Given to the Berserkers: A menage shifter romance (Berserker Saga Book 4) Read online

  Finally, I shrank back and wiped my face. I should not be crying. Neither of my sisters would show such weakness. I was a Berserker bride now.

  I crossed my arms over my chest, where the pelt had slipped, exposing my breasts. Wulfgar noticed my embarrassment and handed me my shift.

  Fergus gave a mock grimace. “What’s that for? We’ll be helping her out of it soon enough.”

  “That depends on our mate,” Wulfgar said. “It may take her a day or two to grow comfortable with us.”

  “Ye aren’t frightened of us, are ye, Muriel?”

  “No.” I ventured a smile.

  “Ye love me,” he grinned with satisfaction. “Ye cannae deny it. I heard ye.”

  I blushed. “I thought you were going to die.”

  “He threatens to snap my neck once a day, but it’s only in jest. Warrior brothers share a bond closer than the rest of the pack.”

  “Only a crazed wolf would attack his brother,” Wulfgar added. “And then only after the bond is severed.”

  “Such lovely talk for a wedding morn.” Fergus clucked. His jesting tone lightened my spirits, as did the added protection of my shift held against my naked chest.

  I didn’t miss the excitement in both warriors faces, or the way their gaze flicked over my barely covered curves. “When did you arrive?”

  “I came here last night, but ye were both sleeping. I stood guard for a time, but once Wulfgar left the bed, I couldnae resist taking his place.”

  “What time is it?”

  “Past noon. Ye slept away half the day. Well, slept, and did other things.”

  “You took your time joining us, Fergus,” Wulfgar grunted.

  “I thought I’d spend some time in the pack, to learn how Siebold is planning to steal Muriel from ye.”

  I raised my head in alarm, but neither warrior seemed surprised.

  “Do you think he will come soon to seek vengeance?” Wulfgar asked.

  “He’s still recovering, but he has friends in the pack.” Fergus shrugged.

  “He’s up to something,” Wulfgar shook his head.

  “If he thought to challenge ye for your high place in the pack, the beating ye gave him knocked that thought right out of his head.” Fergus sounded cheerful for such a bloodthirsty subject.

  As usual, Wulfgar noticed my uneasiness at the violent talk. “Fergus,” he chastened in a quiet voice, but his eyes were on me.

  “I’m fine,” I bowed my head, letting my hair fall over my face. “The pack is different from what I’m used to.”

  “A new world. And you’re a brave one to enter it.”

  I didn’t have a choice, but I didn’t mention that.

  “So,” I looked from one warrior to the other, “you are both my mates?”

  “The Alphas have a theory that without available mates we formed warrior bonds to support us through the centuries. Now that we have found you, we can claim you together. Our bond means we can share without quarreling.”

  “That means we’ll share ye,” Fergus winked at me, and I gulped. I was looking forward to seeing the Highlander naked again, this time without the loin cloth...but two men? At the same time? I touched my cheeks, wondering if they burned scarlet through the curtain of my hair.

  “Fergus, can you go fetch water?” Wulfgar growled, and threw a bucket at his head. While the younger warrior loped off, Wulfgar rose and checked the fire. I took the moment of privacy to dress, and thanked my scarred mate when he tossed me my boots.

  He stayed across the room from me, giving me space and moving with none of the speed that took my breath away.

  “Will you check my cuts?”

  I crossed to him and undid the bandages. The wounds were healing nicely, the least of them gone completely, faded into barely visible red marks. I cleaned and packed the worst cuts so they would not fester before wrapping them again. In this, at least, I was competent. I’d learned from Sabine, and she was always quick with criticism when I did something wrong.

  As I finished I realized I’d spent a number of minutes at my giant mate’s side, silent and totally comfortable. My gaze jerked up to his and when he smiled at me, I flushed.

  “You must think me so stupid,” I muttered.

  “Never,” he murmured, catching my arm and guiding me before him. “I’m not fond of hearing you call yourself ‘stupid.’ To me and the pack, you seem to be the finest of women.”

  “A prize to be won,” I tried to joke, and couldn’t quite.

