By Hook or by Wolf Read online

  She really is a lovely woman.

  Perhaps I should apologize for my rudeness toward her that day when I returned the small paintings I’d stolen. I was definitely abrupt and over the top in my reaction to her, but I had been so angry to have her push me like that.

  What had the point been, anyway?

  I’d never found out.

  I’d never found out what game she was playing with me or why she wanted me to rob her.

  With a sigh, I realize I’ll likely never have answers. I turn around to go back and check on Rebecca when I run into a wall of muscle.

  “Excuse me,” I mumble, and I try to move past the person, but he clears his throat and doesn’t move. I look up and see that it’s one of the brothers.

  It’s Claw brother number three.

  Trevor.

  “It’s you,” I say.

  “And it’s you,” he cocks his head to the side. “What are you doing here?”

  I could ask him the same question, but for a brief minute, my mouth forgets how to work. Trevor seems slightly amused by the fact that my hands are on his chest and I’m just staring up at him.

  Gawking.

  Finally, I clear my throat and manage to take a step back so our bodies aren’t pressed up against each other.

  Come on, Natasha. Be normal. You’ve got this.

  “My daughter is a bit of an artist,” I say. “And you?” What made him decide to come here today? I know he’s an art teacher. Does he have kids, too?

  “Me too,” he smiles. “I love coming to stuff like this because it lets me display my sketches. Besides, kids are the best critics. A few of my students are here today. They’re totally honest. If something is bad, they just tell you. Kids don’t shy away from being real with you the way that adults do.”

  “I don’t think anyone could find anything to criticize about your drawings,” I say. “You seem very talented.”

  Does he blush a little when I say that?

  Strange.

  For such a tall, self-confident man, he doesn’t seem to be used to people thinking he’s good at what he does.

  Interesting.

  “Thank you,” he says politely. “I’d love to see your daughter’s work, too.”

  “It’s hard to miss her display,” I say. “She imitated the work from your, uh, jewel room. She liked the pictures of you and your brothers so much that she decided to make her own. She put her own spin on it, of course, but she thinks your pictures are incredible.”

  He smiles. It’s a real, genuine smile. He seems quite happy, quite content. It seems as though he knows exactly what he’s doing right now.

  “That’s quite flattering,” he says.

  “Well, I’m sure you know that your gallery has quite a bit of interesting art in it. Or did.”

  “It still does,” he says.

  “But the gallery is still closed, isn’t it?”

  “Yes.”

  “Any plans to reopen?” I ask hopefully. “I’d love to visit sometime.”

  He shakes his head.

  “Sadly, my mother is ill, so all of our time goes to taking care of her,” he says.

  “I’m sorry. I hadn’t heard.” I wonder what happened. Emily isn’t my favorite person, but nobody deserves to get sick. They certainly don’t deserve the end-of-the-world kind of sickness it sounds like Emily has.

  “Cancer,” he says.

  “That’s rough.”

  “Yeah, to put it lightly. She doesn’t have a lot of time left.”

  “I’d love to visit her,” I find myself saying. It’s probably a terrible idea.

  “Really?” Trevor looks just as surprised as I am.

  “Really,” I nod. “If you don’t think she’d mind.”

  “I’m sure she’d be thrilled,” he tells me. You can come by anytime. Do you have our address?”

  “Uh, no,” I say.

  “Give me your phone.”

  I’m not sure why I obey Trevor Claw, but I do. I fetch the phone from my pocket and hand it over. He takes it, swiping it to unlock it, and then hits a couple of buttons. He hands it back and smiles mischievously.

  “What did you do?” I ask even though I probably don’t want to know. I thought he was just going to put in his phone number, it seems as though Mr. Claw did a little more than that.

  “I put in my phone number so you can call to ask me for my address,” he says. “And I took the liberty of scheduling a date for us on Friday night.”

  “What?” I screech, looking at the calendar app on my phone. “I didn’t agree to a date.”

