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

by Candace Wondrak

  Dylan and Maze were in the kitchen, talking to Sarah. Whatever they were talking about quickly fell to a halt the moment Landon and I came down the stairs. To my utter shock, Sarah said nothing, only gazed steadily at me while the twins threw me smiles that sent butterflies flapping and beating in my stomach.

  “Has anyone been feeding Jack?” I asked, praying to all the gods humanity worshipped my voice sounded normal, and not like I’d just had my first orgasm. I still kind of rode the high.

  Behind me, Landon scoffed while Sarah nodded once. “I’ve been checking in on him, since the pack’s alpha has been busy worrying about you.” Sarah shook her head. “You have no idea how many clients I’ve lost this week after the stunt you pulled.”

  Stunt.

  So me going to Clay was just a stunt. Well, forget all the nightmares and the mental scarring, because none of it was real! It was just a stunt, no biggie.

  And indeed, who could forget about my mom’s lovely clientele—the people who paid an arm and a leg for tarot card readings and fortune-tellings? The people who believed in all that mumbo jumbo and the hippie garb my mom always wore. The Bohemian look at its finest.

  “I’m so glad you’re not worrying about me anymore,” I spoke dryly. “How long until Arthur gets back?”

  “I don’t know how long assemblies usually are,” she said. “I haven’t seen your father in years, and I was never privy to that information, even when we were together.” Right. Because now, today, they weren’t together. Just two adults working to protect their shared bloodline.

  Meaning me. Meaning the one who had already given Clay and his master exactly what they needed. Blood, blood, and more blood.

  Maze ran a hand along his neck. “I suppose I should get Reid and fill him in. It’s what Forest would want—well, one of the things he wants, anyway—”

  I could not believe he went there in front of my freaking mom. I gave him a glare, trying to quickly distract everyone from what he said by asking, “Who the hell is Reid?” It was not a name I’d ever heard before.

  Everyone in the kitchen, even my mom, looked at me like I was crazy. Hmm. Maybe I was, thanks to Clay being in my head for so long. Maybe this was all one big dream sequence that would soon end and blow up in the worst possible way.

  I didn’t know why they looked at me like that. Was I supposed to know the names of every single pack member already? I hadn’t even met them all. Jeez.

  “Reid is our beta,” Landon spoke, over-enunciating every syllable, back to the jackass version of himself. The way he said it, like it was the biggest duh in the history of the universe.

  Well, how the hell was I supposed to know that? A year ago, I had no idea this pack existed. Give me a freaking break.

  Dylan jumped into action, sensing the impending storm brewing between Landon and I and moved between us. Playing the peacemaker, the calmest out of the bunch of shifters in the kitchen, including me. Behind his glasses, his brown eyes flicked to the front door. “Why don’t we take a walk?”

  “A walk?” I echoed. The last thing I felt like doing right now was taking a leisurely stroll to the lake. Though the lake was the most beautiful body of water I’d ever seen—so crystal clear I couldn’t even tell the depth of it—it was not the time for such things. It was not business as usual in Crystal Lake.

  “Arthur got rid of all of Clay’s magic,” Sarah spoke, leaning her back on the granite counter. “It should be safe, though I wouldn’t go too far, because at this rate you never know.”

  Exactly my thoughts, minus the whole Arthur bit.

  Dylan offered me his hand. “Come on. I know one person who’s been dying to see you again, other than us.” He smiled. Dimples appeared on his cheeks, nowhere near as deep as Maze’s, but there they were. Those dimple made my mood lighten.

  Damn those dimples. How could I argue with them?

  Short answer: I couldn’t.

  Longer answer: I couldn’t without fumbling around, repeating myself and tripping over my words while looking like an idiot.

  Besides, it was either walk with Dylan or stay in the house with my mom, who currently looked like she wanted to cut someone’s head off. Forest’s head, really. There were no other options. Sarah would never approve of Forest and me, but I knew I couldn’t blame her. There was too much in the past for her, not to mention the whole age difference thing.

  During my…eye-opening time with Forest, the age thing hadn’t popped into my mind once, so hopefully it wouldn’t be as much of an issue in the future.

