Chapter 3 The Hayden Brothers

• I didn’t know where I’d come from or why I ended up wandering hungry in the woods.
• I knew I was fortunate Jaecar had no interest in me.
• He had his eye on a she-wolf already.
• Samantha. He'd been chasing every male away from her for years, from what I understood.
• In some ways I envied her. He seemed to be the only kind wolf among the bunch of lascivious males.
• I used all the oversized clothes to pretend to be a frumpy little female to keep the pack from being interested.
• From preying on me under the Mating Moon.
• It worked. I kept the heavy bindings under my dress each day. And the bodice loose enough to hide any hint of shape. Then I kept my hood low over my face.
• Doing my damnedest to not earn any attention.
• I’d kept hidden in the rundown hut for a while, but those aggressive males had soon scented me.
• Three virile males that were never apart. They looked identical. Good looking, well built, and dark.
• The Hayden Brothers.
• ***
• THE HAYDEN BROTHERS
• We liked the smell of her. It aroused us.
• We were triplets, the last of the Hayden line. What one of us wanted, we all did. So, we learned to share all our things.
• And we're going to share her. One way or another.
• Afterall, everyone knows Vanna Rae belongs to us.
• ***
• The triplets were nicknamed for what they did best in the pack. Vanquish, Hunter, and Racer. They were exactly how they sounded.
• Vanquish was highly dominant and prone to violence toward other wolves in the pack. Commanding. Easier to distinguish from the other two because he had green eyes rather than their blue ones.
• Hunter was a phenomenal tracker and often kept the pack fed well during the winter.
• Racer had a mole just under his left eye. He could run down anyone, anywhere. Except our young Alpha, Draven.
• But no one is as fast as Draven.
• The three of them had been scratching at my door ever since I arrived.
• And, sick of me refusing to open it, one eventually crept in my window. Curious to get a look at me.
• And so, it'd begun.
• Thanks to Hunter.
• ***
• Now after months of them rounding me up to drag me out with them, I'd taken to pretending I wasn't home to avoid their bullying.
• But I was tidying my small amount of property when I rounded to find Hunter in the middle of my hut.
• Again.
• A glance at my open window confirmed how he'd gotten in.
• The boards I'd nailed over it hung loose along the floor.
• "Not your best work." He gestured. Towering over me at six foot, he was an imposing figure. Softened only by his constant grin.
• He's not smiling now though.
• Hunter sniffed the air as he descended on me. “You smell good. Faint, but sweet.”
• I bolted for the door but when I threw it open Vanquish was there with his dark hair and green eyes.
• I’d yelped.
• “Don’t be afraid. Just us." He growled in his low, harsh, voice.
• "We’re going to the creek to find a snack and wash up.” Hunter explained from behind me.
• “Care to join us?” Racer materialized next to him.
• Probably through the window too.
• “No.” I shook my head. Eying the two of them before feeling heat generating at my back and realizing Hunter had closed in behind me.
• They're always too close. I glanced over my shoulder and he peered under my hood suspicious.
• When he reached to pluck it off, I ducked and lunged forward. Stepping right into Vanquish's range.
• ***
• “Sure, she does.” Vanquish caught the shoulder of the oversized cloak I was never without, roped around the waist. Refusing to let me by as he turned with me in tow.
• I looked like a plump monk. But I didn't care.
• It serves its purpose.
• Vanquish drug me from the hut and toward the creek. “You don’t want to stink, do you?”
• “That cloak certainly does.” Hunter cackled from behind us feigning holding his nose. “She definitely sweats in it.”
• “Round little thing, aren’t you?” Racer stepped aside me and lightly poked me in the belly. Unaware it was the soft bindings I layered under my clothes.
• I nodded hesitantly. Let them think that.
• But I was nervous. I always was around them.
• Vanquish led me near the creek.
• ***
• Soon the other two were splashing and laughing.
• I was pointedly ignoring them.
• After a time, I was sure they were busy frolicking. I made a break for it. Trying to retreat back to the safety of my hut.
• I'll need more nails and boards to keep them out.
• But as I slowly edged toward the border of trees I bumped into a solid wall and flinched.
• “Where do you think you’re going?” Vanquish’s inescapable eyes were locked on me. Thick muscled arms crossed over his chest disapprovingly. As unyielding as the wall that locked in the Asara Pack in these woods.
• Damn him.
• How is he always everywhere?
• ***
• “Come play with us!” Hunter, the more playful of them, invited.
• “No.” I shook my head adamantly.
• I’m not getting in there.
• These three exuded lust as surely as they breathed.
• No way am I taking off my clothes.
• “Cindy or Aloira would come in.” Racer complained.
• I'm sure they would.
• They're skanks.
• I’d often heard one or the other of the triplets having a go at the two willing female breeders.
• The other five of us dodged all the males like the plague. Knowing that tempting them could prove a dangerous game.
• They were all predatory, aggressive, and willing to fight for what they wanted. And to breed any female of age.
• I don't want bred.
• “I asked you a question.” Vanquish sneered.
• Forcing me to look up into his fierce green eyes.
• “I was just-just...” I looked around desperately. “going to pick some berries.”
• I fled to the bush I’d spotted and began desperately plucking the berries and stacking them in my hand.
• Vanquish descended on me while I cowered near the bush. He batted the berries out of my hand. Snatching me under my arms and tossing me in the water.
• I surfaced spitting and desperately made for shore. Knowing all the extra fabric on my body could quickly weigh me down.
• “Come on.” Hunter told Racer and they swam to me. Tugging me back into the water. I felt their cloying hands pawing me. But under all my oversized and padded garments, they were unable to feel anything.
• “We really need to get these clothes off her and see what’s under here.” Racer frowned.
• No. I looked fearfully from one to the other as they pinned my arms to the bank.
• "Just hold her." Hunter leaned in close while Racer complied and feigned humping his groin against me.
• I jerked from Racer and floundered onto the bank. Climbing to my feet.
• They laughed uproariously as I fled, tugging at my hood to keep my hair hidden.
• ***
• "Where you off to so fast?" Vanquish lightly shoved me sideways. Sending me toppling. "We didn't say you could go anywhere."
• "Yeah." Hunter climbed from the water.
• "There's a cost for residing in the safety of our pack." Racer contributed.
• The three half naked males stood over me with their hair dripping and keen eyes alert. Chests glistening damply in the sunlight as fat water droplets trailed down over their ripped abdomens to their soaked pants and over bare feet.
• All three eyed where my ankles peeked from the bottom of my cloak and I feared they were tempted to peer under it.
• I clambered to my feet gracelessly and fled back to my hut.
• "Oh, come on, Vanna Rae!" Hunter taunted.
• "You going to cry?" Racer.
• "Can't run forever, Rabbit." Vanquish said.
• I hate when he calls me that.
• And he knew it. It was his favorite nickname for me. Mocking that I often cowered and twinged away.
• It was less that I feared them now and more that I feared what they'd become if they knew what was under my cloak.
• It was my worst fear that they'd find out.
• And they're seeming progressively more determined to. I was getting the clear sense that this Mating Moon might be my most dangerous one yet.