  “Oh, no? I’m sorry,” he says innocently. “Natasha, will you go on a date with me and my brothers on Friday night?”

  “What?”

  “Friday night. Eight o’clock. A date.”

  “You said with...all of you?” I cock my head to the side. I shouldn’t even be considering saying yes, but somehow, the idea of saying no just seems impossible.

  His voice softens. “Would it be so bad?” Trevor reaches out and traces my cheek with his hand and somehow, I know that there’s no way I’m turning him down.

  I’m not turning them down.

  “One date,” I whisper.

  “One date,” he agrees.

  “Nothing more,” I say.

  “I wasn’t asking for anything else,” he tells me.

  “I’ll text you,” I say. I turn to leave, but he reaches for my hand, pulls me close, and cups my face.

  “A promise,” he whispers. “Should be sealed with a kiss.”

  He brings his lips down to mine. He dominates me with his mouth, kissing me over and over again. Somehow, this feels so right. Somehow, everything I’ve been thinking about just floats away. All of my worries and concerns and fears just disappear as Trevor and I make out in front of his display at the art show.

  I realize that we’re making a scene and that some of the parents are definitely going to see us, but I don’t care.

  I can’t stop myself from stealing this moment.

  I can’t stop myself from taking everything he has to offer.

  Chapter Nine

  Trevor

  “You did what?” Lee and Cody don’t quite have the reaction I was hoping for.

  Then again, I did kind of spring this on them.

  “I asked her out,” I repeat. “For Friday night.”

  “That’s in less than a week,” Lee says, as though I’ve never looked at a calendar before.

  “Yeah, I realize when Friday is,” I say.

  “What did she say?” Cody asks. “Tell me everything.”

  I lower my voice, fully aware of the fact that my mother is resting in the next room. She’s been very tired these days. I’m sure it’s part of the cancer, but part of it could just be stress. I’m also afraid that my mother doesn’t know how to take a break. Gerald is running the pack and taking care of business on that end, but Mom doesn’t seem to know how to delegate. Her entire life, she’s been the one running the show.

  Now she has to count on other people to take care of her.

  Still, old habits die hard, and Mom loves a good bit of gossip. Even though I don’t appreciate her meddling, I’m happy to admit that the reason this entire date is even happening is because she did meddle.

  “I ran into her at the art show. Well, actually, she ran into me. She was looking at our display table and turned around. She bumped into me when she did.”

  “What was she doing at the art show?” Lee asks.

  “Her daughter had a display, too.”

  I’d taken a look later and Natasha hadn’t been exaggerating. Her daughter is very talented. In fact, she won several prizes for her designs. It was really lovely to see how she’d taken pictures of herself and her mother and then framed them in pretty, handmade frames. I was totally honored that the frames resembled the ones from our own gallery. As Natasha had said, our frames were definitely the inspiration for her own.

  Each one had been painted carefully and i
n the center of every flower was a small gem.

  They were lovely.

  I’d been drawn not only to the pictures themselves, but to the way Natasha and her daughter seemed to truly care about one another. So many parents claimed they hated raising kids and that middle and high schoolers were terrible and awful to be around, but I never got that vibe with Natasha.

  She and Rebecca seemed like they truly cared about each other and that they weren’t afraid to have fun and be goofy together. I’m not a parent myself, but it seems like that’s the real secret to raising sweet kids. It seems like if you want to have great kids, you have to be great with them. You can’t be afraid to have fun with them. Life is too short to be serious all of the time.

  “She said she wanted to stop by and see Mom sometime, so I took her phone.”

  “She just handed it over?”

  “Yep. I put my number in, texted myself so I’d have her number, and then added a date to her calendar.”

  Lee looks shocked, but Cody is totally on my side with this one. He high fives me as he laughs.

  “Clever,” he says.