  I slipped my hand in his, and we were off. Maze came with us for a bit, tagging along until we passed Reid’s house.

  Dylan and I walked hand in hand on the sidewalk, not another soul in sight after Maze left our side. It was eerie, spooky, and most definitely unnerving. Chilling, in a way, like this was some post-apocalyptic town and not a quaint gem nestled away from most of humanity.

  From what I understood, the bigwigs in the human world didn’t know about the shifters. If they did, surely their existence would be common knowledge. I had no clue shifters were real, just like I didn’t know magic was an actual thing and not just something to plug up plot holes in movies.

  “How many other types of shifters are there?” I asked, breaking the silence. It was not an uncomfortable silence that spread between us, so I almost hated to ask.

  Dylan gripped my hand tighter, his thumb running over my knuckles. “Probably any kind you can imagine.”

  “Dinosaurs?”

  “Dino…uh, I don’t think so.” He chuckled.

  “That’s disappointing.”

  “That was a very Maze-like question,” he countered, shooting me a smile with dazzlingly white teeth. “I think my brother’s rubbing off on you. Do you think I’m rubbing off on you, too?”

  I walked closer to him, leaning on him as we walked. “Actually, it’s the funniest thing—I’ve been in the mood to read huge, boring books lately. Do you think I can borrow Gone with the Wind when you’re done with it?” Okay, that might’ve been stepping on his toes, so to speak, but I couldn’t help it. It was easy to tease him; I could see why Maze did it so much.

  His brown eyes fell on me. “You’re lucky you’re cute.”

  I felt a warm, bubbling feeling rising inside me, the same feeling I got when one of my mates said something sweet. They didn’t exactly shower me with compliments, but I wouldn’t have it any other way. I wasn’t one of those girls who needed to be worshipped, but maybe that’s what made the compliments so wonderful to hear. Never in my life had I gone out on any sort of date, so I wasn’t used to receiving compliments like that.

  Cute.

  Dylan thought I was cute. I healed Forest, made out with Maze in the shower, and had my first orgasm.

  Today was literally the best day ever.

  Chapter Eleven – Addie

  Dylan brought me to a house I’d seen and walked past before, but never went inside. Granted, I’d only gone in my mates’ house and Forest’s. There were dozens of other cookie-cutter homes along the streets before Crystal Lake, along with the diner and the convenience store that seemed awfully small-town-ish.

  We headed up the stone pathway that led to the front door, the house being nearly the only one on the street without a porch wrapping around the front. Other than that, it was identical in setup. Same light grey color, same two-story leveling.

  Dylan tugged on my hand as he led us to the front door and brought us both inside. The whole no-knocking thing would take a long time to get used to. Silly human tendencies and all that. But I would adjust; I’d already adjusted to the multiple mates thing pretty well, considering all the socializing human society had done on me. TV shows, books, even my mom, who’d tried to keep the shifter thing under wraps. Some things just felt natural, and after I’d stopped fighting it, having multiple mates felt normal.

  Having Forest as a mate…that was not so normal, but it was not something I could fight, not anymore.

  “Um,�
� I spoke as we entered the house, “whose house is this?” During the walk, Dylan had given away no clues as to who he was taking me to. A few times he’d given me an incredulous look, as if he thought I should know—to which I would say, I’d been through a lot recently, give me a break.

  The house smelled of cleaning chemicals, and I wrinkled my nose, wondering how strong the chemical scent would be if I were fully one with my wolf. Surely it bothered Dylan more than me, but he did not even flinch at the smell.

  Everything was neat, tidy, and clean. The walls were painted a mute tan color, hardly anything hanging on them. The floors were swept, the carpeted stairs vacuumed. If anything, it was too clean, like the shifters living in this house had nothing else to do besides keep it clean. Then again, the town was besieged by Clay before Arthur’s intervention, so I supposed it was warranted.

  A shifter stood in the kitchen, cleaning off the dishes in the sink. Tall and muscular, I recognized him instantly, though I didn’t know his name. I’d seen him only a few times, each when he was with a certain someone.

