Warmth filled Mystic as soon as she stepped through the door of Christian's house and saw him. She went straight into his arms and felt as though she'd returned home. He was her first mate, the one who'd made the first inroads into her heart, though Roman and Hawk had found their way as well.
He was the mate most like herself, a supernatural being who'd existed without a true place in the world he was a part of. "Miss me?" she asked, rubbing her lips against his in greeting, soaking in his warmth and familiar scent.
"I don't like sleeping without you," he admitted, capturing her mouth, plundering it with his tongue as the ridge of his erection burned through their clothing and made her cunt spasm.
She clung to him. Welcomed him. The magic stretched inside her like a living thing, like a wolf whining and fawning as it reunited with its mate.
The heat of their need and the intensity of their emotions washed over Roman in waves. The lion and eagle deep inside him pressed for intervention, felt threatened by the depth of her feelings toward her wolf mate, but the man, the vampire understood the complexity of love and recognized Mystic's heart was big enough to hold each of the men in her life.
He allowed the sharp edges of their thoughts and feelings to blunt into smooth-flowing desire before he stepped into them, pressed his front to Mystic's back. His fingers brushed against Christian's abdomen as his hands slid up and down Mystic's side. "Let's go to bed," Roman murmured. "Hawk and I have shared you. Let Christian and I show you what it's like to have two men inside you at the same time."
Mystic's shiver was answer enough. Heat burned along their link, expanded to serve as a conduit allowing him to touch Christian's thoughts and emotions. The Were was willing, more than willing.
Roman smiled, thinking of the "fucking game" Mystic had played with Hawk and Christian. Apparently it had served several purposes. Where before there had been resistance in Christian, pain over having to share her with other men, now there was acceptance, enjoyment, a sense that what had been gained outweighed what was lost.
They moved to the bedroom and stripped. Roman's cock pulsed and ached at the sight of Mystic naked, her expression sultry, inviting as she lay down on the bed.
Christian joined her there, his skin the same dusky color as hers. They were beautiful together, but then she was no less beautiful when she was with Hawk or with him.
Roman crawled onto the bed. He was content to cede her mouth to Christian. At the moment the pulse beating on the inside of her thigh and the scent of her arousal drew him downward.
He paused to suckle at her breast, to lave his tongue back and forth over her love-abraded nipple as he smoothed his hand over her abdomen and cupped her mound. Her hips jerked subtly. Pleasure and pain blended and blurred, coursed down the link until both his cock and Christian's were straining, beaded with arousal.
Roman grazed her with his fangs, heard the way her heart raced in anticipation of his bite. He forced himself away from her breast, panted as his lips traveled over her belly. Regardless of how many times he'd had Mystic during the night, hunger roared to life inside him, insatiable in the need for her sex, her blood, her soul.
He licked over her pulse, tasted the honey of her arousal and shuddered. Despite the shower they'd taken together before leaving the casino hotel, he could still smell himself on her.
It satisfied him in a primal way. Filled the core of him with deep contentment.
Roman groaned as his mouth found her slick folds. He growled as he pressed his tongue inside her, automatically reaching down the bond so his thrusts were in sync with Christian's.
Need filled Christian, intense and consuming. Only Roman's presence between Mystic's thighs kept him from rolling on top of her and thrusting his cock into her slit.
He would never get enough of her. He didn't even care what having her in his life might ultimately cost him. Already what he was before, how he defined himself, had changed. It would keep changing until they'd found a balance, and it didn't matter, not as long as he had her.
A moan escaped when Mystic's hand found his erection. Christian's hips bucked as lust spasmed through his cock.
Don't!
He bucked again when her thumb rubbed over the tip of his penis. The wolf growled in a promise of retribution. It pressed against his skin. Its essence reached inside Mystic, looking for what it knew was hidden.
She writhed underneath him as his tongue fucked into her mouth, as the wolf rubbed against Angelini magic and warm, unrecognized beast. If only she'd believe... If only she'd become...
The wolf inside him quivered at the prospect of mounting Mystic in her furred form, of mating with her under the moon. The man struggled to keep his thoughts cloaked. But it was hard-it grew harder as he fucked through the tight fist of Mystic's fingers.