  “And then I kissed her,” I tell them. I have no idea how mate sharing works. I don’t know if this is something where jealousy is ever going to come into play, but I like to think that it won’t. I’m going to be totally up front with my brothers, though.

  I’m not surprised that both Cody and Lee smile.

  “Tell us about it,” Cody says, smirking. “And don’t leave anything out.”

  THE WEEK SEEMS TO GO by slowly.

  Painfully slowly.

  Everything feels boring, to be honest.

  Work doesn’t bring the same joy that it used to and even when I do feel happy, it doesn’t feel as good as thinking about Natasha does. There’s no rational explanation for my feelings. There’s no realistic, logical reason I should feel so completely tingly when I think of her.

  But I do.

  By Wednesday, my brothers and I are all going crazy with anticipation. We finally told our mother about our upcoming date, and she was ridiculously pleased with herself. I realize she’s going to give herself all of the credit, but that’s fine by me. What matters isn’t how we met Natasha, but that we did.

  After work that evening, my brothers and I decide to go run. We all want to move our bodies, to shift, to change. We all want to feel the rush of wind on our faces and on our bodies. We want to feel free. Sometimes working in an office feels like I’m on top of the world. Other times, it feels like I’m in a little box that’s slowly crushing me. Tonight all I want to do is feel free.

  I want to see her tonight.

  I want to see her and touch her and feel her.

  I’ll wait. Natasha is totally worth waiting a few days for, but damn if it’s not eating me up inside.

  We go to an abandoned cabin at the edge of town. It’s been vacant for years and nobody really knows who owns it. It doesn’t have running water or electricity. It’s literally just a shack someone put up. Maybe they planned to use it for hunting or just wanted a place they could call their own. I don’t know.

  Undressing quickly, we each shift in turn. Then we move stealthily through the forest that surrounds Starton.

  For years, my brothers and I have been hunting in these woods. We’ve used this place for food and for adventuring. Tonight we’re using the woods to run and to play. Without speaking about it, we can all sense the fact that we’re growing agitated and anxious without our mate close by.

  I run ahead, followed by Lee and Cody. Together, we move swiftly through the underbrush, over hills, and around fallen logs. I leap over one log and my brothers do the same. We run.

  Faster.

  Faster.

  Faster.

  I’m in excellent shape, as we all are, and running doesn’t feel strenuous. It feels good. I can feel some of the tension from the day starting to melt away, starting to fade into oblivion. I love the way I’m starting to feel more calm. I love the way my heart is finally feeling normal.

  We approach a clearing we know and love. Then we stop. I stand in the center of the clearing and my brothers circle around me because this is the part of the evening where we play a little game.

  I’m stressed.

  Tense.

  We all are.

  One of the best things about being a shifter is our strength, but it also means that fighting with people we know and trust can be really, really fun. Lee’s dark eyes pierce mine as he circles around me. I am the prey in this moment, but I’m not going to go down easy. Lee leaps at me and I jump away just as Cody comes forward, too. The two of them bump into each other and start wrestling, fighting.

  The air is filled with growls as I jump into the mess of bodies and fur in the center of the clearing. Together, the three of us wrestle and fight one another.

  Together, we allow the tension that’s been building up to finally seep away. We let go of the anxiousness, the frustration, the exhaustion.

  I stop worrying about the fact that my entire body feels like its on fire and instead, I fight with my brothers.

  We growl.

  We nip.

  We hit each other with our paws.

  And then, finally, we release one another and we shift back.

  “Damn,” Lee says, standing with his hands on his hips.

  “Yeah,” Cody agrees.

  “That was just what I needed,” I say, looking around. The moon is shining bright and the stars are out. It’s a totally clear, totally wonderful night.

  “She’s going to be worth it, you know,” Lee says.

  “She already is,” Cody says. “I knew when I saw her that we were meant to be together: that we all were.”

  “It’s a strange feeling,” I agree. “I’d never really thought about us sharing a woman before.”

