Matched to the Wolves [Werewolf Brides 4] (Siren Publishing Ménage Everlasting) Read online

  “How are you going to do that without antagonizing half the store owners and managers? You don’t want to annoy them and make them hate Shakina.”

  “I’m not stupid.”

  Yaro smiled at Zoan’s petulant face.

  “I’m serious, I can’t relax about it. I worry about her. She’s our woman.”

  “Okay, I understand. What do you want to do?” Yaro kept his face bland and his temper in check. He thought Zoan was being overly dramatic but she was their woman even if she hadn’t acknowledged it yet. They intended to claim her as soon as the time was right, so therefore it was their duty to protect her even if she didn’t realize she needed protecting just yet.

  “Yeah, well, I haven’t gotten to that part just yet. Going as a wolf would be ideal as no one pays attention to dogs sniffing around the backdoors of buildings. But it’s really too far to run there and back, and I don’t plan on getting arrested if someone sees me transforming. I can’t exactly unlock a car door in wolf form.”

  Yaro sat silently staring at Zoan. “I guess I’ll have to come with you to drive the car there. When were you planning to go look? Now?”

  “Is that okay? Do you mind?”

  “It’s fine. I care about her, too, you know. Let’s do it.”

  * * * *

  Zoan had no idea why he wanted to do this, but something inside him was urging him on, telling him he had to check around Shakina’s store neighborhood and be certain everything there was safe for her. He’d never felt compelled to do something like this before, but he couldn’t fight it. The emotions inside him were too strong. At least Yaro had agreed to help him. He hadn’t been able to think of a way to get there and back alone, apart from running in wolf form, and it was a damn long way.

  Not that he couldn’t go on a long run if he had to. He was plenty tough enough. It was just that he’d already worked a full day, and wasn’t really looking for added complications. Especially if he did see something wrong tonight. He needed to have sufficient energy in reserve to deal with whatever it might be.

  He dressed in a loose T-shirt and baggy basketball shorts, with flip-flops on his feet to make it easy to get undressed and transform into his wolf. But he also brought a backpack with ordinary clothes in it, just in case he needed to go anywhere as a regular person afterward. Again and again he told himself likely he was paranoid, but he just had this pervasive feeling that he had to protect Shakina. That something might be wrong.

  Zoan knew Yaro thought he was crazy, but that was okay. He knew his friend would support him in what he did. Yaro might yell at him, might even punch him, but he’d always defend him if he got into trouble. The redhead would always have his back, just as he’d never let anyone attack Yaro.

  Yaro stopped two blocks back from the shopping strip, on a normal residential road. The houses here were mostly single family dwellings, set in large yards. They sat silently in the car for five long minutes, waiting to see if any of the curtains moved to show someone was watching them, or any porch lights were switched on. But all remained serene. Zoan kicked his flip-flops off, pulled his T-shirt over his head and dropped it on the floor with the footwear, then wiggled out of the stretchy basketball shorts. “I don’t know how long I’ll be,” he warned Yaro.

  “I know, and it’s not like you can text me when you want me either. I’ll leave here after you go, drive for a couple of miles and wait somewhere that won’t cause comment. A fast food parking lot or somewhere like that. Then in half an hour I’ll come back up this road, park for a short while, and go away again if you’re not here. If anyone notices me, I’ll do the same thing but one block east, okay?”

  “Thanks, that sounds great.”

  Zoan opened his door the tiniest crack, and then transformed, nudging the door open wider with his nose and sliding out onto the sidewalk. He tried to look like any other pet dog out for his evening walk, sniffing the occasional tree, and following an indirect line from fences to trees and back onto the sidewalk. He randomly crossed the road a couple of times as well, as he moved steadily toward the rear of the shopping strip. Once there, he continued his meandering progress, sniffing things, crossing from parking lot to sidewalk and back to the parking lot at random, and spending the longest time out back by the Dumpsters.

