The Animal Sagas: A Shapeshifter Paranormal Romance

by Charles, Susan G

  Animal Nature: A Paranormal Romance (Chapter 10)

  The next morning, the sound of male voices raised in heated argument wakened Sonya from her sound slumber. She could hear Clay yelling at someone, and another male voice yelling right back at him. Clay sounded angry and, a little bit, frightened too.

  In an instant Sonya had shifted into a cougar and bounded out of the safety and darkness of their cave, intent on stopping whoever was threatening her new mate. He was in trouble and needed her help and that was all she thought about. As far as she was concerned, that intruder was in for a rude awakening at the business end of a she-cougars claws! Screaming in outrage, Sonya busted out of the cave and slammed, head long, into the intruder, before she had even realized who she was attacking.

  “Sonya, stop it, that’s Ben! Look, it’s Ben! Not Jonathan… ” Lynda’s voice rang out and instantly, Sonya, still in full cougar form, froze.

  Looking down she could see that she had indeed just sacked the Strongheart’s Alpha, Ben. Ben was snarling at her, as he carefully restrained his desire to demonstrate his dominance in reaction to a member of his own pack attacking him. Were it anyone but Sonya, they would have paid a lofty price. Quickly Sonya backed away, eventually cowering behind the sanctuary of Clay’s legs.

  Clay stood nervously in front of her, looking warily from Ben to Lynda, who had been trying to calm her mate down while the two men argued. Things had spun quickly out of control. When they had discovered that Clay and Sonya were not in their cabin, both had thought the worst. Could they be stranded in the snow storm?

  Lynda was one of the few people that Sonya had confided the location of her cave in. She told Ben that if she and Clay were lost in the snow, Sonya would have headed there for shelter. Along the way they ran into a sentry who told a tale that left Ben on edge. Had Clay lost control with Sonya? Had he chased her down into the cave? Things went from bad to worse, when Ben pulled back the blanket from the mouth of the cave, and saw Clay wrapped around Sonya’s nude body.

  “What the -” Ben had started to say.

  “Warmth,” Lynda said quickly and pushed the blanket back down. “Surely, they were just snuggling close to keep warm,” she insisted. Of course there was no other good explanation. Clay had stirred when he sensed the presence of other weres. When he poked his head outside of the blanket, Ben had grabbed him by the back of his neck and yanked him all the way out of the cave.

  “What happened here?” he growled out as Clay struggled to his feet. After they argued for some time, Sonya had come barreling out to join the party.

  Lynda stamped an angry, booted foot into the deep snow. “Now you’ve done it! What did I tell you boys before we left? Look at what your arguing has accomplished. I hope you’re happy Ben!”

  Walking over to her sister, Lynda draped a blanket over the cowering cougar. “Sonya, will you please shift back and inform my idiot, beloved mate, that Clay did not take advantage of you last night?” Bemused, Sonya did exactly as she was asked, then told Ben all the details of what had happened the previous evening.

  It was completely consensual,” Sonya added and smirked in Clay’s direction. Clay of course could barely make eye contact with Ben, Lynda or Sonya. When he had begun chasing down Sonya, he had certainly never expected the evening to end like this.

  By the time she had finished recounting their night together Ben looked thoroughly embarrassed. He wished he had not heard a few of the details about his second and his sister-in-law but he appreciated that she had been so willing to share. “I’m sorry Clay, Lynda was right; I ought to have known better. When a sentry reported he had seen Clay chase you into a cave, Sonya, I just assumed the worst. Then we found you two together, and, well… Clearly I jumped to the wrong conclusion.” The alpha had blushed to a bright pink.

  “My deepest apologies to both of you. Now that I know the mating is consensual,” The alpha blew out a relieved breath, “I must say I’m delighted – and it’s about time!” He reached out, smiling from ear to ear and shook Clay’s hand firmly and lightly hugged Sonya.