  A certain pregnant someone.

  Caitlin.

  Of course. Why didn’t I realize it before? I had been so wrapped up in my own life, my own problems, I’d completely forgotten my new shifter friend and the baby that was on its way.

  The shifter in the kitchen threw a look over his shoulder, his hands sudsy from the soap in the sink. “You can go up.” He gave us a gentle, warm smile before getting back to work.

  Dylan thanked him before leading me up the stairs. As if he would get any complaints from me. Not now that I realized where we were, who I was about to see for the first time in what felt like forever. We turned into the first bedroom on the right, and my mouth nearly fell to the floor.

  Caitlin sat on the edge of her bed, her long, black hair held back by an elastic band. A multi-colored shirt hung over her protruding belly, though now it looked a bit less rounded, just a bit less large. She cradled something in her arms, something bundled in a blanket.

  The second male of the house was beside her, chuckling softly at something she said. Both of them instantly looked at Dylan and I as we entered, though neither one of them moved. I didn’t blame them, because Caitlin was holding onto a freaking baby.

  A baby.

  Her baby?

  “Addie,” Caitlin said, “I’m so glad you’re okay. I heard what happened, and I thought…” Her kind words quieted, “I thought we’d lost you. We don’t need to lose anyone else.” She flicked her amber gaze to her mate, leaning her head on his shoulder.

  I stepped further into the room, still stunned at the whole baby thing. The woman was ready to pop before, but still. So suddenly? The baby was silent in the bundle, and when I moved to Caitlin’s other side, I saw the pudgy face in the blankets had its eyes closed. He or she was sleeping.

  “How…” I trailed off. I didn’t so much want the specifics of the birth, because ew, but just the whole how in general. “Are you okay? Is the baby okay?”

  “I’m okay,” Caitlin said, practically whispering as to not wake the baby up. “We’re both okay. It happened the night of the funeral. That’s when it started, I mean. I think it was the stress of knowing our friends and family were up and walking around as skeletons, knowing someone was after us.”

  Her mate leaned over, lovingly setting a hand on the bundle as he said, “But everything worked out. Both my mate and our child are healthy.” He gave her a kiss on her cheek, offering to take the baby so she and I could talk.

  Caitlin offered the child to me, first. “Do you want to hold him?”

  Did I want to hold a baby in my hands? Be responsible for its welfare, even if only for a few seconds? I shook my head, probably a bit too much. Babies were not my thing, and hopefully they wouldn’t be my thing for a while.

  Babies. Pups. Whatever they were called. The thought was one of the least enticing thoughts I’d had in a while, Clay-induced nightmares included.

  What could I say? I didn’t feel the motherly instinct? I didn’t have a need to become one in the near future? I couldn’t exactly say babies creeped me out, even if it was true, because who the hell said something like that? Everyone loved babies, it felt like. Humans, shifters. Everyone with a heart.

  And that was all well and good, but I just didn’t feel it. My mom had always said everything would be different when it was my kid, my baby, that I’d find the pudgy, miniature-sized person the most adorable thing ever, but I still had my doubts.

  Babies were…weird.

  After Caitlin handed the bundle off to her mate, he got up and left the room, Dylan trailing him. They went down the stairs, their footsteps soft.

  God, I hoped Caitlin wasn’t insulted by my vehemence against holding the newborn. I broke the silence of the room, “What’s his name?” I supposed I could’ve asked about the birth, how the whole process went, apologized I wasn’t there—not to mention grovel, because the whole skeleton army thing was kind of my fault—but none of the other words came from my mouth. I felt awkward.

  I didn’t know from experience, but I could guess that things would change for Caitlin now. Having a baby was a life-changing event, kind of like going away for college. Would Caitlin no longer wish to be friends with me, just like my old friends from high school? Was I going to be abandoned again? Granted, I had my own mates, but it wasn’t the same.

  “We named him Aaron,” Caitlin spoke quietly. She turned to me, said not another word, and threw her arms around me, hugging me tightly. “I was so worried about you, Addie. I didn’t know what happened, and I’ve been on bedrest for what feels like forever.” Her grip tightened, practically strong enough to squeeze out all of the air in my lungs.

