Rachel's Totem

Chapter Six

Rachel’s entire world centered around the heat between her legs. Her body felt like one giant mass of nerves, and every stroke of Grady and Dean’s raspy tongues was setting her ablaze. She squirmed against them, fighting because it made the scent in the room sweeter.

Large hands turned her onto her belly, propping her up on her hands and knees. And then a powerful fist grabbed her hair and jerked her head up, so that she stared at Burke’s domineering hold.

“We’re going to take you now, baby. Hard and fast, and slow and long. And we’re going to fill you with come. To mark you.”

She moaned, wanting them. Nothing existed but Burke and his brothers using her, taking her to places she’d never before been. She couldn’t stop looking at Burke even as she felt one of them mount her from behind, spreading her knees apart. He slapped her ass and thrust deep, and she shook with the force of his penetration.

“That’s it, Grady. Give it to her. She needs it, don’t you, baby?”

The want built, her pussy clenching and drawing Grady deeper.

“Fuck, yes,” Grady hissed, pumping as he clenched hard fingers into her hips.

“And now Dean.” Burke let her go and moved aside, and Rachel found herself staring at Dean’s large cock. Thinner than Burke’s, his shaft was just as long and beautiful. Slick with the precum beading at his tip, his rod was golden, like the rest of him, but flushed from desire. “Suck him off, Rachel. Swallow him, and then swallow me.”

She moaned and opened her mouth, accepting Dean as he pushed gently between her lips. Nothing registered but the salty, male taste of him. She wanted this so badly, to belong, to bring pleasure as she’d experienced with Burke. And knowing he watched made it all the more erotic.

Glancing to Dean’s left, she saw Burke on his knees pumping his cock with his hand, his face tight with arousal as he watched her getting fucked by his brothers.

Grady felt huge taking her from behind, and she surprised herself by not gagging when Dean shoved deeper into her mouth. The glorious feeling of possessing and being possessed intensified when a heavenly scent descended over them all, and she felt her chest vibrate as she worked Dean’s cock.

“Shit, she’s purring,” Dean moaned and thrust harder. “Oh fuck, Rachel. I’m going to come, baby.”

“I can’t last much longer,” Grady rasped.

Dean cursed and jetted into her mouth, and Rachel swallowed him, licking his shaft clean before tonguing a few drops of cum from his taut sack.

“God, that was good,” Dean sighed before being dragged back.

“Now me,” Burke demanded, and Rachel eagerly opened her mouth to accept him.

She took his thrusts easily, his tight hold on her hair turning her on even more. The thought of being wanted so much by three sexy men was such a turn on. Behind her, Grady had to be leaving bruises from his grip on her hips, but his cock kept bumping her pleasure spot and she came, pushing him into an orgasm as well.

“Christ,” he groaned and continued to come, even as she tightened around him.

“That’s it, baby. Take him inside you. That’s good, isn’t it? And it’ll be even better once you swallow my load as well. Then we’re going to get to the good part. And I’m going to fuck that pretty little ass of yours.” Burke’s speech grew thicker, his breath raspier as he described in detail what he planned.

She was still quivering from her climax with Grady when Grady pulled out and crawled next to her. He lay down on the bed, and Dean shoved inside her.

“Take him,” Burke ordered, groaning as he slid in and out of her lips. “You have the most fuckable mouth. And that stroke of your tongue…”

She fondled Burke’s balls with one hand and heard him curse. He seemed to get harder, if that were possible. Dean fucked her, reaching around to toy with her plump clit, the nub bursting with sensation. Though he’d already spent once, Dean quickly worked himself toward orgasm again, his cock hot and tight within her. Rachel glanced at Grady to see him jerking off as he watched, his beautiful body straining. When her eyes met his, he whispered her name and rose to his knees, sliding his dick over the middle of her back.

Burke began coming in her mouth, and Dean shot and yelled, his climax washing over him.

Burke slid another shot of come down her throat before easing out of her, and she closed her eyes, thoroughly spent. Dean remained inside her, his hands stroking her ass, and she felt warm jets of fluid hit her back as Grady came all over her. He rubbed it in, marking her, she supposed, her eyelids impossibly heavy.

“Let’s give her a rest.” Burke’s deep voice sounded thick with satisfaction. She opened her eyes to see him lying before her, like a sated cat after its bowl of cream. “Oh, don’t worry, Rachel. We’re not done yet. That was just round one.”

She groaned and the others laughed. Dean withdrew and eased her onto the bed, his warm hands rubbing her back, and pushing more moisture over her. She glanced over her shoulder to see him milking threads of semen from his cock to her back.