  He was surprised by how clean the area was. No trash littered the ground, not even beside the Dumpsters, and he caught no scent of rats or other vermin either.

  It seemed the café workers were fastidious about wrapping and bagging their trash and ensuring the lid of their Dumpsters stayed down. But he wasn’t a dog and his primary interest wasn’t the trash. He wanted to get a feel for the neighborhood. Were people happy here? Just because they’d enjoyed the barbecue didn’t mean it really was a friendly neighborhood.

  Zoan lay down behind a Dumpster and watched and waited. He kept his breathing shallow and even, wondering what he might see once whoever was out there thought they were alone. But if there were any hoodlums, it must have been their night off. No one appeared. Some birds twittered briefly in a tree, and a few cars drove past. One car drove up to the medical clinic and the man who jumped out stood at the door punching numbers into his cell phone, apparently wanting their after-hours number. All completely normal. Once that man left, Zoan stretched and walked around some more. He ventured into the roads immediately surrounding the shopping area, but again nothing was out of the ordinary. By the time he walked back to where Yaro would collect him, he wasn’t sure whether or not to be glad or confused. He couldn’t shake off the feeling that he had to protect Shakina. But he’d looked at everything and there was nothing here to cause alarm. It was all completely, boringly normal. Did this mean danger would come to her some other way? Or had he misread the signals?

  * * * *

  Shakina’s days were full to the brim with setting up her beauty parlor just the way she wanted it, dealing with her clients, and helping Tanisha learn the skills of the trade to get her cosmetology license. When the store was quiet, with only one customer, Tanisha would paint their nails while the dye was setting in their hair. Every time, she was careful to say this was a special welcome gift because the store had just opened, but that later they would have a vast range of colors for clients to choose from so they would always be able to get their nails done as well as their hair.

  Shakina also showed them the foot spa and said a range of herbal foot baths would also soon be operating for customers to buy that option while their hair was done. A lot of women really liked the idea of getting several beauty treatments in one visit. During the times they had no customers at all, she taught Tanisha how to create a range of hairstyles. Fortunately she had long hair, and Tanisha’s was shoulder length, which gave them a huge choice of options. Soon Tanisha was braiding and styling with flair.

  It was almost five and Shakina didn’t think they’d have any more customers today, so she was sitting in one of the arm chairs relaxing, as Tanisha sorted the pots of nail polish out, color coordinating them.

  “When are you going on a real date with Yaro and Zoan?”

  “Well, first they need to ask me out.”

  “Why don’t you ask them?”

  Shakina had never considered that. “I don’t know. I’ve never asked anyone out before. It was always the men who did the asking.”

  “We only have six months to pick our mates. Time is moving on and you know you want Zoan and Yaro, so why wait?”

  “I don’t know that I want them. Certainly I like them both, and the party they arranged for us on our first day was really special. But they’ve also been quite bossy at times. I guess I don’t really know them all that well and I need to know them a whole lot better before I agree to anything.”

  “But you do like them. It shows in everything you do and say when they’re around,” said Tanisha.

  “But mating requires way more than just liking. There’s no divorce under shape-shifter law, so when I choose my pair, I need to know it’s the right pair for me. You nee
d to be sure of that as well. Which men are you interested in? I’ve never seen you date any of them either.”

  “That’s because I haven’t dated anyone. I’ve been sitting back and watching everyone else. Katungi and Rafiki are interested in Nala.”

  “Yes. They made that clear when they helped her set up her herb garden. But I was asking about you.”

  “And I was carefully avoiding answering you.”

  “Okay, that’s fair enough. We have quite a few bookings for tomorrow. There might not even be time to do anyone’s nails.”

  “Well, hopefully people will start booking in for their nails as well. And paying us to do them. When are we going to start the foot spas?”

  “Next week. Tomorrow we can make a new sign for the window saying half-price foot spas all week and half-price nails Monday, Wednesday, and Friday.”

