Climbing the Ladder Read online

  “She’s a broker for a bank. Her favorite color is purple. She loves cinnamon and sweets and she tastes like nectarines and she’s got a little hot spot on her wrist.” Kody nuzzled him. “When I met her, she dyed her hair lighter; it’s prettier now.”

  “A bank? Really? And she likes citrus fruit?” Wow. She had really grown up mundane.

  “She loves to dance, her feet are ticklish, and she likes sex, a lot.”

  “Mmm. So do you.” He had to be careful. He could get distracted. He and Kody had been young, but they’d burned bright.

  Kody nodded, the whispered Mate echoing inside him again.

  “I missed you, baby. I was so mad that you left. Now I know why.” He’d been more than mad; he’d been crazy. He’d screamed and raved until Junie and Canyon had gone to the Alpha, who’d taken Mesa down, teeth hard on his throat, telling him to get over it.

  “I missed you. I had to go.” Of course, Kody had. The man could no more deny his instincts to complete them than he could stop breathing. Of course, it would have been much easier to find their third in the mountains than out here by the ocean.

  “I know. Now we have to make a plan. What will she do after she finishes crying?” They had to anticipate her. Otherwise, they could lose her and lose time. He had a pack to run.

  “Pack a bag and go to her friend’s. Maybe Becky, but probably Maggie. Maggie hates me. Hates men.” Kody vibrated, hand sliding on the locked door. “Sammy’s going to hate me, too.”

  “No. She’ll think she does, but she doesn’t know the truth.” They were going to be so strong, so good together. Mesa felt it in his bones every second they were together.

  “I don’t know what to do. I was making supper…”

  “What were you making?” He knew what he wanted to do, but that would be counterproductive. If Sammy caught them again, it could be disastrous.

  “Stew. I made bread. Apple crisp.” Kody whined softly. “I hurt you, I hurt her.”

  “Shh.” He kissed Kody gently, vocalizing deep in his throat. “Go save dinner, baby.”

  “You taste like Pack.” Kody lapped his chin.

  “You taste like home. No matter where you hide.” He smiled down at his lover, knowing it was all going to be all right. Grandma Minnie had been right. It was time.

  He stroked through Kody’s thick shaggy hair, the gold strands tugging at his rough fingers. The petting made Kody smile, relax. Kody’d always been so easy. Up until the day he’d left. Then he’d been stubborn and sneaky and kind of a butthead.

  “Come to the kitchen?”

  “Sure.” He would hear the woman if she tried to leave. She was in no condition to be sneaky.

  Kody led him back to the kitchen, the space bright, light, and open. It was different from Mesa’s house, that was for sure. He had the Alpha house now, all heavy wood, meant to withstand teething pups and fighting males. Blizzards.

  “Such a nice place.” It was. He’d hate living there, with the smog and the traffic noise.

  “You hate it.”

  “I don’t hate it. I just couldn’t live here.”

  “Liar.” Kody chuffed softly. “How’s Grandma Minnie?”

  “She’s good. She was tickled that I passed the trials.” Minnie had beamed at him when he’d mentioned going to get Kody.

  “I am too. Excited. Proud.” Kody looked back toward the hall where their lady was hiding.

  “Don’t worry, baby. We’ll figure it out.”

  Kody nodded, head down as he cooked, but Mesa could tell the man didn’t believe it. Not yet.

  “Baby. You trust me, right? You trust the way of the pack?” He knew that he did now. He believed. He’d been through the trials, which had tested him to the end of his endurance, even though he’d been born to become Alpha.

  “I trust you. I do. I just…” Kody was beginning to vibrate.

  “Do you want me to go get her, baby? I can. We can talk now. I just thought we’d give her time.” Mesa knew she’d have a rage all over them.

  “She’ll just scream. She wants me out.” Kody went over to the floor where the champagne bottle had fallen.

  “So what do you want, baby?” Mesa stopped Kody with a hand on one shoulder.

  “I want my mates.” Kody whined softly. “You’re both right here.”

  “I know. She just doesn’t know it.” Mesa stroked Kody’s hair, knowing it was his Beta’s way, to want to make things right.

  Kody’s eyes closed, the bottle falling from Kody’s fingers. Man, that champagne was skunked. “I thought you were gone forever.”

