Page 3 of Tamed Wolf

I breathe a sigh of relief that he’s not expecting anything right away, because this is already moving really fast. Ivan comes up against my back, completely encasing me as he brushes a kiss on my neck. “My turn,” he whispers before turning my head to him.

His kiss is a little gentler and he tastes of peppermint gum, but it doesn’t last nearly as long. He wipes his mouth when he pulls away, and I’m once again mortified.

“Sorry, I don’t have a lot of practice with the whole kissing thing.”

“That’s okay, sweetheart. It’s kind of cute; I like that you’re all innocent for us.” I smile tentatively back at Ivan, feeling slightly less bad about myself.

“We don’t want your family to hate us, so we’re going to have to put this on pause before it goes any further. I hope you understand that it’s going to be really hard for us to wait for you. It will be you we’re thinking of later when we get home. You’ll have to meet our girlfriend sometime; she’s going to think you’re adorable.” Trevor smiles, like he thinks that was supposed to be a compliment.

Surely that was an actual fist that punched me in the stomach. “G-girlfriend? No. I’m sorry, but that’s really inappropriate.”

“Baby, you can’t expect to wind us up and then not allow us a way to relieve ourselves. It’s you we’ll be thinking of. You’re our mate; the day you’re ready to make this bond real, she’s gone. She’s just a pretty face to pass the time with while we wait for you.”

“I mean…I hate that. You’re right though, I’ve heard it’s really uncomfortable when you…get aroused and don’t take care of it. I don’t want you to be in pain…” I close my eyes and grip on to Trevor a little tighter, wanting to stretch out this moment where it’s just me and them for a little longer. “My dad is going to be here soon; we should probably head to the front of the building.”

“We hurt your feelings, didn’t we? I’m sorry Lark, I knew you weren’t ready to hear that. It’s just, we’re 25. Men have a really high sex drive. And here you are with this tight little body, all pressed against us, and I’m sort of losing my mind. Call your father and tell him you have a ride. We can talk to him, if you want.” Trevor hardly looks chastised, but what am I supposed to say, it’s okay? I feel powerless to stand up for myself.

“Are you sure? He’s used to picking me up here.”

“Lark, we said we would take you. Stop trying to be difficult. Just call your father, already.”

I nod at Ivan and wiggle to get down so I can retrieve my phone out of my bag. Dad answers on the second ring, dependable as always. “Hi daddy, um, so I don’t want you to freak out—”

“What’s going on, Lark? I’m leaving right now.”

“No! Um, I—"

Trevor pulls the phone from my hand gently, bringing it up to his ear. “Hello, Sir. My name is Trevor Gray, and my good buddy Ivan Drake and I just had the marvelous pleasure of meeting your daughter, and we are beyond the moon to tell you she’s our mate.”

I can hear my father’s incredulity as he takes this in and then begins peppering Trevor with questions.

“We’re both 25 Sir, so we know this is a bit delicate, but we have nothing but honorable intentions with her. We are simply asking for the chance to get to know her and her family for now…of course, we understand completely…absolutely. Yes, Sir. We will make sure she gets home to you safely. She’s our treasure now, too. See you soon.”

Trevor looks through my phone, scowling at my background. “Who’s that?”

“Oh, that’s one of my best friends, Cheyenne. She’s going to be so excited when I tell her about you.”

“You two look really close.”

“Almost like sisters,” I say with a smile.

“Well, you’re not going to have a lot of time to hang out now, but I’m sure she’ll understand,” Ivan says as he watches Trevor put their numbers into my phone and send a text to both of them.

“What did Daddy say?”

“He’s waiting for us to bring you home and introduce ourselves, but he seemed happy, I think.”

I take Trevor’s extended hand as they lead me to a shiny lime green car with really dark tinted windows. They have to fold down the front seat to get me in the back, and I try not to be curious about who Ivan is texting while Trevor drives us, punching my address into his navigation system.

There’s a shift happening and I don’t know if I want it to move faster or halt and rewind. Meeting my fated mates is a lot heavier than I ever imagined it would be; but then, I never thought my mates would be so much older than me and find me when I was so young.

“What you thinking about back there? Not having second thoughts about bringing us home, are you?”

I shake my head and meet Trevor’s eyes in the mirror. “It’s just…a lot to process.”

“We’ll look out for you, don’t worry your pretty little head about a thing.”

By the time we pull up to my house, I notice all the lights are on even though everyone is usually locked in their own rooms for the night by now. It’s not so late, but it is a school and work night, and Momma likes to go to bed early.

---