  “That sounds good.”

  “Excuse me?” A young man stood at the door to the beauty parlor.

  “Hi, can I help you?” Shakina jumped to her feet and walked over to him.

  “I just found out I have a job interview tomorrow. Can you fix up my hair? I want to look kind of more professional. Not real trendy, more solid and reliable, but not old either. If you know what I mean.”

  Shakina smiled at him. “I know exactly what you mean. Sit over here and I’ll show you a couple of styles for you to choose from.”

  She combed his hair several different ways to demonstrate the kinds of look she could give him. When he’d decided on one, she took him over to the basins, let him lie back in her chair and washed and conditioned his hair, then dried it and styled it, cutting it as she went so it didn’t look all short and newly shorn, but just neat and respectable, as he’d asked.

  While she worked, Tanisha buffed and trimmed his fingernails, making them as neat and professional as his hair.

  “Wow. You’re miracle workers. This is awesome,” he said when they’d finished.

  “After you get the job, tell everyone where you got your hair cut,” suggested Shakina.

  “Hell, yes.” He waved and left the store.

  “Every client is special, but it’s people like him who really make my day,” said Shakina.

  “I really hope he gets the job.”

  “Me, too.”

  * * * *

  Yaro was helping Gowan upgrade one of the computers in the women’s barracks, the building which had originally been the community’s hall, and which was now the home of the as-yet-unmarried human women. He’d been concentrating on his own work, although he was aware of several of the women talking on the other side of the room. Someone had made a pecan pie and he and Gowan had been given a piece each. “That was really delicious. Thank you,” he said.

  “Except I’ve likely put on five pounds eating it,” groaned Qwera. She was the human woman who’d started working in the farm’s small store and already she knew exactly where everything was.

  “Shakina goes for a run most evenings. Go running with her, that’ll get rid of the calories,” suggested Siyandra.

  Yaro didn’t say anything but his ears pricked up. So, Shakina liked to go for runs at night. He needed to remember that. He and Zoan could offer to run with her whenever she went. That way they’d not only be keeping her safe, but also be able to talk to her and get to know her better. Even if a whole group of people ran, they would still learn more about her. It wasn’t exactly an idea for a date, but at least it would be spending time with her.

  As soon as Zoan got home that night, Yaro ambushed him in the kitchen. “Shakina likes to go for a run most nights. We ought to ask to run with her.”

  “How did you find that out? It’s a great idea. Running is so natural for us, although we’d be in human form.”

  They hurried around to the women’s barracks and asked to speak to Shakina. She wasn’t home from the store yet, but Qwera gave them her cell phone number and they sent her a text. It was almost an hour later when she replied.

  Just leaving work now. Make it seven thirty and I’ll see who wants to come.

  “We won’t be alone with her, but it’s a start,” said Zoan.

  Actually it was much better than a start. Maybe half a dozen of them ran slowly along the roads around the farm, breathing easily and talking from time to time. Yaro and Zoan stayed close behind Shakina, letting her run with and talk to whomever she wanted to, but always nearby in case she fell or needed help.

  Yaro enjoyed himself. He liked watching her run, liked being close by her, and even liked listening to her brief conversations with other people. She had a very happy outlook on life. Everything pleased her and she saw positives in things that others might have viewed negatively. The women stayed on the roads, running around the community.

  The layout of the farm was very basic with four main roads, north, south, east, and west, and then a ring road about a quarter mile from the community center that joined them together. All in all it was an easy, pleasant run that took maybe half an hour.

  When they returned to the community center, Yaro spoke to Shakina. Zoan was standing right with him. It was obvious his friend had planned to do the same thing. “Can we take you for a longer run on Sunday? Perhaps take you off the roads to some of our favorite places?”

  “You mean like to the river? I’ve been down there with June. It’s very pretty.”

  “The river, yes. Also to Lookout Hill. Has anyone taken you there yet?” asked Zoan.