  “You left me.” The accusation was going to do nothing. He knew it, and he wanted to take it back right off.

  Kody stiffened, blue eyes going dull, and stepped away from him, putting the island between them. “I did.”

  “No.” He stalked Kody around the island. “No, don’t run from me. I’m sorry, baby. No snarling, I promise.”

  Kody backed away, shook his head. “You’re right. I left. I fuck up. You know that. So does Sammy now.”

  “No.” He put Command into his voice, not letting Kody get away. “You did everything right. I just didn’t know it.”

  Kody stopped, stared at him, the energy between them pure fire, the air alight. He smiled a little, bending down to kiss Kody on the mouth. Hard. Kody’s little howl echoed in his lips, Kody’s hands wrapping around his shoulders.

  Yes. Yes, that was what Kody needed. This was what he needed. Touching. Connection.

  Sweet Kody. His baby.

  Mate. There it was again. That whisper deep in the center of his head. Mesa’s body tightened, his whole self yearning for Kody. Kody stepped forward, groaning, growling.

  “You motherfucker!” A glass broke against the counter next to them. “Cheater! You knew I was right HERE!”

  Another wine glass came flying, hitting Kody in the head and sending his lover stumbling back, hand to his face. “Sammy!”

  Mesa whirled, glad as hell that she’d come out, even though he knew it would be sticky. “You don’t understand.”

  A glass smacked him in the nose. Ow. Ow! He barked sharply, stumbled back, slamming into Kody as she drove them backward.

  “You BASTARD!” She was wild—long maple-colored hair flying everywhere, compact body filled with amazing curves. Mesa wanted to howl.

  Mesa growled, instead, this time out loud. “Stop.”

  “Fuck you.” She grabbed another plate, sent it flying. “Cheating pricks. Why didn’t you tell me you were gay? Bastard!”

  “I’m not!” Kody ducked around him, holding his hands out. “I married you; I love you.”

  “Liar!” God, she could shriek. She was amazing. Mesa was so hard he ached. There was nothing like a good snarl to make a wolf want to fuck.

  “No. No, I’m not lying.”

  “Stop!” Mesa roared it, putting every bit of Command he had behind it, and for a gratifying moment, everyone froze.

  Then one tear escaped, rolling down Samantha’s cheek, and she bolted, hair bouncing behind her.

  Shit.

  “I’m sorry, Kody.”

  “Oh…” Kody stood there, face quiet, still, almost deathly.

  “I’ll get her. Do you want me to get her?”

  “No. No. I. She’s right. I never told her about us, you.”

  “I—” Shit and shinola. He didn’t know what to do.

  “You should have. You should have told me.” She was back, standing by the door, car keys in hand, tiny white tennis shoes on her feet. “I’m not a bitch. If you needed a beard or somewhere to stay, I…I would have hated it, but it wouldn’t have been a lie.”

  “You don’t know Kody if you can think that.” Mesa knew this had to be so hard. So hard. He hated it for all of them.

  “I don’t know him at all.” She looked so fucking sad, so lost, and he wanted to hold her, help her.

  Kody whimpered, the cut above his eye already healing. “I didn’t lie. I didn’t. I love you, Sammy.”r />
  “Don’t say that. You don’t get to say that to me, ever again.”

  “But it’s true.”

  Mesa moved fast, going to catch her before she could leave, and she whipped around, snarling. “Don’t touch me.”

  Kody whimpered, stepped closer. “You don’t understand, Sammy.”

  “You have to stay here and listen. I know you don’t want to.” Mesa needed her spirit, not her defeat.

  Her eyes flashed to his, and he wanted to howl with the pure rightness of it, of her. “You don’t get to tell me anything.”

  “Then listen to Kody.” He put his whole soul into it.

  “You called to me, I told you that. I told you I left home to find you. Mesa was my home.”

  Sammy snorted. “Great. So go home.”

  “No. Now you’re part of me. We’re three.” Kody was going to lose his shit. Mesa could tell.

  “I’m going to call the lawyer in the morning. It will be simple. There aren’t babies involved, thank God.”

  “No. No, but there can be now, Sammy. We’re all here.”

