Page 15 of Golden Desires

Waking up early this morning while still in my human form was a strange experience. It was a novelty to feel the crisp morning air on my skin without the buffer of my natural brown and black fur.

The lack of my lethal claws leaves me irritable. I feel defenseless and weak. Of course, if we get too far from the scent of our mate, our Monsters return.

After some experimenting last night, I discovered I can shift parts of my body while still maintaining a mostly human form. Something I shared with my brothers right away. Once we dressed ourselves, that is.

It’s no surprise that Aldair was the least accepting of the three of us. Looking at him now, still sleeping against a tree, I chuckle. The black cotton shirt he chose barely contains his body as it strains over his shoulders. Leather pants are tucked into the unlaced boots he refuses to tie. We’ve never needed shoes, and if we find ourselves in a situation where we need to run, he won’t be wearing the human foot protection. Or so he says. He also pulled his shaggy black hair into a low leather band once he cut it to a more manageable length.

Then there’s Kylan. Standing taller than either of us, his long hair and the beard covering his face are the same white blonde tone found throughout his fur. We couldn’t help but laugh as we watched him try to squeeze into his clothing. Kylan’s cock was uncooperative as he attempted to tuck it into the laced opening of his pants. After he successfully stuffed himself into the brown leather pants, he mangled the white linen shirt. It quickly became apparent that his broad shoulders and arms do not fit the clothing. The torn material and missing buttons are obvious, even after he rolled the sleeves up to his elbows.

Unsurprisingly, I find I enjoy the fitted gray shirt and black leather pants I chose. The boots are a nuisance, but I laced mine up, unlike my older brother.

The sun will rise soon, so I decide to wake my brothers so we can find more suitable hiding spots. We’ll be easier to spot now, and even if we’re no longer in our more terrifying forms, we don’t want our Omega to see three men hovering around, waiting for her to emerge.

“Ky,” I whisper, as I squeeze his shoulder. His amber eyes pop open, and he immediately checks himself, the relief at finding he’s still in his human form clear on his face. “Seems we can hold it even in our sleep.” I smile, as I head for Dair next. “Wake up big brother,” I say with more force, before sticking a wet finger in his ear. He bats my hand away like I’m nothing more than a pestering fly. Ky chuckles though. At least one of them finds me funny.

“One day…” Aldair grumbles, his voice rough with sleep.

“Yeah, yeah, one day. But today, we have a little mate to welcome home.” That gets his attention. He’s on his feet and looking around in moments.

I snort at him, before heading between a few trees to conceal myself. The plan is to follow her from a safe distance, and if she heads in the wrong direction, we’ll encourage her to turn a different way.

It’s not long before the sun rises, and our mate makes her way out of the cave. The first thing I notice is that she’s holding her arm to her chest in discomfort. Something I failed to realize before. The overwhelming urge to protect my Omega nearly has me revealing myself to her too soon.

Aldair focuses on holding Kylan back, who seems to struggle just as much as I am, but I have more control than my younger brother.

“When she’s ready, we’ll take care of her. We need to restrain ourselves, as hard as that may be,” Aldair whispers, and I nod my agreement. This will be the last time any of us refrains from helping our mate while she is in pain, but we know it’s for the best in the end.

Revealing ourselves now could ruin everything. We need her to trust us. For that to happen, we need to show her who we really are. Jumping out of the treeline, and forcing her to let us mend her injury, might send her screaming in the wrong direction.

She needs to choose us…

Once she’s ready, she starts off on her journey. As she makes her way through the forest, we watch over her, making sure she reaches our home safely, while giving her the freedom to do this on her own. It takes a while, but we’re patient men. Her scent isn’t filled with the same overwhelming fear as it was last night. Instead, she smells more nervous than frightened.

Even when she turns to look back at one point, just before finding her saddlebag, I remain hidden. The sound of a snapping branch under my booted foot stops her progress. She pauses, whispers something about tasting like skunk, and spots the saddlebag Ky cleverly left behind. She picks up her bag, grabs a bite to eat, and continues on.

She’s about to reach our territory. The three of us stay back, and watch, as the first thing she sees is her horse.

“Bear!” she gasps, freezes, and then charges him. She drops the saddlebag from her shoulder onto the ground by the fence before greeting the horse.

We give her the space to reconnect with the animal, and watch as she picks her bag back up, then ventures into the cave after a few moments.

I’m the first to step into view, making Bear’s ears pin back, and as he stares at me. Kylan moves quickly, cutting between myself and the horse.

“Shhh,” my little brother soothes. My brother’s ability to connect with prey has always been impressive to me. He’s far less terrifying in this form as well.

Our mate’s scent is stronger here, and spiked with happiness at seeing Bear again. The smell is delicious. Better than the discomfort that clung to her all morning. Kylan is instantly affected by the aroma, and looks to us for reassurance. It’s easy to see the doubt he has about his ability to control himself around her.

“Trust me. When you are around her, your only concern will be her safety. Why don’t you finish getting the animal settled for the afternoon? I’ll go hunting for our dinner,” Aldair calmly reassures Ky. His brown eyes meet mine and flick to the cave entrance. I nod in understanding, as Aldair removes his clothing, so his monster form doesn’t destroy them. Or the blood from catching dinner…

I make my way to the cave entrance slowly, wanting to give her time to explore before I interrupt, but after twenty minutes, I can’t stand the wait any longer. As I get closer to the door, my steps slow, and my Alpha instincts rise to the surface. I want to be close to my mate…to give her everything she’s ever needed.

I grasp the handle of the door and swing it open on quiet hinges.

It’s clear she explored this room a bit, but her scent is strongest coming from Kylan’s room.

Carefully easing my way further inside, light spilling in from the hallway reveals a tousled blonde head. The golden strands are the only part of her that's visible under the blanket she stole from Aldair’s bed. I smirk. Her instincts are already driving her. She’s using Ky’s sweater as a pillow. Did she take something of mine as well?

“Little mate,” I whisper. I allow one hand to drift forward and catch the curl laying over her shoulder. Sliding my fingers along the golden strands, I brush my knuckles down her neck. The image of burying my fingers into the silky length as I kiss her overwhelms me, and my scent spikes.

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