Theirs Read online

  Theirs

  Title Page

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  Chapter Fourteen

  Chapter Fifteen

  Chapter Sixteen

  Chapter Seventeen

  Chapter Eighteen

  Chapter Nineteen

  Chapter Twenty

  Chapter Twenty-One

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  Chapter Twenty-Four

  Chapter Twenty-Five

  Chapter Twenty-Six

  Chapter Twenty-Seven

  Chapter Twenty-Eight

  Chapter Twenty-Nine

  Chapter Thirty

  Chapter Thirty-One

  Chapter Thirty-Two

  EPILOGUE

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  THEIRS

  Snowy Mountain Wolves

  Book Two

  Christin Lovell

  —

  THEIRS

  Copyright © 2014 by Christin M Lovell

  Cover Image © pawelsierakowski

  Cover Image © TheModernCanvas

  This book may not be reproduced, scanned, or distributed in any printed or electronic form without permission from the author. Please do not participate in or encourage piracy of copyrighted materials in violation of the author’s rights.

  All characters and storylines are the property of the author and your support and respect is appreciated. The characters and events portrayed in this book are fictitious. Any similarity to real persons, living or dead, is coincidental and not intended by the author.

  —

  SNOWY MOUNTAIN WOLVES

  Book One: Hers

  Book Two: Theirs

  —

  Theirs Playlist

  (What I listened to while writing the book.)

  1. Paramore – Decode

  2. Thirty Seconds to Mars – City of Angels

  3. Jillette Johnson – Torpedo

  4. Jason Derulo – In My Head

  5. Panic! At The Disco – The Ballad of Mona Lisa

  6. Darius Rucker – She’s Beautiful

  7. Carolina Liar – Show Me What I’m Looking For

  8. Five for Fighting – What If

  9. Colbie Caillat – We Both Know

  10. Sky Ferreira – Obsession

  11. Kat Graham – Power

  12. Jason Derulo – Marry Me

  —

  THEIRS

  Ellie had been on the brink of fully claiming her curvy mate when her alpha best friend, Jerry, dropped a bombshell on them all: Kate was his mate too.

  Werewolves are territorial. Tempers flare, jealousy ignites and tensions rise. They both want the same thing, minus the sharing part. Will they be able to put their feelings aside to do what’s best for their mate? After all, Mother Nature doesn’t make mistakes.

  Kate had just begun to accept that she enjoyed being with a woman, namely Ellie, when Jerry turned all she thought she wanted on its head. It doesn’t take her long to figure out what is right: she needs both Ellie and Jerry in her life.

  But then the unthinkable happens.

  Kate’s past and present collide in a bang, leaving lives on the line. Suddenly the little things don’t matter. But did they realize too late what’s truly important? Or is Fate not as cruel as we often believe her to be?

  Please note that this title is a sexually and emotionally charged e-book. It contains graphic content that some cannot handle. Some scenes are memorable for haunting reasons. Consider yourself warned.

  —

  Theirs

  Chapter One

  JEREMIAH

  Kate shook in my arms. I sensed her fear and confusion, much like at the coffee shop earlier. Her heart beat rapidly; her lungs were shuddering with every stuttered inhalation.

  I clung to her, afraid to let her go. Watching her with Ellie had been hell. Not being able to touch her, to comfort her, had stung.

  Dammit. I wanted to claim her, to taste her and feel her, but now wasn’t the time. I was barely getting by with hugging her to me. She fidgeted, trying to escape my grasp, but I couldn’t let her go. I knew what would come. I knew what my extra curvy mate would do: run.

  Ellie looked incredulously at me. Her expression registered shock, anger, a merriment of perplexed flares. Based on the fire her wolf put in her eyes, she was embracing rage and little else. “Let go of her.”

  I stood my ground, certain my glare confirmed my stance. “No. I gave you every chance to win her over. I was more than generous. I gave up my fucking mate for you. I knew she was straight, a slam-dunk for me. I could have already claimed her and left your ass in the dust, but I didn’t. Do you even have the ability to think of someone besides yourself?”

  My wolf growled, stalking dangerously close to my surface. Frustration squashed my patience when it came to Ellie. I knew she wasn’t the vein brat she pretended to be. Beneath all that bitchiness was a heart of gold, but if she refused to be anything but great to our mate, then she would have to go through me to ever reach her again.

  “You’re lying,” she insisted. She frowned, crossing her arms over her chest as she studied Kate.

  Kate was still quivering in my grasp. She buried her face in my chest. The action only propelled me further to protect her from any level of threat.

  I grunted. Ellie was being stubborn. She wouldn’t hear the truth no matter how I explained it right now. “I’m taking her to my room while you think about that fucking line. Try to stop me and I’ll challenge you on the spot for expulsion from the pack.” I was done playing games with my beta. She needed to learn.

