchy of our pack or
pride.”

Paul nodded slowly, finding courage to reach out and

touch  the  wolf’s  head.  He  couldn’t  feel  the  fur  through  his
gloves, but that didn’t matter. He just needed to confirm that
the creature in front of him was real. A low growl sounded
behind him and Terence gently pulled his hand away from
the  animal.  He  glanced  over  his  shoulder,  surprised  at
Samson’s  flushed  face.  Terence  gave  his  hand  a  squeeze,
gaining his attention.

“We don’t like you touching another shifter, even a mated

one, since we haven’t claimed you yet,” Terence explained.
“It’s also our instinct to protect what’s ours.”

“What’s yours?” Paul asked.
Terence nodded. “We told you that you’re our mate.” He

shrugged, pausing a second before admitting, “We’re
territorial.”

Paul glanced over at Sandy. “How long have you known

about all this?”

Four Under the Mistletoe

She smiled. “Since October. The night I met them, they

explained everything to me. I didn’t believe them at first, but
then  events  happened  to  change  my  mind.”  Sandy  smiled,
her  face  full  of  love,  as  she  looked  around  at  her  men.  “I
wouldn’t  trade  my  new  life  for  the  world.”  Returning  her
focus to Paul, her expression grew troubled. “This will mean
big changes for you, Paul. Not all of them good.”

“What do you mean?”
“There’s still much we need to explain,” Samson rumbled,

the vibrations at his back making Paul shiver. Or that could
be from the man leaning down and nuzzling his neck.

Heat flooded south, reawakening his cock and making it

awkwardly fill his boxers. He could feel the zipper through
his long underwear and had to fight the urge to adjust
himself.

“I’m actually talking about our family,” Sandy

interrupted, regaining his quickly waning attention. “We
can’t tell our family, which means they’re probably not
going to understand why you’re all of a sudden moving to
New York to live with three men.”

He gasped. “What? Move?” His body stiffened, but

Samson wouldn’t allow him to move from the circle of his
arms.

Sandy blushed. “I’m sorry, guys. I guess I shouldn’t have

dropped that bombshell. I don’t always think before I
speak.” She nibbled her lower lip and took Casey’s hand.
“Come on, sweetie. Let’s go find our Christmas tree, okay?”

“Okay, Aunt Sandy. Bye, bye, doggie,” Casey called as he

and Sandy headed into the woods with Devon.

Seconds later, Ben handed a naked Adam his clothes. The

man dressed and they both disappeared after their mate and
Paul’s son between the trees.

“I think talk about moving is a bit premature,” Terence

said, drawing Paul’s focus. “Although it is something you’ll

Charlie Richards

need  to  think  about  because  our  pride  is  here.  I  think  we
should  take  some  time  to  get  to  know  each  other.  Don’t
you?”  The  man  moved  in  front  of  him,  effectively
sandwiching  Paul  between  the  two  larger  male  bodies.  He
brought  a  hand  up  and  cupped  Paul’s  cheek,  his  hand
surprisingly  warm  despite  the  chilly  weather.  “I  want  to
know everything about you,” he whispered.

Paul shuddered at the contact. Samson’s lips worked the

sensitive skin behind his ear, while Terence’s head lowered.
The heated look in his blue eyes promised very little talking
for the foreseeable future, and suddenly Paul couldn’t think
of a reason why being held by these two men was a bad
idea. It’s been so long…

Terence’s lips were firm and warm. He pressed them

gently against his own at first, nibbling softly on Paul’s
lower lip, his tongue flicking out to gently stroke his
mouth’s seam.

Paul moaned at the dual assault on this senses. The action

parted his lips just enough for Terence to slide his tongue
inside his mouth, opening him further. The man tilted his
head, giving him better access to Paul’s mouth while giving
Samson more room to play with his neck.

He felt himself being moved, maneuvered, but couldn’t

find it in him to care where they were going. Seconds later,
he felt Samson lean against something, a tree, the sleigh, he
didn’t know what. Paul could only focus on the warm mint
flavor  of  the  tongue  plundering  him.  His  cock  strained
against the confines of his clothes, his hips bucking when he
felt an equally hard ridge dig into the valley of his ass. Large
hands  landed  on  his  hips,  pulling  him  closer,  and  Samson
started a slow rut against him. The sensual  movement  sent
tingles up his spine, only to shoot back down and center in
his balls.

Terence pressed close, removing any space between the

Four Under the Mistletoe

three of them. The man’s thickness rubbed against his own,
providing just the right amount of pressure and friction.

Paul yanked his mouth away, gasping, trying to get his

vocal chords to work. “Wait, wait,” he panted. “I don’t want
to fucking come in my jeans.”

A wicked look passed between the men surrounding him.

“No, we definitely don’t want that,” Samson’s deep voice
purred into his ear as Terence dropped to his knees.

Terence’s agile fingers undid his belt, the button of his

jeans,  and  lowered  the  zipper.  Samson’s  hands  pushed
down his jeans, long underwear, and boxers. A blast of cold
air  hit  his  cock,  making  it  jerk  and  pulse.  Paul’s  mouth
gaped as he worked to bring enough air into his lungs. He
dropped  his  head  back  against  Samson’s  chest,  giving
control over completely to the two men.

He couldn’t remember the last time he’d felt this good,

this turned on, this needy. “Please do something,” he
begged.

Warm air puffed over his balls as Terence nuzzled them,

making  Paul  shudder.  That  feels  so  good!  A  hand  snaked
between his legs, encouraging him to spread his legs as far
as  he  could  with  his  pants  around  his  thighs.  A  calloused
palm rolled his balls, and he gasped. He felt the bead of pre-
cum  ooze  from  the  head  of  his  cock,  sending  tingles  of
pleasure  through  his  body.  Terence  scraped  his  tongue
across  his  broad,  flat  head,  sucking  up  the  bead  of  liquid,
resulting in Paul’s hips bucking in excitement.

Samson’s arm wrapped around his torso and lifted his

shirt, baring his stomach. Blunt fingertips traced his toned
abs and fingered the thin trail of hair leading up the center of
his chest. He cried out sharply when Samson’s tweaked one
pierced nipple.

“Well, well, look what I found,” Samson hummed against

his neck, sending warm currents over his sensitized skin.

Charlie Richards

“So sexy,” Terence added, groaning.
Paul had never really thought about what other men

would think of his nipple piercings. He’d done it two years
ago because they were sensitive and playing with them
made him feel good. It wasn’t like he’d ever had anyone
else’s hands on them until now.

Samson gripped one silver hoop and twisted, sending

painful  sparks  of  pleasure  straight  to  Paul’s  balls.  Another
bead  of  pre-cum  oozed  from  his  slit  to  be  quickly  licked
away by Terence’s tongue. The big man behind him began a
sensual  assault  on  his  nipples,  and  Paul  relaxed  his  body
into  him.  His  breath  came  in  pants  as  he  enjoyed  the
affection the man offered.

Samson’s other hand slipped between them and quickly

undid his own fly, freeing a cock that felt massive against his
crack. His asshole fluttered, and Paul wondered what it
would be like to be on the receiving end of that pounding.
He’d never done anything like this with a man before, but it
felt so fucking good.

Terence’s talented lips sucked the head of Paul’s shaft into

his hot, wet mouth and then his entire cock was swallowed
in sucking heat. Paul shouted his ecstasy as the man on his
knees in front of him began working his cock in earnest.
He’d been so close before, he knew it wouldn’t take long for
him to shoot.

A big hand cupped his jaw and encouraged him to turn

his  head.  Paul  could  barely  focus  on  the  face  floating  over
his  shoulder  through  the  sensual  haze  the  two  men  had
wrapped  around  him.  Samson  took  him  in  a  hard,
demanding  kiss  as  he  rutted  against  Paul  in  swift  rhythm
matching Terence’s enthusiastic sucking.

He wrapped the fingers of one hand in Terence’s thick

blond hair and placed the other hand on Samson’s hip.
Samson broke the kiss, but didn’t release his head. The man

Four Under the Mistletoe

stared deep into his eyes and grinned ferally. “You’re ours,
Paul Shreve. Ours to pleasure. Ours to care for. Ours.”

Paul couldn’t come up with a response to that. His brain

was nowhere to be found, his body swimming in pleasure
and sensation. He whimpered, fucking whimpered, wanting
those lips back on his own so badly. The hand in Terence’s
hair tightened convulsively, and the man in front of him
purred, the vibrations shooting down his cock and his balls
pulled tight to his body. Paul’s eyes widened. He was going
to come any second and he couldn’t gather enough thought
to warn the man.

Samson lowered his mouth back to his, removing the

option of speech, but instead of kissing him, he breathed
against his lips, “That’s it. Pull Terence’s hair hard. He loves
it. He’ll come just from sucking your cock and the pain of his
hair being pulled. Won’t you, baby?”

Terence growled, and Paul clenched his hands at the

sensations. The man sucked him deep, taking his cock all the
way down his throat. When he swallowed around his head,
Paul lost it. He screamed as his balls burst, sending waves of
cum shooting up his cock and into Terence’s waiting mouth.
His body convulsed as he cried out again, Samson drawing
the sounds into himself as he grunted and jerked.

Warm, wet liquid coated Paul’s back and ass, flooding

him with satisfaction that Samson had enjoyed things just as
much as he had. A moment later, he managed to pry his eyes
open and glance down at Terence. The satiated look on the
other man’s face made Paul grin. Well, fuck me, Samson is
right. Terence loves sucking cock, and he’s damn good at it. Paul
had never felt anything so intense.

Shivers shot through him as Terence grinned up wickedly

and made a production of licking Paul clean, although it
didn’t really look like the man had actually missed anything.
Samson pulled off his undershirt and used it to clean Paul’s

Charlie Richards

back  and  ass.  Moments  later,  the  residual  traces  of
endorphins  pinging  pleasantly  through  his  body,  Paul
accepted a deep kiss from Samson and then Terence. It even
surprised  him  that  he  enjoyed  his  own  flavor  masking
Terence’s natural mint taste.

Terence smiled, unidentifiable warmth that Paul didn’t

want to name filled the man’s deep blue eyes. “Come on,”
Terence said, his voice husky and low. “We really are
supposed to bring a Christmas tree back to our place, so let’s
get hunting.”

Paul nodded and found himself falling into step behind

Terence and in front of Samson as they made their way into
the woods. One thing was for certain, he had a lot of
thinking to do, like why the hell didn’t he feel guilty about
having sex, even oral, with two men he’d just met, while still
looking forward to a date with a third man tomorrow?

Four Under the Mistletoe

Chapter Ten

ance walked up the steps, his excitement rising with
each step closer to his mate. His betas had told him

about their encounter yesterday, and although he felt
remorse that he hadn’t been with them, he’d felt no jealousy.
Instead, it only strengthened his resolve to find a little alone
time with Paul today.

Devon opened the door before he could reach it, and

while smirking, the big wolf beckoned him inside out of the
cold. “How do you like your tree?”

He laughed. “It’s fine.” Evidently, his betas had taken so

much  time  seducing  Paul,  they  hadn’t  spent  much  time
trekking through the forest. They’d cut down the first decent
tree  they’d  spotted  and  brought  it  home.  Unfortunately,
decent seemed to be a matter of opinion. It reminded  Rance
of the little tree in A Charlie Brown Christmas.

Slapping him on the shoulder, Devon snickered. “Yeah.

Sure it is. I’ll go get Paul and Casey.”

“Thanks,” he answered dryly. Crossing his arms, he

leaned against the wall and waited for his mate. He knew
better than to venture too far into the wolf’s home without
an invitation. He caught Paul’s fabulous scent before he saw
the man. Ben was right. Paul’s scent had increased since he’d
seen him two days ago.

He grinned and straightened, watching the slender man

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approach.  As  soon  as  the  guy  was  close  enough,  Rance
wrapped a hand around his shoulder and pulled him close
for a kiss.   “Mmm, you taste nice,” he purred after delving
his  tongue  deep  into  Paul’s  mouth  for  several  seconds.  “I
missed you.”

“I… I’ve been thinking about you,” Paul admitted.
Rance smiled, pleasure flooding him. “That’s a start.” He

dropped to one knee to bring him eye level to Paul’s son.
“Hello, Casey. I’m Rance. Are you ready to go sledding? Or
do you want food first?”

“Sledding!”
Grinning at the exuberant response, he looked up at Paul.

“That okay with you?”

Paul rolled his eyes. “Even if it wasn’t, it’s too late now.”
“Sorry about that,” Rance replied, leading the way out the

door. “I guess I have a lot to learn about raising kids.”