  “You are more than chattel. You are a woman, with a heart. I promise to handle it with care.” He frowned. “Muriel, how much did your sisters explain to you of being mated to a Berserker?”

  “They told me how I might lay with a man. They told me how I might conceive. They mentioned their two mates shared them, but....” I trailed off, trying to remember the advice Sabine had given me, but all I could recall was the soft expression on her face when she described the mating bond, followed by a matter of fact explanation about men’s cocks and women’s heat. At some point, she remembered a time Maddox and Ragnvald annoyed her, and her teaching turned into a furious rant about ‘making my voice heard and refusing to yield,’ which turned into another rant about the unfairness of the Games. She’d then stormed out to ‘find those monsters and tell them this won’t stand.’ She returned a few hours later, hair mussed and face flushed, but features serene.

  All in all, it had been a confusing session, and now, faced with this powerful warrior, any useful advice flew out of my mind. “I-I wish I knew more.”

  “No matter.” He tucked the hair back away from my face. “When the time comes, it will be our honor to teach you.”

  The door banged open with Fergus’ arrival. “Here’s your water. And the pack left food outside. A whole feast. They dinnae expect us to leave for some time.” Fergus waggled his brows and I blushed all over again.

  The two warriors bade me stay inside while they brought in a small table laden with oatcakes, roast boar, fowl and root vegetables cooked in a fig sauce. My stomach growled.

  “Let us eat, then,” Wulfgar gestured as soon as Fergus had brought in two chairs. I followed the warriors to the table, a hand on my stomach to stop its slight churning. Wulfgar wanted to eat, so I would eat, so tonight I could do my best to please both my mates.

  The two men sat but the lack of a third chair brought me up short.

  “Sit here, Muriel,” Fergus patted his knee.

  Giving up hope that my cheeks would ever be anything but bright red for the rest of the day, I perched on his knee.

  “It’s alright, sweetheart,” he murmured. His strong arms cradling me made my embarrassment worth it. “This week is for ye to about your husbands and how to please us. By the end ye will be used to all our attention, even welcome it.”

  “I am glad for your attention,” I said. My body tingled as I lay my arm around his neck to steady myself.

  “Good. One day ye will know that before ye sit down to dine with us, ye must be as naked as we are clothed.”

  “What…” I glanced at Wulfgar for confirmation. The big wolf was grinning but he didn’t deny it.

  “Strip, Muriel,” Fergus said firmly.

  My mouth dropped open. “What if someone comes in?”

  “No one will disturb us. If they do, trust your mates to keep ye safe.”

  I frowned, but it seemed little to indulge him. After all, I was only wearing a shift. Fergus helped me pull it over my head.

  “In the future, whenever ye hesitate to obey, ye will be punished.”

  “Punished?”

  He nodded gravely, an excited light in his eye.

  Wulfgar spoke up. “Nothing too harsh, and nothing that permanently harms you. But it is a great pleasure for a wolf to bring his mate to heel.”

  They both seemed so happy, I wasn’t sure if they were joking. I decided to wait and ask Fergus later, in private.

  Nodding, I pulled off my dress and shift, and reseated myself on Fergus’ kn
ee. The rest of the meal we amused ourselves. Fergus treated me as if I was fully clothed though the men’s hot gaze on my bare form kept me warmer than the hearth fire. After placing a horn to my lips for me to drink, Fergus fed me choice bits from his own fingers and wouldn’t let me touch any food.

  After a few gulps of mead, I giggled and ate as if this was a clever game.

  Fergus held a plum for me to bite, and its juice escaped down my chin, dripping onto my chest. He caught my hand before I could swipe at it with my fingers, and bent his head to lap it from my skin instead. His tongue chased a bead of sweet liquid almost to the cleft between my breasts. My head lolled back as his beard scraped my tender skin, sending strange but pleasant shivers through me. When he raised his head, droplets of plum juice clung to his lips and coarse red stubble. He kissed me and I found a new way to eat my favorite fruit.

  When our mouths parted, I realized the hard bulge under my leg was growing larger.

  Fergus really was the most handsome man I’d ever seen. I stroked his reddish sandy hair and he trailed his fingers up and down my bare back, pressing a kiss to my shoulder. I lapped at his fingers as he popped more food into my mouth, laughing when he kissed my ear and tickled it with his beard.

