Resisting the Alpha Triplets by Cara Anderson

Ch. 28 Big Bad Wolf

Mallory’s POV

“Wh-, what?” I sputtered at Cary’s offer. “You can’t-, I can’t-, I’m not-”

“Breathe, Mal.” Clay coached, urging me to follow his lead.

“Mate or not, you’re the only woman my wolf will ever allow on his back. There will never be anyone for us but you, Mal. No mate coming for her pound of flesh because you took the first ride on our wolves so don’t let that stop you.” Cary added reassuringly.

I looked at them both warily, disbelief written all over my face. But the idea of flying through the forest at the speed of a wolf had always been a dream I couldn’t wait to make a reality. I only had a couple weeks to wait for my own wolf but something told me I’d end up having a nervous breakdown before that day arrived.

“Okay, let’s do it!” I finally agreed.

“That’s our girl!” Clay exclaimed triumphantly, gathering me up in his arms and twirling me around.

As soon as Clay set me back on my feet, Cary swept them out from under me, carrying me against him as he flew down the stairs and out the door. He didn’t stop until we reached the treeline behind my house. When he finally set me down and stepped back, he and Clay both held me in their heated gaze.

“Um,” Clay cleared his throat, “We’re going to undress now so we can shift. Not that we mind if you watch, but if you don’t want to see more than your ready for-”

“And by that, he means a lot more.” Cary butted in.

“Pfft!” I scoffed, trying to cover the nervous energy flowing through me. “I doubt there’s anything all that impressive to see but I’ll turn around to preserve your modesty.”

“No need to be embarrassed, love.”

Cary called me out, not buying my charade. “It’s all yours to look at, touch, or whatever else pleases you,”

I nearly choked on my own spit at that, but refused to turn back around. Instead I waved my hand over my shoulder lamely, indicating they should get on with it. The next thing I knew, two wolves were nuzzling into my sides, butting their heads into my hands in a bid for some ear scratches.

I obliged of course, giggling at their blatant bid for attention. But as I petted their wolves, I drank them in. They were both beautiful white wolves with light tan patches. Cary’s wolf, Roan, had tan on his paws and the tip of his tail while Clay’s wolf, Gunner, had a tan patch over one eye and one of his ears was tan as well. Somehow, I knew exactly which was which.

“Aren’t you both so handsome?” I cooed in that voice one reserved for infants and animals.

Roan rolled on his back, shamelessly seeking belly scratches which I willingly gave. Then Gunner, unwilling to relinquish all the attention, snarled at his brother before tugging me away by my shirt in his teeth. A sense of peace settled in my chest as my world was reduced to nothing more than the simplistic view of their animals vying for my affection.

I was stroking Gunner’s muzzle when the sound of purring startled me. Cary and Clay’s wolves had rumbled appreciatively as I ran my fingers through their silky fur, but this wasn’t them. This sound came from me. Only I wasn’t making any noise. The purring sound was inside my head.

“I thought someone was giving me a ride.” I reminded them, shaking off the odd experience.

Roan was on his feet in the blink of an eye, lowering himself for me to climb on his back. No sooner had I slung one leg over him and snaked my fingers through his fur when he took off like a bullet. Gunner kept pace right beside him, repeatedly glancing at me like he wanted to be ready to catch me if I started to fall.

True to their word, all the nonsense I’d been struggling to sort out disappeared. There was only the three of us, flying through the forest while the moonlight streamed down through the trees. The only sounds to be heard were the thudding of paws and the wind whipping by.

I lost myself in the freedom of it, the liberation from everything but the need to hold on to Roan and tune in to the world around me. Time meant nothing at present, so it could have been minutes or hours that passed before we finally slowed to a stop in a small clearing. But when we did finally stop, I found I was too exhausted to think, sliding off Roan and lying down on my back on the forest floor.

Gunner bounded away but Roan flopped down beside me, licking my cheek before resting his massive head on my shoulder.

“Eww!” I grumbled playfully. “Enough with the doggy slobber!”

Roan just let out a contented grunt, his warm breath coming out in puffs that teased my skin in the cool night air. I absently scratched his head while I stared up at the moon, soaking in the beauty of it. It was so quiet, so tranquil, and I basked in it.

We were pack, so even in wolf form, they could have communicated with me. But Cary seemed to recognize my need for peace so he stayed silent.

Something I knew he found difficult which made me appreciate it all the more. Though eventually, even I needed to fill the silence with something.

Slowly, tentatively, I rose to my feet, leery of that foreign voice in my head

returning. Thankfully, it didn’t. I sent a sidelong glance in Roan’s direction to find him following me with his eyes but he didn’t get up. So I took off!

“Bad idea, darling!” Cary gowled in my head. “Didn’t anyone ever tell you not to run from the big bad wolf?”

I tore through the trees, dodging and weaving, trying to evade Cary’s wolf. I was doing a pretty good job of it until Clay’s wolf cut me off. I skidded to a stop right before I was about to slam into him. In hindsight, a crash landing might have been preferable, considering the alternative.

“Aaagh!” I shrieked when I saw what his wolf dropped at my feet. “What the fuck is that?”

The question was rhetorical. I knew what it was, my brain just didn’t want to process it.

“It’s a rabbit. My wolf hunted it for you.” Clay announced proudly.

Suddenly, my stomach lurched, heaving up my non-existent dinner.

“I don’t feel so good.” I moaned dryly, my throat burning from the acid.

Roan barked and Gunner responded by quickly removing the bloodied creature, trotting off with it between his jaws.

“Better?” Cary’s question rang in my head just as a sharp, stabbing pain sent me doubling over, my knees hitting the ground.

“No! Oww!” I cried, actual tears stinging my eyes from the pain. “It hurts!”

Suddenly, two very naked men were kneeling on either side of me, hands flailing around, unsure where it was safe to touch. Part of me wanted to stare at all that delicious muscle on display while the other part of me told me to look away, but I couldn’t do either. Another searing pain sliced through me and I reached for Cary’s hand, needing something to ground me as the agony threatened to pull me under.

“Tell me what to do, Mal. Where does it hurt?” Clay asked, looking down at me with a fierce determination to fend off my unseen assailant.

“Everywhere!” I managed to croak out, before another scream tore from my lips as every vertebrae in my spine felt like they were being cleaved apart. “I’m sick. My whole body hurts. Can you please take me home?”

For his part, Cary just looked broken, his eyes filling with defeat as it became painfully obvious there was nothing he could do. He sat beside me, still as a statue. But he never let go of my hand even as I curled into a fetal position, sobbing on the forest floor.

“Please, I just want to go home.” I pleaded, my own desperation reflected back in Cary’s eyes.

“Wolf form would be faster.” Clay’s words were directed at Cary. “You shift and I’ll lift her onto your back.”

And that’s what they did. But unfortunately, we didn’t get very far. Just as Cary’s wolf took a step towards home, a gut-wrenching pain rocked through me, accompanied by a loud cracking sound that seemed to reverberate through the surrounding woods. My body convulsed and fell to the ground before either man could shift back and get to me.

I was thrashing on the ground as my whole body seized. My mind seemed untethered, unable to grasp onto a single thought. Until I heard Clay’s next words.

“Fuck! I think she’s shifting!”