Monsters & Guardians Read online

  The ridiculously-sized mountain walked over to her, calm and contained, and the fucker wasn’t even breathing hard. Raine’s gaze swept over him, squinting as she tried to study the form looming over her. At five-nine standing, she wasn’t a small woman. Fit and lean, she was pleased with her appearance and her body.

  But this monster was infinitely massive. She would say six-six at best guess, and physically proportioned to match. Shoulders so broad he could perch her on one and another opposite. A chest to match, well-defined and muscles looking like carved idols for a woman to worship. His goddamn arms—she had a thing for arms and although she detested this stranger for putting her in this position...her imagination told her she could do things to those arms that would make the wolf blush.

  Washboard stomach, not an ounce of fat on his waist...well, anywhere really.

  Then the rest of him was lost beneath a pair of tattered jeans that stretched deliciously in all the right places as he crouched in front of her, bare feet and all. “Just taking a breather or are you done?”

  “Fucking cocky wolves,” she muttered to herself. “Even worse when they’re Irish.”

  “Caught that, did you?” Evidently amused, he threw his head back and laughed, allowing the odd twang of Ireland she’d heard evolve into the full accent. “You’re an astute one, gotta give Cabhan that. Are you afraid, little rabbit?”

  She snapped her teeth at him when he reached out to stroke her sweaty cheek, slapped at his hand with her empty one. Now was not the time to give away her weapon. “I’m not a fucking rabbit. Call me that again and I’ll kick you in the nuts.”

  The monster grinned at her. “That’s all very well and good, little rabbit, but it won’t stop what’s coming. My brothers would just have to take their turns fucking you while I recover, and when I do...you wouldn’t like the consequences.”

  Shit, on her knees was a really bad position to be in. Raine shoved unsteadily to her feet, unsure they’d even hold her upright, but they didn’t fail her. Swaying, she shook her head in denial. “I’ll kill you all before that happens.”

  “Leave the virgin be, Dubhlainn.” Another voice, softer and appealing, carried through the trees. “You’ve run the lass to ground; terrorizing her isn’t going to help anything, is it?”

  “Virgin?” The monster snapped.

  “Virgin?” Raine laughed at the same time and thought, How the fuck does he know that? “Don’t be ridiculous. Just because I refuse to fuck five complete strangers in the middle of nowhere does not mean—”

  “I can smell you, sweetheart. My nose is a little keener than my brothers’ and beneath the fear, I can smell your arousal. Very sweet, untainted.” A tall, dark-haired man stepped out of the trees with the rest of the pack in tow. And God help her, the brotherly resemblance was a slap to the face. “You can’t be allowed to take her first, Dubh. She won’t take you fully, not the first time.”

  “She damn well will!”

  Her eyes bounced from man to man. Dark head to dark head. Although their features differed only slightly, by the smallest of angles at most, the biggest difference was their eyes. Not one brother had the same color; green, blue, amber, brown, and gray.

  They were fighting over her virginity as though she wasn’t standing in front of them, she realized. The monster had pushed to his feet and was toe-to-toe with his brother, the one with the soft voice, arguing over knots and ties and bonds. The other three were avidly watching their siblings like a tennis match.

  So why was she stood there, doing the same? Raine ran a checklist through her head. Breathing? Slowed, manageable. Heart rate? Still elevated but screw it. Body? Completely exhausted but desperate times called for drastic, punishing measures.

  She inched back, keeping her eyes on the pack. Staying here was going to result in pain she wasn’t ready for. Another step, another, another. Barely stifling a squeak of surprise when she bumped into a boulder, she froze in place but the argument was only escalating.

  Dark green eyes met hers and a wicked smile flashed over a devastatingly gorgeous face. The wolf winked at her, tipping his head to the side as if to indicate she should run.

  So she did, skirting carefully around the big rock at her back and fleeing like the hounds of hell were snapping at her heels. Which they would be, she thought in near panic, as soon as they realized she was gone.

