Fighting for Her Wolves: A Reverse Harem Paranormal Romance (Hungry for Her Wolves Book 5)

by Tara West

  “He and Vidar have not been good fathers for a long time.” Raine tightened his hold on Annie. “Now we know why.”

  When Frey fell to his knees, sobbing, she untangled herself from Raine and climbed into Frey’s lap. “Please don’t cry.”

  “I never even learned how to be a gamma,” he sobbed, burying his face in his hands, “or how to take care of you and our children.”

  “It’s okay.” She peeled his fingers back and kissed his tear-stained cheeks. “We’ll figure it out together.”

  Magnus was struck with a pang of jealousy when she showered Frey with kisses. It was then he became fully aware that Annie wasn’t clothed. None of them were. Despite the night’s heartbreak, he couldn’t deny his primal desire and how much he wanted to lay Annie on the grass and make love to her.

  “We should get going.” He coughed, trying to quell his growing desire. “Jax needs us.”

  “You and Annie are injured,” Raine said. “I don’t think you can make it back.”

  “I’ll make it back.” Magnus stood, ignoring the cramps in his calves and summoning energy from deep within his reserves. He was the head alpha, after all. He was determined to lead his family home.

  “Are you sure, brother?” Raine said, brow furrowing. “I could carry you.”

  His chest warmed at the thought. Though Raine wasn’t always good with words, his offer meant Raine had forgiven him. “Thank you, but no.” Magnus clapped his brother’s back, feeling a renewed sense of purpose. “You’ve carried me long enough.”

  Chapter Eighteen

  AFTER THANKING IOANA Coyotechaser for bringing everyone clothes and blankets, Annie was relieved to see Amara Thunderfoot waiting on the long front porch at the Coyotechaser house.

  “Amara!” She left her mates behind and raced up to her cousin, giving her a one-armed hug, as her dislocated shoulder hurt to touch. “How did you know we’d need you?”

  Amara pushed back a strand of blonde hair. “Hrod told me.” She motioned to her preschool-aged son, who was playing with his toddler brother on the porch under a light. “It’s not bedtime yet in Alaska.” She rolled her eyes. “This was their first plane ride, and they’re wired on juice boxes.”

  The wooden floorboards creaked when Annie knelt beside Hrod and ruffled his mop of black hair. “Aren’t you going to say hello?”

  He held up a toy rattlesnake. “Papa is going to catch a real one for me.” His brows creased. “You okay, Annie?”

  She couldn’t help but smile. “I am now.”

  Amara held a hand down to Annie. “Let’s fix that shoulder.”

  “But I need to see Roy.”

  “He’s already healed,” Amara said with a wink. “So is your beta.”

  “You healed Jax?” She clasped a hand over her heart, relief washing through her. “Thank you! You’ve been busy.”

  “Your tribe needs its own healer.” Amara chuckled. “I can’t fly out here every time you’re attacked by demons.”

  She winced, but was glad someone thought it was funny.

  “Annie,” Magnus said behind her.

  She turned and wound a possessive arm around his waist. “Amara, these are Magnus, Raine, and Frey.”

  “Nice to meet you all. This is Rone.” She nodded at her gamma. He was a big guy with squeezable cheeks, who reminded Annie of Frey. He waved from his spot on the floor, where he pretended to be bitten by Hrod’s pet snake. “And Drasko.” Amara pointed at the stoic sentinel watching from the shadows. He’d been so quiet, Annie hadn’t even noticed him.

  Drasko gave the slightest of nods before turning back to the pasture. No doubt he was keeping an eye out for more demons. She hoped they’d all been banished to hell.

  “My other mates are inside, talking with the Coyotechasers and their fathers,” Amara continued.

  Annie felt apprehensive. “And Roy’s dad?”

  As if on cue, she heard a set of violent thumps coming from inside a nearby shed.

  Amara cocked a brow. “My deadbeat uncle? Locked up over there. They don’t want me healing him until Eilea arrives and casts out the demon.”

  She wanted to tell Amara that she didn’t have to heal him, even after the demon was cast out. Not after all he’d done to Amara. She chose not to say anything, though, because Roy cared for his father, and hurting Roy Senior meant hurting Roy Junior. No grudge was worth putting her brother through more hell. He’d suffered enough.