  Her hands balled into fists at her side. I swore steam was going to escape her as she and her wolf glowered at me. I heard her grind her teeth. “She’s my fucking mate. She said okay. You can’t just come in with some massive fucking revelation like that and expect me to bow out. Over my dead fucking body will you take her from me.”

  Kate began to fight for freedom, shoving at my mid-section. “Please.” Her plea wrecked my heart. “Please, Jerry.”

  Letting out a harsh sigh, I loosened my embrace.

  Ellie’s nostrils flared, each exhale a snarl from her wolf. She watched me closely, at the ready.

  “I…I think I should just…um…leave.” Kate swallowed hard.

  “No!” Ellie and I cried in unison.

  My wolf pounced in panic, fighting harder for his freedom.

  Ellie and I exchanged looks. We were going to have to put aside our differences for the moment and work together, otherwise, we ran the risk of both of us losing Kate.

  Concern lit her eyes in place of her wolf. Her hands relaxed as she moved towards us. Meeting my gaze, she nodded her commitment silently.

  This was far from over between us, but Kate came first. Always.

  —

  Chapter Two

  ELLIE

  Dammit! How the fuck did this shit happen? She was mine and mine alone; now I was being told to share, share with a man nonetheless. Son of a pie fucker.

  Kate sniffed. It wasn’t long after that Jerry’s shirt was wet, just enough to tell me she was crying.

  My wolf quieted, whimpering once in subtle compassion.

  Compassion.

  I’d never embraced that word on any level. Damn. I guess that did make me selfish.

  The better part of me felt for Kate though. I wanted to scoop her up into my arms, cuddle
her close, giving her the occasional kiss while wiping away her tears. She was scared. Two werewolves were holding her hostage practically while threatening to fight each other.

  Jerry drew circles over her back with his fingertips. He kissed her head. “It’s okay, sweetie.”

  My chest clenched. Tears stung my eyes as reality smacked me. She was hurting, and, no matter how you looked at it, I’d caused her that pain.

  I wrapped my arms around her from behind. I pressed a kiss to her shoulder. “Why don’t we call it a night, honey? No more of this tonight, just sleep. Then, tomorrow we can figure it all out, okay?”

  She was quiet, non-responsive for a while. Her body continued to lightly shudder.

  I felt like shit, like a big pile of cow crap. Every minute that passed in silence, with only Kate’s faint sniffles, had anxiety and guilt gaining ground, crushing my wolf under the emotional pressure.

  I damn near broke out in song when she nodded her agreement. She took a few more shaky breaths before slipping from our arms. “Alone.” She kept her gaze cast downwards, refusing to look at either of us.

  Her focus on the floor was not a good sign.

  Jerry and I stiffened. My wolf launched upwards. Her nails caught, biting into me before sliding, cutting their way down, effectively shredding my insides. The discomfort my wolf caused I knew was nothing compared to the unease in Kate. I sensed it.

  My heart pounded, matching Kate’s heart’s quick rhythm.

  “Look at me,” Jerry commanded.

  She lifted her gaze, but to me, not him. My heart reacted immediately. Emotions rose from within me, stealing a chunk of my sensibility. I fought the urge to do something extreme and outlandish, something that would have her falling apart in my arms or never gracing them again.

  “Kate.” His voice was stern; he used his alpha tone. Even I turned towards him.

  To my utter surprise, she ambled past him towards my room.

  “Kate?” I felt my brows turn inwards. My wolf paced impatiently; worry building too easily, like an expectant father in the delivery room.

  She spun on her heels. Her features twisted. Tears sat, ready to fall, in the basins of her eyes.

  My wolf howled, saddened for her mate.

  I looked to Jerry. What had we done?

  —

  Chapter Three

  KATE

  “No!” At some point I had to stop being the meek mouse. That was probably what made me such an easy target. I…I couldn’t do it anymore. Today had been long, full of ups and downs. I was exhausted in every way, particularly emotionally.

  My whole life, I’d given up the reigns. My parents, though absent often, somehow still micro-managed my schedule. Billy wasn’t as bad, but he was stern. He said it would be over his dead body that I ended up homeless, addicted or a teen mom. He was over-protective to this day, even from a distance, like my parents.

  Donovan had killed my social life. I cringed just going to the grocery store, in fear of running into him.

  Now, Ellie and Jerry, a set of beautiful strangers I’d just met, were attempting to do the same. They all wanted me to be, act and respond to their liking. In so many ways, I felt like a thing, a toy they all wanted dominion over. Well, I wasn’t for sale. The rights to me weren’t on the market.

  Dang it. A few tears slipped past my barrier. I didn’t want to be weak. I didn’t want to be objectified or fought over. I…I… Crap. I didn’t know what I wanted. Ellie had confused the heck out of me. There was only one thing I knew I wanted, I needed.

  Tears cascading like a fool, I lifted my chin and forced myself to face them.

  Their expressions were identical masks full of concern that held all else, all other feelings, reactions, at bay.

