Page 121 of Never Tamed
Mathis finishes the ribs and within the hour, we’re all drunk and happily filled with food.
This time of year always used to be my favorite. I remember picnics and cookouts with the rest of the families on our block when I was young. The neighborhood kids never treated me differently because they had no clue I’d been born dead. It made a difference.
Come July 4th, I was just normal, enjoying the show like everyone else.
Tonight reminds me of that time and the kid I used to be. The weight of the last few years has finally eased, and I’m more at home now than I’ve ever felt before.
The night passes by, and when the stars outshine the fireworks, most of us find our beds. This camp is more than our hideaway, our sanctuary. The two packs coming together into one have worked tirelessly to make this our home.
With my arm through Torin’s, and Noble on my other side, they escort a wobbly me to the cabin we share. Most of the main lodge has been outfitted into a “suitable,” Torin’s word, place for the four of us to share. Dax still isn’t around all the time. He often prefers to sleep in the woods.
I’ve gone out there with him a couple times, when the rooms feel too small, or the bed too comfortable.
There’s nothing like sleeping under the stars, nestled against the strong chest of my mate.
With him, I’m safe.
With all of them, really.
“Sleepy girl with sleepy thoughts,” Noble teases.
“You wore yourself out today,” Torin agrees, bending close to kiss my temple. “Drank too much, too.”
“This is what happens when you let Aspen bring the liquor. That girl can drink herself under a bridge and still function for work in the morning.”
Torin scoffs, the sound rumbling in his chest. “I don’t like her.”
I open my mouth, intent to argue, and lose everything in a wide yawn.
“You like her.” Noble does the arguing for me. “You just don’t want anyone to know it.”
The front door is a welcoming sight.
Torin sweeps my legs out from underneath me, cradling me against his chest as he steps over the threshold.
“Showoff,” Noble mutters under his breath.
“Just want to keep her close.” Torin nuzzles me again. “You smell so fucking good.”
His desire swirls through my head. A heartbeat later, Noble’s does the same, an impossible lure. I don’t want to ignore it even though my body’s crying out for sleep.
Sleep is overrated.
Torin sets me on my feet in the main hall turned living room. A pair of arched doors, as tall as the ceiling, lead the way to our bedroom and the mattress large enough to accommodate all five of us, if we choose.
We rarely do.
Which is why it surprises me when the doors creak open and Mathis stands shirtless in the space between them. “What are you waiting for?” he barks.
The sound shoots straight to my core. “What’s going on?”
Oh, but I know. I feel it inside of me, growing and taking up more space than I’m willing to give it. Sometimes, desire blots out the rest of the world. That’s the way of the wolf, I’ve come to decide. It doesn’t scare me anymore.
Especially not when I have four mates to please.
I shake off the last dregs of sleep and watch Mathis approach, the muted light of candles playing off his tawny muscles. Dark chest hair swirls on his chest.
Oh, the first time I’d seen him, walking into Rudy’s…we’ve grown so much from that moment. We might as well be different people. But maybe, we actually fit better now.