She eroded his control in a way that should shame him, might have shamed him if he didn't know Roman and Hawk were no better at resisting her. He couldn't stop the wild jerk of his hips. Didn't protest when the vampire took charge, urging him onto his back and telling Mystic to get on top of him.
Christian cried out when Mystic guided his cock to her parted, heated entrance. His guttural please was drowned in a hot sea of sensation as he slid all the way in.
Home. She was home and now he was, too.
His fingers tangled in her hair. His mouth ate hungrily at hers.
He didn't think it could get any better. But then she whimpered and along the bond he heard Roman whispering to her, coaxing her. He felt the jolt of ecstasy she experienced when Roman's fangs slid into her neck and almost whimpered too as Roman began working his way into her anus.
It was so darkly erotic that Christian's mind shied away from thinking, preferred to give itself over to unbearable pleasure. She was always tight, wet, hot, but now...
Christian moaned. He felt engulfed in liquid flames, consumed by fires that burned away all resistance, all barriers.
Christ. He wasn't bi-sexual. He had no desire to get up close and personal with Roman's cock if it was just the two of them. But this...
There was no defining it. No labeling it.
There was no resisting it.
They moved without conscious thought. Rubbed against each other as pleasure doubled, tripled, rebounded and expanded. As bodies strained, writhed, fought-only to fill the room with cries when orgasm came, leaving then shuddering, shaking, their hearts racing and lungs laboring.
Christian grunted as Roman rolled off. He growled when Mystic started to follow. Her soft laugh and dancing eyes were a balm to his soul, a buffer keeping his masculinity intact.
"I know you'd prefer to stay in bed," she teased, nibbling his bottom lip. "But it's nighttime and we've got a hunt to get back to."
"Let Hawk handle it. He's got Gabe and Gabby with him. They're heading to Wolfsbane right now."
Mystic was tempted. She couldn't help herself. Being in bed with her mates had a way of weakening her resolve, especially when those mates were getting along well.
Somehow she managed to roll off Christian and get to her feet. Reluctantly the men followed her example.
"Hawk called a few minutes before you got here," Christian said as he pulled on his clothes. "A couple of vampires are watching the Weres' house."
They left a few minutes later. Mystic wondered if it made sense for them all to be at the same place, but as soon as they got to Wolfsbane she was glad they were.
"I think we're going to get lucky tonight," Gabby said, greeting Mystic with a hug in the parking lot. "It's like they're holding The Howl For The Barely Legal and Fledgling Night in there. I've never seen anything like it. The blood's going to start flowing, one way or another."
Mystic grimaced when Christian's hand settled around her arm like a vise. "I want you to stay in the car. In fact, you, Gabby, Gabe and Hawk should all stay outside to watch the doors. There's a front entrance and two emergency exits. Roman and I can take the inside. The Weres won't recognize us even though we'll recognize them."
Hawk agreed without an argument and Mystic suspected the men had settled beforehand on this strategy. Suspicion caused her eyes to narrow. For a moment she was tempted to slide into their memories in case this was their way of keeping her safe, but she didn't. She trusted them to honor the agreement they'd come to when she won the "fucking game".
Mystic turned her thoughts back to what Gabby said about the mix inside the club. It was the perfect hunting ground.
Christian's thoughts ran the same road as hers. He said, "If the rogues are frustrated the sun got Todd Moore before they could run him to ground, they might look for another victim here tonight where the sight of a Were offering a vampire his neck wouldn't raise any suspicions."
Roman nodded. "Your point is well taken. Let the small wolf and her brother take the back while Hawk and Mystic guard the front." He glanced around at the number of cars already filling the parking lot. "If I remember correctly, the side exit can be monitored from the back."
"I should be with either Gabe or Gabby so we can all communicate with one another," Mystic said. She put her hand up to forestall the argument she saw forming on three of the five faces in front of her. "I know we can use cell phones," but the mental link is instantaneous and provides more information than words can ever convey. If I'm with Gabby or Gabe then no one is left out of the loop.
They didn't like it. She didn't need to hear the rumbled growls through the bond to know they hated the idea of her not being with one of them.