  Sammy looked like she was losing it, too, and Mesa did the only thing he could do. He leaped at her and took her neck in his hand, pressing at the nerve under her ear. She could sleep. Then they could all figure it out together.

  Chapter Three

  “Mesa? Mesa, she’s…” He reached out to touch her cheek.

  “She’s fine, baby. She’ll wake up rested.”

  “I’m sorry. I just… God, my head hurts.” Hurts didn’t even cover it. It was going to split open. Crack.

  Mesa frowned, reaching out to touch his cheek. “Hurts how? Do you have a lot of headaches?”

  “No. No, not usually.” He pushed into Mesa’s touch, a deep groan leaving him. His Alpha. His mate. Sound vibrated all through him. The pain eased right away.

  “This feels like more than stress.” One of Mesa’s arms wrapped around him, the other hand massaging his neck.

  “Alpha…” His knees buckled and he moved closer, rubbing against Mesa. Mesa was worried. Worried. Hungry. Wanting. Happy.

  He felt it. All of it, including Sammy’s sleeping confusion.

  Mesa licked his neck, tasting him. Loving on him.

  “Mesa.” Mate. Mate. Mate.

  “Yes, love.” He heard the echo in his head of the words spoken aloud.

  His eyes went wide and he moaned. Mesa?

  Could Mesa hear him?

  Love.

  Oh, God. He could hear Mesa.

  He nodded, eyes on Mesa’s. Yes. Yes. Love.

  Mesa smiled. “She’s definitely the one, baby.”

  “I did okay?” He’d had to follow the Call. That was what his kind did, even if it was so hard and hurt the ones you loved.

  “You did amazing.” Mesa dropped a kiss on his mouth. “Proud of you.”

  Oh. Oh. Kody keened softly, an old tear in the center of his soul healing.

  Good. “That’s good. Now, go pack a bag for both of you. I need you to tell me where you go to run.”

  “Run? I go to the mountains. I love it there. Cold at night, but beautiful. It’s not the full moon, though.”

  “No.” Mesa hugged him before patting his ass. “We need to get her out of a defensible place, where there are no phones, no computers.”

  “Okay. Okay. She’s… not the outdoorsy type. My gear is in the garage.”

  Mesa grinned, and it was all wolf. “We don’t want her to be comfortable, baby. We want her to be off-balance.”

  “We’re going to help her, though, right? Bring her home with us?” She was demanding and fierce and wild, and he loved her desperately. He needed her like he needed air.

  “We are. We’d never leave her.” Mesa started systematically turning off electronics, some of which the man had probably never seen. Like the Xbox.

  Kody headed to the bedroom, packed clothes randomly, sniffing the air, the smell of Sammy and her hurt strong in here. He hurried through it, wanting to start new.

  Mesa gave him a few minutes, maybe more than a few. When Mesa came in, though, he was sitting on the bed holding his head.

  “Baby?”

  “Uh-huh.” He leaned Mesa was like a blanket of heat, of strength. So close.

  “We need to get you out of here, too. The more people you’re around, the worse it will be.”

  “It’s normal? To hurt like this?” He needed Mesa to tell him it was okay.

  “Grandma Minnie said when we found our third you would be wide open for a bit.” Mesa stroked his temples. “I never thought she would already be here.”

  Kody groaned at the touch, his hands reaching for Mesa’s belly.

  “Mmm.” Mesa sank down in front of him, almost as tall kneeling as Kody was sitting on the damned bed. Kody let his fingers explore, relearn, touch. Mesa was a furnace. There were muscles there now that hadn’t been there when Kody left. Strong muscles made from hard work and maturity.

  It made his eyes roll, and he started panting. His cock was hard as diamonds, pushing at his pants.

  “Sweet. You smell so good, baby.” Mesa petted him through his clothes, stroking his chest and belly.

  “Want you. Is it bad? To want you while she’s in there?” He wanted to lick, suck, taste.

  “No, baby. It’s just instinct. We were meant for each other.”

  He had to chuckle. That was how Mesa had gotten him the very first time, explaining how their need to have sex was just a natural thing…How it was ridiculous to resist the urge to nuzzle in, take the fat cock inside him? How many times had they crept away, hiding from Granny’s gaze to learn each other, play? Cause trouble?

  His hands worked Mesa’s jeans open, the scent making him whimper.

