Free Let the Wild Out by Madelyn Porter

to kiss the expression off her face.
Actually, he wanted to throw the inept, young chief out of the moving car and
then kiss the expression off her face. He swallowed his jealousy, knowing that
he’d have to get over it soon. A very male part of him wanted Rachel to choose
him above all others, but he didn’t live in a fairytale world where a man and
woman got a monogamous happily-ever-after. No, his world demanded sacrifices of
him. All he could hope for, all he could ask for was to be one of the two loves
of her life. To have otherwise would be to set the clans at war. He would not
rip his world apart because he couldn’t share.
    “We will marry the same woman,” William said, clearly
surprised. “Don’t you know of our ways?”
    Rachel looked blankly from one to another.
    “The two chiefs must share a bride,” Douglas explained. He
glanced towards the front divider, listening briefly to the singing driver.
Somehow hearing a big, beefy lion shifter’s rendition of a teenage pop song was
disconcerting. He turned his attention back to Rachel. “It has been our way
since the old clan battles. One bride to two chiefs. She is the intermediary
between the clans.”
    “And children?” she inquired.
    “The oldest goes to the oldest chief to be raised in the
traditions of that clan,” Douglas explained. “The second child to the youngest
chief, back and forth, repeating until there are no more children.”
    “Wait.” Rachel glanced between the two men. “That would make
you two…”
    It was easy to see what she what thinking—that two brothers
had been in the same bed as her.
    “No,” William said. “I was adopted. We are not bound by
blood.”
    She sighed with relief. “Good, because that was going to be
a little much for me.”
    “What happened between us is not the usual custom,” Douglas
said. “It would be best if we did not speak of it.”
    “Agreed,” William said.
    “All right.” Rachel was more hesitant. “I don’t know who’d
be asking.”
    He shared a look with William. Almost any shifter in their
kingdoms would like to hear the gossip Rachel could tell.
    “Oh, you mean when you marry.” She turned her attention to
the window, looking a little too hard at the distance. Her expression was stiff
and her tone dropped. “I won’t say anything about our time together.”
    “We live our lives under a lot of scrutiny,” Douglas said.
“It’s not like when we were in America. Here, people watch us more closely.
They might try to get information out of you if they find you’ve been in our
company.”
    “I understand,” she said.
    “We can never give the others reason to doubt us,” William added.
“If they think we are weak, that we can’t uphold our customs, they will demand
not only our throne, but our blood. It is not an easy life.”
    “I said I under—” Her words were cut off by the sound of
squealing tires. The car skidded, throwing them to the side. Douglas slammed
into the window. Rachel fell into his ribs, accidently bruising them with the
driving force of her elbow. He automatically wrapped his arms around her,
trying to hold her tight. The driver jerked the wheel and they flew into the
other direction. The sound of breaking glass and bending metal clashed with the
roar of an engine. Bodies were thrown around the inside of the car. Douglas
didn’t let go.

 

*
* *
    Rachel groaned, opening her eyes. The car had stopped
scraping over the pavement. She pushed against the door, hearing the crunch of
glass beneath her stinging palms. The hard road was beneath her, pressed tight
to the overturned limo. Shattered crystal glasses and bottles were strewn
around her, wetting her bloody hands with the painfully stinging throb of
liquor. Douglas lay unconscious in a crumpled heap of limbs. William was gone.
    “Help!” Rachel croaked, reaching to untangle herself so she
could check on Douglas. A drop of blood fell across his pale cheek and she
looked up. William leaned over,