As Paul settled Casey into Rance’s brand new car seat,

Rance saw him giving him several concerned side glances.
Once his mate was settled in the passenger seat, he reached
over and settled a hand on his mate’s thigh. “Something
wrong?”

“Why do you have a lot to learn about raising kids?”
“Well, I’ve never really been around them,” he admitted.
Paul was quiet a moment before he said, “And now you

think that’s going to change?”

He squeezed the leg beneath his palm before returning it

to  the  wheel  and  sending  the  Jeep  Cherokee  out  of  the
driveway.  “Yes,  Paul.  That’s  exactly  what  I  think,”  he
answered honestly. “I know that Terence and Samson spoke
with  you  yesterday  about  us.  About  how  we’re  cougar
shifters  and  that  you’re  our  mate.”  He  glanced  over  at  the
man, gauging his reaction. His scent told him that the  man
remained  relatively  calm.  “My  guess  is  you’ve  given  this  a
lot  of  thought  yesterday  evening  and  have  a  number  of

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questions.”

“What about my son?”
Confused, he frowned. “What about him?”
“He goes where I go,” Paul stated emphatically.
Rance’s brows shot up. “Of course. That’s why I need to

learn. I expect him to be a part of our family.” As soon as he
said  the  words,  he  scented  the  change  in  Paul’s  scent.  My
mate’s tension just spiked. Letting go of the wheel, he reached
over  and  gripped  the  man’s  neck.  “Little  sexy,  I’ve  been
searching  for  you  for  over  twenty  years,”  he  revealed,
massaging  gently.  “I’ll  admit I  questioned why  Fate  would
give  me  a  male  mate  when  both  my  betas  are  male,  but
Casey  answered  that  for  me.  I  will  love  that  boy  like  my
own. He’ll be my pride’s heir,” he admitted.

He felt the tension slowly drain from Paul’s neck. “I don’t

really know what that means,” he whispered.

Smiling, relief filling him that he could ease his mate’s

fears, he expanded his explanation. “You know I’m my
cougar pride’s alpha. Without a woman, an heir is unlikely,
but you’ve given me that in Casey.” He squeezed Paul’s
neck slightly. “You and Casey are my blessings.”

Paul cocked his head. “That’s an interesting way of

looking at it.”

Rance shook his head. “Not really. Not for a shifter

anyway.  We  are  conditioned  from  an  early  age  to  look
forward  to  meeting  our  mate.  Finding  and  claiming  that
special, fated someone is the single greatest moment of our
lives.” Looking forward to that  activity, his  semi-hard cock
thickened inside his jeans. “Some shifters go their whole life
without finding them and end up settling for someone they
care for instead.”

“So you want me because Fate picked me for you?” Paul

asked dubiously.

He sighed. “Don’t think of it like that,” he countered. “It’s

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true that I searched you out because Fate gave me a vision
about you, but that’s not why I’m attracted to you.”

“Then why?”
“Because, even though I’ve only spent a short amount of

time with you, I already admire you,” he replied. “You lost
your wife and still managed to raise your son into a fine cub.
You’re thoughtful and sweet. You’re kind and smart. You
own your own business. You run marathons. I can’t even
imagine the kind of discipline that takes, and with a son no
less.”

Paul held up a hand, chuckling. “Okay. I appreciate the

compliments. Thank you.”

Rance grabbed Paul’s lifted hand and brought it to his

lips, gently kissing his palm. “I look forward to earning your
trust and someday you’re love,” he admitted. “If you give
me the chance, I will devote my life to your safety and
pleasure.”

Goosebumps rose on the hand he held as he nibbled his

mate’s fingers. Paul gently tugged it from his grasp, and
Rance refocused his attention on the road. “You said
something about claiming your mate. What does that mean?
And how can Casey be your heir since he’s human?”

“Ah,” he murmured. He’d wondered when this would

come up. Choosing his words carefully, he said,  “We claim
our  mate,  bond  with  them,  while…”  he  glanced  in  the
review  mirror  at  Casey,  wondering  how  much  he  could
reveal with the small cub in the backseat. Casey held a small
truck  in  one  gloved  fist  and  drove  it  over  every  surface
within  reach,  making  vroom-vroom  noises.  He  seemed
intent on his play, so Rance glanced over at Paul, who lifted
a brow in interest.

“Oh, okay,” Paul snickered, his face flushing slightly.
Rance grinned. He’d love to see how far down that rosy

glow went. Returning to the question, he added, “During the

Four Under the Mistletoe

act, I’ll give you a mating bite. It will combine our scents,
marking you as mine, and bonding us together. You’ll
receive one from Terence and Samson as well.”

The pink hue was gone. Paul’s skin now appeared pale.

“Bites?”

“Don’t worry. It’s extremely pleasurable,” he assured

with a grin.

“Have you ever experienced it?”
He nodded. “With Terence and Samson. It’s only

something you share with your mate.” Rubbing his hand
over Paul’s thigh, he attempted to soothe the man.

“And the human factor?” Paul pressed.
“That’s something that would also change.”
“What do you mean?”
Rance forced a worried smile. “Well, when we bite you,

our saliva will begin a process in your DNA to change you
into a shifter as well.” He figured it was best just lay it all out
and so added, “Shifters take their animal shape for the first
time during puberty. When that time comes for Casey, I or
someone else would need to bite him several times to change
him into one of us as well.”

Paul swiped a hand between them, halting his

explanation and surprising Rance with an angry glare.
“You’d screw my son at puberty so you can get an heir? Oh,
hell no! Turn this car around, Rance. Now!”

“What? No!” Rance quickly pulled the car to the side of

the road and turned to face his seething mate. “You
misunderstood. That’s not what I meant at all.”

“Then you’d better start explaining pretty damn fast!”
“You’re not supposed to say that word, Daddy.”
Casey’s indignant tone almost made Rance smile, if the

situation wasn’t sliding almost out of control. “I’ll punish
him for it later, Casey,” he told the boy, smiling at his small
frowning face.

Charlie Richards

After a second, Casey gave a decisive nod and then

returned to playing with his truck.

Rance turned back to his angry mate. “Look, I know I told

you that biting is between mates. This wouldn’t be that kind
of bite. I’d be in cougar form and, unfortunately, these
would be painful to Casey, but it’s the only way to change
someone who’s not your mate.”

“So, you can change anyone just by biting them?” Paul

asked slowly.

“Technically, yes, while we’re in animal form and if the

person  gets  bit  enough  times.  But  it’s  against  our  laws  to
convert anyone who isn’t your mate. I’ll have to petition the
Shifter Council for permission, but under the circumstances,
I’m certain they’ll agree. Anyone who goes against the law is
branded  a  rogue  and  hunted  down  and  killed.”  Seeing  his
mate’s  shocked  look,  he  reached  over  and  cupped  Paul’s
cheek.  “It’s  for  the  safety  of  our  species.  We  rely  on
anonymity above all else.”

“Are we sledding here?” Casey piped up from the back.

The little boy was craning his neck around, evidently
looking for a hill.

Rance smiled. “No, Casey. We’re almost there. Five more

minutes.”

“Can we get hot chocolate?” he asked next.
Paul turned to his son. “After we’ve been down the hill a

few times we’ll get hot chocolate to warm up,” he promised.
Looking over at Rance, he said, “Let’s go. I’m sure I’ll have
more questions later.”

Nodding, he got the Cherokee back on the road. He knew

his mate needed time to think, time to digest the information
he’d been given. Rance just hoped Paul didn’t take too long.
His body longed to give in to the mating heat coursing
through his veins and filling his cock.

Within the promised five minutes, Rance pulled into the

Four Under the Mistletoe

parking lot of the park where they’d be sledding.

The next several hours were an exercise in patience for

Rance. He could look, but not touch, at least not the way he
wanted  to  touch  Paul.  He  didn’t  think  the  people  of
Margaretville would appreciate him grabbing his mate and
kissing him to within an inch of his life. Most wouldn’t want
to  see  a  man  do  that  to  his  wife  in  front  of  all  the  kids
slipping  and  sliding  down  the  hills  around  them,  let  alone
two men.

Instead, Rance settled for the occasional touch to the

hand, cheek, or offering a supportive hand to Paul’s elbow.
He found himself exceedingly pleased that Paul never once
pulled away from his touch, even while receiving
disapproving looks from the more bigoted mother or father.

After sledding, they stopped at a family diner for a late

dinner and Casey’s promised hot chocolate. By the time the
meal was over, Paul had to carry his nearly sleeping cub to
the Jeep Cherokee. Rance reached over and took Paul’s
hand, and a companionable silence fell between them as he
drove them back to Ben’s place.

Paul opened the door, pausing before getting out. “Do

you want to come inside?” he asked, unable to meet Rance’s
gaze.

Hope blossomed in Rance’s chest and he knew his eyes

were shining with excitement when he smiled. “I’d like
that.”

“I’ll be just a few minutes putting Casey to bed,” Paul told

him.

He nodded, more than willing to wait if it meant a little

alone  time  with  his  mate.  He  followed  Paul into  the  house
and  down  the  hall.  He  paused  outside  the  bedroom  Paul
carried  Casey  into  and  watched  him  settle  the  boy  on  the
bed. Paul glanced over his shoulder and said,  “My room is
right next door. I’ll be there in a sec.”

Charlie Richards

Rance nodded, slipping into the room next door. He

didn’t want to get his hopes too high, but he still pulled out
his  cell  and  called  Terence.  He  let  the  man  know  he  was
currently  at  Ben’s,  just  in  case  he  didn’t  make  it  home.
Terence  wished  him  good  luck,  and  Rance  could  hear  the
grin in the other shifter’s voice. Seconds later, he hung up.

He shrugged out of his coat and tossed it over the back of

a  chair.  Running  his  hands  through  his  hair,  he  began  to
pace.  His  mind  went  through  countless  scenarios  of  him
claiming his mate, each more erotic than the last, making his
cock pulse against the seam of his jeans. He almost reached
for the zipper to give himself more room when he heard the
doorknob  turn.  The  desire  he  immediately  smelled  from
Paul  broke  his  control  and  Rance  needed  to  taste  his  mate
more than his next breath.

Pulling Paul into the room, he slammed the door closed

and pushed his mate against it, immediately claiming the
man’s mouth. Paul grunted as Rance pushed close, rubbing
his aching shaft into the shorter man’s belly. He could feel
an answering thickness against his thigh.

Knowing he needed to give Paul the choice, it took all his

strength to stop plundering his mate’s sweet mouth and
break the kiss. He rested his forehead against Paul’s, panting
softly. “I want you, my mate,” he whispered, breathing in
the other man’s heady scent. “Will you give yourself to me?”

He stared into heavily dilated hazel eyes, watching the

specks of green and brown swim in their depths. “I’ve
never…never done anything like that before.”

Rance grinned, his shaft twitching in his jeans. “That is

the hottest fucking thing.”

“It doesn’t turn you off? I won’t know what to do,” Paul

admitted.

Drawing his mate forward, Rance stood Paul next to the

bed. “I’ll teach you, but right now, I want to show you how

Four Under the Mistletoe

pleasurable it can be between us.”

“Okay,” Paul whispered. “I want you, Rance.”
Rance growled his excitement before claiming his mate

again in a deep kiss. As he swept his tongue against Paul’s,
enjoying the lingering taste of hot chocolate mixed with the
man’s natural masculine flavors, he pulled Paul’s shirt out of
his jeans and unbuttoned it. He had to break the kiss for a
second to pull the undershirt over his head, then he began
trailing kisses down Paul’s jaw and neck.

He worked quickly to free the man’s straining erection,

thrilling  at  the  feel  of  Paul’s  satiny  hardness  for  the  first
time. Swiping a thumb over his weeping slit, he swallowed
the  moan  the  move  elicited.  Rance  knew  he  could  easily
become  addicted  to  the  noises  this  man  made.  Using  the
natural  lubricant,  he  broke  the  kiss  and  gently  pushed  the
man  onto  the  bed.  He  slowly  jacked  his  mate’s  cock  while
working the rest of Paul’s clothes from his legs and feet.

Once done, he released the man’s dick.
Paul whimpered at the loss, his eyes opening to half-mast.

Rance gave his mate a feral smile, holding his gaze as he
quickly stripped out of his own clothes. He didn’t miss the
gasp, or the slight tension tightening Paul’s shoulders when
he revealed his thick, nine inch dick, standing tall and ready,
already glistening with pre-cum.

Paul slid up the mattress as Rance crawled onto the bed.

