Bound to Change: A Limited Edition Spring Shifter Romance Collection

by Margo Bond Collins

  He was starting to sound like the women I brought home, but he had a point. And to hear it from a Pack Lux wolf, maybe there was some truth to it. I didn’t want to ignore my wolf instincts, to take the animal side for granted. But fuck, I was human too. I could still make room for some human comforts.

  “I dunno,” I sighed. “I’ll think about it, if I have nothing else going on.”

  “Owen, our packs have been planning this for months. There is literally nothing else going on.”

  “Keep pushing me and I’ll push back.” I snapped my teeth at him, but smirked to let him know I was joking.

  “I’m just saying, I think you’d regret missing it,” he grinned back. “Besides, you never know,” he added with a shrug. “All the local wolves will be there. You might meet someone.”

  “Yeah, right,” I barked. “Our packs will go to war before that happens.”

  CHAPTER 4

  Emmaline

  I thought the night I had a mating ceremony with Trent and Quinn would be the happiest moment in my life. But watching my best friend Rose walk beneath the moonlight towards my brothers Elias and Erik tonight was definitely hard to beat.

  She was dazzling, with her raven hair flowing dreamily behind her, as the moon flowers lining the aisle guided her way to the altar. Tears poured down my cheeks and I clasped my hands tightly to my chest in wonder. Her happiness meant as much to me as my own. Not even Dario, sitting three seats away from me with a sour look on his face, could take this away from either of us.

  I nearly broke when the Nyx Alpha began to recite the vows that had been created especially for this special ceremony joining the packs.

  For light and dark

  Two souls entwined

  One heart, one soul

  One pack combined

  Destined be

  These vows we make

  Blood and blood

  Within we take

  Together and always

  Live for another

  Or together we fall

  And love no other

  It was magical. A tingling rush encompassed everyone here as the three drank from the sacred cup filled with wine and a drop of each of their blood to bind them all together. Because that didn’t just bind them together, it bound us all. As a pack, we could all sense we belonged together, so when you added more, that feeling intensified. Considering there were hundreds of us in each pack, there was an audible gasp from everyone, like a wave of sighs.

  We all cheered and howled as the newly-mated three turned to us, hands linked together and radiant smiles encompassing their faces. It was done, and I was thrilled.

  I let the packs congratulate them all before I seized my moment and ran straight for my best friend. She giggled in surprise when I jumped at her, wrapping my arms tightly around her delicate frame.

  “I’m so happy for you, I could literally die,” I choked out through the mess my eyes were making.

  Rose squeezed me back harder. “I can’t believe it’s done. We’re finally sisters!”

  “Yep! Stuck with me for life,” I replied, making Rose snort with laughter.

  “Can we have our mate back now?” Erik interrupted, trying in vain to tug Rose away from me. I smacked his hand away.

  “Nope. She’s mine,” I told him firmly. “I get to steal her for a minute before you steal her for good.”

  My brothers huffed at my reply, but I could see their amusement plain as day as they left me to hug my best friend.

  “Oh goodness. Am I going to have to referee you three?” Rose joked, extracting herself from my vice-like grip.

  “Maybe a little. Just because they can now put babies inside you doesn’t mean they can hide you away from me. I still get dibs on spending time with you.”

  Rose let out a laugh that was on the verge of becoming a bark. Technically, they had already put a baby in there, but that was our secret.

  “My sweet friend Emmy, you still haven’t learned to share with your brothers, have you?” She asked with a smile.

  “What is this sharing you speak of?”

  Rose shook her head at me and looped her arm through mine. “Come on. Let’s get something to drink before the festivities begin. I’d kill for some champagne right about now.”

  “I’ll drink enough for the both of us. You can live vicariously through me,” I offered with a sly grin.

  “How noble of you.”

  “I know. It’s tough being this awesome, I swear.”

  We continued bantering as we filled our bellies with different fruits, meats, and breads that Pack Lux had put together. My pack rarely did such grand meals like this, it had taken a lot of work from everyone hunting and gathering to create such an amazing spread. But it was so rewarding to see all the happy faces of both packs as they chatted and mingled together.

