Our erotic plans had to wait longer than expected. Just as the guys and I were enjoying a wonderful lunch of roasted chicken salad sandwiches and french fries, a knock came at the front door.
All of us froze.
“Expecting someone?” I asked.
“No,” Rune growled as he stood up. “Stay here.”
“Oh, hell no,” I said and followed him out of the kitchen along with Braxen and Merrick.
“Damn it, Lora! At least stay back while I answer the door,” Rune grumbled.
Braxen winked at me as he pulled a gun out of a drawer in the hallway bureau.
But before we reached the door, all three men stopped and scented the air like the hounds they were. They looked at each other in surprise and relaxed.
“It's another Cerberus,” Merrick explained as Rune went to the door.
“Another team?” I asked.
“Yeah,” Braxen said and took my hand. He set the gun on a side table.
Rune opened the door and there, on the porch, were three men. There was something about them that felt familiar. I couldn't say what. They all looked Caucasian but had hair usually found on Asians—midnight black, glossy, and thick. All three wore their hair in different degrees of short and had a military look about them even though they were dressed casually in jeans and T-shirts. The jeans were a nice normal loose style but their shirts were snug, giving glimpses of the bulging muscles beneath. Their stares were steady.
“Darius,” Rune said and stretched out his hand to the man in the center of the group. “It's been a long time.”
“It has.” Darius shook Rune's hand. “How are . . .” he trailed off when he saw me. “Oh. You have company. Is there somewhere we can speak privately?”
“This is Lora, our mate,” Rune said.
Three jaws dropped.
“Your mate?” Darius asked. “You found your mate?”
“We haven't bonded with her yet, but it's coming.”
“Congratulations,” one of the other two men said, a hint of jealousy in his tone.
“Thank you.”
“Come in,” Braxen said. “Are you hungry?”
“We could eat,” the third guy said with a grin. Then he sauntered over to me and held out his hand. “I'm Dominic. Welcome to the family.”
“I'm Lora.” I shook his hand as I scanned his face. Dominic was undeniably handsome. He had gray eyes with glittering flecks of gold in them. So much gold that it made the gray seem like the secondary color instead of the reverse. Stunning. But my appreciation was casual; no true interest involved. And that went for all three of them. “Thanks. Uh, why are you guys here?”
“She got there sooner than you three,” Darius said.
I looked over at Darius. His eyes were gray and glittered as well, but the flecks were silver, making his eyes seem metallic. The last man had a similar stare—gray again but with so many green flecks in them that they glittered green.
“Let's get the introductions over first,” Darius went on. “I'm Darius and this guy is Declan.”
“Three D names.” I looked at Merrick.
“Told you it was dumb,” Merrick said with a smirk.
“We're a pack,” Declan said, his tone light. “Practically one person. It makes sense to pick names that at least start the same. You guys have names that don't tie you to each other at all.”
“Our last names do,” Merrick drawled.