“Easy, baby,” he crooned. “I won’t hurt you. I only want to
please you.” He gripped Paul’s calf, giving it a reassuring
squeeze before rubbing his calloused hand over the man’s
firm flesh. He could feel the tension slowly ease from Paul’s
body as he started nibbling the calf he stroked.

The muscles beneath Rance’s tongue clenched and

relaxed as he worked over the skin. He enjoyed the man’s
salty, tangy flavor, moving up to nibble behind the knee and
over his inner thigh. Paul’s gasps and grunts were music to

Charlie Richards

Rance’s  ears,  and  he  gloried  in  the  man’s  twitching  body,
noting  his  hands  clenching  spastically  in  the  comforter.  By
the time he reached the man’s balls and sucked one into the
warm, wet heat of his mouth, Paul writhed on the bed. He
swirled  his  tongue  around  the  nut  in  his  mouth  before
tugging lightly on the sensitive flesh.

“Rance. Oh, God, that’s good,” Paul babbled.
Releasing the man’s testicle, he shifted to the man’s shaft,

stroking it with the flat of his tongue from root to tip. Paul’s
breathing hitched, ending on a long groan as Rance sucked
the head of his cock into his mouth and sucked strongly. He
lowered his head, easily deep-throating his mate’s shaft.
When the head of Paul’s dick hit the back of his throat, he
swallowed.

The hips of the man below him bucked and with a sharp

cry, Paul came. The man’s creamy, salty essence coated the
back of his throat. He pulled up slightly, allowing him to
taste his mate’s next shot, reveling in Paul’s flavor.

After licking the man’s cock clean, he crawled up Paul’s

body, cupped his jaw, and delved deep into his mouth.
Breaking the kiss, he purred, “Mmmm, very nice.” Taking in
Paul’s dazed expression, Rance grinned. “And that’s just the
beginning, my mate.”

Four Under the Mistletoe

Chapter Eleven

aul panted softly, trying to wrap his mind around how
quickly he’d lost control. He’d never felt an orgasm so

powerful from so little stimulation. “If that’s just the
beginning, actually having sex just might kill me,” he
whispered.

A sly grin appeared on the big man’s face. “But what a

way to go,” he growled. He lowered his head and nibbled
Paul’s neck.

Tilting his head to give Rance more room, Paul sighed.

“Yeah.” Tingles raced across his skin from where Rance
nibbled, centering in his cock. To his surprise, he felt his
shaft begin to fill again. “Holy shit,” he hissed.

Rance chuckled as he worked his way down his neck. He

nibbled on the tendon where it attached to his shoulder and
whispered, “This is one of the places I may bite you when I
claim you, Paul.”

“Are you—Are you going to do that tonight?” he asked.

Part of him feared what that would mean, but another part,
a greater part craved it so badly he wanted to beg, and he
didn’t understand why.

“I’m not sure you’re ready for that, my mate,” Rance

replied, lifting his head to meet Paul’s gaze.

“Then why do I want it so badly?”
Rance smiled, settling his body against Paul’s, chest to

chest, thigh to thigh, and cock to cock.

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Paul shivered at the intimate contact.
“It’s the mating heat,” Rance explained. “You may be

human, but somewhere in your past, you have shifter
ancestors, which gives you shifter DNA. Your body
recognizes me as your mate. Just like my body craves yours,
it’s the same for you.”

“So, Fate has landed me in your path, and now our lives

will be intertwined,” he mused, beginning to understand
what he felt. He wanted this man in front of him. He wanted
him with an intensity that should scare him, especially since
they’d just met, but all it did was excite him.

“Yes,” Rance answered, even though it hadn’t been a

question.

Paul stared up at Rance, taking in the dark-haired man.

His deep brown eyes held affection underneath his need and
desire. And something else. Doubt. Fear. That surprised
Paul, until he realized what the man had to fear. Paul’s
rejection.

He reached up, tracing the man’s brows and lips. Paul

cupped  his  jaw,  letting  his  thumb  trace  the  stubble  of
Rance’s  five  o’  clock  shadow.  He’d  found  himself  fighting
his  craving  to  touch  the  man  throughout  their  date.  He
didn’t  want  to  fight  anymore,  and  he  sure  as  hell  didn’t
want to be alone anymore. Rance offered him a new family
with people he could quickly come to care for.

Smiling up at Rance, Paul slid his hands around the man’s

neck and pulled his head down for a long, slow kiss. By the
time they broke apart, both men panted from lack of oxygen.
“Take me, Rance,” he commanded softly.

The man’s brows shot up to his hairline. “Are you sure?”
Paul could see the joy lighting up his brown eyes. Paul

lifted his hips in a slow grind, applying sensual friction
against their cocks. “Oh, yes,” he gasped.

Rance’s eyes began to glow in the low lamp light of the

Four Under the Mistletoe

bedroom, and a deep growl vibrated his chest. “Mine.”

Paul smiled at the one word, thrilling in the possessive

man’s magical tongue as he nipped and sucked his way
down Paul’s chest. He laved Paul’s nipple with the flat of his
tongue before tugging the small hoop into his mouth. His
body arched, trying to get closer, to experience more of that
amazing mouth that sent electric goose bumps over his skin.

Releasing the first nipple with a pop, Rance moved on to

the second, giving it the same torturous treatment. Pre-cum
oozed from the slit of his shaft as it twitched and danced
between their bodies, the slight friction from Rance’s lightly
furred chest not nearly enough to set him off, but still oh, so
good. Finally pulling away, Rance stared down at him.

“Lube?”
Paul barely recognized the man’s voice, it was so deep

with lust and need. It took a second for Rance’s question to
penetrate. “I have lotion in my bag,” he whispered, pointing
across the room. He didn’t mention that he used it more to
jerk off than its actual purpose.

Rance let out a frustrated grunt and levered himself onto

one elbow. He yanked open the drawer to the nightstand.
Seconds later, he snickered and held up a small bottle. Lube.
“Compliments of the wolves, it would seem.”

“Oh, God,” Paul said, his face flushing. Just the idea that

his sister or one of her men had anticipated him bringing
another to his bed while on vacation had red creeping up his
chest and neck.

“Now that’s a pretty sight,” Rance purred, nuzzling his

heated flesh. “But I see something prettier,” he added,
shifting down the bed until he was face to face with Paul’s
revived erection.

Rance enthusiastically licked his head, as if it was his

favorite flavor lollipop. It barely registered when one slick
fingertip slid into his hole. When he offered no resistance,

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the  rest  of  the  finger  pushed  its  way  into  him.  It  felt
different.  Not  bad,  just…  odd.  Full.  The  finger  slid  in  and
out of him, stimulating his rectum walls while Rance lightly
sucked the head of his cock. A slight burning stretch shot up
his ass, and Paul gasped. Rance crooked the two fingers he
now  had  inside  Paul  and  a  spike  of  heat  shot  through  his
body.

“Holy shit. What was that?”
He felt Rance smile against his dick. “That would be your

prostate, my pretty.”

“Wow!”
All thought then fled as Rance fucked him with two

fingers, which quickly moved to three. He nailed his gland
every few strokes, keeping him on edge. It didn’t take long
for Paul to give himself over to the sensations coursing
through him. His body rocked, helping those fingers burrow
deep inside of him—but it wasn’t enough.

“More. I need more. Please, Rance,” he begged.
Nibbling Paul’s quickly tightening balls, Rance pulled his

fingers from his ass. “I know what you need, pretty.”

He planned to object to being called pretty, but not now.

He was too far gone with lust to worry about anything but
finding release. Suddenly, he found himself flipped onto his
stomach. Rance used one big hand to lift his hips, and Paul
felt the kiss of the man’s cock against his hole. Immediately
he began to tense. He’d seen the size of the man’s shaft, and
now Rance planned to shove that monster into him.

“Easy, Paul,” Rance crooned, stroking his back and spine,

soothing him. “Don’t fight it. I don’t want to hurt you.” He
leaned over Paul’s back and nibbled the base of his spine.
“Remember how good it felt to have my fingers inside you?
This will be even better. I promise.”

With an effort, Paul took several deep breathes, slowly

relaxing under the man’s ministrations. He felt the man’s

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cock slide down the crack of his ass and shifted his legs a
little wider apart.

“That’s it, my pretty mate. Now push out for me,” Rance

commanded.

He did as instructed and felt the head of Rance’s cock

breach his ass’s protective ring. A pinch and burn settled in
his rectum, but Rance stopped and waited, and it quickly
faded. He continued to pet Paul’s sides and hips as he
slowly worked his shaft further into him. Just when Paul felt
certain he couldn’t take any more, he felt the rough slide of
Rance’s furred balls against his own.

Rance paused, his body shuddering in pleasure above

him. “You feel so fucking fantastic, my pretty. Please tell me
I can move. Tell me you’re mine. Tell me I can claim you.”

Paul heard the strained plea in the man’s voice, and it

touched something deep inside him. This man needed him
like no other. “Yes, Rance. I am yours. Claim me,” he
whispered.

An inhuman yowl of joy ripped through Rance’s chest,

vibrating Paul’s back, sending tingles down his spine to
settle in his balls. Rance slowly pulled his cock partway out
and paused.

Paul whimpered, trying to move back and impale himself

on Rance’s dick again. Rance growled low and pushed back
into him.

Paul sighed. That’s what he craved, to be filled by this

man.  Fingers  dug  into  his  hips  and  Rance  began  a  quick
advance,  and  retreat  that  rubbed  his  cock  head  against
Paul’s prostate with each stroke. He felt his shaft twitch and
swing between his legs as the most amazing heat blossomed
through  his  body.  He  wanted  to  reach  down  and  stroke
himself  but  didn’t  think  he’d  be  able  to  keep  his  balance
through the force of Rance’s thrusts.

Suddenly, the man’s full weight drove him to lay prone

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on  the  mattress.  His  dick  found  the  friction  it  craved  as  it
was  crushed  between  his  body  and  the  mattress,  his  body
rocking  against  the  comforter  as  Rance  covered  him  like  a
stallion in full rut.

“Come for me, mate,” Rance growled, driving into him

again and again. “Squeeze my cock.”

As if his body were programmed to obey, his balls pulled

tight and his cock exploded, soaking the comforter with
blast after blast of seed.

“That’s it,” he purred. “Your ass feels so good massaging

my dick.”

Paul couldn’t respond, his head fuzzy from the

endorphins of his release. He felt the scrape of canines
against the nape of his neck.

“Mine.”
Pain shot down his spine from where Rance sank his teeth

into the back of his neck. The sensation quickly morphed
into the most intense pleasure, his cock filling with blood so
fast black spots hovered at the edge of his vision. His balls
swelled and tightened almost instantly, and he came again,
even more powerfully than the first time.

The growling and twitching sounding above him, as well

as the swelling pressure caused by Rance’s cock, and
warmth of his seed all worked to heighten Paul’s pleasure.
Boneless and sated beyond his wildest dreams, Paul hardly
felt it when, a few minutes later, Rance pulled his softening
cock from his ass and shifted off the bed.

He felt a flash of panic when the man strode from the

room, but a moment later, Rance returned with a warm cloth
and cleaned Paul up. Rance lifted him up and tucked him
into bed, much as Paul had done with his son earlier. Then
the big man crawled in behind him and spooned his larger
body around Paul’s. A sense of peace, safety, and
contentment lulled him closer and closer toward sleep.

Four Under the Mistletoe

Rance nuzzled the nape of his neck where it met his spine,

then licked the mark he’d left there. “My pretty mate,” he
said with satisfaction. Paul smiled and let sleep claim him.

Paul straggled into the kitchen, trying not to blush when

his sister and her men caught sight of the sexy man
following behind him.

“Good morning, Paul, Rance,” Ben greeted. “Coffee is

ready. There should be plenty.”

Paul let out a sigh and muttered a greeting of his own. He

felt relief that all of them acted as if Rance joining them for
breakfast was an everyday occurrence. After several sips of
coffee, he leaned against the counter and looked around. “Is
Casey still sleeping?”

Sandy nodded. “You must have really worn him out

sledding yesterday. We haven’t seen him yet,” she said,
smiling.

After taking another sip of his morning wake-up juice,

Paul headed toward Casey’s room. He didn’t want his son to
sleep  too  late  or  he’d  get  grouchy  halfway  through  the
afternoon. Paul reached the room and eased the door open.
He paused, staring at the empty bed with a furrowed brow.
He  noticed  Casey’s  coat  and  boots  were  no  longer  on  and
under  the  chair  where  he’d  left  them,  and  his  heart  rate
increased.