  I was nice enough to return my best friend to my brothers, and joined my mates in several dances as a group of shifters played upbeat music on a small stage. My nerves began to get the better of me when the band took a break from playing. My brothers had convinced me to give Rose a special surprise of my own.

  I kissed Trent and Quinn and quickly grabbed my violin I’d hidden in a nearby tree trunk, then made my way up to the stage. Trent began tapping his glass with a fork to gather everyone’s attention. Rose looked confused for a moment, but swiftly spotted the violin in my hand.

  “Hello everyone. I’m Emmaline Lux and self-proclaimed best friend to the gorgeous woman in white over there,” I said aloud, pointing to Rose. She blushed furiously, making me chuckle.

  “I wanted to do something special for Rose tonight at the request of her mates, my brothers Erik and Elias. Now, I rarely play in front so many people, but how could I turn down doing this for Rose? So, I decided to write the music I think captures her in every way and worked on it for weeks until it was perfect. Rosie, this ones for you babe.”

  I smiled as Rose’s hand went to her heart and the other blew me a kiss. My mates nodded at me in encouragement, helping me to breathe through those last bit of nerves and lift my violin up.

  The tune was slow and whimsical, like wind blowing through the reeds along the lake she and I played in together every summer as kids. It picked up pace, mimicking the footfalls of our first run as wolves together. It was passionate, soft, and delicate, like the flower she was named after. It was everything I heard in my head and felt in my heart when I was blessed with my best friend's presence. And it brought us both to tears as I played it.

  CHAPTER 5

  Emmaline

  A stunned silence fell over the entire event as the song ended, and I lifted my bow away from the strings. I could see through the tears glittering in Rose’s eyes how my song had touched her, how she felt and understood the entire history of our friendship through the music. She didn’t have to tell me in words what my gift meant to her—I saw it clearly in her beautiful face.

  “Encore!” someone shouted, breaking the silence. Erik, of course, the drunk, happy goofball.

  “En-core! En-core!” My mates joined him in chanting, ignoring my glares as they drummed up the crowd.

  Only when Rose laughed, clapping her hands in time to the chanting, did I reset the violin under my chin with a smile. Taking a deep breath as I placed the bow on the strings, I began playing a fast, upbeat jig. As the onstage band joined in, the dance floor filled up with bodies, and the lively, celebratory atmosphere returned.

  I played until my arms felt ready to fall off and my head spun. The champagne was flowing and everyone was in a fantastic mood. No one noticed as I slipped off the stage and headed to my table.

  Finding Quinn, I nipped his ear and placed my violin in his lap. “I’m going to get some air.”

  He nodded distractedly, turning his head to give me a fast kiss, but was entranced in some hunting story Trent was telling.

  I slipped away from the festivities and headed into the dark forest. Soon, crickets became louder than the laughter and the band. The chilly
evening air caressed my skin as I leaned against a tree.

  Parties and celebrations were fun and all, but overwhelming sometimes. The cool, quiet of the woods settled my nerves.

  “That was beautiful music.”

  The deep, rumbling voice came from nowhere and I jumped away from the tree, startled. Spinning around, I spotted a tall, imposing figure with tousled dark hair, his head bowed and a moon flower twirling in his fingers.

  At first I thought it was Dario and bared my teeth, ready for a fight. But then I realized this Nyx wolf sounded and felt different. He didn’t carry any of that entitled arrogance, and the muscles under his suit were lithe and strong, not artificially pumped and roided out.

  And whoever he was, he smelled absolutely wonderful.

  “Thank you.” My voice sounded so small. “Pardon me for asking, but who are you?”

  “Owen Nyx. I don’t believe we’ve met.” He raised his head, revealing the most wild, gorgeous amber eyes I’d ever seen. Dark stubble, a rarity for the normally clean-cut Nyx wolves, coated a strong jaw and framed full, serious lips. He was like a dark version of Quinn, and possibly the most stunning man I’d ever seen.

