Tempted by Renee Rose

11

WADE

“The Biology building is this way.”I led Landry across the grass at Granger State, toward the sprawling grey sciences building. He’d taken time away from the distillery—time he couldn’t afford, especially with Gib gone—because the two of us couldn't stand to be away from our mate. Our wolves had made us agitated and fucking miserable since we watched her taillights disappear on Sunday.

I’d cyber-stalked her enough to know that she taught an undergrad biology course this afternoon, and we’d decided to drive down and watch her work.

That was our excuse to see her again.

“What was it like, living with all these humans when you went here?” Wade asked, looking around. “Was it hard to be away from the pack?”

I’d spent four years in Granger and I’d enjoyed it, but my wolf always pulled me back to the mountains above West Springs whenever it could.

“I felt like a fish out of water, for sure. I was always worried about hiding what I was—your dad put a heavy dose of alpha fear into me over fucking that up.” I chuckled, shooting a glance at Landry to make sure it landed right.

He’d lost his father, our pack alpha, five years ago in a tragic accident. A strong storm had kicked up during a full moon run and a tree had fallen, crushing him. Losing an alpha was devastating to not only the family, but the entire pack. Gib had taken over immediately, but the transition of trust took some time. Now, with Gib still in Montana, Landry could see how being a new alpha was not only difficult, but came with a burden of trust and commitment to so many. He was being torn between protecting those he temporarily led, but also me and Caitlyn. The man and his wolf.

“I liked being down here,” I continued. “My parents were so proud that I was getting an education to help the pack. That made it all worth it.”

“Were you, like, big man on campus?” he asked with a sly grin. The campus was busy with summer students, those walking to class or lounging on the grass, or even playing frisbee.

I snorted. “Nope. I’m not you. I kept to myself, mostly. Like I said, your dad scared the shit out of me about making sure I never revealed what I am.”

I was four years younger than Landry, so while we knew we were scent-matches, we hadn’t hung out together much before I left for college. It wasn’t until a full moon run during my junior year that we pleasured a female wolf together afterwards, and formed a bond.

I pulled open the door to the building and lifted my chin toward the stairs. “Lecture Hall 305. Third floor.”

Landry lifted his nose, inconspicuously taking in the scents. His gaze slid to mine as we both caught the faint aroma of our female. Even in a space that was as well used as this one, we could pick up our mate’s scent and track her.

My wolf started quivering in anticipation. Fates, the last two days had been a goddamn trial. When a wolf met his mate—or, in our sub-species’ case, their mate—the need to claim her with his mark was instantaneous and compelling as hell. If the female was a wolf, she’d understand. She’d want it as badly as we did. And right away.

Our sexy scientist wasn’t a wolf though. She was human, so we had to operate within the confines of human behavior. Court her. Win her over. Prove our love—not that love was a concept wolves usually used. Quickly.

It was a balancing act between putting our mate at ease, and keeping our wolves happy.

Now that I’d met Caitlyn, I could believe in love. If it was the innate sense of well-being when I was near her, when I was providing for, pleasing and protecting her, then I totally got it.

Yeah, I was madly in love.

And slowly going insane with the need for her.

We found the lecture hall, and slipped in with the other students entering. The moment I was inside, my wolf calmed a bit. Circled and preened.

There she was.

Our mate.

She was looking hotter than hell in a pair of jeans and a wide-necked blouse. Was it crazy that the sight of her exposed collarbone drove me mad?

We took seats in the back row, not wanting to disturb Caitlyn. We also removed our cowboy hats, and sank down in our seats so we wouldn’t draw attention. Being in Wyoming, many of the students probably had Stetsons of their own, but none were wearing them now.

I’d taken biology when I was a student. I didn’t remember much of it, but I was damn sure it wasn’t nearly as interesting as Caitlyn’s class.

She launched into an extremely coherent lecture on genetics, with slides and entertaining tidbits to help students remember important facts that would be on the quiz she was giving Friday. Caitlyn was truly in her element—comfortable at the lectern, enthusiastic yet authoritative with her material. I got a hard-on just listening to her. She was in charge here and that was arousing, especially when we’d turn her into the submissive once we got her back between us.

The best part, though, was when she peppered her lecture with stories of her own research interest—wolves.

Landry leaned forward in his chair.

“Recovery of the grey wolf—who can tell me the Latin name?”

“Canis Lupus!” someone shouted out.

“—Canis Lupus, very good Mr. Ingram—in North America has depended on several factors. One, minimizing human-caused mortality. Two, assisting wolves in migrating to suitable habitat presently unoccupied by wolves. What has artificially transplanting wolves to new areas done to the genetic variation of the wolves, though? This is why we’re examining the genetic variation of naturally colonized wolves versus transplanted wolves, to determine the effects on reintroduction projects.”

Caitlyn went back to her material, then wrapped things up by asking for questions.

“Anything unclear? You understand what you need to study for the quiz?” She scanned the lecture hall, then froze. “Oh.” She caught sight of us. She was speaking into a headset so she could be heard easily in the large lecture hall, so her little expression of surprise was picked up by everyone.

