“I am fine,” she promised quietly under her breath, still panting. “Just get my sister back.”
He met her gaze, his own unwavering. “I promised you,” he said sternly. “She will be with her new family soon.” Lynda nodded her head, and hoped that would certainly be the case.
From the other side of the woods, Jonas Anderson and his son Jonathan came sauntering out. The hush that fell amidst the pack was one of anticipation as each member was ready to respond to the command of their alpha instantaneously. Lynda noted with great satisfaction that Jon looked much the worse for the wear!
It was obvious too that Jonas had not been pleased with the circumstances that Jon’s actions had led to. Sonya, looking tired, yet angry and strong, followed a few steps behind the two men, escorted by an elderly female member of the Dark Fang pack. It was fairly clear by the look on her face that the elder did not at all approve of Jon’s tactics for acquiring a mate.
Lynda breathed a sigh of relief the moment that she saw her sister, she had hoped that she would not be injured or worse. Lynda caught Sonya’s eye from across the clearing. She looked tired and angry, very angry in fact, but otherwise uninjured.
When Sonya tried to walk towards her sister, James held out a hand and stopped her. “Not yet, little cat.” Lynda could hear him say firmly from across the clearing.
Ben called out across the clearing. “Jonas, leader of the Dark Fang, you are now holding a member of my pack against her will. I am asking that you release her peacefully at once.” His voice was strong, but respectful.
The Dark Fang’s alpha shook his head, his eyes narrowing. “My boy desires to claim this Yukonia as his wife. Last I heard Ben, you had no alpha female in your pack. Yet now you show up with a strange woman at your side, and claim pack status for a female you didn’t even know existed until yesterday? I’m not buying it.” He laughed dismissively. “Not even you, the hallowed leader of the Strongheart pack, work that fast.”
Ben ruffled a little at the disrespect just awarded him, but he allowed the emotion to pass swiftly back into indifference. He knew that the man was trying to stir him up, to dull his senses and to potentially pick an unnecessary fight.
Lynda snuck a worried glance at Ben, as she slipped her hand into his, reminding him of their agreement. Would everything that she had done turn out to be for nothing? She wasn’t sure if she could handle that. Sonya was squirming beside Jonas, her eyes flicking between Lynda who she desired to run to, and Jon who she was very frightened of. Lynda met her eyes, hoping to reassure her, but her heart was pounding. Ben gave her hand a gentle squeeze, but he seemed unconcerned, alert but at the same time relaxed.
“You’ve no cause to question me,” Ben countered firmly, and this time his voice held a note of challenge to it. He would not allow the situation to be dismissed. He had claim to Sonya, and he was going to make that clear.
“Don’t I?” Jonas laughed again, but there was no amusement in his tone. “Perhaps it is your intention to steal from my son what should rightfully belong to him?”
“I do not steal my brides,” Ben countered swiftly, his voice accompanied by a low growl, but not yet rising.
Lynda could see that the entire situation was beginning to get out of hand. It could become an all out war, and if it did, she might lose her sister in the melee that followed. She knew that her place as Ben’s new bride might be to be silent, but she could not stand back and allow things to devolve into a violent situation.
So she took a deep breath to calm her nerves, and called out across the clearing. “My name is Lynda Wilder. Sonya is my sister. Last night, Ben Wilder took me as his mate and the Strongheart pack has accepted our pair bond. Even now his child is forming in my womb.”
Her announcement drew startled breaths from behind her, and Ben’s eyes flicked over to her, before returning to watch Jonas. His grip on her hand tightened demonstrating how important her honesty was.
He did not know her well enough yet to know if she was being bold, or just plain reckless. “Lynda, are you sure? It’s barely been twelve hours.” He muttered to her under his breath, as he knew how dire it was to make a claim that proved to be false.
Lynda refused to look directly at Ben. She simply nodded her head with confidence, and called out to the Dark Fang’s alpha again. “Surely your elder can discern these things. Send her to me.”She settled her gaze on the older woman, her expression unyielding. Sonya stared at her sister in wonder, amazed that she would risk so much to protect her.
Lynda released Ben’s hand, though his grasp lingered for a moment as he considered forcing her to remain by his side. When he did relinquish his grip, she calmly walked into the center of the clearing so that they would be both be in neutral territory. She could feel Ben’s gaze protectively lingering on her.
Jonas nodded his head, and the elderly woman walked out to meet Lynda. They locked eyes briefly, and then the elder took Lynda’s hand in her cool, leathered one. Lynda could feel a tiny burst of magic pulse through her, and then the woman chuckled.
“You’re a clever girl – so like a she-cat.” The old woman said to Lynda under her breath. “Ben will have his hands full with you, and that’s before the twins arrive. They’re a boy and girl by the way, good for you. Don’t you worry for your sister. Jon’s an idiot sometimes, but he didn’t hurt your sister. He knew Nanny Jeb would tan his hide if he did.” She chuckled reassuringly and gave Lynda’s hand a light pat.
Turning back, the old woman called back to Jonas. “Ben’s claim is valid, son. This woman is his mate, and bears his young, twins in fact.”