  Clay nodded, offering his understanding. The way he had been tearing after Sonya he could see why the sentry would have made such a report. But Clay and Sonya were both relieved to hear this straight from the Alpha’s own mouth since they had not exactly asked for consent before mating.

  After he stepped away Lynda grabbed her sister, pulling the blanket even tighter about her naked frame and pulled her into a tight hug. “I knew this was coming. I just knew it. And Ben’s absolutely correct – it IS about time! What took you guys so long? Everybody has been waiting for this to happen for months. But I didn’t want to say anything to you and ruin all the fun you two were having pretending to dislike each other so much.”

  Sonya rolled her eyes, but she could not argue with her sister, she had been right. It amazed her that it had taken her this long to realize how much she really did enjoy Clay’s company and after the night they shared together in the cave, she had no regrets about her decision to mate with him. She could tell from the way he was steadily gazing at her, that he did not either.

  Lynda kissed Clay on the cheek, winked at her sister and then turned back to her mate grabbing his arms as she pulled him away with a hungry look in her eyes. It was a different kind of hunger than what Ben would have liked, but he had come to know the look very well.

  “Can we go home now Ben, please? I’m cold and hungry. But mostly just hungry. It’s way past breakfast – practically lunch time if you ask me. And how about some pickles when we get there… and goat cheese? Ooh, do we still have some cantaloupes and maybe some of that honey bread too? Watermelon will do too if the cantaloupes are all gone – would you like that?” The alpha couple walked away, with Lynda continuing a suggestion of increasingly stomach churning food combinations to her patiently listening mate, smiling at every word.

  Giggling, Sonya rested her head against her new mate’s cold shoulder and pulled the blanket around him too. “Looks like I got you into trouble again, Clay. Sorry about that,” she giggled again as she shifted the blanket about them both. In fact, when she looked up at him she saw that he was smiling that wry smile of his too. The big man chuckled himself in reply to her laughter, pulled the blanket out of her hands, picked her up, and, swinging her around, kissed her soundly on the lips as he headed back toward the darkness of the cave.

  “Don’t be. I wouldn’t have you any other way, my She-Cat, my Sonya, my love. I wouldn’t have you any other way!” And with that, they both entered back into the safety and darkness of their cave, their hideaway and their newly formed love nest, ready for whatever was ahead of them.

  Animal Secrets: A Paranormal Romance (Chapter 1)

  Present day -

  Life had been hard on the Seron sisters the past year or so, what with their parents sudden deaths, financial worries, extreme changes in income, vocation, expectation and then, most recently, Sonya’s abduction. Thankfully at least that event did have a happy ending for them. And now, through a series of events, totally unplanned by the pair, the sisters find themselves right smack in the middle of a new family pack – one that they had no idea even existed only a year or so ago.

  The Strongheart pack, their new family, had changed quite a bit since it welcomed its new members just a few months ago. This werewolf pack was also a well known clan in their own right, well known for their traditions, strength and current members. In fact Ben, their Alpha, and Clay, his second in command, were commonly spoke about in the were circles for their past feats of bravery and courage. They were rock stars in their own right.

  But for some unexplained reason the numbers of the Yukonia were line had died down over the years, almost to the brink of extinction. Things were very different if you compared the girls heritage currently to the thriving Strongheart clan. As so it happened, through no fault of their own, that Lynda and Sonya Seron were likely the last rare surviving members of the Yukonia clan, a once large and proud line of were-cougars that
roamed North America from shore to shore.

  Overall, the were-cougars were an unusual mix with the were-wolves that made up the Strongheart pack, but they were also a very powerful asset. Just imagine trying to put a few cats in a room with a solidly formed dog pack and you might have some idea of the kinds of changes that were now going on inside the Strongheart clan. If you had told the current members that this was going to happen a few months ago they would have called you a liar. So this new arrangement was completely unexpected to say the least. And it was causing a few problems inside the group that needed to be taken care of right away.