  “Oh.” Mesa jerked against him, hands falling to his belt.

  “Need.” He slid down, body rubbing against Mesa’s legs. “Please.”

  “Anything you want.” Mesa’s cock was out in the open now, just as big and pretty as ever. Wet-tipped and red.

  “Please.” He leaned forward, tongue sliding over the slit. Oh.

  Oh.

  Bittersalt.

  Satin.

  Silk.

  His.

  He groaned and wrapped his lips around the thick head. Mesa jerked, pushing against him, into his mouth. It was like heaven.

  Yes.

  Yes, please.

  He pulled Mesa in deeper, swallowing, taking the heavy flesh in. One hand tangled in his hair, holding him there so Mesa could take his mouth.

  Kody leaned back and opened up, cock pushing into his throat, but it wasn’t that that made him shake. It was Mesa’s pleasure, slamming down his spine.

  A low, growling moan was his only warning before Mesa came for him, just as if they were teenagers again.

  His eyes rolled up, his hands spreading over Mesa’s belly. Mate.

  “Mine. Oh, Kody. Missed you so bad.”

  Yours. He said it over and over in his head.

  He nuzzled, licking and lapping, groaning low. Mesa’s. Sammy’s.

  “Our girl.”

  “Yes.” Mesa opened Kody’s pants, slipping a hand around his cock.

  “Mesa.” He spread, arched up into the touch. Mesa had new calluses, new strength. New skill, too. He had no right to wonder who Mesa had been with, but he did.

  “Need you to come for me, baby.” Mesa’s thumb rubbed over the head of his cock, pressing a little, right into the slit.

  His teeth clacked together, Mesa’s words echoed by the need flooding him.

  “That’s it. Oh, fuck, look at you.”

  The orgasm left him clearer, steadier. Focused. His head eased off even more.

  Mesa smiled at him before kissing him hard, one more time. “You ready to get moving, baby?”

  “Yes. Yes. We should grab food, too. Blankets.” He grinned, moving through the room, grabbing their pillows. Her scent would help.

  Mesa zipped up and helped him gather. “Call her work and tell them she won�
�t be in tomorrow.”

  “I can do that. I’ll call her in for the week. That gives us to Monday.”

  Sammy would understand. It was biology. It was their biology. She might not have been raised a wolf, but she would get it.

  “Good deal. I’ll start packing the truck.”

  “You have a truck?”

  “I do.” Mesa grinned. “Nothing will fit in your Prius.”

  He chuffed softly, tickled that Mesa had paid attention, that Mesa needed to know things about him. “I know. Fucking hate that thing.”

  Hooting, Mesa grinned. “I bet you like her Cooper. It’s fast, at least.”

  “She gets wet, driving fast.” He licked his lips. So much fun, having Mesa here to learn about her. They were going to have so much fun together. They would.

  “Mmm. I can’t wait to see that. Smell it.” Mesa’s growl was pure hunger. It made him glad to see that Mesa already wanted her.

  He growled happily. “She’s so soft inside, Mate. She bites, too.”

  That thought made him shivery.

  “Does she now?” Mesa paused for a moment, brown eyes going unfocused.

  He nodded, panted softly. “She’s fire, Mesa.”

  “I like the threat of getting burned.”

  He ran his nose along Mesa’s jaw. “Good. We should go. She’ll be scared, worried. Mad.”

  “Yes. Hopefully we have time to get her settled before she wakes up.”

  Kody nodded. “I want this to be easy. She isn’t like us, not yet.”

  “She will be.” God, Mesa was hot. All Alpha. He licked his lips, his wolf suddenly close, too close. Mesa stared at him, pupils dilating. “Don’t get me started.”

  “Won’t.” He shuddered, the urge to show his belly huge.

  “Soon, baby. We’ll run together. I promise.” Mesa gave him one more toothy kiss before zipping up and getting up to haul a load outside.

  He gathered four days worth of food, including the stew, the bread, and all the fixings. They would cook on the camp stove, easily. Sammy had never understood how he could do it, but it was a skill.

  Mesa filled the truck, then came back to the living room to get Sammy. He lifted her easily, cradling her against the wide chest.

  Her hair fell into her face and Kody reached out, finger jerking back as Mesa growled at him.