  I hugged her back, though not quite as strongly. “It’s okay. I’m back,” I said as the hug ended, my friend pulling away.

  “As is your non-shifter father, from what I hear.”

  “Arthur,” I hissed out his name. Of course, I was grateful for being rescued, but for goodness sakes, couldn’t the ultra-powerful high warlock have busted through the door to Clay’s cabin a few moments earlier and saved Forest from being shot?

  “Arthur,” she repeated. “I’m sure his reemergence didn’t go over too well.”

  I nodded, and time seemed to blur as we talked. Caitlin asked about what happened after I went to Clay, and I told her. I told her everything, not hiding a single detail, because what was the point? If we were friends—if we were really, truly friends who would stick by each other’s side—there was no point in hiding anything. The nightmares, the torture, the stupid things I’d said to Forest when he arrived; I told Caitlin all of it.

  To think, I was being tortured while Caitlin was giving birth and, by the looks of it, experiencing worlds of joy for the first time. It wasn’t fair, but life rarely was. If I had a choice, I would’ve much rather been here, with my friend, helping her through it all than have been stuck with Clay and his mind games.

  The shifter beside me deserved every happiness. I didn’t know everything about her past, but I knew this hadn’t been her first pregnancy. Whether she’d miscarried or had stillborns, I didn’t know. Caitlin wanted kids. She deserved to have them in spades, if that’s what she wanted. She was one of the kindest wolves I had met in Crystal Lake. Warmth radiated off her in droves, something about her calm personality soothing, making it so easy for me to imagine being friends with her for the rest of our lives.

  Okay, maybe I was getting ahead of myself here.

  I told her all about the wolfsbane, quickly adding that Forest was fine now, thanks to some magical spell on my and Arthur’s part, when I noted the concern on the shifter’s face. I wasn’t sure how up-to-date the pack was, since things were not yet business as usual. Crystal Lake was pretty much shut down for the foreseeable future, until everything was settled.

  And judging from Arthur’s reaction at the cabin, things were not over with Clay.

  “So, Clay’s not really dead?” Caitlin asked
.

  “I don’t think so,” I said.

  “And Arthur is at some high warlock meeting? Will they be able to tell us how to beat this guy?”

  I was slow to nod. “I think that’s the general plan, yeah. But from my little understanding of how things work, I think the high warlock of death is a part of the assembly, too.”

  “And that’s the one Clay works for?”

  “We think so.”

  The shifter let out a long sigh. “Things are only settled for now, then. Not good. This is just the calm before the storm.”

  That was not an analogy I wanted to use, because if this was the calm before the storm, what was the state of things when Clay had me? The pre-surge of the storm? It felt as awful to me as a true storm itself. I shivered, hoping things would not get worse.

  Somehow though, I knew they would.

  Caitlin studied me, dark eyes dipping to my stomach, as if I could see things, as if I knew things. Things that made my gut burn. “Damn. I was hoping things would be getting back to normal around here, so you and I could talk about less life-or-death things.”

  “Go for it,” I said.

  She continued to stare at me, though finally she brought her chocolate gaze back up to mine. “You have no idea, do you? What you smell like.”

  I had the feeling I wasn’t going to like whatever it was Caitlin was about to say. When she only tilted her head and studied me further, as if trying to see if I was just playing dumb, I said, “What do I smell like?”

  “Maybe you don’t know, because you were raised like a human,” Caitlin said, weighing it in her mind. “And maybe since you’re not yet a true wolf, you just haven’t noticed. Each wolf has their own scent. When you’re around that wolf enough, when you grow up in a pack together, it’s easy to tell them apart.”

  I still wasn’t sure where this was going, but I nodded along. “I have noticed that a little.” I probably would’ve noticed it more if, like Caitlin said, I was a true wolf, fully shifted. As it was, I was one with my inner wolf as much as I could be. I had noticed a difference in smell when it came to my mates, but the other wolves of the pack, including Caitlin, had no scent to them.