  “I’m going to that bed to sleep. Alone.” I motioned towards the door behind me. “I wouldn’t rest with either of you near me. If you have a problem with that, I’ll leave. I’ll find some way back to town.”

  In unison they caught each other’s gaze from the side. I absently wondered if some of the paranormal fiction stories got it right when they portrayed a mental link between the pack members. I felt my brows furrow as I pursed my lips, attempting to hold it all in, even as my mind created more drama for my heart to reply to.

  “No, it’s not a problem,” Ellie stated. She gave me a small smile, but it didn’t touch her eyes in the least. It was wistful, hopeful, mustered as a last resort it seemed. “Sleep well, sweet cheeks.”

  I forced myself to meet Jerry’s hard stare. My heart paused briefly, awestruck by the heavy emotions now vivid in his chocolate brown depths.

  His lips curled at the edges. Arms crossed over his chest, showcasing his expansive muscle, he nodded once. “Sleep well, Kate.”

  For one short moment, I questioned myself. Guilt was rearing it’s head from nowhere, plucking at my vulnerable, sensitive strings. Irrationally, incredibly, I wanted them, yet confusion, fear, all the negatives associated with risk seemed to squash my courage. One minute I was falling into bed, like a true and tried tramp, the next, I was kicking them out, fighting to erect a last-minute wall of protection. The truth was though: I didn’t have any. I’d never been so raw; Donovan had worn me down and out. I no longer had a safe haven thanks to him.

  And Donovan was the reason I needed to put some space between myself, Jerry and Ellie. I didn’t know how, I didn’t know why, but I cared. I cared about what would happen to them if I chose wrong, acted impulsively. Jesus, I had to care to not have a more impressive, more human reaction to their were side. I should have screamed my bloody head off. I should have shied away and ran the first chance I had.

  But I didn’t.

  It was the puzzle, the riddle of how, why, they affected me the way they did, why I responded to them the way I did that kept my mind busy even as my heart found new reasons to cling to them. Logically, I knew it was too soon. I hadn’t abandoned sensibility, but it did seem irrelevant since their mere existence was outside the realm of sensible, logical or realistic.

  With a sigh and a final glance in their direction, I spun towards Ellie’s bedroom door. I felt their eyes boring into me as I disappeared into the room. Last minute, thinking better of it, I shut and locked the bedroom door behind me.

  I didn’t sleep though. I tossed and turned in the large bed. I heard them moving outside the door, pacing, then whispering before pacing some more. It was unnerving and comforting simultaneously. Crazy as it sounded, I irrationally rationalized that it was proof they cared. I didn’t know how much, but for knowing me less than a day, caring at all was beyond the realm of normal, nearly unfathomable in the human world.

  Yet I, as a human, reciprocated it.

  —

  Chapter Four

  JEREMIAH

  Dammit. I fought hard against every instinct that had me smashing through the bedroom door, holding her down as I claimed her and then tasted her until she passed out. The fact that it bordered rape had me denying my wolf. He was a feisty ball of snarls, roaring and snapping with every labored, bitter breath. He paced within me, unsettled, driving up my own angst.

  “That went well,” Ellie scoffed. She rolled her eyes, shaking her head negatively as she paced between the sofas.

  I leaned against the mantle. I didn’t have kind words at the moment. As an alpha, I always had to remain in control. Speaking my mind could unbind my wolf. I couldn’t risk it with her so close. A door wouldn’t save my mate. Hell, an entire forest of distance nearly wasn’t enough.

  Ellie stopped moving. She cocked her head, assessing me. Ellie was the one person who could see past my alpha barriers, when she wanted to. She licked her lips, crossing her arms over her chest. “Why didn’t you tell me from the get go?” Her voice was low, quiet for my often loud and obnoxious beta.

  I pursed my lips, considering her. She appeared mostly calm and perhaps a bit perplexed. “I didn’t want it to become a competition.”

  “Sharing on a permanent basis isn’t in our natur
e. We’re always going to be competing for her attention.” Frustration raised her voice enough for her to self-consciously glance at her bedroom door.

  “We grew up together, El. It didn’t matter than you were two years behind me; you were the only one who had my back when I was a skinny sissy in elementary school. I love you on some level. Not in the romantic sense, but enough to give you a go at my- our mate first. That’s gotta count for something.”

  She narrowed her gaze on me. She mashed her lips together, clasping, pinching the flesh of her upper arms. “Yeah, that counts…as bullshit. Why don’t you just say the truth out loud, Jer?”

  I sneered. “And what would that be, Ellie May?”

  She leaned towards me, glaring. “That you didn’t think I had a chance in hell. That I was the underdog who needed a bone because I haven’t scrapped my way to the top in any other part of my life, right?” Sarcasm thickly coated her words. She cut her eyes at me, her lips curling viciously, warning of her wolf looming at her surface. “Newsflash, alpha, I didn’t need your charity. I’ve always held my own, and I sure as hell wouldn’t have surrendered my mate without a fight to the death.”