It took all the restraint she had not to go further, to press harder for independence. Hawk's features were taut. She knew he was remembering the last time they'd encountered the Weres.
Roman broke the tension by saying, "Keep the small wolf with you, Hawk. Let Mystic and Gabe take the back. There will be vampires inside I can command if necessary, or we can summon Gian and Brann. Our goal is capture, not slaughter. Once inside, the Weres will be trapped."
Reluctantly Hawk and Christian agreed, though Mystic could feel how much it cost them. "I won't do anything foolish," she said, kissing each of her mates before sliding into the Jeep with Gabe.
He snickered as he turned the key in the ignition. "Gentlemen, put your collars on. Prepare to be leashed and commanded by the sultry Mystic, a woman who requires three men in order to satisfy her needs."
A laugh escaped before Mystic could stop it. She knew from years of experience it was a big mistake to encourage Gabe.
"Stop," she said, backing it up with a slap to his thigh. "Or you're going to end up as a piece of fur decorating someone's wall."
He grinned, totally unrepentant and unafraid. "Just telling it like it is and thinking I'm going to steer clear of the Angelini when it comes time to mate. I'm going to find myself a nice little human and put a collar on her."
Mystic snorted. "One look at you and any sane human would start running."
Gabe's teeth flashed white. "Sounds good to me. Nothing like a chase to get warmed up for the main event."
They drove around to the back of the nightclub and parked at the rear of the lot. It wasn't dark enough to hide the fact there were people in the car, but neither the moonlight nor the lights on the building reached deep enough to reveal their faces.
"Not much on security," Mystic said, not surprised by the lack of cameras and the desolate, almost violence-inviting area in back of the club.
"It's not much of a place on the inside either," Gabe said. "Maybe a shade above Bangers, or below it if you get off on the bare-breasted waitresses they've got over there. Then again, whoever owns this place probably figures when shapeshifters, vampires and humans mix it up, it's always going to lead to broken furniture and bloodstained upholstery, so why invest the capital to make it a classy joint."
Mystic nodded. She'd seen the inside of Wolfsbane through Hawk and Christian's thoughts. It looked like what it was, a place where young werewolves could go in order to break pack rules and taboos, to embrace the whole "what happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas" motto.
Compared to the clubs her parents favored, it was a dive. It was good for little more than hooking-up.
"I could do it better," she murmured, thinking about Fangs and Wyldfyres. Just because sex and blood were usually at the top of the menu when it came to vampires and werewolves didn't mean they were the only thing that could be served.
"You could do what better?" Gabe asked, manipulating his seat for a long stint of watching and waiting.
"Run a nightclub for supernaturals-and select humans."
Gabe's head whipped around. "Here?"
"I don't know." She laughed softly. "Our great adventure seems to have gone sideways. We haven't exactly done the town like we planned to."
"You can say that again." He cocked his head. "The Werewolf Council won't turn Hawk's petition for a pack down, not with you as a mate and Roman thrown into the equation. Hawk asked Gabby and me if we'd join."
Mystic reached over and took his hand, squeezed it. "The Zevantis will agree."
He nodded and squeezed her hand in return. "There's no sanctioned pack in Las Vegas. There'd be trouble since most alphas wouldn't be able to tolerate trespassers or loners on their turf and many couldn't be trusted to discipline outsiders. There'd be war when rules had to be enforced. But maybe there needs to be a pack here, to monitor what's going on. Maybe that's why we happened to stop when we did and discover not only the tainted fledgling but the rogue Weres. In a place like Vegas, it could have gone on for a long time before anyone figured it out. It could have led to even bigger problems.
"Think about it, Mystic. If any pack could settle here, it'd be Hawk's pack, your pack. The Renaldis have strong ties to the Weres. You've got strong ties to the vampires plus you are Angelini.
"Christian has ties to human law enforcement. And Roman...Roman is the Ace in the Hole. He's the trump card-vampire and shapeshifter legend. If we settled here, our pack could own bars or casinos or specialty clubs catering to supernaturals, anything we wanted and we could also work with the vampires to make sure things didn't get out of hand."