  Exhaustion took over quickly. Maybe one hundred yards passed before she needed to force herself forward, wishing she could whip herself for a faster pace. She heard masculine voices raise into shouts and hoped the two brothers would start brawling, buying her more time not to run but to hide.

  Hiding was her only option now. Her goddamn legs were like lead weights and there wasn’t a prayer she could make it to safety before they found her. The question was, up or down. If she went up, climbing one of the tall trees, they could simply wait her out if they wanted. If she went down, took shelter beneath a cluster of rocks or beneath some tree roots, they’d just dig her out.

  She was so fucking screwed, it was unbelievable.

  For a long, depressing moment, Raine contemplated curling into a ball and letting fate do what it would. That big brute would rape her, leave her hurting, and pass her off to his brothers, but she would survive, right? Broken in body did not mean broken in mind.

  It was the outraged howl that got her moving. Furious and disbelieving, as though the hulking bastard couldn’t fathom she’d slipped out of his grasp. For a few minutes, at least. A few more minutes where her body was her own and not property of a raging bull with dishonorable intentions.

  Just a little further, Raine. Please, you can do this. There’s got to be somewhere.

  Her heart plummeted when a tall, broad figure stepped into her path as though he’d been waiting for her there all along. She whimpered, brought the knife up to lay against her throat, and watched eyes the color of wet moss widen in alarm.

  “Please don’t do that,” he murmured, obviously finding the knife a good reason not to step closer. “You don’t want to die, poppet. You’re exhausted, that’s easy to see. But you can’t outrun us, you can’t hide from us. Let me take you away from here before my brother overpowers the rest of my kin; it will give him chance to calm himself. Give you an opportunity to rest and recover.”

  The cool edge of the knife bit into her skin as her hand shook. A trickle of warm blood dribbled down her neck, annoying her with the tickle. She snorted derisively. “Rest and recover before the five of you rape me, you mean? How considerate of you.”

  “It is,” he agreed without a hint of arrogance, “considering the nature of our beasts. Would you hand over the knife, precious, before you slit your own throat? I don’t trust the way you’re shaking.”

  Whether it was the lull of the Irish in his voice, or just the underlying resonance of dominance, Raine almost obeyed. The blade inched away from her neck, her eyes caught up in his, before she realized he was a good three feet closer. Teeth bared, she pressed it back to her throat and stopped him in his tracks.

  “Fucking Irish bastards and their idiotic accents. Why me? Why tail me for a goddamn month and kill all that livestock? Did you do that to draw me out, get me out here looking for you?”

  Green-Eyes winced, folding his arms over his barrel of a chest. “We picked your scent up in Texas. Followed you into Oklahoma and then here. The stock, well, that was part-ruse, part need to eat if I’m honest. Living as the wolf takes energy and energy requires food. Luring you in at the same time was an added bonus.”

  Trap. It had been a trap all along, and she’d been dumb enough to fall into it willingly enough. She sucked in a deep breath, blew it out and considered her options. And while she considered, a wall of tension gathered at her back.

  “Brothers,” Green-Eyes said calmly. “No sudden moves if you would.”

  “For fuck’s sake, Malachi, have you not got the bitch tamed yet?”

  Raine flinched, digging the knife deeper into flesh at the sound of the b
rute’s voice. Tears filled her eyes, the first one finally sliding free and down her cheek. The one called Dubhlainn. Stupid goddamn name. Sounded like Dove-lin.

  “Don’t call her that when she has a weapon against her throat, Dubh.” Malachi, the one with hypnotic green eyes, smiled at her gently. “He doesn’t mean it in the context you’re used to, petal. A bitch is a female wolf in our world—a mate, a companion.”

  Did they all think she was short a few brain cells? What the brute said, he meant. “Liar.” Her eyes flickered frantically as the wall behind her spread out, surrounding her with sexy, lethal men.

  Malachi in front and just to her right, the monster behind. An amber-eyed wolf placed himself between Malachi and Dubhlainn on her right as the gray-eyed, soft-voiced young wolf eased up beside her and another wolf, this one with deep chocolate-toned eyes, situated himself between Malachi and the gray-gazed one.