Lynda smiled faintly at the notion that she was carrying twins, though that had not occurred to her. She heard a very quiet commotion behind her as the pack reacted to the news, but Ben remained perfectly silent. She did not dare to glance over her shoulder at him though she wondered how he would react to these recent events.
Jonas nodded his head once, put down his arm which once held Sonya in place, and just like that, Sonya was running across the clearing to her sister. Lynda held her arms open to her sister, and closed her eyes briefly with gratitude. With a sigh of relief, Sonya held her younger sister tightly to her.
When she opened up her eyes again she was glaring across the clearing at Jon. It was not enough for her that he had been punished for his actions, she wanted to make it clear that he should never touch her sister again.
From behind Lynda, Ben approached them, and as if sensing Lynda’s rage, he put a gentle hand on Lynda’s shoulder. “Welcome to the Strongheart Pack, little sister.” He said gently to Sonya.
Sniffling, Sonya lifted her head to look up at the alpha. She was stunned by the idea that her sister had mated with him. As far as she knew Lynda had never even considered him as a mate.
“Thank you. For rescuing me, I mean, and making me an auntie too?” she said to Ben with a tone of surprise in her voice.
Ben looked just as shocked as Sonya as he slid a hand with fascination across Lynda’s stomach. The idea that his child, no, his children, were already there inside of her, growing, filled him with a sense of pride and joy that not even becoming alpha had afforded him. It was something he could never truly define. “It looks that way,” he grinned, and for once the cool exterior that most knew him for, melted into one of pure joy.
“Lynda, I knew you’d been looking for a mate before your next cycle, but why didn’t you tell me?” Sonya fixed her sister with an incredulous smile. Lynda blushed at all the questions from her newly released sister. She also knew that when she revealed all of the details to her sister in the coming hours and days, that she was going to have an endless amount of questions.
“It’s a long story, Sonya. Come on and I will tell you on the way home.”
The two women turned and walked back to the edge of the clearing, where their new family waited to welcome them. In a matter of hours the two women had gone from being the last in their line, to inheriting an entire pack of brothers and sisters and
far off relatives. They were both embraced, as they were now part of the pack, and would always be under their protection, from now until the end of their days.
Animal Nature: A Paranormal Romance (Chapter 1)
6 Months ago -
It had been a hard couple of weeks for the sisters. Hell, it had been a hard year thinking back on it, what with the sisters parents dying so unexpectedly in an auto accident just over a year ago. Since then the sisters had been through a lot of new experiences – a lot of crying, yelling, fighting and compromising too.
And that just covers what had been going on here at home between her and Sonya. It was Lynda that had been suddenly thrust into the role of head of household – a lot of new responsibility now sat firmly upon her small shoulders.
She didn’t want to think another minute about all the legal stuff, financial crap and the seemingly endless phone calls and letters from people with their greedy hands out wanting to pick at her piece by piece, penny by penny, during this terrible time of loss and evolution. She had had enough!
Lynda was glad the weekend was over though. Since she became a bartender at the local dive on the weekends she was always happy to see Monday morning come around – a strange feeling since in the past she had always dreaded it’s arrival. Funny how things can change so drastically, seemingly in an instant.
There were just too many drunk pain in the rears to deal with on a regular basis for her though so she only opted for the weekend shifts. Weekends were just about too much for her as it was, and her hot temper could get her into trouble in an instant if she didn’t watch it. One too many comments about her boobs, butt or drink pouring skills and she was ready to come out swinging. And most drunks in these parts had no idea exactly what they were risking in pissing her off one time too many.
But it was a steady check, tips were fair and for the time being they needed the extra money, so she was thankful for it. If she could just find the will to hang in there a little longer she hoped things would keep on changing for the better.
Her sister Sonya had just recently finished taking some classes at the local community college, but just didn’t really seem too interested in anything in particular. Even though they were only six years apart in age, it may as well have been a thousand – they were just so different in so many ways it was almost hard for Lynda to believe they were really kin sometimes.
Up until her parents accident last year Lynda had been out on her own, working in the “real world”, for about 3 years as a marketing wiz in an advertising agency two states over. She was self sufficient, a hard worker and surprisingly good at what she did given the fact that she only had “on the job” training. But she was a natural at it they soon realized and fought to keep her on. Her degree in college had been in music performance if you could believe it, and she had gotten the job at the ad agency, completely by chance, through contact with a close college friend.
When she got the word about the accident, though, she rushed right home as fast as she could. She knew Sonya needed her and never realized what other responsibilities would soon fall upon her tiny shoulders. She never really understood what kind of financial bind her folks were in – they had never said a word. As far as she knew they were doing fine. That is until after the funeral, about two months later, when all the “Final” notices started flooding in from places all over the world it seemed.
Her once large and powerful family clan had dwindled dramatically over her own short lifetime. When she was a young child she remembered having relatives scattered all over North America – primarily on the west coast and up into Canada and even up into the Alaskan wilderness. But she also had fond memories of visiting cousins as far away as New York state and even down into the Appalachian mountains one hot, humid summer. Needless to say the peoples of the Yukonias were once powerful and many.