His enthusiasm was contagious. The picture he painted was so real Mystic could imagine herself stepping into it. "Did you talk to Hawk about this?"
Gabe grinned. "No. It didn't cross my mind, at least not my conscious mind, until you pointed out you could do a better job at running a club."
"I'll talk to him then. I'll talk to all of them. We haven't exactly had time to discuss the future."
Gabe's teeth flashed white again as he snickered. "You've been too busy fucking."
"And hunting," Mystic said, trying to sound offended but failing.
"Yeah, but that's just to stretch your legs so you can get back to spread-"
She slapped his thigh. "Finish that sentence and I will personally turn you into furry slippers and a matching robe."
Gabe laughed, then they both settled in to watch. With a thought Mystic checked in with her mates. They were relaxed, relatively speaking, but only because she was within reach and the bond allowed for immediate reassurance.
An hour passed. Then a second.
Inside the club the action was heating up. Mystic shared Christian and Roman's observations with Gabe as a way of passing the time. Occasionally a vampire and Were slipped through the back or side exit for a furtive bite or a quick fuck. She and Gabe amused themselves by rating the performance as if they were judges at a carnal Olympic event. But overall, watching and waiting was still boring.
A lone female stepped through the back door. Vampire, Mystic thought, not a fledgling, but young, and from an ancient, important line. She could almost hear a family name but she knew the knowledge wasn't coming from Roman, it was coming from inside herself.
Mystic's eyebrows drew together. She concentrated on the female vampire, expected to see a Were emerge from the nightclub. Instead the vampire pulled a cell phone from her pocket and put it to her ear.
While the vampire talked, Mystic reached for the whispered name buried in her thoughts, tried to make sense of it. It evaded her, tested her, forced her to leave behind the limitations she'd always accepted about herself.
Finally she found the word she sought. Licata. It rang through her with such sureness a laugh of joy escaped. It had to be a sign she was being readied to bear the mark of a hunter, or maybe it was just something she'd gained from Roman's blood. She found she didn't care. It was a useful ability to have, one that would serve her well if Las Vegas became home.
Mystic turned to Gabe and said, "The vampire talking on the phone belongs to Sabatino Licata's line. And before you ask, no, I don't have a blood-tie to her."
Surprise lifted Gabe's eyebrows. "Cool," he said, then cursed as a dark cargo van pulled into the back lot and parked in a way that blocked their view of the side door.
"Could be here to meet the vampire," Mystic said, watching as the female closed her phone and put it back in her pocket.
The panel door of the van opened. A man stepped out. Were. There was a fleeting tension in the vampire, but then she smiled, fangs elongated.
There was a brief conversation, hardly more than an exchange of names. The Were waved his hand toward the van. The vampire shook her head.
Gabe grunted as the Were shrugged then unzipped his jacket and began unbuttoning his shirt. "Looks like a hookup instead of a pick-up."
"This performance might score a five," Mystic said, resuming their earlier game.
"Not even. Wham bam, thank-you ma'am for the bite. This guy just wants to be food. And look at her. She can barely stand to touch him. No way is she going to do the nasty."
Mystic snickered. Gabe had a point. The vampire was arched away from the Were. Her hands in his hair, positioning him for her strike, were the only places their bodies touched.
"Were blood must pack an awesome punch," she said. "It looks like she's fighting herself but the temptation to sink her fangs into him is winning over her revulsion."
"Maybe that's why she came outside. Couldn't stand being around so many Weres inside."
Mystic frowned. The longer she watched the scene play out the more it bothered her. She didn't know why but... "Maybe one of us should-" Hawk's voice cut her off. The weak female and a male have arrived. They're on foot. They're just about to go inside the club.
Mystic turned to Gabe. He gave a small nod, indicating he'd gotten the same message from Gabby. Through the link Mystic, Roman, Christian and Hawk communicated, tried to determine the best strategy. But before they'd settled on one, Mystic turned her attention to the female vampire and Were.
Shock made her gasp. Awareness and sudden understanding struck as a knife blade gleamed, flashed in the dull light before it plunged into the vampire's heart. "Rogue!"