  Completely surrounded, Raine knew she had to make a choice.

  “This is alarming,” the young one said soothingly. “We—most of us—understand how confusing, how frightening this must be for you, Raine. It can’t be helped, just as what comes next is out of all our control. Animals work on a different circuitry to humans. Pheromones play a huge part, and yours...well, yours are hotwired to our systems.”

  “Just take the fucking knife from her, Finn. It’s time.”

  “Shut up, Dubh. Nothing’s been decided yet, so calm down and keep your mouth shut before she does something we can’t undo.” Finn glowered above her head before he smiled at her kindly. “Relax, Raine. Why don’t you give me that pretty blade and then we can talk some more?”

  The laugh that bubbled free was desolate, lost. “You’ve stalked me for weeks. Long enough, close enough to know my name and God knows what else about me. I think you’re well aware I won’t hand over my last defense of my own volition.”

  Finn sighed. “Didn’t think so, but it was worth a shot.”

  Heat enveloped her back like a furnace, pumping off the wolf she feared most. Something small inside her wanted to bask in it, snuggle up and curl around it, drawing that warmth into the coldest parts of her soul. Lips skimmed the curve of her ear, hot breath washing over the side of her face. “Don’t make me take it, little rabbit. It’s not worth the fight.”

  Her fingers adjusted on the hilt and she dropped the blade an inch. Just enough to hear the collective sigh of relief from the pack. With a savage cry, she whirled on the spot, extending her arm sufficiently for the sharp tip of her weapon to gouge into Dubhlainn’s pectoral and slice through muscle as her momentum carried her round.

  Blood splattered over her as the wolf bellowed in a combination of shock and pain, deep blue eyes radiating the same. His face contorted with rage but Raine was already attacking again, ramming the blade into his gut without mercy and yanking it free with a sickening pop. More blood, more pain.

  She could hear shouts, feel hands on her arms, and fought like a wildcat. Before they restrained her and confiscated her knife, three of the five brothers wore their own blood and one of them was knelt on the chilly ground with his hands pressed to his stomach.

  She spat on the damp earth in front of him, feeling oddly floaty and light-headed. Now they might think twice about touching her. Now they might see her as a threat and respect that, rather than treat her like some ditzy, spineless female.

  She might not have teeth or claws, but she wasn’t afraid to use what she had at her disposal. Struggling in the hold of the two brothers she’d regrettably not had opportunity to maim, she kicked at their shins instead.

  “Dubh, you need to shift before you lose too much blood and pass out.” Pressing his hand to his own arm, Finn crouched in front of his brother. “Same goes for you, Cabhan. She got both of you pretty good.”

  “Didn’t let you off lightly, pretty boy—I saw bone through that gash.” Cabhan chuckled darkly, hissing as he probed his own chest wound with sure fingers. He glanced over at her with amused amber eyes and grinned. “Think she got the one she came for.”

  “Mal, Quinn, why don’t you make sure she’s secure and set off back to the den? Just check she’s not got any more weapons tucked anywhere. We’ll catch up once these two have swallowed their pride and healed.” Finn eased his bloody fingers away from the wound in his upper arm. “Fuck, she did expose the bone.”

  The fight went out of her in an instant. All that damage she’d inflicted and they could heal it with a shift? Nothing she did to them would make a difference; everything they did to her would destroy her—where was the fairness in that? She wept then, for the futility of battling for respect, to hurt them as they intended to hurt her, instead of ending her life. She should have done it; she knew where the carotid was, the jugular. If she’d missed one, she’d have hit the other and this nightmare would be done and over with right now.

  The two wolves restraining her—green eyes, brown eyes—had no problem supporting her weight when her legs gave out. She hung suspended between them, their grip tight on her arms, before she was spun around and tossed effortlessly over a broad shoulder.

  Raine wondered if the wolf could feel her tears streaming down his back.

  “Think she’s resigned herself to her fate,” one of them said gruffly. “We’ll head back with her. Might want to fetch food back with you after you shift. I’m fucking starving after all this.”