“Casey!” he yelled, running from the room. He checked

the  bathroom  first,  before  charging  out  the  front  door,
repeatedly  screaming  his  son’s  name.  Everyone  instantly
joined  him,  their  questions  coming  hard  and  fast.  “He’s
gone.  Someone’s  taken  my  son,”  he  managed  to  get  out
around the lump in his throat.

Rance wrapped his arms around him, the man’s scent and

power settling his pulse, allowing him to breathe. “No one’s

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been in here but us, pretty mate,” Rance assured.

“He’s right,” Ben confirmed. “We would have smelled an

intruder. I noticed Casey’s scent was heavy in the dining
room this morning, but didn’t think anything of it. Now I
wonder if he didn’t head out the back.” He motioned them
to follow, and Paul did so blindly, praying his son was just
playing in the snow already.

The clearing was empty.
“Look,” Devon said, pointing at prints in the snow. “He’s

been here, and he’s got his boots on the wrong feet.”

“The snow should make it easy to follow him, right?”

Sandy asked.

Ben shook his head. “Normally yes, but several wolves

went  running  this  morning,  so  their  prints  have  obscured
some of Casey’s. We’ll need to follow his scent.” He started
stripping and turned to Adam. “Find Cindy,” Ben ordered.
“She’ll  be  able  to  find  Casey  faster  than  any  of  us.  Get  our
enforcers,  too,  the  more  hunting  for  him  the  better.”  Ben
then nodded at an already nude Devon, and the man quickly
dropped  to  his  knees  and  morphed  into  a  blond  tipped
timber wolf.

“Let me help,” Rance pleaded. “I’m an excellent tracker

and know Casey’s scent.”

“No,” Ben replied instantly. “I will not have a cougar

tracking my lands.” When Rance opened his mouth to
protest, Ben snapped, “Without time to notify my pack that
you’re in the area, you’ll be attacked on sight. That’ll create
more problems than help. Stay here and keep your mate
calm. We’ll find Casey.”

Paul heard Rance’s growl of discontent, but the man

conceded. “Fine.”

He allowed the bigger man to lead him toward the door

when a loud roar echoed through the trees, stopping
everyone in their tracks.

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100

Chapter Twelve

amson stopped and stared in shock. He’d left Terence
and Kade behind fifteen minutes ago. Kade had

interrupted his and Terence’s run with disturbing news, and
while Terence returned to Pride Lodge to contact Rance,
Samson traveled deeper into the woods to investigate an
odd noise.

He knew he could get into trouble for crossing into wolf

territory, but now Samson was glad he’d done it. Curled up
in the snow, crying his eyes out, was Casey. How the hell did

the little cub get way out here? And why is he on his own?

Samson crept forward, getting within fifteen feet before

Casey spotted him. Immediately the boy started to whimper
and back away from his cougar form. He stopped and
started his shift, praying he didn’t freeze his balls off while
trying to care for the cub.

“Easy, Casey,” he crooned as soon as he had the ability to

speak. “It’s me, Samson.”

The boy’s head lifted, his eyes round as he looked around.

“Kitty,” he whispered.

Taking that as a good sign, Samson stood and moved

toward the boy, trying to ignore the icy snow under his bare
feet. “Yes, that was my kitty. He’d never hurt you.” To his
immense relief, Casey climbed to his feet and toddled
toward him. Samson wrapped the boy in his arms and

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101

hugged him, taking in his damp snow pants and coat and
noting that Casey’s snow boots were on the wrong feet. He’d
bet that Paul was out of his mind with fear right about now.

“What are you doing out here, cub?”
“I’m lost. I just wanted to play with the doggies,” Casey

said, hanging his head.

“Okay. Let’s get you home. I’m sure your dad is very

worried.”

“Can you take me to my daddy?”
The hope in the boy’s voice almost broke Samson’s heart.

“Sure, Casey, but I have to turn into my kitty to do it. I don’t
have a heavy coat like you, but my kitty does.”

Casey’s brows drew into a frown. “Nice kitty?”
Samson nodded and smiled. “Oh, yes. Very nice kitty.

You  can  climb  on  my  back  and  I’ll  carry  you  home.  How
does  that  sound?”  After  he  received  a  hesitant  nod,  he
released  the  boy  and  dropped  to  his  knees.  Gratefulness
filled  him  when  fur  sprouted  over  his  body,  blocking  the
chilly morning air.

He stayed on his belly and started to purr, waiting for the

boy  to  approach  him.  Casey  only  hesitated  a  moment,
trusting as only a young cub could that he’d be safe with the
large  feline.  After  petting  him  for  several  minutes,  eliciting
several  giggles  from  the  boy,  Casey  swung  a  leg  over  his
back and struggled to wrap his gloved hands into Samson’s
fur.

It stung a bit, but Samson ignored it. He climbed to his

paws, careful not to unsettle his precious cargo, and headed
toward  the  pack  home  as  fast  as  he  dared.  He  knew  he
couldn’t  be  more  than  a  couple  miles,  and  did  his  best  to
follow  Casey’s  prints  until  they  became  obscured  by  wolf
tracks that crossed his path several times.

When Samson scented the first wolf, he peered through

the trees but kept moving. The scent dissipated, but then

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102

returned  stronger  a  couple  minutes  later.  Two  wolves
appeared  in  front  of  him,  both  growling  menacingly.  He
stopped  his  advance,  worried when  Casey  whimpered  and
clutched his fur tighter. Samson would protect the cub with
his life, but he would prefer not to put Casey in danger at all.

I’m sorry I’m in your territory. I’m returning the cub to his

father!

He knew they’d heard his mental shout when they

quieted and exchanged a confused look. The one to his left
quickly shifted. A slender dark haired man crouched on the
ground, his blue eyes glaring at him. “Put the cub down and
return to your territory. We will take Casey to Pack House.”

Intending to comply, he lowered himself to the ground,

but Casey refused to release him. “No, kitty,” the boy
whined.

Before he could decide what to do, the shifter still in wolf

form  launched  at  them,  knocking  Casey  from  his  back.
Samson  roared,  spun  and  tackled  the  offending  wolf.  His
jaws  were  wrapped  around  the  wolf’s  throat,  asking  for
submission, when a heavy shape slammed into him from his
left.

He felt jaws wrapping around his throat and froze. He

heard Casey screaming kitty somewhere to his left, but
didn’t dare shift his head to try to see around the shadows
blocking his vision. “Kiall told you we’d take care of the
cub,” a voice growled from behind him.

“Peter, release the cub!”
Samson wanted to sigh in relief at the sound of Ben’s

voice, but he didn’t truly know what kind of welcome he’d
get from the wolf alpha. Seconds later, chubby gloved hands
tugged his fur, but he couldn’t move to reassure Casey with
the wolf’s jaws still wrapped around his neck.

“Kiall, release the cougar,” Ben ordered quietly.
Once the wolf was gone, Samson shifted his head, purring

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to reassure the crying boy. A naked Ben appeared in his line
of sight. He stayed down, his entire body tensing as he
struggled to submit to the wolf.

“You’re Samson, aren’t you,” Ben said, lifting a hand and

motioning toward the scar bisecting his cheek, even in
cougar form. “What the hell are you doing here?”

Terence and I were running on cougar territory when I heard a

strange noise. I discovered Casey lost in the woods. I was

returning him to my mate.

Ben sighed. “Did you attack Peter?”

Casey was riding my back. I lowered to the ground, but he

didn’t want to get off. One of the wolves leaped at me and knocked

Casey off. I defended my mate’s son.

Even through the mental link, he knew Ben could hear the

hard anger in his tone. If he were to be punished for his
actions, he wanted the truth known. The wolf shouldn’t
have gone after the boy, even if his intention wasn’t to harm
Casey.

“All right. I’m tired of freezing my balls off out here.” He

glared at the sky for a second and then turned his gaze back
to Samson. “Due to the circumstances, I won’t request
retribution for entering my territory. Follow Kiall to Pack
House. Your mate is going out of his head with worry.”

Thank you. Please, tell Casey to climb back on my back.
After the cub was again situated, Samson climbed back to

his feet and followed the gray wolf that had just had his jaws
wrapped around his neck away from the wolf alpha. He
didn’t envy the other man, Peter, who the alpha ordered to
join him at the single men’s barracks. Samson figured the
wolf would get an earful for putting a cub in danger.

It only took five more minutes for a clearing to open in

front of him and for Pack House to appear. He hadn’t made
it two strides into the clearing when the sliding glass door
opened and Paul skidded out of the house, stopping and

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104

staring at them. “Oh my God,” the man whispered. “Casey!”

He lowered to the ground and the little cub slid from his

back. “Thanks, kitty,” he said, patting his head before
running as fast as his short legs could carry him toward his
father.

Paul dropped to his knees and wrapped his son into a

tight hug. “Oh, Casey! Where have you been?”

Rance appeared behind Paul and lifted a brow in surprise

upon seeing him. “Samson, come inside the house. You can
tell us what you’re doing here, my beta-mate.”

His alpha’s welcoming tone soothed his frazzled nerves

until he heard Paul mutter, “That’s Samson?”

Samson couldn’t stop the cringe. His mate accepted that

they were shifters when Adam had changed into a wolf, but
he  didn’t  seem  too  happy  to  see  Samson  in  cougar  form.
Rance  motioned  him  inside  the  door,  pointing  toward  a
laundry  room  where  several  sweats  and  t-shirts  rested.  He
listened to Rance’s confirmation as he disappeared inside the
room.

A moment later, back in human form, he grabbed the

non-descript clothes and pulled on the sweats. Still holding
the shirt, his senses told him he wasn’t alone. He turned and
saw Paul standing in the doorway watching him. He
stopped and stared, uncertain what to say to the human.

“I’m sorry it came out like that, Samson. I didn’t mean it

like it sounded.” Paul frowned, swallowing hard. “I’m still
getting used to this whole shifter thing,” he finally added,
waving his hand distractedly.

Samson realized his human’s focus rested on his still bare

chest. He snapped his fingers to get Paul’s attention, hiding
his pleasure that Paul found his form so distracting. A flush
crept up Paul’s neck, and Samson fought back a smile. “We
showed you what shifters could do a couple days ago, Paul,
and I know you’ve bonded with Rance.” The flush darkened

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indicating Paul’s increased discomfort. Samson didn’t hide
his smile this time. “I can smell it, little one. If you’ve
allowed him to claim you, then I know he explained what it
means.”

It wasn’t a question. Samson knew Rance would never

claim the human without first explaining its ramifications.
Paul replied anyway. “He explained it. It really was just the
shock of seeing Casey riding a cougar.”

Nodding, Samson stepped closer. Paul believed his

words, and the scent of his mate’s desire made thinking
difficult. He slipped his arms around the much smaller man,
mindful of his fragile human form, and pulled him close.
“Maybe I should show you again,” he offered. “So you can
get used to it.”

“There are other things I’d like you to show me,” Paul

panted, wrapping his hands around Samson’s waist and
rubbing his spine.

With his face turned up so invitingly, Samson saw no

reason  to  curb  his  desire.  “That  can  be  arranged,”  he
whispered,  taking  his  mate  in  a  heated  kiss.  He  tickled  the
man’s  lips  with  his  tongue,  and  Paul  instantly  opened,
giving  him  access  to  the  warm  cavern  he  craved.  He
plundered his mate’s mouth, tasting and learning.

A throat clearing finally pulled him from his lust infused

cloud. He found Rance leaning on the doorframe, grinning.
“I’m going to get Casey out of his wet things.” He set a tube
of  lube  on  the  shelf  near  the  door.  “You  two  are  damn  hot
together,”  he  added,  adjusting  the  large  bulge  in  his  jeans.
“Don’t  be  too  long.”  He  left  the  room,  closing  the  door
behind him.

“Casey,” Paul called softly. He blinked, obviously trying

to clear his head.

Samson didn’t want him to do that. He needed his mate

too much, and if the tip of the long, slender rod making itself

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106

known at the top of the waistband of Paul’s sweats was any
indication, Paul needed relief, too. He licked his lips as he
eyed the swollen red head peeking at him.

“Rance will take good care of our cub,” Samson purred.

He  picked  up  his  mate,  slipped  the  sweats  down  his  hips,
and settled him on the top of the washing machine.  “And I
will  take  good  care  of  you,”  he  promised,  removing  the
clothing  and  inserting  himself  between  his  mate’s  legs.  He
dipped  down,  swallowing  the  cap  of  his  mate’s  dick.  He
laved the slit, pulling drops of pre-cum onto his tongue and
hummed at the exquisite taste.

Paul groaned and dropped back onto his elbows. “Okay,”

he panted, opening his legs wider in invitation.

