Crystal Lake Pack: The Complete Series: A Reverse Harem Shifter Romance

by Candace Wondrak

  “We should go,” Dylan said. “Don’t want to be late.”

  “Although, if we are late, it would be worth it,” Maze whispered, leaning in toward my ear. His breath was hot on my neck, eliciting a whole bunch of feelings I did not need right now. Not in front of my mom.

  I pulled the twins along, keeping my arms locked in theirs as I said, “See you later, Mom.” My voice only wavered a little, cracked just a bit. Well, at least it wasn’t completely obvious what was on my mind, right?

  Wrong. Wolves were intuitive. Sarah, along with the wolves on my side, probably knew every little thing I was thinking, because I was not good at hiding my emotions. I wore them on my face, expressive and uninhibited. It was something I never had to practice, never had to worry about, until coming here. Until these wolves drove me absolutely bonkers.

  We ventured out of the house, and I glanced up at the sky as we walked off the porch. The sky was cloudless, an amber color, full of oranges and small hints of pink. Dusk was not here yet, but it would arrive soon.

  Dusk would not be my friend on this night.

  Chapter Fifteen – Addie

  The shore of Crystal Lake was already jam-packed full of shifters. I noticed they all looked nicer, dressed in more finer clothes, and all the small children were missing. These things must go late into the night; that or there was too much drinking. I’d seen half a dozen coolers at the edge of the park, where the greenery gave way to the rocky, sandy shore of the lake whose waters were the clearest and cleanest I had ever seen.

  The trench the others had dug was nearly thirty feet long, traversing along the shoreline, a few feet deep and full of kindling, surrounded by stone. A makeshift wooden structure was built atop it, flat so the bodies resting above it were not at an angle whatsoever. The corpses had been wrapped in blankets, cocooned in warmth that would only make their surviving family feel better. These shifters lost so much, all because of one man.

  How could a single man hold such power over life? Were all death priests so strong, or was it just Clay?

  I rubbed my arms. Though I wore my jean jacket, I’d immediately felt the loss of Maze’s and Dylan’s warmth the moment they unhooked their arms from mine. Shifters must run hot, I thought. I never knew until then how much I needed that heat.

  We became part of the crowd around the structure, around the bodies, but Dylan nudged me softly, whispering, “Forest wants you up there.” He pointed to where the alpha stood, watching the crowd, his pack.

  Forest spotted us immediately and headed our way. The alpha wore the nicest clothes of us all: an actual dress shirt that looked insanely soft to the touch, black pants that made him seem leaner, taller, somehow. His dark hair was swept to the side, his jaw clenched tightly. Everything on him was black, except for his white skin and cerulean eyes.

  He was the epitome of tall, dark, and handsome. He was too attractive for his own good, his body too toned and sinewy, too thick with power. And those shoulders…

  I had to look away. Ogling my alpha, the man who should’ve been my mom’s mate, was not something I should be doing. It made for some really awkward and guilt-inducing thoughts. And that wasn’t even to mention the whole read me like a book thing. I didn’t want anyone to get any wrong ideas. My mind was filled with enough of them already.

  “I’m going to officially introduce you to the pack,” Forest said. He’d shaved too, and just like Landon, the absence of facial hair and stubble made him look younger. He looked like he was in his mid-twenties. “I know it’s not what we’d hoped, but it’s the best we can do at this point. And the pack deserves to see who led them to their missing family.”

  Great. I would have to stand near Forest while he gave some speech, all the while trying not to look at him and simultaneously acting normal. Like mass funerals were things I was used to.

  Easy-peasy.

  I swallowed, not wanting to do any of it. “Okay,” I spoke, sounding weak, unsure. Feeble. I sounded pathetic, and in a way, I was. Just because my wolf wanted to be claimed, just because my wolf was in some kind of heat did not make me the same. I wasn’t in heat. I didn’t need to daydream about taking off anyone’s clothes.

  Especially Forest’s.

  Awkward didn’t even cut it.

  Forest started walking away, and I assumed I had to follow him. I glanced at the guys, mostly Maze and Dylan, since Landon was playing the whole ignoring me card, and they gave me supportive smiles.