Landry lifted his hand in a small wave.

I just grinned.

“Um…” She stared for a moment as her cheeks went pink. “Ah, that’s it for today, everyone. Quiz Friday, ten percent of your grade.”

The students collected their things and began to leave.

She removed her headset and jogged up the terraced aisle to reach us, weaving around departing students. If I’d had any doubt about how happy she’d be to see us, it was erased.

“Auditing my class?” Her smile was so brilliant, it hurt my chest. And it was aimed at us.

“Yep.” Landry settled a hand on her hip, as if to show every horny college boy in the lecture hall that she belonged to him—to us. The thing about scent-matches was that we didn’t get jealous of each other. It was why I hadn’t wanted to claim her on my own that night I met her at the bar. It hadn’t felt complete without Landry. We were programmed to mate in pairs—some quirk of evolution to preserve the survival of our time during more difficult times, I supposed.

Maybe Caitlyn could figure it out.

That thought landed in my head and took hold.

Yes. That was exactly what we needed to do. Redirect Caitlyn’s passion for wolf science to the study of shifter genes. The Two Marks pack’s very particular genes. Only Cord McCaffrey, the shifter doctor, had done any study on why we were different, but she was an expert, had a doctorate on the subject.

Maybe it would be as fulfilling to her as the research she’d have to abandon. It would ease the blow of giving up on the research that meant so much to her.

Because that’s what we needed her to do—abandon her research. Stop tagging wolves, studying the data. Sharing it with the world.

Let sleeping wolves lie.

We didn’t want real numbers of any kind of wolf—canis lupus or our variety—getting out into the world. We couldn’t let that happen.

“We wanted to know more about what you do here,” Landry said as the last of the students left.

“And we missed you,” I added, reaching up to stroke my knuckles down her cheek. I couldn’t help myself. And neither could my wolf.

Caitlyn’s nipples protruded with arousal, visible even through her bra and blouse.

“I can’t believe you’re here.” Her laugh was breathy. Sexy. “How did you even find me?”

“I’m pretty good with a computer,” I admitted. I didn’t need to tell her I hacked into the college’s records last week when I was researching her to get her schedule. “You were great up there. I wish I’d had professors like you when I went here.”

“Yeah, but how would you concentrate on the subject material?” Landry’s hand started roaming up and down Caitlyn’s side now that we were alone.

Caitlyn’s smile was knowing, like she already understood she had us both wrapped around her little finger. My wolf loved that.

“So how much do you teach? I thought you were a researcher?” Landry asked, glancing around the empty room.

“Usually just one class per semester. I am primarily a researcher, with funding for my job provided by a grant, like I said. But the teaching is supplemental income, which is what I need right now. Do you guys want to see what I’m doing with the trackers you helped me place?”

“Sure,” I answered. More like, definitely. We needed to know exactly what her research looked like, in case—and I hated thinking this—we needed to thwart it.

Landry and I had led her on a wild goose chase on Sunday after we agreed we shouldn’t allow her to put any more trackers in wolves on our land. Instead of leading her directly to a group of wolves, we’d gone for a hike in the woods. The only animals around had been small forest creatures.

It had felt dastardly, but until we’d won our mate over and explained what we were, we couldn’t risk any more exposure for the pack. Once she knew, hopefully she’d understand our position. Hopefully, she’d back off.

But considering how enthusiastic she’d appeared talking about her research to her class, these were very tricky waters.

Which meant we were still in fucking trouble. We hadn’t heard from Gib since the weekend—I was going to thank their mate for keeping him well occupied—so Landry hadn’t had to tell him the truth. We’d been given a reprieve to handle this issue our way.

Caitlyn led us up another flight of stairs to her office, a very small space in the corner of a laboratory. There were a few students in the lab doing their own thing, and they gave us curious stares as we came in, but Caitlyn didn’t introduce us.

“This is my office. The quarters are a bit tight, especially with you two in here.” She laughed, her gaze sweeping across Landry’s broad shoulders to mine.

My thoughts immediately turned dirty, and apparently, so did hers, because the scent of her arousal made Landry growl. He cleared his throat when Caitlyn startled at the sound. “Allergies,” he said gruffly.

Her eyes flared, and pink tinged her cheeks.

Yeah, she was thinking dirty things. Like the fact that she’d called us when she returned to her apartment on Sunday, and we’d talked her through removing the butt plug then touching herself to completion. Phone sex wasn’t anything like the real thing, but fuck… I’d get her to come any which way. That was my—our—fucking job now. Literally.

Our. Fucking. Job.

Caitlyn started up her computer, leaning over her desk. It reminded me of the position we’d put her in to spank her by the property-dividing fence. The urge to repeat that delectable activity made my cock go rock hard.

“This is my GPS tracking system on all the wolves we’ve tagged in Wyoming.” She opened a screen that showed over a dozen dots moving on a map. She located the two in West Springs, and pointed. “You see? That’s White Paw and Comet.”

“What now?” Landry asked.

“The two wolves you helped me tag last weekend.”

“It’s so cute that you name them.” I was unable to resist a smile.