Samson didn’t need to be asked twice. He grabbed the

lube from the shelf and squirted some onto several fingers.
Paul lifted his legs, setting the heels of his feet on the edge of
the washer. The action spread him wide open for Samson’s
perusal, revealing Paul’s pink star. His hard cock twitched in
his borrowed sweats as he eyed the hole he wanted to plug.

His gaze lifted to Paul’s eyes, and his breath quickened at

the need and desire he saw written across the face of the
man. He growled softly as he stepped close, resting one
hand on Paul’s toned abs. Leaning down, he claimed Paul’s
mouth while thrusting one finger into Paul’s ass.

Paul bucked under him, trying to ride his finger, but

Samson held him down with his hand, forcing Paul to take
only what he gave him. After shoving his own sweats down,
he  shifted  his  grip  to  the  man’s  hip  and  laid  his  big  body
over  the  other  man.  He  slid  his  cock  against  Paul’s,
providing  delicious  friction  while  working  and  stretching
the hole he planned to claim as quickly as possible.

Breaking the kiss, he stared down at Paul, taking in the

man’s flushed face and panting breaths. Paul hissed his
displeasure when Samson pulled his fingers free. He guided

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107

the head of his cock to the now stretched hole. He paused
and ordered, “Take off your shirt, Paul. I need access to your
neck to claim you.”

Questioning eyes stared at him for several seconds. He

saw some of the lust haze clear, and a shiver of doubt
worked its way up Samson’s spine.

Then Paul nodded once and yanked his shirt over his

head, tossing it somewhere behind Samson. “Yes,” Paul
pleaded. “Take me now, Samson. Make me yours.”

Joy and need slammed into Samson in equal measure,

and he thrust forward, sinking his cock into Paul in one long
smooth glide. Tight pressure clamped down on his dick and
waves of pleasure rippled up his length and settled in his
balls. Staring down at his lover and mate, he watched Paul’s
mouth open in a silent groan as Samson pulled his cock
halfway out.

Assured that his mate was experiencing just as much

pleasure as he did, Samson started a hard, fast rhythm. He
lifted  his  grip  on  Paul’s  hip  slightly,  allowing  the  smaller
man  to  rock  against  him.  Paul  thrust  his  cock  against  the
ridges  of  Samson’s  stomach  and  then  impaled  himself  on
Samson’s plunging shaft.

His canines descended when the first scent of spunk hit

his  nostrils.  Warmth  spread  between  them  as  Paul  came
with  a  long,  low  moan.  The  muscles  of  his  mate’s  ass
clamped  down  on  him,  massaging  him  harder  as  he  thrust
through  Paul’s  climax.  He  felt  his  balls  pull  tight,  pleasure
swamping  his  system.  Samson  leaned  down  and  sank  his
teeth into the flesh where shoulder met neck, marking  Paul
as  his  mate.  Paul  let  out  a  shout  as  his  cock  exploded
between  them  again,  adding  to  the  sticky  warmth  already
there.

Between the exquisite taste of his mate’s blood, the

increased scent of his spunk, and the feel of the contracting

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108

muscles  around  his  dick,  Samson  lost  it.  He  stiffened  and
growled,  holding  his  mate  tight  to  him  as  his  cock  pushed
streams of cum into his mate’s body. His hips jerked in time
with his shots. Waves of euphoria crashed over Samson and
he  reveled  in  the  contentment  as  the  final  missing  piece  of
his soul fell into place.

Once he could string a coherent thought again, Samson

retracted his teeth and licked the mating mark clean. Paul
shivered under him, and he felt the man’s cock stir between
them. He grinned and lifted his head to stare into the hazel
depths of Paul’s eyes.

“My mate,” he whispered before claiming the man’s

mouth in a sweet kiss filled with promise.

Paul smiled, reaching up to trace the scar on Samson’s

face. His body stiffened at the touch, and he knew Paul felt it
when he whispered, “Shhh. I think it’s sexy, and I’m certain
it’s a badge of honor.”

Samson relaxed. His mate didn’t find it unattractive. He

smiled. “Thank you,” was all he said, having no intention of
telling  the  tale  of  receiving  it  from  his  father  when  he’d
learned of his sexuality. Carefully, he slid his softening cock
from his mate’s warm body, already thinking about how it’d
feel when all his mates were together. “I’m sure the wolves
will  want  their  laundry  room  back  soon.”  He  paused  and
chuckled,  listening  to  his  mate’s  stomach  growl.  “And  you
must still need breakfast.”

Paul flushed as Samson grabbed the t-shirt he’d picked

up earlier but never put on and used it to clean himself and
his mate. “I was too worried about Casey to eat,” he
admitted. “Thank you for bringing him back.”

Smiling, Samson nodded. “You’re welcome.”

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Chapter Thirteen

erence paced Pride Lodge’s main floor impatiently. He
knew he shouldn’t feel so left out, but he couldn’t help

it. He’d felt the bonds between Rance, Samson, and Paul
snap into place. Had any of them thought how I’d feel about
being left out? Do they even care? Growling in frustration at his
thoughts, he rubbed a hand over his face. Of course they care.

Well, at least Samson and Rance. It probably hadn’t occurred to

Paul.

He’d spoken to Rance on the phone about Kiva. When

Kade had interrupted his and Samson’s run that morning, it
had  been  about  the  female  cougar  shifter.  She  planned  to
challenge  Paul  for  Right  for  Position  as  alpha-mate.  He’d
heard of these kinds of challenges, just never against a Fated
vision mate. If Rance allowed the challenge to take place, it
wouldn’t  be  to  submission.  This  would  be  a  fight  to  the
death. The very idea of the sweet human getting in the ring
with the female cougar had his hackles rising. Kiva had been
born  a  cougar  shifter,  and  standing  at  five-foot-eleven  and
weighing  one  hundred  sixty  pounds  of  muscle,  she  had  a
distinct advantage over Paul.

The crunch of tires on snow heralded his mates’ arrival,

and he stepped out onto the porch to watch their approach.
The three men piled out of the vehicle. Rance headed toward
him while Samson took instruction from Paul on how the car
seat for Casey worked. His alpha wrapped him in a hug,

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110

rubbing his cheek against Terence’s to reassure him.

“It won’t be long,” Rance assured softly. “But first we

need to discuss our little problem.”

Terence nodded. “Kiva’s not so little,” he pointed out.

“For a newly turned shifter as small as Paul is, she could be
a big problem.”

“Who’s Kiva and why will she be a problem?”
Terence turned toward Paul who’d asked the question,

but the man focused on his son, who was busy learning how
to make good snowballs from Samson. “They’re getting
along well,” he observed.

Paul pulled his gaze from the pair and stepped close to

Terence. “I hope we will, too.”

He smiled at the smaller man and opened his arms. After

just  the  slightest  hesitation,  Paul  stepped  into  his  embrace
and  returned  his  hug.  To Terence’s  surprise,  Paul  made  no
move  to  release  him.  He  rubbed  Paul’s  back,  inwardly
cursing  the  thick  coat  New  York  winters  made  necessary.
“I’m sure we will,” he murmured. He took a hand and tilted
Paul’s  head  up,  bestowing  a  gentle  kiss  on  the  man’s  cool
lips.  “We  have  things  to  discuss,  but  then  I’d  like  the
opportunity to get to know you better.”

Nodding, Paul drew away slightly and Terence let him

go. “I’d like that.”

Rance opened the door and looked over his shoulder. “Do

you know where our enforcers are?”

Terence nodded, following Rance and Paul into the

house. “Already here. They’re in the rec room.”

“Anyone else?”
Grimacing, he nodded. “Yeah, Kiva is in there, too. She

wants to challenge Paul in person.”

Paul stopped, staring between them. “Challenge me?

What are you talking about?”

Rance led the way into his study, closing the door behind

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them. “Kiva is a female shifter who’s been in my pride for
nearly three years. She’s been sniffing around me for a little
over a year.”

Terence wasn’t the only man who noticed Paul’s frown.
“Nothing ever happened between us,” he assured before

continuing.  “She  left  her  old  pack,  claiming  the  man  she
loved  found  his  mate,  so  it  was  too  painful  for  her  to  stay
there.” He shook his head and sighed.  “I understand being
upset  about  unrequited  love,  and  agreed  to  her  petition  to
join my pride.”

“What does this have to do with me?” Paul asked.
Terence picked up the tale. “She plans to challenge you

for position as alpha-mate.”

“What! I thought you said Fate chooses your mates.”
“She does, but if a shifter gets tired of waiting for their

fated mate, a shifter may choose to bond with someone they
care about instead.” Rance shrugged. “No one wants to live
their life alone. Evidently, she thinks that someone should be
me.”

Terence curled his lip, disgust filling him. “As if I’d touch

her with a ten foot pole,” he sneered.

Paul’s brows lifted in surprise. “Is she ugly or

something?”

Snorting, Rance shook his head. “Far from it. She’s quite

beautiful, but Terence is gay through and through. Where, in
the past, we’ve been with both sexes, he does not share that
view.”

“Oh.” Paul shrugged. “Okay.”
After a sigh, Rance stood. “Why don’t you and Terence

head upstairs. He’ll show you around while I deal with
Kiva.”

“What are you going to tell her?” Terence asked as he

took Paul’s hand, pulled him close, and wrapped an arm
around his waist, enjoying the firm muscles under his palm.

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112

“I’m going to tell her that because she’s challenging a

vision mate, she’ll have to have the backing of the pride to
do it.”

“The backing of the pride? What does that mean?” Paul

asked, settling his fingers in a belt-loop at Terence’s back.

Terence squeezed his arm, gaining Paul’s attention. “It

means it’ll be put to a vote. It will also tell Rance who could
be potential trouble-makers in the future.”

“What happens if they choose to back her request?”
They both heard the worry in Paul’s tone. Rance cupped

his face and placed a chaste kiss on Paul’s lips. “I have great
faith  the  members  of  my  pride  will  make  the  correct
decision.  However,  if  they  back  Kiva,  we will  teach  you  to
fight and you will defeat her,” he replied firmly. “But I don’t
think it’ll happen that way. Vision mates are rare and prized
over  other  mates  simply  because  they’re  chosen  by  Fate’s
hand. It’s a good omen that the pride is blessed.”

Paul nodded, but Terence could still scent his unease. He

turned Paul toward the door. “We’ll be upstairs,” he told
Rance.

The alpha nodded and gave him a wink.
Terence grinned, pleased to have his mate to himself for a

bit despite the circumstances. He pointed at a doorway,
murmuring, “That’s the rec room. It’s very similar to the one
at the Pack House. I’ll show it to you another time.”

He led Paul upstairs, away from the sound of muted

voices and the crack of pool balls. “This is pretty
impressive,” Paul said, glancing through the rooms.

“After we mated with Rance several weeks ago, we

remodeled  a  lot  of  these  rooms,”  Terence  told  him.  “We
turned  one  set  of  suites  into  personal  offices  for  everyone.
We  added  a  nursery,  which  probably  means  that  one  will
need  to  be  remodeled  again,”  he  said  with  a  laugh.  He
winked  and  added,  “I  can’t  tell  you  how  relieved  Samson

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and I were when Rance realized you were a man.”

Paul snickered. “I bet. From what Rance said, you would

have had a hard time with a female alpha-mate.”

Terence nodded. “You got that right,” he admitted. He

paused  in  the  hallway,  wrapping  one  arm  around  Paul’s
waist  and  using  the  other  to  cup  his  jaw.  “I  suppose  we
should  ask  instead  of  assuming…  I  know  you’re  here  for
vacation. We need to convince you to move here, Paul.”

He wouldn’t lie to his mate. Not about something so

important.  “Shifters  don’t  do  long  distance  relationships,
and  with  you  being  an  alpha-mate, we’ll  need  to  keep  you
with  the  pride,  if  for  no  other  reason  than  protection.”  At
Paul’s hard swallow, he leered at the man and looked down
his  body.  “Of  course,  there  are  many  other  reasons  we’d
want you close,” he purred.

He tried to wait patiently for his mate’s response, but it

was  difficult.  The  man  in  his  arms  smelled  fantastic,  and
pressed  close  together,  Terence  could  feel  his  mate’s  hard
shaft pressing against his own. Paul opened his mouth as he
moved  against  him.  “Let  me  guess.  Shifters  are  all  sex
fiends,” he teased.

Terence shrugged. “Once we’re mated, pretty much,” he

admitted with a grin. “Our mate’s scent drives us to
distraction. We’re very tactile creatures to begin with, so it’s
in our nature to want to touch.”

