the high flames that would try to lick the sky once night fell and the moon shone bright. Stretching out on the thick grass nearby, she looked up at the brilliant blue sky. Here, the trees opened over top of the fire pit as if the woods wanted the moon to see the beautiful flames that would be there each full moon.
When she finally rose from the ground, feeling a bit more centered and less ‘poor-me’, she wasn’t sure how much time had passed but figured by the way the sun was high in the sky that it was about lunchtime.
Walking in through the back door, she found Orion making sandwiches. He looked up. “Hey, sweetheart. How was your walk?”
“Nice,” she answered, sitting when he gestured to the table.
“Good. Hungry?” He asked as he set a plate in front of her with two roast beef sandwiches. Her stomach growled in answer and he chuckled, pulling sodas from the fridge.
While they ate, they talked about hunting, and he shared stories about his earliest hunting experiences when he had first shifted.
“Where did you and your brothers get your names from?”
He chewed thoughtfully. “Well, in our mom’s family, all the males are named after constellations. I’m lucky not to be named Pisces. Our fathers said that they weren’t going to have all their kids have star names, so it was just my luck to be born first. I like Orion, though. He was a hunter in mythology. And Crux and Sterling are both family names on our fathers’ side.”
“I like your names. They’re all unique.”
“Which is fine when you’re an adult, but it’s hard as hell when you’re a kid.”
She could understand that. Her name was spelled in a unique way and she’d never been able to find any personalized things when she was young.
After lunch, when Orion chased her out of the kitchen, she opted to do laundry. The laundry room was in the basement in the den. She’d only been down there when they first brought her to their home, and Crux had managed to do her laundry the last few times without her knowing. Clutching the wicker basket under one arm, she walked down the steps into the den. Sterling and Crux were at work, so she flipped on the switch at the bottom of the steps and illuminated the main area.
The family room area was to her left, with a large L-shaped couch and television, the kitchen was in the back left corner, and the bed was on the right. The king-sized mattress sat on a platform that was a few inches off the ground. It was covered with a plain blanket, but next to it in a clothes basket were furs, and she wondered if they had been used to cover the bed at one time.
Sterling slept in that bed. And in the wintertime, when they would den down here for the winter, they would all sleep in the same bed. And if they were mated by then, their woman would be held safely in all of their arms. She shivered and closed her eyes, allowing herself a moment to picture herself in that bed, once more the focus of all that pleasure. Her body warmed and tightened, and her wolf prowled in her mind, wanting her to make them her mates. She laughed at herself, opening her eyes and shaking her head. No matter what she thought she’d felt when she first met them, they were not her mates or they wouldn’t be able to stay so politely out of reach. A wolf with his mate was a force of nature, and she imagined that when Orion, Crux, and Sterling found their mate, they wouldn’t let anything stand in the way of mating with her. And if their mate happened to be a formerly tortured female, they would let her know that she was theirs forever and safe in their arms, and hold and love her. That they hadn’t done anything remotely close to that was like a cold shower to her. Their kindness had an expiration date.
* * * * *
She wore a tee and shorts with flip-flops in preparation for the full moon, leaving her bra and panties in her bedroom so she had less to take off and
When she finally rose from the ground, feeling a bit more centered and less ‘poor-me’, she wasn’t sure how much time had passed but figured by the way the sun was high in the sky that it was about lunchtime.
Walking in through the back door, she found Orion making sandwiches. He looked up. “Hey, sweetheart. How was your walk?”
“Nice,” she answered, sitting when he gestured to the table.
“Good. Hungry?” He asked as he set a plate in front of her with two roast beef sandwiches. Her stomach growled in answer and he chuckled, pulling sodas from the fridge.
While they ate, they talked about hunting, and he shared stories about his earliest hunting experiences when he had first shifted.
“Where did you and your brothers get your names from?”
He chewed thoughtfully. “Well, in our mom’s family, all the males are named after constellations. I’m lucky not to be named Pisces. Our fathers said that they weren’t going to have all their kids have star names, so it was just my luck to be born first. I like Orion, though. He was a hunter in mythology. And Crux and Sterling are both family names on our fathers’ side.”
“I like your names. They’re all unique.”
“Which is fine when you’re an adult, but it’s hard as hell when you’re a kid.”
She could understand that. Her name was spelled in a unique way and she’d never been able to find any personalized things when she was young.
After lunch, when Orion chased her out of the kitchen, she opted to do laundry. The laundry room was in the basement in the den. She’d only been down there when they first brought her to their home, and Crux had managed to do her laundry the last few times without her knowing. Clutching the wicker basket under one arm, she walked down the steps into the den. Sterling and Crux were at work, so she flipped on the switch at the bottom of the steps and illuminated the main area.
The family room area was to her left, with a large L-shaped couch and television, the kitchen was in the back left corner, and the bed was on the right. The king-sized mattress sat on a platform that was a few inches off the ground. It was covered with a plain blanket, but next to it in a clothes basket were furs, and she wondered if they had been used to cover the bed at one time.
Sterling slept in that bed. And in the wintertime, when they would den down here for the winter, they would all sleep in the same bed. And if they were mated by then, their woman would be held safely in all of their arms. She shivered and closed her eyes, allowing herself a moment to picture herself in that bed, once more the focus of all that pleasure. Her body warmed and tightened, and her wolf prowled in her mind, wanting her to make them her mates. She laughed at herself, opening her eyes and shaking her head. No matter what she thought she’d felt when she first met them, they were not her mates or they wouldn’t be able to stay so politely out of reach. A wolf with his mate was a force of nature, and she imagined that when Orion, Crux, and Sterling found their mate, they wouldn’t let anything stand in the way of mating with her. And if their mate happened to be a formerly tortured female, they would let her know that she was theirs forever and safe in their arms, and hold and love her. That they hadn’t done anything remotely close to that was like a cold shower to her. Their kindness had an expiration date.
* * * * *
She wore a tee and shorts with flip-flops in preparation for the full moon, leaving her bra and panties in her bedroom so she had less to take off and
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