  “I’m Emmaline. Emmy.” I swallowed, my body swaying toward him as if drawn by a magnet. His scent was so intoxicating, I wanted to bathe in it.

  I wondered if Owen felt the same magnetic pull as I did, because the next thing I knew, he stood directly in front of me. The light of the full moon made his messy dark hair shine like obsidian, his eyes like gold.

  “It’s a pleasure, Emmy.” His voice rolled like sexy thunder as he carefully raised the moonflower toward my face and tucked it behind my ear. “As beautiful as your song was,” his fingertips trailed lightly down my cheek, “it doesn’t hold a candle to you.”

  I don’t know what came over me.

  I leaned in to close the meager distance between us, kissing that hard, serious mouth. He opened up to me immediately, softening, but with a possessiveness that made my heart race. His arm came around my waist, pulling my hips flush to his. And just as quickly, his mouth tore away from mine.

  “You have mates?” he asked with a ragged breath. Of course, he could smell Trent and Quinn on me.

  “Chosen,” I murmured drunkenly, desperate for his mouth on mine again. “Not fated.”

  I barely felt like I was in control of my own speech, but his eyes seemed to light up with understanding.

  “Do you want this, Emmy?” His lips hovered over my ear. “Will you mate with me?”

  “Yes...please, yes.”

  It felt like I needed him with every fiber of my being. Somewhere, my brain exploded with the realization that I found him. My soul mate, the one I was fated to be with. That was why he smelled like utter perfection. But all that information was buried under the uncontrollable, burning need to feel and taste every inch of him.

  At the sound of my plea, his mouth fell to my neck, tasting the pulse under the sensitive skin there. Possessive hands slid up the back of my dress, shielding me from the rough tree bark as he backed me up against the trunk.

  “You don’t have to be afraid of me.”

  I didn’t even realize how badly I was trembling until he brought my wrist to his mouth and kissed me there.

  “I’m not, exactly. I just—” My voice came out small and shaky. I took a steadying breath. “I just don’t even know you.”

  Owen rested his forehead on mine, then placed a kiss on the bridge of my nose. How did he know that made me melt? Trent and Quinn did it all the time.

  “Would the moon have bound our souls together,” he asked, “if we were not perfect for each other?”

  Something clicked in my mind, and that was all the reassurance I needed. Yes, he had me pressed against a tree just outside of the biggest event our packs had ever seen, but we were brought here for a reason. The prophets all said our packs were meant to join and become one. I realized now they didn’t just mean for Rosie and my brothers.

  I lifted my mouth to his, swallowing the deep moan in his throat. His nimble fingers found the zipper on the back of my dress and pulled it down swiftly. The minute his palm splayed across the bare skin of my back, my wolf growled with impatience. She desperately wanted her new mate.

  I pushed his jacket off broad, strong shoulders and he let it fall to the forest floor. As his hand crept up the side of my thigh, hiking my dress up, I untucked his shirt from his pants and ripped open the front.

  Buttons went flying everywhere as smooth, olive skin entered my vision.

  “I’m sorr—”

  He cut off my apology with a hard kiss, laughter in his throat.

  “You’re wild,” he murmured, lifting me up by the thighs to wrap around his hips. “And so fucking beautiful. You look like moonlight.” Holding me up with one arm, his muscles flexed as he pulled the front of my dress down to my waist. Amber eyes dilated with lust at the sight of me, and he licked his lips hungrily. “And you’re mine.”

  Running my hands down his firm torso, I worked to free him from his slacks. Even through all the fabric, he was hot and solid against my hands. The moment I wrapped my palm around his solid length, he tipped his head back with a hiss, abs flexing with heavy breaths.

  “My mate,” he purred, bringing his mouth to the crook of my neck. “Even just your hand feels so good.” His hand traveled inside my thigh, caressing over my flesh before he found the center of my pleasure.

  “Please...” I moaned, squirming under his touch. The ache to feel him inside me felt like needing air to breathe.