“Like lotion,” she murmured, exhausted.

“But it has what you need,” Grady said hoarsely next to her. “Our marking scent all over you. God, Rachel, I’m spent, but I want to fuck you all over again. You’re so damned sexy.”

Burke rumbled, and soon she heard low purring all around her. They sat beside her, over her, next to her, rubbing against her with human flesh and soon with golden fur. For what felt like forever she lay in a daze while they allowed their fur to press her soft skin.

Not sure how much time had passed when she roused to consciousness, she opened her eyes to find three cougars fixated on her body, their noses in the air as if scenting something she couldn’t.

Grady rumbled in a low bass. “Damn, you’re already marked.”

Rachel stared at him in awe, blinking wide awake. “Did I just hear that, or am I overtired and imagining things?”

“No, you heard it.” Dean sounded mournful. “We marked you.” He turned to Burke and rubbed his head against his brother’s shoulder. “Come on, Burke. It’s just one night.

That was way too tame for a proper marking, anyway.”

“Yeah, Burke. A whole night. That’s what we agreed on.” Grady stopped purring, waiting for Burke’s reaction.

“I don’t like it, but I understand it. Now you need to ask Rachel.”

Three sets of eyes turned to Rachel, and she swallowed loudly. “You want to do it again?” Again? Were they inhuman? Duh. Of course they were. A stirring in her womb stunned her into admitting that she was just as inhuman. Three men—three Shifters—and Rachel. Surely a fantastic night to remember. She glanced at Burke, and without understanding how, saw him soften though his expression didn’t change.

“It’s okay, baby. This is natural, and much as I dislike to call your attention to it, most female catamounts are polygynous.” Burke took human form again, his fur gracefully melting into flesh, his feline shape shifting smoothly into a man’s.

Grady followed, shifting back. “That means they like more than one dude for sex,”

he explained to Dean, who growled before shifting back as well.

He punched Grady in the chest. “I know that, asshole. I can’t spell worth a damn, I admit, but I’m not an idiot.”

Rachel chuckled and her heart swelled at the warmth, at the familial banter between brothers. And she felt ten feet tall at the tender look in Burke’s eyes.

“Well, Rachel? What will it be?”

“I think I love you.”

Burke and the others froze.

Realizing what she’d admitted, she quickly recovered. “All of you, I meant. You’re my family now, aren’t you?”

Dean and Grady beamed, but Burke’s satisfied smirk worried her. “Yeah, baby.

We’re your family now. But brothers we ain’t.”

Dean snickered before leaning down to kiss her. More hands touched her breasts, her clit, her ass… And then no one was laughing anymore as desire pitched anew.

The next day, Rachel woke to throbbing canines, a sore ass, and a tender vagina. But her mind was clear as a bell. She felt herself turn three shades of scarlet as last night came tumbling back in all its glory, and she covered her eyes with her forearm. Hell, but she’d taken three men to bed. Had even taken it in the ass, which hadn’t been nearly as pleasant as she’d heard it could be. Of course, when Dean had kissed her all better she hadn’t complained. And being the meat in a Burke and Grady sandwich had certainly whet her appetite.

“I’m a nympho.” How the hell did she get back on track with her life after having experienced wild animal—thank God not literally “animal”—sex?

“I hope so. I love chicks who can’t say no.” Burke stroked her belly, and she stared at him in shock, having thought herself alone. He leaned up on one elbow as he caressed her. “Grady and Dean had a tour to take care of this morning. Poor guys. You wore them out and then they had to haul ass into Whitefish by ten.” His grin was wide enough to make the big bad wolf cringe, and she excused herself for the poor analogy.

“Um, Burke? You’re okay with all this?”

Burke came off his elbow to blanket her with his body. “The question is, are you okay with it, my beautiful nympho?” He nipped at her earlobe, causing a shudder of need to pass through her.

“I’m, I…” She exhaled heavily and smelled Burke with vivid senses. The sweet smell that reminded her of sex on a stick now had several other faculties to it. She could taste his satisfaction, could smell the aroma of his pleasure as his hand crept to fondle her breasts.

“God, I had you all over the place last night and I still want you.” He inhaled the skin below her ear and began purring. “I can’t get enough of you, Rachel.”

She wanted to reject her over-amorous body but couldn’t. Burke, bless him, met her needs with a gentleness she would never have expected, and his soft petting after their blissful climax had her falling so deep in love that she had a hard time remembering why she’d sworn off men for a while.

“Rachel.” He pressed his lips to the top of her head. “I’m so glad you came to us.

You belong in Cougar Falls, with us.” With me, she swore she heard whispered in her mind. She could feel him smiling into her hair.

