“They love you now,” he said with satisfaction. “You really don’t understand what happened, do you?”
“Hello, genius. I’ve been with you Ravagers for a week as of today. Sue me if I’m not up to date on what’s what around here.”
He grinned. “You have a smart mouth. Good thing it’s so talented at other things,” he ended in a whisper, focused on her lips.
She colored, hoping he didn’t scent her desire. Those hellishly keen Ravager senses. “Tell me what I don’t understand.”
They’d spent a pleasant day together. Eric had checked on her once when he’d returned from town doing God knew what. She’d seen Dom on and off all day. Mostly he’d been beefing up security. Thanks to the attack the other day, the Savages kept on full alert. Malcolm had proven to be charming, attentive, and a fount of knowledge.
“Like I told you before, not all Ravagers can impregnate a female. The guer of both male and female has to be in total alignment.”
She nodded. “It’s not about her being in heat, although that’s a part of it. It’s more about their energy bonding accordingly.” Vicki knew about energy. She lived to manipulate it, so she understood most of what he was saying.
“Right. Her heat just places her guer in a more manageable state to accept not only the male’s seed but his life force. It’s the perfect union of spirit and body. What you don’t understand is that Eric’s guer is one of the most powerful Ravager spirits we’ve ever seen in this world. That’s why everyone accepts his leadership. Ravagers respect strength. And Eric is beyond normal. He’s Prime.” Malcolm’s pride was unmistakable.
To her amusement, she felt it as well. As if Eric’s conceit needed any help from her. “That I get.” She took another bite of meatloaf, allowing Rule his own arrogance. The man could seriously cook.
“Eric pulled your guer. He tapped into your energy and brought it out of you, Vicki. You turned feral, meaning, you became a Ravager for that period of time in the woods.” Malcolm’s throaty voice and darkening eyes alerted her to his arousal. “You have no idea what it was like to be a part of that moment.”
“Pack,” she murmured and stroked his arm. She was growing to really like the touchy-feely Ravagers, taking comfort in their way of bestowing affection.
“Family.” Malcolm nodded and caught her hand in his. But when he guided the other hand holding her fork to his lips and stole her food, she pulled back. He laughed. “You’re rabid, aren’t you?”
“I belong to the prime and his wacky pack. You tell me.” I belong. Oh shit, I’ve fallen in love with these louts. She stuffed her face full of food before she did something stupid, like blurt her love out loud. She needed to think about this situation. Lord, did she.
Malcolm grinned. “Prime’s pack is important, no doubt. It’s odd that just as you arrive, the females the clan has been waiting for, forever it seems, finally do the right thing. Diana and Kate needed to be on their own years ago.”
“I still don’t understand why Eric didn’t just cut the cord and force them to marry.” Not that she wouldn’t have argued if someone—Gran—tried to force her to marry. But still. These guys seemed pretty stoked about procreating.
“Force them? Force females?” He seemed stunned at the possibility, and she thought again about all she knew of Ravager relationships. Did females really rule their packs?
“Malcolm?”
Malcolm shifted in his seat, his discomfort more than interesting. “Oh look, there’s Dom.” He took off like a shot, leaving her alone at her end of the table.
No one else approached, but she saw the curious looks, the smothered grins. As much as Vicki wanted to be annoyed at being the center of attention, she found herself trying to integrate into her new clan. And how fucked up was that?
Sex was really all she knew about these people, she thought glumly. Gran would have a field day with her new friends. Alpha males, animalistic Voiders who had sex wherever they liked. Family units comprised one woman and two or more males. Rarely did any of the females have children. Of those who lived in the city, there were a few more pregnancies, but not many. Oh and Vicki had been forbidden to leave without her husband’s—make that husbands’—consent. Yeah, right. Gran would tear her a new one for even thinking about staying here.
So why did leaving make her want to cry?
Vicki felt safe here. She felt home, content, loved. Not one of her pack had said a thing about how they felt about her, but she could sense the caring. The energy around her alleged mates pulsed with arousal, excitement, and adoration.
“Must be losing my freakin’ mind.” Because she felt it too, all that nice, messy love.
A body plunked down across from her. She looked up to see a male she didn’t recognize.
“Ah, can I help you?”
He gave her a toothy grin. “Flowers, right?” He nodded at someone behind him, and a dozen or more bouquets appeared on her table, surrounding her with roses, irises, orchids, and more.
“Thanks?” she said absently when he walked away.
“What the hell is all this?” Sean asked as he filled the seat the other Ravager had vacated. Diana sat next to him, and the pair looked surprisingly at peace.
“Who the hell are you and what have you done with my cousin?” Vicki asked him. She laughed when he flushed and looked askance at Diana.
“Come on. I haven’t been that much of an asshole.” At her silence, he blinked. “Have I?”
“That’s my cue to leave,” Diana murmured. “I’ll go grab us some dinner. Nice flowers, Vicki.” She left them alone.
“So what’s your deal?” she asked her cousin, greedy to spend some time with her other family again.
“Oh hell.” He groaned and clutched his head by his hair. “She’s brainwashed me. I can’t do anything without that woman’s face popping into my head at all hours.”
“Uh-huh.”
He lowered his voice. “And Vicki, she’s insatiable. It’s like she can’t get enough of me. And it’s mutual. I’m no longer normal.”
“As if you ever were. Do I really need to hear this?” Vicki contained her laughter at his pained expression.
“I’m serious. The other night, when you were being chased through the woods—and no, please do not give me any details. I’ve heard enough already.”
She blushed.
“The other night I think I turned into one of them. It was totally weird. We were, like, intimate, and the world went cloudy. I felt furry, I swear.”
“You turned feral.” She explained what Malcolm had told her. “Eric was powerful enough to pull that from me, but I’m thinking Diana must be pretty strong to pull that from you.”
“Yeah, or it could be because we’re Conduits. I mean, we’re ‘out there’ even as Conduits. We play with energy differently than others do. Might be why they were taken with us in the first place.” He glanced around her. “Um, what’s with the flowers?”
“I’m not sure.”
At that moment, another group of Ravagers approached carrying candles of every shape, size and color. They placed them around the table, snickered and walked away.