For a second, Terence thought the man would ignore his

comments about moving, but then Paul sighed and pulled
free from his embrace. “I understand your desire to have me
close. Moving is such a big decision. So permanent. What if
this doesn’t work out?”

“Come with me,” Terence replied, taking his mate’s hand

and leading him into their bedroom.

“Are you going to seduce me to convince me?” Paul

goaded gently, seeing the custom, massive sized bed in the

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room.

Laughing, Terence shook his head and led him to a large

leather couch set up in front of a big flat screen. “Maybe
later,” he replied, pulling Paul onto the couch next to him.

He took a deep breath and tucked his mate next to him. “I

was kicked out of my pride because I refused to take a
female mate. My pride is against gays, and tried to convince
me I’d never find a male mate. I refused to believe it, so I
left.”

“Wow, I’m sorry, Terence,” Paul said, resting a hand on

his leg in support.

Smiling, he gave him a quick kiss. “I tell you this not for

sympathy.  It  doesn’t  matter  that  I  had  to  leave,  because  I
proved  them  wrong.  A  month  later,  I  stumbled  upon
Samson  hunting  in  the  mountains  of  Massachusetts.  We
immediately recognized each other as mates and bonded.”

“I take it that didn’t set well with Samson’s pride, either.”
Terence shook his head. “No, they banished us. We

traveled for two months before Rance stumbled upon us and
accepted  us  into  his  pride  even  though  we  were  a  mated
pair.”  He  smiled  wryly.  “He  recognized  that  we  were  his
mates pretty quickly, but Samson and I fought it because we
didn’t  know  how  a  cougar  inner  circle  worked.”  At  Paul’s
confused  look,  he  elaborated.  “We’re  all  mated  to  each
other.”

Paul nodded, but Terence could smell his confusion. “So,

what does that mean for me as your mate?”

“It means we’d do anything to stay with our mates, Paul,”

Terence said. “Rance is alpha of this pride. He’s a good, fair
alpha, and his pride needs him. That means we stay here for
our mate. We hope that you’ll make the same decision.”

He grew a little nervous when Paul remained quiet,

resting against him. His patience paid off when the man
turned and crawled across him, straddling his thighs.

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Terence’s cock took notice, and he struggled to keep his
hands on Paul’s hips instead of wrapping his arms around
him and pulling him close.

“I understand what you’re telling me, Terence. Even

though I’ve known you only a few days, I can’t imagine
being anywhere else but here with you.” He smiled and
kissed Terence gently. “I’ll find a way to make this work.”

“That’s all we can ask,” Terence whispered against Paul’s

lips before claiming them in a deep, fulfilling kiss. He delved
deep into the man’s mouth, tasting his unique masculinity.

Paul pressed close, rocking his hard shaft against

Terence’s stomach before grinding against Terence’s dick
between his legs. Breaking the kiss, he said, “I’ve had more
sex in the last three days than I have in the last three years,
but I can’t seem to get enough of any of you.”

Terence lifted his hips, rocking up and into Paul’s

movements. “Once you’re bonded with us all, that’ll ease a
bit. We’ll still crave each other’s touch, but it won’t be an all-
consuming burning need like we feel now.”

“You feel it, too?”
“Hell, yeah, stud,” he growled before taking Paul in a

teeth-clacking, plundering kiss. He bucked against the
smaller man, rubbing his hard cock against him. Pulling out
of the kiss, he pushed Paul away and ordered gruffly, “Get
up. Take ‘em off.”

Paul scrambled from his lap and started yanking off his

clothes. He jerked off his shirt and unbuttoned his jeans.
Terence shimmied his hips and pushed his clothes down,
freeing his hard shaft. He wrapped a hand around his cock,
stroking gently while eyeing his mate as Paul stripped out of
his clothes and stood before him.

When Paul licked his lips, Terence’s cock twitched in his

hand and his breathing increased. “Get up here,” he all but
snarled. It wasn’t often he topped, but Terence could think

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of nothing better than sinking into his mate’s ass.

Paul shook his head and knelt in front of him. “I wanna

taste you,” he whispered.

Okay, so almost nothing. Paul grinned. “It’s all yours, but

you’ll need to swing your ass up on the couch so I can get
you ready. I don’t think I can wait long,” he admitted.

While he grabbed the lube, Paul crawled onto the couch

and swallowed the head of his cock. Terence let out a
strangled groan as wet suction surrounded his aching shaft.
He struggled not to buck and sink his cock deeper. He didn’t
know how much experience the man had and didn’t want to
hurt him. He distracted himself from the sweet tingles
centering in his balls by squeezing lube onto his fingers and
slipping one into Paul’s ass.

He snarled, his canines descending. The warm muscles

rippling around his fingers felt so good, he couldn’t wait to
feel  them  around  his  cock.  He  cupped  the  nape  of  Paul’s
head  with  his  free  hand,  massaging  the  man’s  neck  as  he
went down on Terence’s shaft again and again. He traced his
veins,  played  with  the  sensitive  glans  under  his  cap,  and
delved  into  his  oozing  slit.  What  Paul  lacked  in  skill,  he
more than made up for with enthusiasm.

Feeling his balls pulling tight, he thrust a third finger into

a  moaning  Paul’s  ass.  He  pumped  them  in  and  out  several
times  before  pulling  his  fingers  out  and  slapping  one  firm
mound.  “Get  over  here.  I  want  in  your  ass,  right  now,”  he
ordered.

Paul pulled off his cock with a pop that had Terence

shuddering. His wet shaft twitched as cool air hit it, sending
delicious sensations through his balls and thighs. Quickly
climbing onto his lap, Paul latched onto his lips, letting
Terence taste himself on the man’s tongue.

Holding his dick steady, he guided Paul down. Both men

sighed into each other’s mouths when Terence’s bulbous

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head  popped  past  the  protective  ring  of  muscle.  Paul
dropped,  impaling  himself  on  Terence’s  dick,  his  greedy
passage  sucking  him  into  Paul’s  tight  rectum.  Terence
dropped his head onto the back of the couch and howled. He
dug  his  fingers  into  his  mate’s  hips,  stilling  the  man  so  he
could regain a measure of control.

He pulled Paul’s ass flush to his groin, reveling in the

muscles  massaging  him.  Staring  into  his  mate’s  hazel  eyes,
watching  the  green  and  brown  flecks  swimming  in  their
depths,  he  curled  one  hand  around  Paul’s  dripping  shaft
and started to slowly jack it.

Giving the groaning man a feral grin, Terence cocked his

head and nibbled a wet line over the man’s shoulder and
neck. Paul’s ass clenched and relaxed, and he growled
against the skin he sucked right behind his ear. “Your ass is
ours, Paul,” he whispered. “Admit it.”

Paul whimpered, desperately trying to move, but Terence

refused to ease his grip on his hip. “Yes,” he finally panted.

“Yes, what?” he crooned.
“I’m yours. You and Samson, and Rance. You own my

ass, and I’ll be back as soon as I can to feel you pound it
again.”

Pleasure for a whole different reason coursed through

Terence and he nipped the skin he’d bruised. “You love cock
in your ass, don’t you Paul,” he whispered, purposefully
flexing his shaft so it moved within the confines of Paul’s
chute.

“Please move,” Paul begged. “I love your cock in my ass,

and I need you to pound into me.”

“Mmm,” Terence grunted. “I can do that.”
Terence relaxed his grip, and Paul immediately took

advantage. Using his thighs, he lifted his body, and the
man’s rippling channel caressed his cock. Groaning, Terence
tightened his grip, not allowing Paul to lower himself again.

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Paul mewled in frustration, his brows drawing into a frown.

Grinning, Terence gave Paul a quick kiss. Then bucking

his hips, he started a punishing rhythm  that reamed Paul’s
ass. Terence felt his balls pull tight and knew he didn’t have
much  time  left.  He  tilted  Paul’s  hips  and  his  next  stroke
pegged  Paul’s  prostate.  His  mate  gasped,  the  hands
clutching his shoulders, clenching and digging into his skin.
Terence  liked  the  idea  of  baring  his  mate’s  marks.  Taking
note of its position, he nailed Paul’s gland with each thrust.
It only took four more before Paul shouted his pleasure.

His mate’s channel clamped down on him, and Terence

knew he was lost. As streams of seed from Paul’s cock
splashed both their stomachs, he leaned forward and sank
his canines into the side of Paul’s neck. Paul screamed again,
unloading his essence a second time.

Terence’s cock exploded inside Paul as he sucked down

several swallows of warm blood. He felt their bond snap
into place, completing them as he soaked his mate’s passage.
Enjoying the afterglow, he laved his mating mark, cleaning
the wound. Then he purred softly, rubbing his cheek against
Paul’s neck.

“Now there’s a pretty sight,” Samson growled.
Terence opened his eyes and grinned up at his other

mates. He felt Paul tense above him and stroked his hands
over the man’s spine, soothing him.

Rance nodded his agreement. “Most definitely.”

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Chapter Fourteen

oth men rounded the couch, dropping on either side of
the still connected couple. The smell of sex, cum, and

his mates permeated the room, and Rance took Paul’s mouth
in a heated kiss. He could taste Terence’s pre-cum on the
other man’s tongue and he growled his approval. “Very
nice.”

He watched Samson finish kissing Terence and then dove

in for a kiss of his own. When he finished, he grinned at a
groaning Paul. “How can you be getting hard again?” the
man gasped, staring at Terence in disbelief.

Rance and Samson laughed. Rance licked the back of

Paul’s neck over his mating mark and palmed Paul’s quickly
thickening shaft. “Shifters have a higher sex drive, my pretty
little mate, and we love pleasing our mates.”

Paul bucked into Rance’s fist before hissing and shifting

back onto Terence’s cock. Rance chuckled and met Terence’s
look. “I think we should move this to the bed.”

Both Paul and Terence trembled when Samson helped

Paul find his feet, revealing Terence’s hard shaft, slick with
the juices of his earlier release. Rance grinned and handed
Paul the tube of lube. “Go get Terence ready. By the look on
his face, he wants you to fuck him while I take your ass.”

Paul’s eyes widened, but he obeyed without question,

climbing onto the bed. Terence flopped onto his back next to

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him, a warm smile lighting his eyes. As he undressed, Rance
watched Terence instruct Paul on the finer points of
stretching. Paul proved to be a quick study, and soon had
Terence writhing and grunting on the bed.

He watched pre-cum ooze from Terence’s slit and

couldn’t  stop  himself  from  leaning  across  the  bed  and
licking the man’s cock like a popsicle. He speared his tongue
into  the  slit,  dipping  in  for  a  better  taste  of  Terence.  He
purred  his  pleasure  at  the  tangy  bitterness,  listening  to
Terence let out a low growl.

Hands landed on his ass and a thick cock pressed against

his crack. He let go of Terence’s cock with a lewd slurping
pop and grinned over his shoulder at Samson. “Get me
ready,” he ordered, rocking back against the big man’s huge
dick.

Samson winked. “My pleasure.”
The man’s face disappeared as he knelt behind him and

Rance’s eyes widened when he felt Samson’s tongue dive
into his cleft and lick him from balls to anus. The scrape of
his tongue against his star sent pleasant prickles through his
body, and he trembled. “Oh, fuck, Samson. So good.”

It didn’t take long for Samson’s talented tongue to loosen

his muscle, allowing him to thrust it in and soak Rance’s
channel with spit. He soon found himself humping the air,
no longer able to keep his hips still. A big hand smacked his
ass, and pain exploded across his skin, sending sparks to his
balls, making his dick jerk.

“On the bed,” Samson growled.
“Now. Take me now.”
Rance lifted his head at Terence’s snarled demand. Paul

looked over at Rance and Samson, his blown pupils nearly
obscuring the hazel of his eyes. Scrambling as fast as his
wobbling legs would allow, Rance climbed onto the bed and
knelt behind Paul.

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“Slide your cock into Terence, pretty mate,” he crooned.

“He’s begging for it.”

“Yes,” Paul whispered.
Terence lifted his legs, nearly folding himself in half as he

eagerly spread himself for Paul. He wiped the remaining
lube on his fingers onto his cock and lined up his dick to
Terence’s greedy hole.

“Do it now,” Rance whispered. “Give our mate what he

needs.”

Rance felt Samson at his back, watching over Paul’s other

shoulder  as  Paul  pushed  the  bulb  of  his  slender  cock  past
Terence’s  guarding  muscle.  All  the  men  groaned  as  Paul’s
dick  disappeared  into  the  man’s  greedy,  stretched  hole.
Once fully seated, Rance leaned over Paul’s back and pinned
him into place.

Paul’s body trembled under Rance. “Does that feel good,

pretty?” Rance whispered. “You like sinking your cock into
Terence’s ass?”