  As long as I didn’t have to give any speeches, I’d be fine.

  The pack seemed to know what was going on, for they assimilated before the wooden pyre, lining up. Some of them had beer bottles open, others just looked sad. All of their conversations quieted and stopped when Forest and I stood between the pack and the soon-to-be funeral pyre.

  When I exhaled a loud, shaky breath, Forest looked at me, saying softly, “I don’t know why you’re nervous. You’re not the one giving the speech.” He set a hand on my shoulder, warm and strong, calloused, though I couldn’t feel his skin through my jean jacket—probably a good thing. I didn’t need any more conflicting feelings. “You’ll be fine,” he added, his hand sliding off my shoulder as he stepped forward, everyone’s attention on him.

  I tore my eyes from the back of his head, gazing out at the pack, to the crowd. The masse of bodies all started to look the same. Where were Dylan, Maze, and Landon? I couldn’t spot them suddenly, couldn’t smell them. There were too many people here, too many shifters all at once, clouding my senses, blending together. How did shifters function in such a large pack?

  Forest began speaking, jumping right into it, “We’re here tonight, as you all know, to pay our respects to those we lost. To honor the ones that didn’t get to live a full life. Our brothers and our sisters who were taken from us, years before their natural time. We’re here to pay homage to their memories, to remember them not as they are, but as they were. Happy, funny, kind, loving. And of course, we’re also here to thank the one who led us there, the one who brought us to our missing family.”

  Right. That was me. I should puff up, look tough, or contrite, or something. As I wondered what to do, I froze when Forest put a hand on my back. All this touching did not help my confused thoughts, not to mention only making my inner wolf go crazy—and there was already enough craziness around here.

  “Adeline Smithson,” Forest continued, “Henry Smithson’s granddaughter.” In the crowd, I spotted my grandfather, the one wolf I didn’t really care to see. The smile that spread on his lips when he was given credit for me made me want to punch it right off him, but now wasn’t the time for that, so I held back.

  A hard thing to do. I should get a cookie, or an I-O-U. Maybe I’d punch him later.

  “Without Addie, it’s possible we never would’ve known. We wouldn’t know our enemy, wouldn’t know how badly we were hurting until we were in single-digit numbers. Addie is the one to thank for this night.”

  Well, I wasn’t sure I should be thanked at all, since this was a funeral, but…

  “She might be new, but she is one of us. She is one of the pack now, and I would say she’s already earned my respect.” Forest, his hand still on my back, turned to face me, and though I did not want to meet his eyes, for now I knew the reason behind their sorrow, I had to; he would not finish this speech until I did, it seemed. “Thank you, Addie, for everything you’ve done. We are eternally in your debt.” He bowed his head.

  Was I supposed to pat him on the shoulder and say it was no problem? What in the world was I supposed to do? No one had gone over shifter funeral etiquette with me. Seemed kind of important, now.

  I opened my mouth, but was rendered speechless when the rest of the pack bowed their heads in unison. They bent their heads toward me, just as Forest was doing. Surely I didn’t deserve such respect. Yes, I’d found them, but it was by pure accident. I didn’t even know I wasn’t a full shifter until recently. Magic was mumbo-jumbo, carnival type stuff; it wasn’t like I knew what I was doing wh
en I’d come across the barrier.

  And even now, I wasn’t so learned when it came to magic. There were certain things only another witch or warlock could teach me.

  Just when I overcame the surprise at being bowed to like I was some kind of shifter royalty, everyone’s head rose. Forest’s hand left my back, a coolness in its absence. Toward the end there, I’d totally forgotten he was even touching me. Being bowed to by over a hundred people at once would do that to a person.

  Forest reached into his pocket, pulling out a box of matches. He broke one off, setting light to it. He held the lit match against the box, lighting the entire thing up before moving toward the pyre and setting it below.

  I inhaled, wondering how long it would take, but now that I was calmer, I noticed the scent of lighter fluid. Forest left nothing to chance.