  “Yeah, yeah, Mal. Just keep hold of the girl and think of your stomach when she’s locked down. The first mortal female we’ve found with the pheromones in two years,” Finn said almost reverently. “Maybe that means this one will survive. If you don’t let her escape.”

  The body beneath her shook with a dark laugh. “Oh, she’s going nowhere. Burned yourself out, haven’t you, sweetheart?” A big hand patted her ass gently, almost tenderly—a direct contrast to the intimidating tone. “Hasn’t even got the energy to kick me.”

  How depressing he was right. She was done, spent, nothing left in the tank. Blindly staring down at the ground that seemed so very far away, she didn’t have the wherewithal to be concerned about Finn’s survival comment. At this point in time, death was a welcome option.

  “We should be back before dawn. Let her get some rest and we can hash things out over breakfast as to what the plan is.” Finn’s voice sounded distant, fading in and out.

  “The plan is I’m going to fuck seven bells out of her come morning and knot her into the ground for this shit.” Dubhlainn growled, then groaned as if in immense pain. “Don’t tell me she can’t fucking take me, Finn. Virgin pussy stretches, same as any other, and she’ll pay penance for stabbing me in the motherfucking gut.”

  “Go, Quinn. Raine doesn’t need to hear this.”

  But it was too late, the words were spinning like devilish shards of glass in her head. Punished for running, punished for protecting herself; what else could they punish her for? Breathing? Blinking? More tears dripped as she thrashed weakly on Quinn’s shoulder.

  The big man moved fast, sliding through the darkness with his brother at his side, seemingly as at home in the black of night as she was.

  It was awful to know she’d already started linking names to voices, to eye color. To handsome faces housing wicked beasts. Some asinine part of her had knelt at their feet in submission, while the rest of her was adamant she would never surrender.

  The two halves warred, scrapping like cats and dogs.

  Fight or capitulate.

  Submit or die.

  “Might as well make introductions,” the wolf carrying her said amicably. “It’s a long way home, sweetheart, and no doubt you’ll be asleep before we get there.”

  “I know who you are and I don’t care,” she replied dully.

  “Don’t be like that, precious. We’ll take good care of you. After the first few times, it won’t hurt as much and you’ll find pleasure in being mated.” Malachi told her.

  It was hard to breathe with her mid-section crushed over the broad shoulder, but Raine sucked in
the best breath she could manage. “Is that what you told the ones who didn’t survive you, Malachi? When you fucked them into an early grave or whatever the hell you did to them? Relax and enjoy it, it’ll only hurt until you die screaming.”

  Quinn tensed, and his hand came up to rest on her lower back. He stroked her as they walked, rubbing slow circles over her spine and butt. “Might as well get this over with. You know we’re wolves, right? Not weres, but shifters. Shifter females are naturally designed for us, species to species. Their bodies can take us, knots and all, because they’re meant to.”

  “Quinn, maybe you should leave this to Finn,” Malachi snapped.

  “I’m perfectly capable of explaining we’re not serial killers kidnapping her for nefarious purposes,” Quinn retorted easily. “Or, not as nefarious as she believes.”

  “You’re going to rape me,” she said wearily. “How much more nefarious can you get? Not just that,” she had to pause to suck in air, “you’re fighting between you who gets to take something I haven’t offered—not to you, not to anyone. My body belongs to me, it’s not something for you to bicker over.”

  “That’s unfortunate. It really is,” Quinn told her sincerely enough that she accepted it. “Once your pheromones hooked us, it was game over for all of us, sweetheart. You’re just lucky we’ve managed to keep Dubhlainn from throwing you down on the ground and fucking you where you land.”

  She scoffed. “Yeah. Lucky. That’s me.”

  He grunted. “Anyway, for breeding purposes, mortal females are physically compatible with us but not all are chemically responsive, which is where the pheromones comes in. Mortal females with the right hormones—like you—respond better, make breeding easier. Something about the pheromones encourages the cervix to open, allowing maximum penetration and insertion of our knot to keep the semen inside, amplifying the odds of conception.”