  Ben Wilder, the current Alpha of the Strongheart pack, was a shrewd leader who had recognized the strength of the potential alliance when Lynda came to him months ago, agreeing to offer herself as a mate in exchange for his rescuing her sister from the grips of a man who sought to claim her as his wife against her will. He agreed to the union, heck, it was actually his own idea if you knew the whole story, and they had been together ever since.

  And not long after Sonya’s rescue several months ago, she became bonded with her own bodyguard, Clay. In fact, it had just happened recently. It was a surprise to practically all the pack members, except for Lynda, who had thought they would make a perfect match the entire time. Nothing like sisterly intuition when it comes to potential mates! And he was the perfect man for her too – Lynda couldn’t have made a better choice for Sonya herself.

  Of course, her Yukonia intuition might be further heightened by the fact that she was now pregnant with twins! She had been fertile on the night of her first mating with Ben, and their union had resulted in twins. Needless to say he was so happy about the possibility of being a dad. Everything had happened so fast to him, only months ago he was a happily confirmed bachelor. And the thought of being married, not to mention being a dad, was something that he envisioned to be far away into his future. But he was happy with how things worked out and enjoyed the turn his life had taken.

  There were just so many changes going on for everyone in their tightly nit group, that the entire pack was struggling a bit with their current growing pains. It was definitely a time of change for the pack and Ben did his best to make sure that all members were as comfortable as possible inside their group. So he scheduled different activities for the pack to let them have fun, interact and blow off some steam and managed members concerns in a fast and efficient manner. And this was the key to his success – he was known to take action when needed and to have the lives of his pack members ahead of everything else, they were always first in his life.

  Animal Secrets: A Paranormal Romance (Chapter 2)

  Now, although the sisters were immersed in much happier times than they had experienced in the past year or so, settling into pack life was no cup of tea for them either. And this was especially true for Lynda. In so many ways, she had been the leader of the sisters own little pack, and submitting to the desires and will of Ben as the Alpha of their pack was no easy task for her, especially since her hormones were raging as she now entered the second trimester of her pregnancy.

  And being a first time mom this was all new to her – the pregnancy was the source of great pride in her, yet the nausea and just the general feeling of being “off” was getting her down a bit. In fact, she hadn’t shifted in months and maybe that was a part of it too. And all these new things she was now expected to do, on top of everything else, well, it was just a little overwhelming. And she did not like feeling overwhelmed at all. This was so very foreign to her.

  “Lynda, have you set up the run with the other females of the pack?” Ben asked as he glanced over a map of the territory their pack claimed as their own. The map was not for him, it was for Lynda. He had pulled it to help her learn their territory as she planned out this new activity.

  “Oh, no, not yet,” Lynda said casually as she rubbed on her rounding belly. She was feeling extra tired lately.

  “Lynda,” Ben said patiently as he turned to look at her. “As the mate of the Alpha, it is your duty to lead the run.”

  Lynda narrowed her eyes as she looked back at him. Sonya often called this look “the stink eye.” He cringed internally as he knew this was a definite sign that she was not pleased.

  “I understand that Ben, but I’ve just been so tired lately,” she sighed heavily, still rubbing her tummy.

  Ben put his markers down on the map, stepped over to her and gently encircled her with his arms. He kissed her gently on the top of her head. But he was careful not to hug her too tightly. He did not want to do anything to harm the twins growing safely inside Lynda’s tummy.

  “Of course you are. And I completely understand. I really do. So, then maybe you could appoint someone else to lead the run for you? What do you think about that?” he suggested to her as he moved his face down to nibble on her ear.

  Lynda nodded at his suggestion, a tiny little smile growing on her face as Ben kept kissing her ear. “You know, I think that would be best. That is a great idea, honey. How about Sonya – I bet she could do it,” she smiled at her suggestion.

  “Well… do you really think that would be best?” Ben asked with a hint of displeasure in his tone. He liked Sonya very much but she had a very impulsive nature about her and wasn’t always the best person to follow through on completing projects.