She lifted her chin. “Of course I name them! They’re part of my life now. Your help in getting these two was huge. We’ve been wanting to get samples from wolves in your area for a long time, but it’s been difficult. Now, I’ll be able to study not only the genetic makeup of wolves that haven’t been transplanted, but how far their territory extends, and whether they mate with wolves of other packs and species.”

“And your paper?” Landry asked. “You translate this data into findings.”

She nodded. “It’s on my computer as well. I’ve written the outline and have been adding data as it comes in, but I will have to finalize it soon. Publishing is the only way to get ahead in my field.”

“Publish or perish?” I asked, remembering the saying.

“Definitely publish.”

Landry and I turned at the voice. And found a short, balding man staring at Caitlyn’s ass.

Only when she turned to face him did he look away. When he realized we’d caught him, he didn’t look the least bit contrite. In fact, the corner of his mouth tipped up as if it was Caitlyn’s fault she was too hot for him to ignore.

Landry growled, and that got the guy’s attention.

“Dr. Andrews,” Caitlyn said.

This guy was her boss? He wore jeans and a T-shirt that had some ridiculous math joke on it, as well as a coffee stain. The sneakers on his feet were broken in but, based on his gut, it wasn’t from running.

“The data from the wolves you tagged last weekend is remarkable.”

“These are the men who helped me find them.”

Landry’s back practically snapped with the tension in it. The results of what he’d agreed to do, the compromise, was this. Satisfying a man who enjoyed staring at our mate’s ass.

Andrews had to tip his chin back to look us in the eye.

“You all eat your vegetables in West Springs,” he said, making us sound like bumbling hicks instead of the half-shifter guys who could crush him with the squeeze of a hand around his tiny neck.

Caitlyn must have picked up on the fact that her boss was close to being squashed like a bug because she cleared her throat. “I’ll be returning this weekend, with the rest of the trackers.”

That was to appease Andrews, not us.

We just wanted her returning… without the fucking trackers.

He smiled. “Good, good. The more wolves in the study, the better.”

I didn’t like the sound of it. In fact, neither did my wolf, who snapped and snarled.

“Why’s that?” Landry asked, pretending to be an idiot.

The guy shifted his patronizing gaze to him. “Science is based on factual data. If Caity doesn’t have enough wolves in her study, the findings will be thin. Her observations could be easily shot down.”

“Shot down,” Landry repeated.

“Caity?” I asked at the same time, our tones much colder than moments ago.

He glanced back and forth between us. “Dr. Shriver,” he corrected. “As for shot down, it’s just a figure of speech. One or two wolves doesn’t set a pattern or precedent for her research.”

“I have sixteen,” she said. “Fourteen, after…” She cleared her throat, not saying anything about the two wolves who’d been shot down.

I wasn’t the alpha here, but this fucker had to go.

I stepped toward him, and Andrews backed up. I took another step, putting myself between him and Caitlyn. He couldn’t even see her now, but tried, by leaning around me.

“Yes, well. I’m sure your friends, Dr. Shriver, will be leaving soon so you can return to your work.”

I crossed my arms over my chest. “Actually, I’m staying. I’ll be here the rest of the week, and escorting Dr. Shriver to West Springs.”

“You are?” Caitlyn asked and I turned to face her, all but snubbing the weasley boss.

Her face lit up with happiness, and my wolf preened.

I only knew Andrews left because the office door shut behind him. While his scent lingered, it wasn’t strong now. Thank fuck.

I stroked my fingers down her cheek. “I’ve been hard for you all week,” I admitted.

Her gaze dropped to the front of my jeans, and she couldn’t miss the truth of my words.

“Me, too.” Landry moved to stand beside me.

“You’re both staying?”

Landry shook his head. “I have to head back. Wade will take care of you.”

She glanced at his dick, which I guessed was as hard as mine. We were alone with our mate.

A little frown formed in her brow. “How… how does this work? I mean, with two guys and only Wade staying. Before, you didn’t—”

“We won’t always take you together. Sometimes, like the next few days, it’ll be you and me.”

“Friday night, I’ll be waiting,” Landry said, full of promise.

My nostrils flared when I scented her arousal.

“You’re not j-jealous of each other?”

I ran my thumb over her lower lip. “Of each other? No. But we don’t share with anyone else.”

She licked her lips as she took in this part of being in a triad. She had two men to please, sometimes apart, sometimes together. But we’d always satisfy her.

Caitlyn turned to face Landry, and she boldly cupped him through his jeans. “You can make it until Friday?” she asked, her voice a sultry purr that made my dick jump and my wolf lick his lips.

Landry growled, tangled his fingers in her hair. “You want to get on your knees for me, sugar?”

She looked up at him through her lashes, and nodded.

As Landry undid his belt and Caitlyn sank to the floor in front of him, I leaned against the closed door and watched. To keep from coming in my pants at the sight of our mate sucking so well, I thought of Andrews. I didn’t like him, and not just because he was paying attention to Caitlyn in more than just a professional manner. I was going to spend some time looking into him, because I was going to protect our mate from everything. Including her boss.