  “Some of the women went there on the quad bikes, but I wasn’t free that day. I’d like that, thank you.”

  “Would you like to have a picnic afterward as well?” asked Yaro.

  “Only if it doesn’t rain. Dera got caught out in a storm here one day, and I don’t think I’d like that at all.”

  “We’ll check the weather forecast first. In particular the rain radar,” promised Yaro.

  “All right. That sounds good. What time Sunday?”

  “Do you like to sleep in on your day off? We could make it eleven if you want to get up late? Or ten if you’re happy with an earlier start?” suggested Zoan.

  “Ten is fine, thanks. I won’t sleep that late.” Shakina waved to them and went into the community hall.

  Yaro and Zoan high fived each other.

  “Finally we’ve found something she’ll like,” said Zoan.

  “Hey, give credit where credit is due, please. I found something.”

  Zoan laughed and ran off toward their home. Yaro didn’t bother to chase him. There were two bathrooms so they could shower at the same time, and they both knew it was his idea anyway. Sunday. They finally would have time alone with Shakina on Sunday. They’d better sit down and plan it properly, though. They needed to be completely acting as one on the day to ensure that everything went smoothly. Their aim would be for Shakina to have a perfect outing, while they learned more about her and spent time with her. If all went well then she’d want to know more about them. It would be a big task, but together they could do it.

  * * * *

  Zoan considered himself the Dom in the relationship, but deep inside he knew Yaro was as much a Dom as he was. It was why they disagreed at times because each wanted to be in control. But it was also why they got along together so well overall, because they recognized their own stresses and problems when they saw them played out in the other person.

  So instead of going ahead and planning every detail for their date on Sunday, he laid out a broad outline and then sat down with Yaro to discuss it and fill in the details together.

  “She’ll have seen the river close by the center of the community. I think we should take her farther away. The ground is rougher but it’ll be different for her and more private,” he said.

  “We should really walk along it ourselves and choose the exact spot where we want to have our picnic. If the weather’s nice we could even paddle in the water.”

  “It’s pretty cold. It’s okay in wolf form but it might be too cold for a human,” he argued.

  “W
e don’t have to make a decision now, just keep it as an option.”

  That was a fair comment. “Okay. Do you want to go and look now? There’s not much sense in planning the rest of the day if we haven’t decided where we start from.”

  “Let’s go as wolves though. I haven’t been for a long run as a wolf in a while.”

  Zoan sighed. He’d run only a few days ago. But they would cover the ground much faster in shifted form, and he’d been in Coopersville last time, so it was fair to run on the farm. Besides, it made sense to plan the route they’d take on foot, not sitting on the couch. Sighing again, he got up and went into his room to undress and shift. It was strange in a way. Even though they’d seen each other shifted, shifting, and naked hundreds of times over the years, they still always transformed in their own bedrooms. It was a privacy and personal space issue, he supposed.

  Although they’d spent a year working together to become a united pair worthy of mating a human woman, they wouldn’t be truly united until they had their woman. It was she who would be the glue that held them together. He and Yaro had worked hard to understand and accept each other, setting aside their personal preferences and finding a suitable compromise on issue after issue. But only when Shakina agreed to join with them would they truly be a family. He longed for that day and it seemed to be creeping closer. First their date, then to entice her into their bed so they could demonstrate how much they’d love her, and then they’d finally be able to mate.

  He spent a moment thinking about BDSM sex. Likely it’d be pretty mild. Just some handcuffs, maybe a few toys, and tickling her ass with the flogger. Neither he nor Yaro were exceptionally Dominant people, other than genuinely wanting to care for and protect their woman and to arrange everything to make her life pleasant. But they were still Doms. Never would either of them agree to be a sub. Not even for Shakina, had she been a Domme. Fortunately she was no Domme but the perfect sub. Their sub, a woman of fire and passion, whose submission would be all the sweeter, as it would come from a deeply held conviction, not from an easy-going nature.