  “Enough,” I said. “I am full.” I reached for the drinking horn instead, and Wulfgar made a dissenting noise. Fergus set it away.

  “No more of that, sweet one.”

  “I’m always sweet. Never saucy. I always do as I’m told,” I pouted. The mead I’d drunk made the room swim a little.

  “Ye do?” Fergus murmured. “Then I shall have to give ye many orders. Give me a kiss, Muriel.”

  He didn’t have to tell me twice. After what seemed like hours in his lap, teased by his fingers and clever lips, I only wanted more. I pressed my mouth to his, tasting the plum and mead.

  I licked my lips. “Sweet. And tart.”

  His hand tightened in my hair and he used it to tilt my head, controlling the kiss. When he broke away, his breath caressed my face.

  “My warrior brother feels left out,” he said. “Why don’t ye go show him how grateful ye are that he won the Games?”

  I didn’t understand at first, but Fergus angled his body so I saw Wulfgar, watching from the other side of the table with a slight grin.

  Nodding, I got to my feet. The closer I got to the warrior, the larger he seemed. Yet his eyes were kind. Why had I been so afraid of him?

  I lay my hand along the stubbled jaw, studying the rugged lines of his face. Had I once thought him ugly? There was something compelling about his lips, his eyes, even his scar. He wasn’t good looking, not quite. But his looks were still pleasing.

  “I’m going to kiss you,” I whispered.

  His eyes crinkled in an almost smile, but he didn’t move. Even his arms stayed lax at his side as I bent and touched my lips to his. It was my first kiss where I was totally in control. I tilted my head and used my lips to coax his into softness. My nipples ruched tight and I longed to press my body against his great torso and relieve their tingling.

  Instead I broke away to search his expression. “Did I do it right?”

  His chuckle warmed me to my toes. “Exactly right. Now Fergus is going to give you your reward.”

  “Muriel, come sit in front of me.”

  The redheaded warrior waited for me on the bed. He scooted back as I came, making room for me to nestle on his lap facing Wulfgar. Once I was in position, Fergus drew my legs apart.

  “Keep these where I put them, or you’ll be punished.”

  My knees had already started to drift together. “Punished? How?”

  “Fergus will bend you over the bed and spank your bare bottom,” Wulfgar answered from his seat by the fire. He sipped from a horn, enjoying the show.

  “What?” I craned my head to blink at the young man. “You would do that?”

  “Oh yes. I’d enjoy it. Hearing ye gasp and beg, watching your bottom get all hot and red for me.”

  Again I didn’t know if they were joking, so I just did as they said and let my legs fall back open.

  “Wider,” Wulfgar rasped from his chair. He leaned forward, elbows to knees, looking so intently at the place between my legs I wanted to squirm away.

  “Here, sweet one, I’ll help ye,” Fergus hooked my legs over his knees, holding them wide.

  I realized Wulfgar could see everything about me. Picking up a pelt, I held it against my bare chest.

  “None of that,” Fergus drew my meager covering away. “Ye will never hide yourself from us.”

  “But, no one has ever seen me like this.”

  “It’s all right. We are your mates. No one’s ever touched ye either, right, sweetheart?” Fergus’ fingers skimmed over my bare chest, rested at my belly where they strummed lightly, like I was a lute and he was a master player.

  “No,” I breathed.

  “And other than us, no one ever will,” Wulfgar growled. He wasn’t watching passively. His whole body was tense, leaning forward against an invisible leash holding him back. My heart stuttered in my chest as I watched the predator rise in his eyes. “I’ve killed for less.”

  “See, Muriel,” Fergus soothed, “You’re safe with us. We won’t let anything happen to ye.”

  “But--”

  “Hush now, and let me give ye pleasure.” Fergus’ fingers resumed their dance over my skin, everything in me came roaring to life.

  “Do you remember what I taught you, Fergus?” Wulfgar’s voice sounded strained.

  “Aye. Now, Muriel, relax,” Fergus breathed into my ear as his hand smoothed down the top of my thigh, and glided to the center. I tightened automatically, starting to close my legs before I remembered his order.