But what struck her the most about the past few days was how much she’d come to care for Burke. She wanted to belong to him—to his pride, she hastily amended . Oh hell.

If I can’t be honest with myself, who can I be honest with? I love him, and it scares me to death.

“Baby, you okay?”

Her nerves must have shown on her face, and she hurried to cover her exposure. She shot him a broad smile. “Okay? My body feels like rubber, my brain like Jell-O, and I finally have you all to myself. What could be better?”

He began purring—God, how she loved that—and she found herself joining the rumbling sound. That quickly, contentment settled, her fears fading to the back of her mind. The pounding of Burke’s heart increased in volume, and she instinctively sniffed, trying to understand his emotions.

“Oh, yeah.” He chuckled and stroked a hand over her hair. “You’re ready to shift, Rachel. By marking you we finally woke you up. What say we go outside and give you some space. The first change is going to be hard, but I’ll help you through it.” He rose, heedless of his nudity, and pulled her with him. “Dean and Grady are going to be pissed they missed this.”

She followed him blindly, her attention caught by the myriad scents pressing to be identified. Gerald’s fragrance lingered in the house, subtle underneath Grady’s, Dean’s and of course, Burke’s overpowering marker. Like a heady cologne, Burke’s scent made her want to rub her face and body all over him. Taking him into her, as if claiming him as her own.

Burke opened the back door and took her with him, and she had a moment’s hesitation at being naked on the back lawn.

“Don’t worry. I don’t sense anyone else around. It’s just you and me, two cats ready for a good time.” His wide, satisfied grin made her smile. “I am so fucking happy right now. You have no idea.”

His joy was contagious, and she leapt into his arms, hugging him close. “Maybe I do.”

Burke’s happiness deepened into something more, and his body hardened in excitement. “Damn. Sorry about that. With you, I can’t stop myself from wanting sex.”

Right. Sex. Nothing more. Not that love lingering in his gaze, or the pitter patter of loving anticipation fluttering in my belly. Just sex.

Rachel disengaged against her protesting glands and took a deep breath. “Okay. So show me how to shift. Or change, turn. Whatever it is that you do. Show me.”

“Don’t be nervous. Just do what I do. Follow with your eyes and your mind.”

She frowned, not quite understanding. But as Burke slowly shifted, she mimicked his movements. And then she began hearing soft commands in her mind that she accepted as well. Her skin itched and her bones ached. She moaned as unfamiliar stretching caused pain, and as her bones and muscles realigned, her moans turned into soft whines, feline cries for help.

Instead of Burke’s voice, however, she heard his thoughts in her mind and read impressions from his body language that spoke so plainly she couldn’t believe she’d never noticed how expressive a cat was before.

“Let it come. Embrace your inner beast. Easy, love. Just relax.”

He’d done that last night too. Called her “love”. Her attention diverted, she found it easier to do as he said and fell into the changes in her body with little resistance, accommodating the pain.

“Very, very nice.” Burke rubbed his head against hers, and the press against her whiskers made her want to sneeze. “Sorry. You’ll learn to recognize shifts in pressure and scents, so pay attention to those whiskers and that powerful nose. Open your mouth, baby.”

She did and managed a yawn of sorts that felt wider than anything she’d managed as a woman.

“Beautiful set of teeth.” He grinned, his eyes slanting and his lip curling slightly.

“Sarah will be so jealous. You can tear her up with one big bite if you want.”

“So does raptor taste like chicken?”

Burke chuffed, the feline equivalent of a laugh. “By all means, when you chew her up, let me know.”

“Maybe I will.” Having tasted and shared sex with Burke, Rachel felt more than possessive. Burke was hers now, and Sarah Duncan had better learn to keep her hands, talons, and whatnot off Rachel’s lover.

He pushed her with his head toward the bordering woodline near his property. “Let’s run for a bit and let you adapt to your new body.”

Minutes turned into an hour as Rachel ran on four paws, her tail a balancing guide as she played, racing in the woods with Burke. Overjoyed to be sharing this first with him, she shared with him everything she experienced.

“It’s like a rebirth, this feeling.” She meant the shift, but she realized much of what she felt she could attribute to Burke, to his genuine spirit and selfless devotion.

“It is. I remember the first time I shifted.” They settled around a small stream that widened into a watering hole. “I had just reached my thirteenth year. My voice was changing, my body was gangly and reed-thin. But my senses were on overload, you know?”

Did she.

“And when I shifted, it was as if I’d been given a special pair of glasses, like I could see so much of life that had until then been passing me by.”