  “So the doctor’s coming?” Annie asked, shifting the subject to Dr. Eilea Lupescu, once an esteemed surgeon and now a witch doctor living in Romania with her four mates.

  “Oh, yes.” A shaky burst of laughter erupted from Amara. “Tor insisted. She’s the only one who can cast out the demon.”

  Annie wrapped her borrowed blanket tightly around her shoulders, sharing worried looks with her mates. “I hope it works.”

  “Of course it will. Eilea has been practicing her spells. She knows even more now.”

  She heaved a sigh of relief, thinking how happy Roy would be to have his father back. Roy Senior had better damn well appreciate the sacrifices the wolves were making for him. He’d also better not tell a soul about the Amaroki, or she’d never forgive him.

  Amara scowled at Raine, and without waiting for an invite, leaned into him, grasping his nose. He cried out and then stilled, letting out a satisfied groan when she pulled back. His nose had shrunk back to normal size. The only reminder of the breakage had been the dried blood coating his nostrils.

  “Wow!” His hand flew to his nose. “Thanks!”

  “Don’t mention it.” Amara shrugged, acting as if healing his swollen nose had been no bid deal.

  She reached for Magnus’s stump. “Magnus, right?”

  His horrified look when she examined the angry, puckered skin would’ve been comical if Annie hadn’t listened to his mortified thoughts.

  Why would she touch it? What does Annie think about it?

  “Yes,” he said and pulled away.

  Amara impatiently waggled her fingers. “I wasn’t done with you. Let me see it.”

  Hiding the amputation behind his back, he gave her a look that suggested he’d just sucked on a lemon. “Why?”

  “She’s a healer, Magnus,” Annie said.

  He scowled at Amara. “You need to heal Annie first.”

  Amara snorted, waving him off. “I’ll get to her.” She impatiently tapped her foot. “Now let me see it!”

  “Do what she says, brother,” Raine chided.

  There was horror in his eyes. “She can’t grow back a hand.”

  “Magnus,” Annie huffed. “She’s healed werewolves and stage four cancer.”

  Cursing and grumbling, he held his truncated arm out to her, looking away as if repulsed by it.

  “Wait!” Annie cried. Rubbing the angry scars against her cheek, she blinked back tears. “I just want you to know I don’t care what you look like. I love you for you.”

  “Us, too, brother,” Raine said.

  Frey agreed with him.

  Magnus’s jaw dropped.

  “Aw, how sweet,” Amara cooed, then latched onto him again.

  Magnus shifted from foot to foot, turning ten shades of red while she rubbed her hands over his skin.

  Annie watched in amazement as little branches grew off the stump, then formed into a palm and five fingers.

  Amara released his hand with a gasp. Drasko was by her side in an instant, leading her to a chair.

  Annie couldn’t help the tears that spilled over as she smiled at her alpha. “Well?”

  He gaped at his new hand, flexing his fingers. “Bless the Ancients,” he said and pulled Annie close, kissing the top of her head.

  His brothers joined in the hug, and they alternated between kissing and crying. Annie winced a few times when they banged her shoulder, but she didn’t complain. It was worth it to see Magnus so happy.

  ANNIE SAT ON A STIFF chair in the Coyotechaser’s den, rubbing her shoulder, though it no longer p
ained her after Amara had healed it. The room, which appeared to have been a converted garage, didn’t have good ventilation and the weak portable air conditioner barely kept her cool. Still, she refused to complain. She supposed she was going to have to get used to the Texas heat. She held Roy’s hand, peering over Magnus’s shoulder. Dr. Eilea Lupescu hovered over Roy Senior in his special wheelchair and conducted the spell that would send Balban back to hell. Dr. Lupescu needed the demon’s name to conduct the ceremony, and Annie had been happy to provide it.

  After pouring salt around the room, lighting sage, and whispering the incantations, commanding Balban to abandon her mortal body and return to hell, Dr. Lupescu said she was finally ready for the extraction.

  Balban screeched, thrashing her head so hard, Magnus had to restrain her.

  The demon gaped up at Magnus, breaking into a wicked grin. “I remember you. I recognize your scent.”