  “Breathe, Muriel,” Wulfgar commanded. “Nice and deep. In...and out.” Focusing on his command distracted me for a moment.

  With forked fingers, Fergus rubbed slowly up and down my nether lips. I whimpered.

  “Wulfgar is going to watch while I pleasure ye. Would ye like that?” Fergus whispered.

  “Yes.”

  “Do ye like making us happy? Do ye want to please your mates?” he continued stroking me, his voice a hypnotic murmur in my ear.

  “Yes,” I sighed, giving myself over to the sensation, a tightness building within me, a wanting. My hips arched towards his touch.

  “We are going to claim ye in every way, so ye know ye are ours.”

  “Please.”

  “Please what, wee one?”

  “Please claim me. I want to be yours.”

  Teeth nipped my ear followed by a tongue to lave the hurt. His fingers never stopped moving.

  A low sound filled the cabin, and I realized it was me. I was moaning. My legs tensed against his and he set them further apart.

  “Beg me, sweetness. Beg for what ye want.”

  “I want…” My hips rocked on air. I didn’t know what to want, beyond his perfect, continuous touch.

  Wulfgar watched from a distance, his eyes gleaming. I wanted to rise up, beautiful and desired, and go to him. I whirl and dance for his favor. I wanted to please my mates.

  “What do ye want, Muriel? Should I stop?” Fergus’ hand stilled and I grabbed it.

  “No--”

  “No? Ye don’t make demands here, Muriel. We’re in charge.”

  “Please don’t stop. Do what you will.” I thought frantically for what he’d want to hear. “I’m yours.”

  His chuckle gusted in my ear. “This is how ye will take your pleasure, always. At our hands. Desperate, pleading. Ye will beg, every time, and long for us to fill ye. And then, and only then, will we give ye your release.”

  “No,” my voice grew faint. “Please. Please, I must—I need—” The pressure between my legs built, growing too large for my slender body to hold. Fergus’ rasping voice and steady, continuous touch turned my body into a vessel filled with desire, ready to overflow.

  “She grows close,” Wulfgar growled.

  A keening cry fill
ed my ears, and after a second, I realized it came from me.

  “Cum for me, Muriel. Cum now.” At Fergus’ command, I broke against his body, jerking like a leaf caught in a gale. His muscled arms steadied me even as his fingers plucked my nipples and fucked my cunny, driving my orgasm on and on.

  When at last I grew still, sweat glistened on my bare flesh. Fergus fed me his wet fingers, and I did not protest licking them clean.

  “Ye did not last very long. I had hoped to keep ye on edge for some time. We will have to work on that, wee one.”

  I collapsed back against his chest.

  “Well done,” Wulfgar told Fergus. “With time, you’ll learn her signs so you can take her to the brink and keep her there, stimulating her higher and higher. The longer she waits, the more intense her climax will be.”

  “If I let her climax quickly, can I stimulate her again?”

  “Yes, but very gently. Her tissues are sensitive to the touch.”

  Fergus brushed my folds once again, and my lower half spasmed.

  “See? There are ways to keep pleasuring her but we have time to explore them. Today is merely the beginning.” Wulfgar continued. “Place the heel of your hand on her and press lightly. Ground her. And always hold her afterwards. In these moments she is at peace, and most receptive to your touch.”

  “She’s always receptive to my touch, aren’t ye, sweetling?” Fergus trailed his fingers along the tops of my thighs. I shivered, but he only cupped the apex of my legs, holding me as Wulfgar had instructed. Completely held and cherished, I floated in my young lover’s arms.

  The door scraped as Wulfgar left the cabin, startling me awake. “Is it time now for me to pleasure you?”

  “Soon, sweetness,” Fergus shifted further back on the bed, laying down with me tucked in front of him. “But not when ye are so taken by the drink. We want your wits about ye when we claim ye, so ye can remember all ye learn.”

  I snuggled back against him, yawning even though I’d slept most the day. “If I do not learn quickly enough, will you punish me?”

  “Perhaps,” he laughed, and ground his cock into my bottom. “But those punishments ye will enjoy.”

  *

  When I woke again it was to my warrior’s murmuring. Their voices sounded strange, echoey and far away.