“That’s nice. The perfect way to describe what I’m feeling. You know, Burke, you have these great moments of poetic clarity that just don’t seem like they should be coming from a six-four ranch hand.”

He laughed. “Yeah, my brothers like to give me a hard time for being so insightful.

Drives them nuts, me always being right.” He gave her a shrewd glance. “Nothing much throws you, though, does it? Not this shifting, the marking last night or even the knowledge that this town and the people inside of it are real.” He shook his head . “You’re amazing, Rachel. And I’m not the only one who thinks it. You might just have ruined my brothers for any other women after last night.”

The embarrassment she should have felt didn’t come. The beast within her acknowledged the marking she’d received as her due. “Oh?”

His eyes glinted and his scent rose to cover her. “Yeah. You were so damned sexy under us, taking us inside you. But mostly they sensed your giving heart, your willingness to help others. It’s that caring that gives you great power. That love that even your dickless ex couldn’t stomp all the way out of you. You’re Charlotte’s niece for sure. ”

She warmed all over, and her heart took another dip in his direction. “I just hope I can live up to her, and your, expectations.”

“You will, baby. Hell, you already have.” His gaze at that moment looked entirely human in a cat’s body. “Rachel, I have to tell you something. I—” He stopped and stared over her shoulder, his eyes narrowing. “Stay by my side unless I tell you to go back to the house. We’ve got company.”

As he said it, a foul odor assaulted her. Foreign canines intruding on her land. She growled low in her throat, wanting them gone. Spores of threat contaminated her peace, breaking this meaningful interlude with Burke, and her anger grew.

“Damn, Rachel, tone it down. That mean streak in you is a serious turn-on.”

Shocked that he could tease in the face of danger, she snorted in response but felt her fury subside a little. “You’re not helping my inner beast that wants to rip their throats out.”

“You’re right. I’m helping you control yourself. This isn’t the way I wanted to introduce you to your wild nature. But when threatened, your instincts prevail. Just remember, you’re catamount. These fucking dogs are nothing more than leftover hamburger.”

She smacked her lips and he chuckled .

“Don’t let them throw you. Stand strong, right next to me, and we’ll get rid of them.

Remember, this is your land. And the totem is yours as well.”

“Don’t you mean the town’s?”

“No. It’s yours to protect, just as it’s my job to protect you.” He stared into her eyes, the golden glow of his gaze sincere. “Nothing is more important to me than you, Rachel.

Nothing.”

Oh, God. Was he saying what he seemed to be saying? His body angled toward hers, keeping her both well guarded and well cared for. Under his tender gaze, she even felt loved, but couldn’t tell if that was a reflection of her feelings for him or not.

It was all too soon. So many life-altering changes…and yet, Rachel knew deep in her heart that she loved him. Her beast cried out to make him aware, to mark him as thoroughly as he’d marked her.

Burke’s eyes widened with shock. “Rachel, that scent. Are you…?”

He never finished his sentence, for at that moment, a half dozen wolves stepped in sight, their mouths wide with toothy grins, their gazes hard and hungry. Stopping a good twenty feet from both Rachel and Burke, they sniffed and began growling at Burke.

Before they could do more, another wolf, this one larger and more silver than the others, joined them by the small pool of water.

“Honored sister, we welcome you home,” the large one said. Cocking his head, he studied her. “I think, perhaps, my welcome is too late. You’ve been claimed by a catamount.” The wolf’s sigh was clear. Unlike the others, this one possessed an aura of dignity and carried himself like royalty. “But that’s of little consequence, really. I’m sorry to rush you, but you need to find our totem, now. There’s a hunting party coming this way, and I have no idea when they’re due to arrive. Could be today, could be tomorrow.”

“Like we can believe anything you lying dogs have to say.” Burke’s ears flattened and he hissed at the leader.

The wolves growled in response and stepped closer, until the leader barked at them to stop. Rachel caught a spicy scent from the lead wolf he seemed to be projecting intentionally. “Don’t be more of an ass than you already are, Burke. This isn’t about defending your mate, or about my idiot brethren trying to overtake Cougar Falls. This is about protecting the town from invading humans. I’m not lying. ”

Rachel took her eyes off the leader to watch Burke, and his sense of amazement washed over her like rain. “Monty? Holy shit. I thought you were dead. ”

The wolf shuffled on his paws. “It’s a long damned story. But not now. Time’s wasting. On our blood bond, I’m telling the truth.”

Burke shook his head, snarled once more at the wolves flanking Monty, and turned to Rachel. “Much as I wish it otherwise, he’s not lying. It’s go-time, Rachel. Now or never. ”