  The wooden structure set ablaze, its fire first a yellow, flickering to an orange as the flames traveled along the pyre and started to lick at the bodies. Forest took a few steps away from the pyre, and I followed him. The fire radiated a burning heat, seeping into my core. It was almost hot enough to make me want to take off my jacket, but not quite.

  I’d have to be in hell for that.

  The large group of shifters broke off after a while. Some went to the park, others huddled around the pyre, watching the flames eat away each and every corpse. Sarah was right about the alcohol. The more time went on, the more lids were popped, the more bottle caps on the ground. A few of the shifters came up to me and thanked me, and I could only nod, for I still did not think I’d done anything to earn their thanks.

  I wasn’t their savior. I was just a girl.

  Maze and Dylan were near me, providing moral support as the other shifters came and went. Their stern looks, along with my take no shit attitude when it came to my grandfather kept Henry at bay, stopping him from approaching us. I knew what he would say, anyway. Part of the pack, now. We just have to let your wolf out, pup.

  I had nothing to say to the man, nothing besides a few choice swearwords, which I was quickly realizing were my new favorite words.

  “Addie!”

  I heard my name being called and turned to see Caitlin walking up, her mates behind her. From the sounds of it, they bickered amongst themselves, trying to get her to return home; being on her feet for too long might hurt the baby. I wanted to say, at this point, I wasn’t sure anything could hurt the baby. That sucker was ready to come out any time now.

  Caitlin wore a nice, white dress, her black hair in French braids, wrapped around her head like a crown, the longer parts of her hair laying across her right shoulder. The hue of her brown eyes was soft and kind. “You did well,” she said. “Though, at first you looked like you wanted to be sick.”

  Ah. That must’ve been when I focused on Forest’s hand.

  Maze whispered, “I don’t know if sick is the right word.”

  I wanted to punch him, but in a more loving and caring way than I wanted to sock my grandfather. I gave him an instant glare, telling him, “Shut it.”

  “Or…what?”

  “Or what?” I echoed.

  “If I don’t shut it, will you shut it for me?”

  Somehow, I had the feeling it was code for something, and while in front of Caitlin and her mates, I didn’t want to have this discussion, whatever this discussion was.

  Caitlin chuckled, watching the exchange. “You’ll definitely have your hands full,” she mused with a smile. “I have my hands full with two. I can’t imagine three.”

  One of her mates, the tallest man, made a groaning sound, as if he thought she was the crazy one here, but her other mate chimed in, “That’s assuming it stays at three.” The moment the words left him, Caitlin gave him a gentle swat to his stomach, which was just as flat and probably as toned as I knew most shifters’ were.

  “Hush,” Caitlin spoke.

  I didn’t get it, and I didn’t bother to hide my confusion. “Wait, what? What are you talking about?”

  With a shrug, Caitlin said, “Sorry, have to pee.” And then she waddled off, dragging her mates along, scolding the one who said something.

  I could not wait until the woman wasn’t pregnant and could no longer use that excuse to get out of things. “What did she mean?” I asked again, looking at both Dylan and Maze, who suddenly found the ground so utterly fascinating. I was about to swat them each just as Caitlin had done to her mate, but someone else strolled up, too smug for his own good.

  Landon wore a lopsided grin that was halfway between a smile and a sneer. He held onto a half-empty bottle of beer, and he said, “Don’t be naive, Addie. The look doesn’t suit you. Makes you look stupid.”

  I did not take kindly to being called names. “Oh, yeah? Well, you look stupid.” Oh, wow. What a zinger. Landon probably would have to leave the funeral gathering to go put ice on that burn. So original.

  Before either of us could say anything more—and it looked like Landon had a heck of a lot to say in response to that—Maze grabbed my hand and started to pull me along, saying, “Come on, there’s something I want to show you.” He tugged me away from the group, away from his brothers.

  I said nothing, but I did shoot Landon a glare, which he only laughed off before starting to talk to Dylan, who’d watched the interaction with quiet amusement.