Whimpering, his sweet mate, nodded. “Yes. Oh, God, so

tight. So hot. Never imagined it could feel like this.”

Rance grinned, nibbling Paul’s neck. “Now I’m going to

use Terence’s cum that’s trickling from your ass as lube, and
I’m  going  to  sink  my  dick  into  you.  While  you’re  fucking
Terence,  I’m  going  to  fuck  you,  and  Samson  will  fuck  me.
We’ll  all  be  joined  together,”  he  whispered, trembling  with
excitement  just  at  the  thought  of  being  connected  that  way
with his mates. “All of us together,” he repeated.

Groaning loudly, Paul tilted his ass, letting Rance know

that he was fully on board with the idea. He reached down
and checked Paul’s ass, feeling the warm cum and already
stretched muscle easily giving way to his prodding fingers.
Paul’s breathing increased. “Please, hurry,” he begged. “I
need to move so badly.”

A hand on his dick had Rance letting out a groan of his

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own. Samson lubed his cock and then guided his dick to
Paul’s entrance. With little urging Paul’s muscle gave way,
sucking in the head of his cock and wrapping it in tight heat.

Before he could move further, Samson’s hand on his hip

stopped him. “Ready,” Samson whispered.

From the blunt head nudging his asshole, Rance knew

what Samson wanted. “Yes,” he replied, his voice deep and
husky with desire. “I am yours.”

Samson let out a deep growl and slammed into him.

Delicious pain shot through his channel as Samson
burrowed home, burying himself balls deep in his rectum in
one swift stroke. The force of his thrust sent Rance forward,
shoving his dick all the way into Paul’s ass.

The man under him gasped and everyone froze. He knew

the others worried the same thing. Had they hurt their
smaller, still human mate?

“Oh my God! Someone, please move!” Paul whined,

wriggling against them.

Seconds later, they established a rhythm of thrust and

retreat they all could enjoy. The sounds of growling and
grunting, sweaty skin slapping sweaty skin, and murmurs of
pleasure permeated the room. Rance felt his balls drawing
tight, telling him he wouldn’t last long at all. He clenched his
chute, gaining a hiss of pleasure from Samson behind him.

Samson bit hard on his neck where his mating mark

rested. Shocks spiked down his spine, settling in his balls.
“Close,” he ground out. He received affirmative grunts from
the others.

A snarl of pleasure sounded below him, and the scent of

cum filled the air as Terence came. Paul gasped and jerked,
and his sheath clenched around Rance’s dick. Rance grunted
as the hot heat surrounding his dick massaged it in a tight
caress. Sinking his teeth into the mating mark at the back of
Paul’s neck, blood soaked his tongue. He growled at the iron

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taste flooding his senses. Paul jerked, his channel clenching
again. Feeling Samson’s teeth sinking into his shoulder set
Rance off. His cock pulsed as his balls exploded, forcing cum
into Paul’s ass, filling his mate with his essence, while his
own chute clenched down on Samson’s dick.

He felt Samson groan against his back and the massive

rod  filling  him  expanded  and  exploded  in  his  channel.  He
sighed  as  his  mate’s  warm  seed  marked  him,  reinforcing
their  bond.  Pleasure  pinging  through  him,  Rance  slowly
came down from the endorphin high of his orgasm.

Grunting happily, he slipped his cock from the warmth of

his  mate’s  body  as  Samson  pulled  out  of  him.  Satiated
grunts  and  groans  sounded  from  around  him  as  his  mates
dropped onto the bed around him. After giving him a deep
kiss,  Samson  slipped  into  the  bathroom.  He  returned  a
moment later, handing a warm cloth to Rance.

Rance turned to Paul, latching onto his mate’s lips. He

delved deeply into Paul’s mouth, enjoying the man’s earthy,
masculine taste as he gently cleaned him. He knew from the
soft noises coming from next to them that Samson did the
same to Terence.

He ended the kiss, sucking Paul’s plump lower lip for a

second before releasing it. He grinned at him before shifting
his gaze to the others. He winked and then pulled the
comforter up over them, grateful for the large, custom bed.

“Where’s Casey?” Paul asked sleepily.
Rance nuzzled Paul’s neck while answering. “He’s being

watched by Shayla. She’s one of my enforcers. Katrin is my
second enforcer. She’s keeping an eye on Kiva. You’ll meet
her later,” he promised. “A nap is in order first.”

“Mmmhmmm,” came the sleepy reply.
“What’s that?” Samson asked. Rance looked up at the

ceiling above them, following his beta’s pointing finger. He
cocked his head, staring at the bunch of green leaves and red

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berries.

“That’s mistletoe,” Terence answered. “I put it up while

waiting for you guys to get here.”

Laughing, Rance rolled onto an elbow. “Well, we can’t let

it go to waste.” He met three grins, before they all came
together in a clumsy, wet, sloppy kiss.

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Chapter Fifteen

he rest of Paul’s vacation flew by too quickly. He
couldn’t express enough thanks to Ben when the alpha

wolf allowed all three of his mate’s to join him at the Pack
House Christmas day. After eating too much, watching
football, where surprisingly, it was Sandy who yelled the
loudest, Paul and his mates brought his and Casey’s things
to Pride Lodge.

They spent most of their time there, exploring the cougar

village during the day and each other’s bodies at night.

Rance called a pride meeting, where Paul felt completely

overwhelmed, but one of his mates  stayed  at his side at all
times.  Paul  received  so  many  congratulations  and  was
introduced  to  so  many  people  he  knew  he’d  never
remember everyone, let alone anyone!

When the vote was cast, Paul could tell it pleased the

alpha when only three shifters backed Kiva’s desire for a
Right for Position challenge. Samson and Terence dismissed
the pride-members, and according to Rance, the matter was
settled. Although she hadn’t come within twenty feet of him,
Paul would never forget the angry glare Kiva sent his way.
He sighed. If looks could kill…

Paul dreaded the day he had to leave. He even found

himself talking about…hell, making plans even…to sell his
business and move to New York. He looked at schools in the

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126

area  for  Casey,  even  though  he  wouldn’t  need  them  for
another  year  and  a  half.  When  Samson  and  Terence  found
him online looking at jobs, they tried to convince him to stay
at home, but he laughed and told them he couldn’t stand the
thought  of  sitting  at  home  doing  nothing.  A  home-maker,
Paul was not. They finally laughed out an agreement of Paul
working  part  time,  either  for  himself  or  for  someone  else,
provided his employer was a member of either the pride or
the nearby wolf pack.

And didn’t that just fucking beat all. The idea of his mates

turning  into  cougars  no  longer  bothered  him.  Neither  did
the  thought  of  becoming  one  himself,  although  he  could
admit, even if just to himself, he wasn’t in any hurry to have
it happen for the first time. He could even feel the changes
taking  place  in  his  body.  Sandy  had  told  him  how  she’d
forced  her  own  shift  due  to  the  strange  circumstances  that
made her meet his mates. It was a situation that still caused
Terence and Samson embarrassment. Paul hoped, someday,
they would forgive themselves.

The evening before he left, he and his mates took Casey

and met his sister and her mates for dinner and cosmic
bowling. That night after they got home was filled with slow
tender loving that brought tears to Paul’s eyes and pain to
his heart knowing he had to leave the following afternoon.

“I love you guys,” he whispered, no longer able to deny

them the truth he’d felt building all week.

“We love you, pretty mate,” Rance whispered back,

kissing his temple.

His other two mates added their confirmations, and Paul

slipped into a peaceful, dreamless sleep.

“It’s time, baby,” Rance said softly.
Paul forced a smile and nodded. “I’ll call you tonight after

I get home,” he promised.

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127

He got a deep kiss from each of his mates, much to the

displeasure and disapproving looks of a number of people
around him. He did notice some amused looks, some smirks,
and even a couple approving smiles and nods, too. It seemed
not everyone was a bigoted ass.

Turning away, taking his son’s hand, and walking down

the ramp to the plane were the hardest things he’d ever
done.

He’d just disconnected the phone call when the doorbell

chimed. Paul heard Casey’s feet go pounding down the hall,
and he quickly followed. His brows shot up when he looked
through the peephole and spotted his mother. He pulled
open the door and smiled. “Hey, Mom. Dad,” he added,
noticing his father standing behind her. “Come in.”

He stepped back and motioned them forward. Concern

spiked through him when he saw his father’s apologetic
look. Uh oh. Somehow Mom must have caught wind of my

inquiries to sell my condo and dissolve or sell the business.

It didn’t take her long to round on him. As soon as she hit

the  living  room,  Denise  turned  around  and  planted  her
hands  on  her  hips.  “I  heard  from  Carol  that  you  asked
Jillian’s  husband  about  possibly  buying  all  your  tools.
What’s going on?”

“Do you want a cup of coffee or something?” he asked,

trying to stall.

His mother wouldn’t have it. “No, thank you. I’d like to

know why you’re trying to sell the tools used to run your
business.”

Paul hadn’t planned on telling his parents until he had

more plans finalized. He ran a hand over his closely shorn
head. He opened his mouth, trying to decide how to explain.
Casey beat him to the punch.

“We’re going to live with daddy’s boyfriends.”

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128

Like in a bad cartoon, Paul watched his mother’s jaw drop

right before it snapped shut and her face turn an unhealthy
shade of red. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw his father’s
brows shoot up, disappearing beneath his hairline.

“You’re what?”
Paul couldn’t help but smile as he thought about his men.

Nodding,  he  realized  the  cat  was  out  of  the  bag,  no  pun
intended, and there was no point in delaying the inevitable.
He  may  as  well  lay  all  the  cards  on  the  table  and  get  the
screaming  over  with  quickly.  “My  boyfriends—Rance,
Samson,  and  Terence.  I  met  them  while  visiting  Sandy  in
New York. I’m looking into what’s easier and faster, selling
my business or dissolving it. I can sell my condo while living
with them.” He shrugged.

He knew from Denise’s tightening jaw, as soon as she

found  her  tongue,  her  outburst  wouldn’t  be  pleasant.
“Casey,  head  up  and  play  in  your  room,  please.  I  need  to
have some tall talk with my parents.” Without question, the
boy  headed  upstairs  to  his  playroom.  He  smiled,  watching
the boy go. He loved the little tike so much, and he knew his
mates  did,  too.  They  always  insisted  on  talking  to  Casey
every  night  before  bed.  He  loved  how  the  men  worked  so
hard to include the boy in their lives.

Several minutes later, the conversation with his parents

was not going well. Paul hadn’t really expected it to. He
knew his mother still attended a Southern Baptist preaching
church, although it didn’t claim to be Baptist on its sign. She
dragged dad to it as often as possible.

He glared at his mother. “It doesn’t matter what you

think,” he said softly, trying hard to modulate his tone and
keep his anger banked. “I’m moving me and Casey to New
York.”

“I told you it wasn’t a good idea to visit Sandy, what with

her deviant ways. Living with three men,” she sniffed. “Who

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129

are these men who’ve corrupted your mind?” his mother
yelled. “They don’t even have the balls to come and face
your parents? What kind of people are they?”

Paul leaped from his seat, but the dinging of the doorbell

cut off his statement. He glared at his mother for several
seconds. “I’ll be right back,” he growled.

What a time for the pizza man to come. He’d been hoping

to  get  rid  of  his  parent’s  unexpected  visit  before  his  and
Casey’s  dinner  arrived.  He  yanked  the  door  open,  pulling
his wallet from his pocket at the same time. But it wasn’t the
pizza guy. Paul’s jaw dropped. Seconds later, a grin split his
lips.  “Samson,”  he  gasped  before  grabbing  his  mate  and
yanking the big man into his condo.

Paul slipped his arms around the back of the man’s head

and pulled him down for a deep, welcome kiss. Samson
growled his appreciation at the greeting, wrapped his arms
around Paul, and pulled him into the best embrace he’d felt
all week. When the man’s hands dropped to his ass and
pulled their groins together, Paul fought back a moan.

“Wait,” he wheezed, breaking the kiss. “Can’t do this

right now.”

Samson nodded, his eyes glowing with desire. “I missed

you, mate.”

“I missed you, too. I didn’t expect you,” he admitted.

“What  are  you  doing  here?”  For  a  second,  Paul  saw  the
vulnerability  in  Samson’s  eyes,  and  immediately  regretted
his hastily spoken question. He lifted a hand and cupped the
bigger  man’s  cheek,  gently  tracing  the  scar  that  he  loved
almost as much as the  man in front  of him.  “I didn’t mean
that like it sounded. I just thought we’d agreed that you all
would come help me pack and move after I’d determined a
date.”  Smiling,  he  leaned  up  and  gently  kissed  the  taller
man. “I’m very happy to see you.”