  “Oh, it’ll be fine,” she nodded and sighed as his closeness and his scent began to drive her wild with desire. Since her pregnancy began she found it difficult to keep her hands off of him. It was not only her hormones that drove this need, but her Yukonia nature as well. They were designed to automatically sense and respond to the needs and wants of their mates. It made for sensational pleasure in the bedroom for them both, which could easily become addictive to both of them if they were not careful.

  “She’s calmed down a lot since she mated with Clay, don’t you think?” she added, trying to distract herself from the soft kisses that Ben was now lining the side of her neck with.

  “Oh Ben, stop,” she sighed. “You know what that does to me.”

  “But did you notice something? That we are alone,” he murmured just beside her ear. “And we will not be bothered for hours,” he added with a heavy sigh of desire. As the Alphas of the pack they did not always get much free time due to the responsibilities of their posts. Moments alone could be scarce when there were duties to fulfill and runs to plan, and feasts to prepare, and activities to create….

  “Mmmmmm,” Lynda purred as he turned her to face him and met her lips with a sensual kiss.

  “Are you too tired?” he asked as he met her eyes once more.

  “No,” she said quickly. “No not too tired at all,” she insisted.

  He chuckled low in his throat and swept her up easily into his arms. Despite her growing belly, he had no difficulty whisking her away when he wanted to. She was still light as a feather to him.

  They had nearly made their way back to the bedroom when Sonya came bounding in the front door without knocking. “Lynda! Lynda!” she cried out enthusiastically. She skidded to a stop when she spotted her sister and Ben in the hallway, right in front of their bedroom door.

  “Oh, sorry,” she gasped and started to back away. “Bad timing.”

  “No, actually,” Ben cleared his throat and reluctantly lowered Lynda to the ground. “It’s perfect timing. Lynda has something she needs to talk to you about,” Ben gave Lynda a knowing look, kissed her lightly and went back to the map he left minutes earlier. He wanted her to take a more active role as an Alpha in the pack, even if she was currently pregnant.

  Lynda sighed, trying to control the desires that had just flooded through her before Sonya’s unexpected entrance. “Sonya, I really don’t feel well enough to take the females on the upcoming run. Do you think you could do it for me?”

  Sonya smirked a little as she looked from her sister to Ben, and then back again. “Oh so that’s why Ben was carrying you, because you’re soooo very tired,” she teased and offered a heavy wink. Ben b
lushed and glanced away. Lynda folded her arms over her round belly and arched a brow at her sister.

  “So, will you do it, or not?” Lynda asked again, with a hint of exhaustion in her voice but not unexpected at all in her conversations with Sonya. As the older sister, Lynda was used to having to ask several times for something before Sonya would agree to it.

  “What exactly is it? What is it for? What would I have to do?” Sonya asked. She was new to the pack and had never led a run before.

  “It’s just an opportunity for the females to really let their hair down – it’s a release, to go on a pack run, it’s a kind of tradition we have mainly,” he explained to Sonya casually. “Plus, it lets younger females get to know the full range of our territory which is a really very important thing to know. And you need to be aware of it too.”

  “Hmmmm,” Sonya eyed him curiously. She crossed her arms waiting for more details – it felt as if there might be something that he wasn’t telling her.

  “So, what do you males do while all the females are out running?” she asked Ben point blank.

  Lynda’s eyes instantly widened, she had never thought to ask Ben that question. Still when she saw the glare that instantly flickered across Ben’s features she stood up for her mate.

  “Sonya, Ben doesn’t have to answer to you. Just say yes or no. If you don’t want to do it just let me know right now and we’ll just ask somebody else,” she encouraged quickly. She didn’t want any resentment breeding between the two.

  “It’s okay,” Ben sighed, he had become accustomed to the less than traditional behavior of the sisters since they joined the pack, and he didn’t want them to feel imprisoned, inhibited or held back in any way. He wanted them to feel comfortable and he knew this transition was not an easy one for either of them.