Free Animal Secrets: A Paranormal Romance (The Animal Sagas) by Susan G. Charles

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