  Magnus’s brows furrowed. “I’ve never met you, demon.”

  Wicked laughter bubbled up from Roy Senior’s throat. “I blew the bitch’s brains out. Her mate, too. I shot your hand.” The demon inside Roy Senior squealed like a stuck pig.

  Annie’s heart slammed against her ribcage when Magnus let out a roar, shifting into a giant protector while raising his fists.

  “Wait, Magnus!” Annie lunged forward. “You hurt the demon, you kill an innocent human, too.” She held out staying hands, nodding toward the doctor. “Let Dr. Lupescu banish the demon.”

  With her alphas, each of whom resembled a blond Viking warrior, by her side, and both placing a possessive hand on her very pregnant belly, Dr. Lupescu wiped a bead of sweat off her brow before pointing a wand at Roy Senior and pulling what looked like a long string of snot out of his nose. As the strand grew in length, it also expanded in size until her wand held the tail end of a translucent dragon with a wingspan of twelve feet and a jagged, spiny ridge going down its back. The dragon howled and blew smoke. Dr. Lupescu seemed unfazed.

  She held her wand out to Magnus. “Would you like to do the honors?”

  “With pleasure.” Magnus took the wand from her, waving the dragon around like a sparkler.

  Annie nearly crapped her pants when a giant hole resembling a fleshy throat opened in the center of the room. Magnus pointed the wand toward the hole, and it sucked the squealing dragon in and then shut with a snap, leaving behind the stink of Sulphur.

  Dr. Lupescu slapped her hands together as if she was dusting flour. “All finished,” she said with a grin, her ebony skin glowing under the sage lanterns strategically placed around the room. Dr. Lupescu took the wand back from Magnus and she and her mates shuffled out of the room.

  Magnus remained by Annie’s side, refusing to leave her without a protector. When his brothers filed in, Magnus told them he’d just banished the demon who’d killed their parents. Annie was surprised at how calm he spoke, though his rigid spine belied his pent-up emotions.

  Magnus sat on the edge of a chair, back still stiff, waiting with Annie, Roy, and his brothers for Roy Senior to wake. Annie threaded her hands through his, giving him a squeeze. He said nothing as he squeezed back. She didn’t expect him to speak. She knew he was still processing what had just happened.

  The only sounds in the room was the breathing machine hooked up to Roy Senior. Where it had come from, Annie had no idea, but she supposed he couldn’t breathe without it. That would soon change after Amara healed him. She looked over at Roy, who was as stoic as her mates.

  Threading her hand through his, she forced a smile. How she wished she could be anywhere but here, but Roy needed her, and he’d sacrificed so much already to help rescue her, even coming close to dying.

  He gave her a funny look. “How did you know the demon’s name?”

  She froze at that, her mind reeling. In the end, she decided it was time to fess up. No more secrets. “Uh...I can read minds.”

  His jaw dropped. “You can?”

  Heat flamed her face. “Yeah.” She turned into Roy, releasing Magnus’s hand, unable to look at her mates. Cesar had already told the entire tribe she could read minds, but she still wasn’t sure how they felt about it, and she couldn’t bear accusatory looks from them. The look Roy gave her was bad enough.

  Both of Roy’s brows shot up. “When were you going to tell me?”

  “I’m sorry.” She slouched in her seat. “I was waiting for the right time.”

  His eyes narrowed. “You’re not using it on me, are you?”

  “I try not to.” A discomforting feeling came over her, and she wished so badly she had the power to turn invisible instead. “Sometimes your thoughts just pop into my head.”

  “Like when?”

  Annie cringed. “Like the other night at the bar when you were worried about paying for drinks.”

  His face flushed bright crimson. “Dad’s care has been expensive.”

  “I know it has.”

  “Any more secrets?”

  “None.”

  He heaved a sigh. “Good.”

  “So...” She paused, a tightness in her chest making it hard for her to speak. “Are we cool?”

  “You’re my sister.” He gave her hand a good squeeze, his eyes misting over. “And I love you no matter what.”

  Annie swallowed back a lump of emotion, too choked up to answer. Instead, she rested her head on his shoulder, focusing on the bleeping lights by Roy Senior’s chair.

  When Magnus rested a hand on her knee, she slipped her fingers through his, pleased when he squeezed her tight.