  “I don’t feel jealous,” Lee says. He shakes his head, as though it’s the strangest problem. “I always thought that if I was in a situation like this, that I’d feel jealous. I don’t, though.”

  “Me neither,” I agree. “If anything, it’s a relief to know that if anything happens to me, the woman I love will be taken care of.

  My brothers murmur in agreement and then we walk to the edge of the clearing where a creek runs down over a cliff. It creates a lovely little waterfall that’s very beautiful to look at. Staring down, we eye the swimming hole beneath us. The moon is bright enough that there’s a clear view of the water beneath us. We’re all hot and tired, sweaty and gross, so it’s no surprise when Lee turns to us and grins.

  “Me first,” he says, and leaps off the cliff.

  Laughing, Cody follows.

  I bring up the rear.

  I’ve jumped into this place many times before, but tonight it feels different.

  Tonight it feels right.

  Tonight, I think I’m about to take off on a wonderful adventure.

  Friday can’t come soon enough.

  Chapter Ten

  Natasha

  “What do you think?” I spin around in a circle, staring at my dress in the mirror. It’s a soft shade of blue and I think it brings out my eyes. Rebecca, ever the romantic, squeals in delight.

  “Mom,” she says. “You’re going to knock ‘em dead.”

  “That kind of defeats the purpose of dating,” I say drily, but she only laughs. Rebecca is weirdly okay with the idea of me going out with three guys at once. I thought about hiding this from her, but we’ve known polyamorous families before and one of her friends has three moms, so it didn’t seem like a terrible idea to fill her in.

  Besides, I like having an honest relationship with my kid. If I want her to be honest with me, then I’m going to show her that same respect.

  It’s only fair.

  Soon I’m done primping and getting ready. Jan arrives and I hug Rebecca goodbye. Jan scowls at me so deeply that it’s almost amusing, but I’m not really upset. She’s a great babysitter and she’ll quickly get over the fact that I’m going on a date. If she
doesn’t, then it’ll be time to find someone new. Besides, Rebecca is in middle school. She’s almost too old for a babysitter, anyway.

  I head outside, hop in my car, and drive to the restaurant Trevor texted me about.

  To be honest, I’ve been texting Trevor a lot this week. It’s been really wonderful to get to know him on a deeper level. I haven’t had the same level of communication with his brothers, but that’s okay. That’s what tonight is all about. Trevor seems like he’s the sweet, gentle one of the boys. Cody and Lee may be kind, too, but they’re also much more Alpha.

  They seem purely masculine.

  Almost too masculine.

  And there’s no doubt in my mind that tonight, we’re going to do more than just eat dinner. Tonight we’re going to let ourselves go completely. Entirely. We all need this: most of all, me.

  It’s been a long time since I was with anyone. In fact, I haven’t slept with anyone since Henry passed away. The reality is that Henry left big shoes to fill. Whoever I sleep with, whoever I date: they’re going to have to be half as cool as he was.

  Maybe it’s going to take three men to fill the void my husband left behind.

  When I get to the restaurant, I stop in the parking lot and look in the mirror only long enough to make sure my makeup still looks great. If I sit in the car too long, I’m going to chicken out.

  And I’m no chicken.

  I hurry up to the front of the restaurant, and they’re there.

  Waiting for me.

  Three big, tall, handsome men.

  “Hello,” I say, suddenly feeling breathless.

  Suddenly feeling nervous.

  They eye me up and down appreciatively. Each of them looks me over, smiling and nodding in acceptance.

  “Good evening, Natasha,” Lee steps forward. He kisses me lightly on the cheek. “You look completely fuckable,” he whispers in my ear. I blush, but the words go straight to my core.

  Fuckable?

  Really?

  I shouldn’t be so turned on by that dirty talk, but I am. I totally am.

  Worst of all, I want more.

  So, when Cody leans in to kiss my other cheek and he whispers, “I can’t wait to taste you everywhere,” I feel like I might faint.