Free Desired By The Pack: Part Three by Emma Storm

moisture from her skin.
    “Winter-wolf,” he whispered, lips tracing the vein that throbbed at the side of her neck. He put his hands on her cheeks and tilted her gaze to his. Their noses nearly touched.
    Deep down, sudden, she knew. Her toes curled in the thin rug tossed in front of the shower and the muscles in her core flexed.
    Maybe he saw her knowledge. Maybe something else. But he nodded and breathed, “It’s time.”
    She swallowed a couple times, looking for words, not knowing what she wanted or needed to say. Creating a mate bond was as close to marriage as a werewolf got. Much like humans and their weddings, the act of bonding could be elaborate or perfunctory, planned or impulsive.
    Unlike human unions, a mate bond couldn’t be dissolved by a sheaf of paperwork and authorized signatures.Even if she physically parted ways with these men, she would remain connected to them in every realm and on every planet favored by the Moon.
    “I stopped dreaming about this a long time ago.” Still clutching her towel, she looked up into Beck’s eyes. “Are you sure?”
    “From the minute I saw you.”
    “I believe you.” In the cramped space, she decided he’d lost his chance to come to his senses.
    Tucking her hand in his, she dropped the towel. Beck’s gaze didn’t fall as she expected. He remained fixed on her face, eyes locked with hers, and drew a ragged breath.
    “There’s a chance the Moon won’t accept this bond between the three of us. I need you to know that even if the bond fails, I claim you as mine. If a bond isn’t meant for you and me, I won’t take it with another.”
    She hung her head, guilt flooding her heart.
    He brought her chin up and kissed her closed eyelids. “I choose you, winter-wolf, not the Moon. Come with me now. Our witnesses are waiting.”
    Yearning exploded in her chest, crowding out everything else. She barely recognized the two other shifters present as Beck drew her from the bathroom. Anders stood on the other side of the door, a pledge in his eyes that was different but not less than the vow Beck gave her.
    Anders didn’t have the same connection with her--they were too different, his animal emotions and her human ones--but she didn’t need or want same. She wasn’t even sure her link to Anders was her or if it came from that shy, elusive winter-wolf hidden somewhere out of reach, where only Anders could touch it.
    Still, he caught her human shell against his chest and kissed her human lips, and she knew he was as right for her--as meant for her--as Beck was.
    The absence of Heat heightened her senses. She was hyper aware of Anders’ hands wrapped around her upper arms, holding her so close, her taut nipples grazed his smooth chest as he drew her across the room. A cool breeze chilled the moisture that hadn’t yet dried from her shower. At her back, the silky hair dusting Beck’s chest teased her, more stimulating because she had no way of anticipating when their bodies would slide together.
    Anders withdrew from her mouth and found her throat, forcing her head to tip back on Beck’s shoulder. She drew a deep breath, expecting the spicy, earthy notes of their combined scents, but the perfume of the forest wrapped around her.
    She opened her eyes to moonlight, pale but strong through the window someone had opened. A smile curved her kiss-bruised lips. Sensual energy pulsed through her body. She wanted to spread her arms wide and spin in the light.
    Instead, she reached back and twined her arms around Beck’s neck. The motion broke Anders’ hold on her and his fingertips trailed over the sides of her breasts, traced her ribcage, before he drew away completely.
    A new breeze blew through the window and caressed her skin. Her nipples peaked in the chill. Before she could complain, the bed appeared in front of her, pushed close to the window by some unknown person. Maybe Anders, while she was in the bathroom with Beck.
    Or maybe the witnesses, who existed as little