  “Don’t worry,” he whispered in her ear. “We’ll be reading your mind soon enough.”

  She shivered at that. Yeah, after they took her virginity. Though she was looking forward to their night of bonding, she did her best to push thoughts of fucking her four virile mates out of her mind. Last thing she needed was to cream her panties while keeping vigil over her disabled step-dad.

  After nearly an hour, Roy Senior began mumbling in his sleep, his head moving from side to side. “It’s dark! So dark!”

  Annie stifled a cry, her heart twisting in a knot. She hadn’t expected to get emotional over this, but listening to his pitiful voice brought back too many painful memories. When Magnus put an arm around her shoulders, kissing the top of her head, she felt his strength surge through her. How fortunate she was to have him.

  “Dad!” Roy fell beside his father’s chair, clutching his hands. “You’re okay now. I’m so sorry.”

  Roy Senior’s eyes shot open, and he looked at his son a long while. “What happened?”

  “I don’t know how else to put this,” Roy said. “You were possessed by a demon.”

  Roy Senior looked at his son in amazement, then gestured at Annie’s younger mates in the corner. He hadn’t noticed Annie yet. “Who are these people?”

  “They are my friends,” Roy said. “They helped cast the demon out of you, but Dr. Lupescu did most of the work.”

  Raine cleared his throat. “Should I get Amara?”

  Roy Senior’s eyes widened. “Amara?”

  “Not yet.” Roy patted his father’s hand. “We need some time.”

  “Amara, your cousin?” his father said.

  “Yes.” The color drained from Roy’s face, and Annie knew he was dreading telling his dad about their magical world, especially since he couldn’t tell him too much.

  Roy Senior looked at his son in alarm. “What’s she doing here?”

  Roy heaved a shaky breath. “Dad, there’s something you don’t know about my job. If I tell you, I need your promise that you won’t tell another soul.”

  His dad blinked. “I promise.”

  “I’m a government liaison for a magical race.” Roy spoke so fast, his words sounded as if they were tripping over each other.

  His father blanched. “Shifters.”

  Roy jerked. “How did you know?”

  “My sister accused Amara of being a wolf,” his father said. “I never believed her, but I didn’t believe
in demonic possessions either.”

  “Yes, she’s a wolf,” Roy said. “She’s also a healer. She and the other shifters are my friends. Annie is a shifter, too.”

  “Annie?” His lower lip trembled. “Is she here? Can I see her?”

  Annie struggled to speak around the knot in her chest. “I’m here.”

  He tried to turn his head toward her. “My Annie? Is that you?”

  She inwardly cringed. She didn’t like being called ‘his Annie.’ If she belonged to anyone, it was her mates. When Roy gave her a pleading look and held out his hand, she had no choice but to go to him. She missed Magnus’s touch and scent the moment she left his side.

  She sat beside Roy. “Yes.”

  “Oh, Annie!” Roy Senior’s eyes teared, and his voice sounded thick with emotion. “I’m so, so happy to see you.”

  She thought it strange that he didn’t seem frightened of her, how he brushed aside the knowledge of her shifter status and took pleasure in seeing her. She couldn’t respond to him, though. Unlike him, she wasn’t happy to be here and couldn’t wait for their meeting to be over.

  “Does our family have a gene?” he asked her.

  Annie shared a look with Roy, then shrugged. “Something like that.”

  “Anyway,” Roy continued, “I can’t give you too much information. I’ve said enough already. Just know that they are good people, and they mean you no harm. Some of them can do more than shift. Amara can heal injuries and sickness with her touch.”

  Roy Senior searched his son’s face. “Can... can Amara heal me?”

  Roy nodded.

  When Roy Senior let out a low wail, Annie sat back, hugging herself. How many nights had she tried to fall asleep, listening to that pitiful cry? “I don’t deserve to walk. I didn’t treat her well. I didn’t treat any of you kids well.”

  “Dad,” Roy said, “that’s all in the past.”

  Annie wasn’t too pleased that Roy let his father off the hook.

  A single tear slipped down Roy Senior’s cheek. “No, it’s not. I know it’s why Annie never visits.” He looked at her with an unnerving stare. “And I don’t blame you.”