Climbing the Ladder by BA Tortuga

bared his teeth. “We may have kidnapped you.”
    She lurched out of Kody’s arms, he elbow whacking his chin, and ran out the flap of the
    tent and into the darkness, her heart pounding hard.
    “What the fuck!” She heard the scrambling, Mesa cursing.
    She landed on her hands and knees, sobbing, shoulders heaving. Enough. She’d just had
    enough.
    “Sammy…” Kody’s hand was on her back, soft, warm. It made the rest of her skin feel so
    cold.
    It wasn’t Kody that picked her up, though. It wasn’t Kody that lifted her and held her.
    No, it was the big guy, cradling her against his chest. He made her warm all over. Kody
    kept touching her, though, petting her shoulder, her hair. He was whispering to her or something, his voice everywhere.
    She clung to Mesa’s shoulders, tears taking over. She sobbed until she couldn’t cry
    another tear.
    Mesa took her back into the tent, never letting her down, keeping her close. He was
    making different sounds from Kody, but she felt them all through her. “That’s it.” Mesa eased
    her down in the blankets. “That’s it.”
    Kody pressed next to her, Mesa over her. Everywhere. They were everywhere. She
    thought she should be scared, but she was too tired, too overwhelmed.
    “We won’t hurt you, Sammy.” Kody kissed her temple.
    “Never.” Mesa’s lips traced her face, low rumbles settling deep in her spine, in her core.
    She relaxed, eyes closing, the last tear tracks drying on her cheek.
    Kody pressed behind her, his body fitting hers like it always had. Perfectly.
    “Such a good girl. So strong. So brave.” Kody’s words just came over and over.
    She wanted to rest. With them. She wanted to run. She didn’t know what to do.
    “Everything is weird. I have to be at work in a few hours.”
    Mesa’s hands were so big. “No. No, you have the week off.”
    “I do?” God, this was so confusing.
    “Kody called. We knew this would be hard.” Mesa stroked her hair.
    “What do you want me to do? Do you want my house?”
    “No. We want you to come home with us.”
    She tried to understand. “What?” Her mind felt fuzzy, her nose twitched, itched.
    Mesa huffed out a breath. “We want you with us.”
    “You don’t have to understand, honey. Not right now. You’ve had a big day. You played
    hard.”
    “Play?”
    Mesa’s lips brushed her jaw. “Yes. It was good to see.”
    She panted softly, soft sounds rumbling from her.
    “We like to play. Wolves.” Kody kept murmuring.
    “You said. I thought that people played vampires more. You don’t have the dice and stuff
    at home, though, not that I’ve seen.”
    “There’s a werewolf game, actually.” Mesa was grinning again.
    “Is there?” She wasn’t into that sort of thing, and Kody was stroking her hips.
    “Yeah. It’s so bad. Really cheesy.” Mesa was kissing her throat.
    “So…” She shivered, arched, her belly rubbing against Mesa’s muscle. “You shouldn’t
    do that. Kody, tell him.”
    “You’re good, honey. Follow your instincts.”
    “So pretty. Kody did so good.”
    “So good?”
    Kody pressed against her back, hot, solid, lean.
    “He did. He found you. Kept you safe.”
    “I found him. At a faire.” Kody couldn’t keep a rabbit safe.
    “Then you were so smart. So good.” Mesa praised her, nibbling her ear.
    “It was love at first sight.” She didn’t want to think about that, about how it might not be
    true. She wanted to believe Kody had loved her, too. She just wasn’t thinking clearly at all, so tired.
    “It was. I wanted to howl to the moon how much I loved you.” Kody smiled gently. “I
    still do.”
    “You know you’re not really a werewolf, right? You’re not really insane?”
    Kody shook his head. “I might be a little crazy, but not about that.”
    “But werewolves aren’t real.” She loved him; she didn’t want him to be crazy, a liar. A
    cheater.
    “We’ll show you, honey.” Mesa stroked her hair some more. The touches made her