Oh. My. God. Vic wrapped her arms around herself, unable to speak. The brothers knelt in front of her, Alec like a golden god, Calum a dark lord, both powerfully masculine. The most courageous, honorable men she‘d ever known. Honest. Caring. And they want me.
She‘d never thought she‘d find a family outside of the military. But…they wanted her.
Alec‘s eyes had no laughter in them, just…need. He needed her and Calum… His gaze was steady, controlled, but she could see—when had she learned to read him so well?—could see he needed her too. And loved her. They wanted her in their lives. Even as her throat tightened, tingling fireworks were going off in her chest. Yes, yes, yes.
No. Think, Sergeant. Could she accept? Really? But the idea of saying no was intolerable, and her answer escaped before she talked herself out of it. "Oh, yes. Yes, yes. Fucking-A, yes."
Alec grinned at Calum. "I think that means she accepts." He grabbed the knot on her blanket, yanking her forward to kiss her, oh, so sweetly. "I love you, Vixen," he whispered.
And then Calum pulled her toward him. He framed her face with his hands, seemed about to say something, and kissed her instead. Tender and yet with that unconscious demand that she offer all of herself. He raised his head and traced her wet lips with one finger, then said, "Give me your hand."
She put her fingers in his, and when he slid the bracelet onto her left arm and pressed a kiss to her wrist, her eyes blurred with tears.
"My turn." Alec cupped her face, using his thumbs to wipe away the wetness. He took her hand and slid his bracelet onto the same wrist. "I‘ve wanted to do this for so long," he muttered, making her laugh before she kissed him.
"Now you." Alec handed her two larger bracelets.
Her eyes widened. "I get to tag you as mine?" Damn right. When they offered their left hands, she slid one on each man, admired the glinting discs against the dark and golden skin.
"Hey. What happens when we trawsfur?"
Alec‘s smile was almost lethal. "We‘ll show you. In a bit." Grinning, he hauled her out of the blankets. "Why don‘t you have something to eat? Calum and I need to chop up some firewood before we leave."
Leave huh? She sighed. Reality always came too soon. After she took care of necessities, washed up, and dressed, she found that they‘d left a pot of soup simmering on the fire. Coffee.
Soup. Not a bad breakfast.
As the men came back in, stomping snow off their boots, she blinked at the view through the open door. The last rays of the sun showed in the west. "I slept all day?"
Calum joined her at the table, nuzzling her neck. "We thought you‘d never wake up. How do you feel?"
"Fine." Her eyes narrowed at his odd expression. "Why?" she asked suspiciously. Why were they watching her as if she was a fresh-baked chocolate chip cookie?
Alec came up behind her, wrapped his arms around her. "The bracelets show we‘re lifemated—married, so to speak. Tonight is"—he thought for a second—"kind of a bonus ritual.
If everyone in the lifemating is the same animal, like we‘re all werecats, then there‘s a special magic for us."
"Like what?"
Calum glanced at Alec, smiled slightly. "You‘ll see."
"Let‘s go play in the snow," Alec said, his voice hoarse.
Again? "Excuse me, but it‘s really cold out there, guys. I don‘t feel like freezing my ass o–"
Calum‘s eyes were intent. "Strip, cariad. Now."
Her nipples tightened under the power of his gaze, and heat unfurled inside her. Protest?
Hell, no. Sir, yes, sir. She pulled her shirt over her head, then the rest.
Following suit, the men dropped their clothing on the floor and dragged her out the door.
Fuck, it couldn‘t be more than twenty degrees. She shivered, her feet burning on the frozen ground. Forget sex; find me a fire. She backed up to the threshold.
Calum‘s eyes caught hers, darkened. "Trawsfur. Now."
It felt as if he‘d shoved her through that weird shifter door in her head. How did he do that?
The tingling washed over her skin, sank deep inside, and she could almost feel her bones changing. She dropped to all fours and chuffed a complaint at him. But at least the snow didn‘t freeze her paws. Her lifemating bracelets gleamed on her front leg, half-buried in thick tawny fur, and delight washed away her irritation.
Still in human form, Alec leaned over, stroked her back. As his scent curled around her, heady and powerful, she purred and butted her head against his bare leg. He put his hand underneath her muzzle. "Vixen," he said. His grin was carnal. Dangerous. " Run."
Without him? It must be part of the ritual. So she leaped away, bounding up the mountain, the snow flying behind her. Her muscles stretched and warmed, and a minute later, she heard the men behind her. The scent of their musk on the wind changed something inside her and heated her blood. Her leaps grew longer, stronger.
A shadow—Calum‘s dark fur—flashed through the trees to her left. He ran in front of her, his powerful grace mesmerizing.
She barely saw a movement to the right before it struck, blindsiding her, and tumbling her onto her side. Her paws scrambled uselessly in the snow for a second. Too long.
Even as she rolled back onto her stomach, the golden cougar was on her. Alec. His teeth closed on her neck, holding her securely. His front paws wrapped around her, pinning her in place, and heat rose within her at the feel of his body on top of hers. She yowled, almost maddened by the all-consuming craving that roared through her. His purr deafened her ears as she lifted her hind quarters to him, need gripping her even more savagely than his claws.
He entered her, long, hot, and hard, almost painful with his urgency. She took him in, filled with him, the feeling dizzying. And suddenly, they were human, her breasts swayed with
