“I’m not that little.”
“You are compared to me. And Bas.” His smile remained, but she could feel him reach out to Bas with his mind, that surge of power impossible to ignore. “He’s okay. Bastard likes to think he’s better at people skills than I am, but he’s still unsure of himself when it comes to dealing with other psychics.”
That didn’t seem right, considering Bas had moved her with his mind. “He is?”
“Bas had a hard time not too long ago.” He reached behind her to turn off the water, but he continued to talk as he dried them off and dragged her with him to the bed. “Like you, he was taken against his will. That’s what made him Circ. He can move things with his mind, and he’s a real go-getter. Someone took notice and tried to mold him into what they wanted.” Gray snuggled with her under the covers. “But Bas kind of does what he wants. He’s good at following orders when he wants to and giving you the finger when he feels the need, too.”
“He follows you, doesn’t he?” She watched as Gray’s expression softened.
“Yeah, he does. Apparently he followed you too.” Gray narrowed his gaze. “You had your way with my mate, didn’t you?”
Not sure what his mean look signified, she tried to move away from him, but he wouldn’t let her. “So what? He invaded my land. My space. He’s mine.”
Gray nodded. “Yeah, but he was mine first. You too.”
“Me too what?”
“You’re mine now too. My mate. Bas’s mate. We’re one, baby. So don’t fight it, okay?” He kissed her on the head and yawned.
“Fight what?” Panicked and not sure why, considering her beast continued to purr in his embrace, she sat up. “We had sex. Big deal. I’m sure you do this all the time.”
“Nope. This pull, this amazing heat between us? Just with you and Bas. Humans can’t satisfy the need, and frankly, it’s annoying to always have to pull in my strength with them.”
“But you can’t mate me. I’m a mutant.” She held out her forearms, bemused to see the black of her veins so faded. Mates? The thought scared the crap out of her, mostly because she wanted what he said to be true. To belong with men who cared. Who wouldn’t hurt her or lie to her. Who would accept her despite all her deficiencies.
“You’re my mutant. That makes all the difference.” Gray shrugged. “You’ll get used to it eventually. No one fucks with me and what’s mine. No one will hurt you. And from what Bas told me of your abilities, you’ll fit right in with my team.” He nodded again. “Yeah. We’ll have to take care of Bas, because he’s softer than we are. But you feel right. Much as I hate to admit it, my beast knows better than me.” He sighed. “And don’t ever tell my grandmother this, but I’m glad as hell she sent me on this mission.”
“Grandmother? Wait, mates? Bas? This is a lot to take in.”
“Shh. Easy, honey. Just relax. Sleep on it. I can already tell you your beast likes the idea. Your rage and hungers are easy now, aren’t they? Because the mutant senses it has what it needs to be complete. Me. And Bas, of course. Can’t wait to try out both of you at the same time. Sex is going to be out of this world.” He wiggled his brows at her, and she couldn’t help thinking the same thing.
But his easy acceptance of this huge change annoyed her.
“So what? I’m just supposed to leave my cabin and mountains and join you? Where? When? How do we live?” Though the idea had appeal, to leave this place and the bad memories behind, she didn’t like the thought of the unknown. Every time she’d left her grandfather and their mountain, bad things seemed to happen.
“You let me worry about that.” His arrogance astounded her.
Angry and suddenly in no mood to sleep, she unleashed her pheromones, stunning Gray enough that she could leap out of bed and grab her gun before he could move. “Let you worry, my ass.” She shot him in the chest twice, enough to knock him out for a while. In the meantime, she’d figure out what to do about all this.
She dressed. Then she carried him downstairs and tied him up with Circ restraints. Asleep, he looked dangerous but boyishly cute. Darker where Bas was lighter, but just as sweet.
She frowned and left him only to return with a blanket. After seeing to his comfort, she returned to the house upstairs and straightened up, hiding signs of his presence. No one had ever found her here, but there was always a first time. And while she scouted her mountain again, Gray would be safe, undetected and out of sight.
Her beast whined about leaving him, but Ali didn’t trust her desire to remain. She thrilled at the thought of being kept by Gray and Bas. To feel that same love and trust they had for each other, to know that kind of joy. Her grandfather had felt it for her grandmother before the woman had passed when Ali was a girl. The older man had loved her as well, treating her like the child her mother would have loved had Amy Ross not died a few years after giving birth.
It seemed everyone Ali cared for died, and she was hesitant to admit the thought of losing Gray or Bas scared her. To have such affection—love—for two men she’d just met didn’t make sense. But her intuition told her she couldn’t ignore their appearance in her life. The changes she’d be forced to confront had found her. First Bas, then Gray. She just wished she knew if they were the last of it, or if she’d face more uncertainty.
Because really, why would men as handsome and together as Gray and Bas want her? She was a mutant, an unsophisticated woman no better than a beastly killer at the best of times with nothing more than a GED and a handful of unsuccessful waitressing jobs on her résumé. She’d had a few sexual, meaningless relationships and barely two nickels to rub together. Oh, and she was a monster.
Her beast snarled at her to quit her pity party and concentrate on stopping the danger she could feel drawing closer.
After grabbing more munitions and another gun filled with bullets meant to kill, Ali threw on a jacket and trudged outside. For three hours, she looked for danger while covering her trail. An unfamiliar scent struck, pine and danger and something else that seemed recognizable. The spoor of power mixed with insanity. She trudged deeper into the undergrowth to a small clearing very few on the mountains knew about. There, she came upon the one mutant she’d managed to avoid for years. Trenton’s right hand and a bastard too crafty to be caught unaware. He’d masked his scent, or she never would have gotten close to him.
She entered the clearing before she recognized him. Now that it was too late to do anything but persist, she put on a brave face and waited.
Freakishly huge, he’d tower over Bas. He had to be nearly eight feet in height and must have weighed four hundred pounds. His skin, like hers, had streaks of black over normal flesh. His hair remained long all the time, as if he was in a perpetual state of change. His eyes had no iris or pupil to be seen. Colored entirely of red, they looked like bloody beacons leading to hell.
“Watts.”
He nodded, his gaze calm, his manner unthreatening. Abnormally at ease.
His claws had turned black years ago, but his fangs remained white, sharp, and lethal. She’d seen more than one innocent die from having his or her throat torn out by those teeth.
“Alison. I’m glad to see you still alive.”
She scowled. “Save it, Watts. We both know you’re here for Trenton. His fucking lackey.”
He narrowed his eyes. “A lethal tongue you have there.” He smiled, showcasing not only the few fangs she’d seen before but a whole mouthful of them. “I can’t wait to feel it up close and personal.” He licked his lips, and she barely controlled a shudder.
She pulled out her pistols and aimed them dead center between his eyes. He might survive a shot to the chest, but he wouldn’t walk away without a brain. “Say what you want, then leave.”