  Technically Landon wasn’t even his brother, but to shifters, everyone was family, which only made me wonder about the family trees. Was that why Forest had my mates already chosen? Did the alpha choose everyone’s mates so there was no inbreeding?

  In reality, there was so much about pack life I didn’t know, because I’d come at a bad time. If all had been quiet, if there’d been no disappearances and no Clay to toy with the pack, my first impression of them probably would’ve been vastly different. Although, with Henry being the first I’d met, well. It wasn’t like my first impression of him would ever have changed.

  Once an ass always an ass.

  Chapter Sixteen – Addie

  Maze took me away from the group, bringing me to the woods surrounding Crystal Lake. Away from the shifter crowd, away from the funeral pyre, and away from the lake itself. His hand held onto mine firmly, almost possessive. I could not get away from him if I tried, and I was far past attempting to put distance between myself and these guys. My wolf was going crazy inside of me, and the longer I heard my wolf whine, the more I was inclined to agree: whatever was going to happen should happen already.

  This get-to-know-each-other, slow-burn thing we had going on was driving me out of my mind. I never thought I was the type of girl who’d throw caution to the wind about anything, but Maze? And, by extension, Dylan and that aggravating as all hell Landon? Where they were concerned, I didn’t know what the word caution meant. Not anymore. The definition slowly seeped from my mind the more I was around them.

  If my mom had felt anything like this toward my father, I understood why she ran. This feeling, like being on cloud nine while the world burned around us, was addicting and intoxicating. It wasn’t something I would give up, now that I knew what it was like, now I’d faced my feelings for these shifters.

  I could focus on his hand in mine for only a few minutes before my mind went back to the previous conversation. “What was everyone talking about?” I asked, my voice quiet. Getting a straight answer out of Maze would be tough; Dylan would probably be my best bet. I might have to give it up, for now.

  “Oh,” Maze said, trying to shrug it off as if it was nothing. “Don’t worry about it, Addie. It’s just pack gossip. I don’t know who started it, but I can look into it. Trust me, it’ll pass. Your shiny newness will wear off, and soon enough you’ll be just as boring as us.”

  What a long-winded way to not answer the question.

  I gave him a look. I would not fall prey to his smiles or his winks, and never to his ramblings. Not right now, anyway. “Way to beat around the bush,” I muttered as I hopped over a fallen tree. Where the heck was Maze taking me?

  “I’m no
t beating around the bush. I’m avoiding the bush altogether. You’ll thank me.”

  I let out a sigh. “I wish you would just tell me. Treat me like one of the pack, since I am part of the pack now—” The rest of my sentence caught in my throat as Maze whirled on me, yanking my hand and pulling me close. Just as close as I was with Landon in the bedroom, so close I could smell him.

  Earthy. Musky.

  Hmm…or maybe I was just smelling the forest around us.

  Maze tilted his head down to me, quietly saying, “You will never be just another pack member to me. You’re…I mean, assuming you don’t run from us screaming and you don’t change your mind, you’re going to be my mate. I know you wanted a choice, but I want you to choose me, to choose us.”

  Such heartfelt, genuine words coming from the pack clown. My heart skipped a beat. Or two. I couldn’t really be sure, since I was so lost in the depths of his chocolate eyes, so close to him I could feel the hardness of his chest, the muscles hidden beneath his clothing.

  How could any girl concentrate when in a situation like this?

  “You don’t have to say anything,” Maze went on, his other hand gently touching my cheek, his fingertips lightly caressing, sending tiny shockwaves of pleasure coursing through me, little jolts of warmth. “You might not be a full wolf, but now I can feel you, I can feel her. Your wolf wants me as badly as you do.”

  How could I deny the truth? Not to mention the aching feeling in my lower gut.

  Hell. I would’ve kissed him right here—and probably more, if I was honest with myself—but Maze abruptly pulled away, continuing to drag me through the woods.

  Hmm. He certainly missed his chance, didn’t he?

  Since I got nowhere with my previous line of questioning, I decided to ask something different: “Where are you taking me?” As long as it wasn’t anywhere near the clearing, we’d be fine. From what I could tell, we weren’t heading in the right direction anyway.