  “Fuck, Emmy...” His hips rolled forward, the crown of his dick sliding against my entrance.

  My wolf whined a desperate plea. We needed our mate. Now that we found him after all this time, we needed to be joined as one.

  Owen and the dark wolf within could not resist any longer either. He surged into me in one long, fluid stroke. The sudden fullness made me gasp, my nails nearly shifting into claws as I gripped his shoulders.

  An animalistic growl escaped his chest as he began to thrust. Gone was all the pretense, the politeness and assurances. He was a wild animal now, taking what was his.

  Fingers curled into my hips as he rutted into me, holding me pinned to that tree. His teeth were sharp as he tasted the skin of my breasts, shoulders, and neck. Goosebumps covered me and all my senses amplified. Trent and Quinn were always so gentle with me. It never occured to me that a little bit of pain and roughness could feel so good.

  Pleasure concentrated in my clit, Owen’s thrusts leaving no room for me to come down from the building pressure. Instead, he seemed to sense my orgasm building and slammed into me harder. My release came violently, sending me into convulsions, as wave after wave of pleasure washed over me.

  “Holy fuck, that’s so beautiful,” Owen rasped, his whole body tense with restraint. “Emmy, I could watch you come every day.”

  I was still breathless and floating in the aftershocks when he picked up his pace, driving into me hard as he raced toward his own release. My skin tingled deliciously from his stubble and his teeth. His body hitting my clit with every stroke inside only amplified what my skin felt, and another orgasm began to build.

  “Owen...” My nails had to be making deep scratches in his back, but he seemed to love that too.

  “Emmy,” he answered, swelling up inside me, his thrusts growing even wilder and uncontrolled. “Come for me again, my beautiful mate.”

  The wave of pleasure crashed over me again at his command, his release quickly following. His head fell to my shoulder with a growling moan as he pulsed warmth into me.

  A blissful, exhausted smile came to my lips as he helped my shaky legs to the forest floor. Trent and Quinn assured me that my fated mate would walk into my life one day. I couldn’t wait to tell them.

  I couldn’t wait to tell Rosie either, but after she got some quality time with her mates.

  CHAPTER 6

  Emmaline

  Two months. Two blissful months had
gone past since Rose’s mating ceremony, and I couldn’t be happier.

  Trent and Quinn had been surprised, and even a bit wary at first, when I’d introduced them to Owen. Fated mates were so rare, I didn’t blame them for being worried. But Owen had this way about him that somehow set their nerves at ease. All three of them became fast friends, and my chosen welcomed him into our tight circle with open arms. Owen moved from his home in Ebony Valley with the Nyx pack to stay with me and the Lux. He settled in quite nicely and life continued on in perfect synchronicity.

  Rose’s pregnancy had quickly been picked up on, so now the whole pack knew the first wolf pup of two packs was finally on its way. Everyone was beyond thrilled. Well—everyone except Dario. Now that Rose was almost always accompanied by someone tending to her preggo needs, he rarely could get close enough to her. It made me feel a lot better.

  Everything was perfect. After the packs found out about me and Owen being fated mates, they quickly began planning yet another ceremony. This one, however, I wanted to keep much smaller. Just our closest friends and our Alphas. After all, I wasn’t an Alpha’s daughter, so I didn’t need the fanfare that had been required in Rose’s ceremony. Small was just what I needed.

  And it was only days away.

  I was having trouble figuring out what color my dress should be and which night flowers should be set up along the aisle. The only person who could help me was Rose.

  I was just about to rush out the door to find her, when Owen stopped me by snagging a hand around my waist

  “Where are you off to?” He asked, pulling me tightly into his chest.

  I inhaled his scent deeply, letting out a small, lust-filled growl. That happened a lot. I couldn’t get enough of his smell.

  I shook my head. “Nope. I have many things to do and your manliness is not going to sway me.”

  Owen snorted in amusement. “My manliness huh? Had no idea simply holding you got you so tightly wound, little wolf.” He snapped his teeth at me with a wicked grin.