And as it were, the women of the tribe were responsible for “hosting” the tribes magic. It was always passed from mother to daughter, normally manifesting itself around the time the girl hit puberty, but that did vary for some extra special individuals. And sometimes boys got it too but she had never met a boy with the powers.
She had heard of tales of a few male cousins in areas far away with it, why were they always in far off territories she often wondered off topic, but as a general rule this was a “girls only” magical club. Shifting was the magic women in her family kept secret from the outside world.
Now some girls, such as Lynda, were well blessed with the magic, and got their powers extra early. Lynda herself was extremely strong magically speaking and the ability to “shift” came to her when she was just over six years old. Needless to say, her parents weren’t quite prepared for that when it happened – just imagine leaving the room for one second, with your little girl happily watching the Mr. Rogers show, to come back and find a spitting mad cougar cub ready to rip your ankle off the next! Yeah, that was quite a transition for Mom and Dad!
Mom was good at explaining things to Lynda though and told her all about the magic in stories and in response to thousands of questions that Lynda had right after that experience. Dad tried to help too as best he could but Mom was the source of all her shifter knowledge and Dad just filled in where he could.
Dad wasn’t a shifter but his mother was, so he knew a lot about the experience if only through second hand knowledge. Plus he could be extra comforting in that Dad kind of way and she always loved him for that.
Animal Nature: A Paranormal Romance (Chapter 2)
But something happened to the Yukonia clan around the time Lynda became a teenager – she didn’t exactly know the real reason, her folks never discussed it as far as she knew – it might have been genetic, or environmental, or maybe it could have been something as simple as disease or accident – maybe even something in the water, who knows for sure, but their clan numbers dropped off – fast.
In fact, there were very few babies born to her relatives starting around ten to fifteen years ago and many that were did not make it past being a toddler. It was almost as if the Yukonia’s had been contaminated with some sort of paranormal shifter “pest control” – kind of like the stuff you put on your pets so the fleas can’t have babies. Once treated the shifters can’t have babies either.
Hmmm? It made her wonder and worry too! But as far as she remembered her mother or father never really discussed it – at least not when she was around. Come to find out, herself and Sonya, an unexpected “miracle” her mother often called her, were the only living Yukonia relatives left right now. At least that she knew of. She had reached out to several relatives she hadn’t seen in years when she came home after the accident while making funeral arrangements, but none had replied. Not even one – and she thought this super strange!
For a group once as powerful as the stories of the Yukonia she was told as a child, she now felt very alone. So as far as she could deduce, she and Sonya were the last of their line. She tried not to dwell on that though, for one thing because she had so little spare time to herself, but also because it made her really sad. She now felt a surprising kinship with that character from “The Last of the Mohicans”.
But right now their family home place, a simple log cabin several miles outside of town complete with about 100 acres of land, a little farm equipment, a few head of cattle, goats and chickens, was quickly heading toward foreclosure if she couldn’t turn this ship around – and fast. Her home was still a lot like she remembered it as a child – except much more worn down than in her memories.
And just over the time period of the three years she had been moved out, the place had really gone down hill. How could this have happened so quickly, she now wondered to herself? But her parents never said a word – “They were too proud to ask for help – so that’s where I get it,” she chuckled as she mumbled to herself, under her breath. A smile formed on her face as she fought back any tears that may have wanted to share at that moment.
And then the moment was gone. There was no time for tea
rs right now. And she was about all cried out any way since the funeral. She took a quick swipe at her eyes so no one else would ever see. The reality of it was that cabin needed work, and major work at that, all totaled – the roof had seen better days, the gutters were down in a couple of places, there were a few electrical “issues” and the plumbing screamed if you didn’t get the water pressure just right when you turned the water on.
But just add all that to the list – the barn needed work, the garden needed to be tilled and planted, the tractors and dad’s old truck needed repairs, fences were down in a few places, the animals needed to be fed and livestock kept turned up missing quite frequently now – and that was just the top of the list. She stopped thinking about it because the more she did, the more things she added to that imaginary list – and by now she imagined it to be about a foot long.
She wasn’t sure if the dwindling livestock numbers were due to the animals just simply wandering off the property through the holes in the fences and their inability to find their way back, or if something more desperate, such as cattle rustling (and chicken rustling, and goat rustling – you get the idea) was going on. The thought of someone actually taking their animals bothered her a lot more than them just wandering off though. She hated thieves like the plague!
Either way Lynda had to get this situation under control asap or she and Sonya were going to be living out on the streets soon, and she didn’t plan on letting that happen. Her family had owned this place too long and worked on it too hard to have that happen to them now. She would not allow their family home to be taken from them.
So Lynda had been repairing things as she could – one job at a time. She had already used all the money she had saved up in her 401k fixing everything that she could, first on the cabin and then on the fences. Plus she had to do what she could to stop the livestock turning up missing. So that was her next top priority. That was money just walking off the farm as far as she was concerned. Not to mention food. Food for them and food for their animals as well.
The Animal Sagas: A Shapeshifter Paranormal Romance Page 4