The tension in Samson’s shoulders eased. “We were going

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130

nuts with worry. We don’t like having our mate so far away
where we can’t protect him.” Paul was about to tell his man
that he didn’t need protecting, when Samson held up a
hand. “I know what you’re going to say, and I know you’re
probably right. But it’s in our nature to protect our mates
and our pride.” He shrugged. “You’ll really just have to get
used to it.”

Paul nodded. “I suppose I will.”
“Who is this?” The cold female voice tore apart their

peaceful moment.

“Kitty!” Casey cried, running around Paul’s glaring

mother and throwing himself into Samson’s arms.

“Hey, cub!” Samson said, sweeping the excited boy into

his arms. “Are you being good for your dad?”

“Yeah,” he stated matter-of-factly. “Did you come on a

plane?”

“I sure did,” Samson replied, keeping his focus on the

child.

“Did you come to make daddy happy again?”
Samson glanced at Paul, his brows lifting, before turning

back to Casey and asking, “Has your dad been sad?”

Casey nodded solemnly. “Ever since we got back.”
Turning to look directly at Paul, he said, “Well, I’ll

definitely try to fix that.”

“Okay.” Casey began to wiggle, signifying his desire to

get down.

Samson let him go, and Casey ran back toward the stairs

and his playroom.

Paul turned toward his scowling mother. “Mom, this is

Samson Cohan. He’s one of the men from New York I told
you about. Samson, this is my mother, Denise Shreve.” His
father appeared around the corner, heading down the
hallway toward them. His shrewd look and the thinning of
his lips told Paul he understood the situation all too well.

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131

Paul waved a hand at him. “My father, Victor Shreve. Dad,
this is Samson Cohan.”

Victor stepped forward and held out a hand. “Good to

meet you, Samson,” he said evenly.

Putting her hands on her hips, Denise frowned. “No, it is

not good to meet him. This is one of the men from New
York. He’s one of the ones corrupting our boy!”

His father stared between Paul and Samson for a minute.

During that time, Samson’s arm around his waist tightened.
When  had  Samson  put  it  there?  Paul let  Samson  draw  him
closer,  leaning  into  the  man  and  absorbing  his  comforting
embrace.  No  wonder  shifters  constantly  touched.  It  was
relaxing!

“Why did you come here, Samson?” Victor finally asked.
Denise huffed. “That’s obvious. To further corrupt him!”

she practically screeched, waving a hand wildly.

“Hush, Denise. I asked Samson,” came Victor’s surprising

response.

Samson cocked his head, inhaling deeply. Evidently, he

was able to differentiate the scents hovering around Paul’s
parents, something Paul hadn’t learned yet, because the man
smiled slightly. “We all wanted to come, Victor,” he said,
“but having us all away at the same time isn’t good business,
so we drew straws, and I was the lucky winner. We missed
Paul, and wanted to make certain he was okay.”

His eyes softened as his gaze fixed on Paul. He returned

Samson’s  smile,  and  the  man  continued.  “We  don’t  like
being separated from someone we love and wanted to show
our support. Although we talk on the phone every night, it’s
not  the  same.  We  wanted  to  remind  Paul  that  we  do  love
him  and  can’t  wait  for  the  time  when  he’ll  be  with  us
permanently.  I’m  here  to  help  Paul  any  way  he  needs,
whether  it’s  to  watch  Casey  while  he’s  wrapping  up  his
work, cook them a meal because he’s too busy, or even if he

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132

needs someone to carry heavy boxes.”

His father remained quiet for a moment, as if gauging

Samson’s answer. “Good enough, son,” Victor said with a
smile. “Welcome to the family.”

Victor thrust out his hand again, and Samson took it and

gave it a firm shake. “Thank you.”

“What!?” Denise yelled. “How can you—”
“Enough, Denise,” Victor snapped. “Look at your son.

Really look at him. I haven’t seen the sparkle lighting Paul’s
eyes  since  Carla  passed.  For  three  years,  he’s  barely  lived.
This  man  makes  Paul  happy.”  Victor  shook  his  head  at  a
shocked Denise. “If Sandy’s men make her half as happy as
this one does for Paul, then I was wrong to cut her off, too.
And when I get home, I’m calling her to tell her so.” He took
Denise’s arm and steered her toward the door, ushering her
through  it.  He  paused  and  glanced  back  at  Paul,  smiling.
“I’m proud of you, son.”

“For what?” Paul whispered. His mind still reeled from

the shock of his father’s supporting words.

“For taking control of your life again. Bless you both. Be

sure to drop by to let us know when you’re moving. Your
mother may be upset now, but I’m sure she’ll want to help
once she’s calmed down.”

Paul sighed. “I hope you’re right, Dad.”
Victor grinned, his aging eyes twinkling. “I am. You don’t

stay married to a person for thirty-seven years without
learning a few tricks to get them to see your way.” And with
a wink, he left.

“Wow,” Paul murmured. “I never expected that.”
Samson tightened his arm, turning them to face each

other,  and  cupped  his  cheek.  “I  like  your  dad,”  he  said,
giving  him  a  chaste  peck.  “And  once  your  mom  gets  over
her shock, I’m sure I’ll like her, too. I’m not sure if I should
apologize  for  interrupting  your  family  meeting  or  not,  but

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133

I’m glad to be able to meet them.”

“I’m glad, too. And you can interrupt me anytime,” he

added wryly. “It doesn’t matter what I’m doing.”

“Oh, really?” Samson growled, leaning down to nibble

Paul’s neck.

“Oh, yeah,” he panted. “But Casey is just upstairs, and

although I don’t mind him seeing us kissing, anything more
than that might be a bit much for his young mind.”

Chuckling, Samson drew away. “True enough, my love.”

The doorbell rang, drawing their attention. “Think that’s
your parents back already, or are you expecting someone
else?”

Grinning, Paul nodded. “Dinner. Although now we’ll

probably have to order a second pizza.”

Samson laughed. “Make it a third!”

Paul couldn’t believe how much two capable adults could

get done in two short weeks. His condo was under contract
to  sell,  a  business  contact  had  taken  over  his  accounts  and
purchased  most  of  his  tools,  and  a  moving  company  was
supposed to deliver his clothes and the few heirlooms he’d
decided  to  keep.  What  he  didn’t  need,  mostly  furnishings,
he’d  sold  or  given  to  Good  Will.  It  didn’t  take  him  long  to
realize Casey’s toys comprised most of what he’d decided to
move with him.

Now, stepping off the plane in New York again, he

eagerly searched the crowds for his other two mates. Both
his and Samson’s phone cheeped at the same time, alerting
them to an incoming text. Opening their phones, Samson
frowned. “It’s not like them to be late.”

“Oh, accident on the highway,” Paul said and Samson

grimaced. “At least it gives me time to hit the men’s room.”
He turned to Casey. “Do you need to go to the bathroom?”

“No, Daddy.”

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134

Paul looked at his mate, who held out his hand to the boy.

“Okay. Stay with kitty.”

“Okay, Daddy.”
Laying a quick kiss to his mate’s lips, he grinned. “How

long do you think that’ll stick?” he asked the big man,
referring to Casey’s nickname for Samson.

Samson shrugged. “He’s welcome to call me that for

however long he wants.”

Paul watched his son drag the big man toward a store

across  the  way  for  several  seconds,  appreciating  the  way
Samson  paid  attention  to  Casey  almost  as  much  as  he
enjoyed  watching  the  way  the  man  moved,  all  masculinity
and  grace.  He  turned  and  hurried  into  the  men’s  room,
quickly  taking  care  of  business.  Paul  headed  out  of  the
bathroom and walked toward the store.

Before he reached it, a firm grip on his elbow yanked him

to a stop. He turned and glared at the muscular woman.
“What the hell?” he growled. He tried to pull his arm free,
but she was stronger than she looked.

“So you’re the little shit who stole my mates.” Hatred

burned from dark brown eyes, and all of it was directed
right at Paul.

Recognition hit Paul quickly. “They were never your

mates, Kiva. The pride refused to support your challenge.
Let go,” he ordered coldly.

Her smile sent a shiver up his spine. “Oh, I don’t think so,

little human. You’re coming with me.”

He dug in his heels, refusing to allow her to drag him

anywhere. “No, I’m not.”

“Oh, yes you are.” She snarled angrily and tugged, hard.

Paul, shocked at Kiva’s strength, found himself stumbling
after the shifter. She used a large crowd to hide them from
the store’s entrance.

He curled his hands into fists and glared at her. “What do

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135

you hope to accomplish by this?” Maybe if he got her
talking, he could figure out a way to get away from her.

“After I kill you, the bond will dissolve, leaving the alpha-

mate position open for me to fill.” Her detached tone sent
tingles of dread through Paul. This woman was insane.

“Not going to happen.” Paul couldn’t describe the relief

and pleasure that swept through him, even hearing the
anger in Rance’s voice. “Let our mate go, and I’ll only exile
you and not kill you.”

The crowds parted, revealing Rance and Terence. People

flowed around them, giving them long curious looks, but
they kept going, not wanting to get involved. Paul glanced
behind him, relieved to see Samson ten paces behind them,
still holding tightly to Casey’s hand.

“You’ll kill me right here in a busy airport?” Kiva

sneered. “Don’t be ridiculous.”

Rance closed the distance between them slowly. Kiva

tried  to  edge  sideways,  but  quickly  realized  she  had
nowhere to go. Wrapping a strong arm around the woman,
Rance’s  eyes  glowed  with  animosity  even  while  he  smiled.
“Release  my  mate,  Kiva,”  he  growled,  discreetly  showing
canines.

Paul felt her tension through her hold on his elbow, and

seconds later, she released him. “Good girl,” Rance praised,
but his smile was all teeth. His gaze drifted over her head,
but he didn’t release Kiva. “Welcome home, mate. It’s good
to see you.”

Smiling in relief, Paul nodded. “Good to see you, too.”
Terence crossed to him and wrapped him in a comforting

embrace before delving deep for a plundering kiss that had
Paul’s shaft pressing painfully against the confines of his
jeans. “Audience be damned,” Terence whispered once he
broke the kiss. “I needed that.”

His breathing ragged, Paul grinned. “Me, too.”

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136

Samson joined him at his other side and they followed

Rance and Kiva to the baggage claim area. Rance pulled out
a cell phone while they waited and made a call. After
collecting his bags, they walked out of the airport where a
cab waited. Rance spoke with the mountain of a man driving
the vehicle and then placed a still seething Kiva in the back.

“What’s going on?” Paul asked as he watched.
“That’s Pedro. He’s a member of the pride,” Terence

whispered. “He’ll take her back to the pride’s land and hand
her over to Shayla. We’ll deal with her tomorrow, after a
proper welcome,” he added, smiling at Paul.

Paul nodded. “Oh.”
Once Rance returned, he wrapped his arms around Paul’s

waist  and  kissed  him  hard.  “My  pretty  mate,”  he  growled,
resting his head against Paul’s. “I’m sorry Kiva attacked you.
I didn’t realize she was so unstable.” Rance rubbed his cheek
against  Paul’s  in  a  way  he  now  knew  marked  him  with
Rance’s  scent.  It  was  an  action  Rance  did  not  only  to
reassure himself that Paul was there and safe, but to comfort
them both.

Cupping the man’s neck, Paul smiled. “It’s not your fault.

You had no way of knowing, and you got to me in time.” He
reveled in the man’s scent, enjoying the man’s movement
just as much as Rance did. “Take me home,” he whispered.

That brought Rance’s head up and the man grinned down

at him. “I like that. Home. Our home.”

Paul grinned, glancing around at Casey, Terence, and

Samson. “Yes. Our home.”

About the Author

Charlie  lives  on  a  mini-ranchette  in  Utah  with  her
handsome, supportive husband. She started writing fantasy
when she was eight, and after stumbling onto her first erotic
romance at nineteen, she realized her true calling.  She now
focuses  on  writing  erotic  romance,  often  of  the  paranormal
variety, with heroes and heroines of all kinds. You can often
find her curled up with her laptop and a cup of tea or glass
of wine, creating her next story, which could pair a sexy hero
with  an  adventurous  heroine…  or  maybe  with  another
handsome  hero.  Charlie  enjoys  horseback  riding,  jump
lessons  with  Apache,  watching  movies  with  her  husband,
and listening to her muse tell her about her next project.

She can be reached at ch.richards2010@yahoo.com
Or visit her at www.charlie-richards.com